Wicked Burn

by Rebecca Zanetti

  Her blush turned into a fiery red. “I may have filtered funds through Dage.”

  “Jesus, Simone. I know you dated him, too.”

  “It wasn’t serious.”

  “I know that.” Even though it had been Nick’s idea in the first place, to keep her safe, he couldn’t deny the absolute relief that had filled him when he’d heard they’d broken things off so long ago. “Dage can corroborate your story?”

  “No. Dage can affirm I funneled money to him, but only that he received it. He can’t dispute these records.”

  Well, hell. He’d had no clue Simone had been risking herself to help him all those years. She’d never stop surprising him, now would she? His chest shifted and settled. What a sweetheart. That was a side of herself she didn’t show many people. “These records show that you funneled money into planekite mining.”

  “I know.”

  Somebody had done a hell of a job setting her up. “Who did you work with?”

  She grimaced. “A witch by the name of Paul, who showed up dead a few months ago. He’s the only one who knew what was happening.”

  “How did he find you?”

  She swallowed. “We worked together on a Dublin city project a few years back, one that secured the city against, well, demons, and he cut a few corners. Our plan flowed naturally from there, since I’d saved Trevan’s money, waiting for a chance to help you.”

  The fact that she’d helped him warmed him and pissed him off simultaneously. “So we have no way to prove what you did.”

  She smiled then, the expression sad and accepting. “That doesn’t really matter, now, does it? Even if we could prove it, all we’d be proving is that I committed treason by taking money from the Nine and funding the demon nation, which was our enemy at the time.”

  Holy shit, she was right. He tried to think of a way out for her and came up empty. “You’ll have to run.”

  She shook her head. “The earth isn’t big enough to hide from the Coven Nine forever, even if I could hide for years.”

  He slowly nodded, his gut sinking. “Maybe.” The best plan was to win within the Coven laws. “We have to win your trial.”

  “How? I’m guilty either way.”

  He hadn’t spent his entire life planning strategy to fail now. “Don’t worry. I’ll figure it out.” As he gave the promise, he tried to give her a reassuring smile.

  Somehow, he was pretty sure he’d failed.

  Chapter 18

  Her trial started the next day, and her mother was getting worse. Simone smoothed hair back from her mother’s head, her heart hurting. For days, she and Nick had worked around the clock to find a way to win the trial, and they’d come up empty.

  Moira sat over in the corner, her green eyes sizzling. “You feel better, Aunt Viv?”

  “Yes,” Viv said weakly.

  Simone tried to hold back the fear, but flames still flashed down her arm. She snuffed them out.

  “What the hell?” Moira whispered.

  Simone blushed. “I’m upset.”

  “Yeah, but . . .” Moira stood, so many thoughts scattering across her face it was impossible to read. “I have a meeting with the Guard. Walk me out.”

  Simone patted her mother’s bedclothes and followed her cousin to the hall, closing the door quietly. “When you return, will you bring her some of that beef broth she likes from Bromby’s?”

  “Yes.” Moira leaned in, her chin lowering. “The flames on your arms?”

  Irritation swