Wicked Edge

by Rebecca Zanetti

  Grabbing the discs, she quickly placed them on several of the boxes. Daire overturned the table and grabbed her, covering her completely. “Sure you want to do this?” he asked.

  She snuggled under him and reached for a detonator disguised as a shirt button. “Hell yeah.” She took a deep breath and pressed hard.

  Chapter 19

  The explosions rocked the room. Shards of metal flew hard and fast, embedding themselves in the floor and twanging an odd tune. Felicity shoved against Daire, her body vibrating with the air. Wow. She’d never set off a bomb in person before.

  He lifted his head and glanced around. “Holy fuck.” Stretching to his feet, he pulled her with him, his hold firm.

  Smoke filtered through the room, and outside, an alarm blared. Gunfire pinged as if a world away, and the grunts of men fighting hand-to-hand broke the patter of gunfire.

  “Go,” Daire ordered, nudging her to the south wall. “If your tech guy is good, really good, he’ll be able to keep the vault open for less than a minute.”

  If Eli wasn’t good, then they were screwed. Felicity gaped at the huge holes in the wall. Scorch marks scored down the steel to the floor, and smoke swirled through the air. “Only take from the boxes we discussed.” She had no intention of harming anybody other than Ivan and his crew.

  Stepping gingerly over smoking metal, she reached the first box, shrugging out of her jacket to form another bag. “Ah. Diamonds, emeralds, and rubies. Oh my.” Feeling almost giddy, she tugged out the velvet-lined box and dumped the priceless gems into the bag, already reaching for a box full of cash, United States currency.

  Daire looted the other side, and they hustled, meeting in the middle. One box held more files, including deeds and land trust documents.

  “We have to go. Now.” Daire reached for her hand.

  She slung the bag over her shoulder, blinking from the burning air. The alarm was suddenly cut off.

  Daire growled. “Not good.” He shoved open the steel door.

  The vault door was slowly closing. Shit. Daire barreled through, pulling her along. Her boot caught at the end, and he gave a hard jerk, taking her right out of the leather.

  One of her men grappled with a shifter against the wall, the two throwing furious punches and kicks. She loped into a run behind Daire just as two guards, fully armed and bleeding, ran around the corner.

  Daire instantly dropped into a slide, taking them both out like bowling pins. Without even a hitch, he rolled onto the first guy and punched him in the face several times, spraying blood. The guy roared and started to shift into what looked like some sort of feline. Daire shot a hard jab into his neck and then his left temple, knocking him out.

  Felicity leaped forward and kicked the other guard under the chin. His head jerked back and hit the floor with a sickening thunk.

  Yet he turned to get back to his feet.

  Daire growled and leaped forward, taking the guard with him and slamming the guy’s head into the wall.

  Felicity took the opportunity to kick out of the remaining boot. No way could she run with only one four-inch heel slowing her down. She was already in motion when Daire jumped up and ran for the end of the hallway¸ his boots smashing against the silver tiles.

  Her earbud crackled to life. “Authorities are dealing with the road blocks right now. You have about two minutes to get free,” Adam said, tension riding his voice and hard.

  She gulped, and the hazy bank reception area took on a surreal tinge. Time seemed to slow down. Patrons ran out the door, spilling over the luxurious chairs. The tellers had disappeared, as had the bank executives.

  “Run,” Daire bellowed. He turned just in time to get plugged three times by a guard. Without missing a step, Daire lunged for the guy and ripped the gun from his hand before slamming it down on the guard’s neck. The guard, a huge guy with wolflike features, dropped to the ground like a stone, his body jerking.

  Cee Cee flew into motion, kicking a female guard out of the way as she went. Her men fought hard around them, and in the distance, sirens trilled through the sunshine.

  Daire motioned her forward, and she ran toward him at the front door. Blood flowed from his chest.

  Sudden shooting pain ripped into her shoulder, and she tripped, falling flat on her face. Pain bloomed across her forehead. Blood spurted from her arm, and darkness covered her vision.

  Rough hands grabbed her up, and her stomach hit a hard male shoulder. Her fake hair flipped down Daire’s long length. Hopefully the attachments she’d used for the wig would hold while she was upside down. Her entire right side went numb, and bile rose in her stomach to be quickly swallowed. Every running step he took bounced her against his shoulder, and she had to concentrate not to vomit.

  Heat blasted her as he ran outside, his boots clomping on the hot concrete.

  Sirens rose in pitch, obviously coming nearer.

  A car door opened and Daire jumped inside, twirling her around to land on his lap. “Go,” he ordered.

  Adam pulled away from the curb and into traffic, driving with speed and contained recklessness. “I can’t believe you just fucking robbed a bank,” he yelled.

  Felicity blinked. So Adam Dunne could get emotional. Fascinating. Darkness covered her vision again, and she swayed. Daire yanked her shirtsleeve down and poked at her arm. Red hot agony sliced along her nerve endings, and she cried out, trying to jerk free.

  “Hold still,” he commanded, peering closer. “It’s a through and through, but you need to heal yourself. Now.”

  Tears fill her eyes and she nodded, letting a couple loose. Then she sucked in air, trapped it in her lungs, and concentrated. Her nerves tingled and then sparked as healing cells swam toward the injury. Healing an injury internally was much like an external surgery without anesthetic. Her body shuddered with the pain, but the wounds slowly closed. By the time she was finished, she was panting and sweating against Daire.

  His eyes remained closed, and slowly, the wounds on his chest closed. Man, he could heal fast.

  Adam drove into a parking area. “Take the white Buick to the helicopter, and I’ll ditch this car and then head to Dublin.”

  Daire set Felicity next to him and quickly threw all the bags into the adjoining car.

  Felicity yanked out the earbud, which Daire quickly crushed with his.

  “Call me when you reach safety,” Daire ordered, slipping from the car and taking Felicity with him.

  She allowed him to lead as she tried to regain some energy. The second she sat in the passenger seat, she reached for the bag already there and started changing her clothing. Her scalp burned when she ripped off the wig.

  “Go easy,” Daire said, shrugging out of his suit and tugging off the fake beard. He already wore jeans and a T-shirt underneath, so he deposited the clothing in her empty bag before igniting the engine. “We can’t face any more fights. One of the bullets pinged my heart, and I need rest and protein to get back to full strength.”

  She swallowed. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. Just not strong enough to fight anybody right now.” He continued driving.

  The bullet had hit his heart? Talk about tough.

  Felicity finished wiping the blood off her neck just as they reached the helicopter waiting for them. The pilot was a demon mercenary, and she’d already paid him a small fortune to be there. He’d get the other half as soon as he dropped them in Jamaica, where they were to meet a private plane and head to Miami and then Seattle.

  They didn’t exchange words and were soon flying low, really low, over the ocean. At least it was warm this time if they crashed.

  Daire studied her, puzzled and pissed off. Anger rolled off him in slow waves, not quite ready to explode, but burning slowly and increasing in pressure.

  She shifted in her seat, acutely aware of his mood. Her hands clasped together, and she tried to shrug off anxiety. Sure, they were almost caught in robbing the bank, which would’ve been a disaster for them both. But she’d tried to hid
e how much fun she’d been having, and from the look on his face, she hadn’t succeeded.

  They reached the private plane, bribed several officials, and were in the air before she could really settle herself.

  She sat in a comfortable chair, and delight bubbled up. “We did it.” Her gaze caught on the loot across the plane. “I mean, we actually did it.” She threw back her head and laughed. Her other two teams had reported in, and all three bank robberies were a success. Who knew she’d be good at something like this?

  Daire leaned forward and rubbed the gray from his hair. “You’re certifiable, you know that?”

  She laughed harder. “I do know that.”

  He lifted an eyebrow over a sizzling green eye. His skin was still pale from healing himself, but other than that, he looked good. Really good. “You never had a chance to have fun, did you?”

  She blinked and sobered. “No.”

  He nodded slowly. “Your childhood was dangerous, you got free and became a mom, and then you had to go back to Suri and danger.” He shook his head. “Now you’re free, your kids are set, and you can do what you want.”

  Exactly. She smiled. Energy and adrenaline rippled through her veins, and for the first time in so long, she felt alive. “I can do what I want.” Her nipples peaked, and her body thrummed. “Right now, I want . . . you.”

  Daire held her gaze. They had a long flight ahead of them, and while he trusted the two witches in the cockpit, he was nowhere near a hundred percent. Even so, her confident gaze licked across his skin, and his blood started to burn. “I’ve had a constant erection since the first night I met you, lady. But we should both get some rest, finish healing ourselves, and regain our strength.”

  She chuckled, and the throaty tone might as well have been wrapped around his dick.

  Then the vixen dropped to her knees and gracefully made her way between his legs. “I can think of a better way to regain our energy.” Her shoulders made room for her, and she hummed as she unzipped his jeans.

  Heat flushed down his torso. “You’re awfully brave right now, baby.”

  Her tongue darted out to lick her lips, and he fought a groan. “I’ve always been brave.” Smooth as silk, her hand slipped inside his pants and ran along his cock.

  Nerves sparked, and his body shuddered. She was the exact opposite of what he thought he wanted in a woman, and yet he’d never hungered more for one. Never. “You’re the wildest woman I’ve ever met,” he murmured.

  Absolute delight filled her dark eyes.

  He breathed out, an unwilling smile rising up inside him. “That was not a compliment.” Giving in, he caressed a hand through her soft hair. Her former mate had been a smart guy to knock her up so quickly. God knew what kind of havoc she might’ve wreaked if she hadn’t had responsibility right off the bat.

  “What are you thinking?” she asked, continuing to stroke him.

  “Nothing.” Which suddenly became true. But a ringing clamored through his ears, and his vision was still blurry. He needed to heal and get his faculties back.

  Her sweet hand on him shoved all thoughts to the abyss.

  She leaned down and placed a very gentle kiss on the tip of his dick.

  That was it. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed, following her down until he lay flattened on top of her. She bent her knees, making more room for him right where he wanted to be.

  Her gaze dropped to his mouth. “I really like you, Daire.”

  Such sweetness and unusual honesty from her pierced right to his chest. “I like you, too.” Slowly, just to keep things in control, he reached down and released the buttons of her shirt, revealing a pretty flowered bra with a front clasp. He loved front clasps. One quick flick, and the material sprang free, her delicious breasts pouting at him.

  He peppered kisses along her neck to take one nipple in his mouth. She gasped and slid her fingers into his hair. His body rioted, and his vision wavered even more. “I’m not a hundred percent here, Felicity.”

  She reached down and yanked his shirt over his head. “You feel ready to me.”

  He grinned and paid homage to the other breast. Her nipples were pink and fully erect, and he could play with them all day. “My vision is fuzzy,” he admitted.

  “Then close your eyes,” she whispered, sliding off her pants and helping him to kick his off.

  Good plan. He closed his eyes and just let himself feel, sliding inside her with a couple of hard pushes.

  Her sex convulsed around his shaft, and he groaned, moving up her so he could stretch out. “No fire this time,” he whispered against the rapidly beating pulse in her neck. He didn’t have the energy.

  Smooth and toned, her thighs clapped against his hips. “Don’t need fire. Just need you,” she whispered.

  That sexy voice licked right down his spine. One quickie might give them both energy, and when they were done, they could sleep. Getting shot in the chest hurt more than he’d thought. His vision went completely dark, but his body thrummed with hunger. It slaked through him, aimed solely on Felicity Kyllwood.

  Her nails bit into his butt.

  He licked her jugular and started to pound. She met him thrust for thrust, her fingers digging into his ass, her hot core caressing around his shaft. The sounds she made, hoarse and sexy, whispered through him, straight to his heart. He thrust harder, giving in to his need and hers.

  Fine tremors shook her feminine body. Her core gripped him with enough strength to catch his breath. He tilted his pelvis, just a bit, and scraped over her clit.

  She stiffened and then cried out his name. Waves ripped through her body and crashed against him. Fire lit his ass, hot and desperate, shooting electricity through his veins. Her teeth lashed on to his pec, and she bit. Deep.

  He held her tighter, gripped her hip to lift her, hammering into her with everything he had. His canines lengthened. All instinct, he sliced into the vulnerable flesh at her neck and held on. Sparks burned through him, igniting every nerve, throwing his senses into overdrive. Lava scalded down his spine to land hard in his balls.

  His release stole his breath, jerking rapidly through him. His teeth met in the middle, and a sense of contentment filled him. Finally, he went lax.

  She panted against him, her palms drawing soothing circles on his aching butt.

  Wait a minute. His canines retracted, and he instinctively licked her wound clean. His body flared awake, and he opened his eyes. He could see, but she was blurry. He’d bitten her.

  Oh God.

  Glancing down at his hand, he slowly slid to the side and pulled her over. His brand, bright and Celtic, was healing on her hip. “I mated you.” His voice was hoarser than hers would ever be.

  She blinked, and her mouth formed a perfect O.

  He hadn’t been strong enough to fight both biology and fate, and he had known better. He should’ve rested up before having sex.

  “Um,” she said.

  He winced. “Let’s just keep calm minds and talk this out.”

  She twisted her lip and then drew her arm up to glance at her hand. A perfect Z appeared in the center, dark and somehow feminine.

  Both of his eyebrows lifted so quickly his head jerked. “What the fuck?”

  She winced and then tilted to the side, peering around his body.

  Almost in slow motion, he turned his head to see a perfect match on his left buttock.

  She bit her lip. “I marked you, too.” Then, crazy woman that she was, she threw back her head and laughed, long and hard.

  Chapter 20

  Ivan Bychkov threw a paperweight across the home office. The heavy disk smashed into the window showcasing a lovely view of the Seattle skyline and dropped to the antique rug in three perfect shapes. “I can’t believe this.”

  Vadim Deeks continued reading a tablet that looked impossibly small in his massive hands. “The consortia is holding a vote tomorrow morning about your leadership. My sources confirm that you’re about to be voted out.” He tapped the tablet with st
rong fingers, causing a protesting ping from the computer with every stroke. “There’s also rumor of a vote to cut off your head.”

  No shit. Once leaders were replaced, they weren’t wanted any longer. If he set foot on his continent, he’d be dead within hours. “Any idea who’s behind this?”

  Vadim shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. There’s enough momentum that if you don’t turn the tide and now, you’re out.” He spoke without inflection. “We need to regain the cash, jewels, and gold from the bank accounts, or we’re both finished with the consortia.”

  “That bitch,” Bychkov said, running a shaking hand through his thick hair. He had seriously underestimated Felicity. The bank strikes had been perfectly orchestrated, and combined with the mining incidents, had crippled him financially. More important, it had crippled the consortia, which meant his head was wanted on a stake. “She went right for my weaknesses.” Before the last week, he hadn’t realized he even had weaknesses.

  Vadim nodded. “Now we go after hers.”

  A computer dinged on the walnut desk, and Bychkov hurried over to read the screen. His stock portfolio. “We’re bleeding money,” he muttered, leaning over to type in several commands. What in the world? As he watched, the stock values plummeted. His gut rolled over, and he swallowed down puke.

  How the hell?

  Vadim crossed the room to study the numbers. “How would an enemy make that happen?”

  He fought to keep his temper at bay, but the effort cost Ivan. “You make a coordinated strike on individual businesses, infuse capital into competitors, and cause rumors that prompt people to dump stock.” Apparently Felicity hadn’t been hiding out cowering from him the last several decades. “When I learned that Zane had killed Suri, I figured it was time to make my move on the woman.”

  Turned out she’d been making her move the entire time.

  Vadim’s phone buzzed, and he read the text. “The Intel is coming through on Felicity Kyllwood, her allies, and her weaknesses. Also, we’ve upped the security at the Sjenerøse mine in Russia.”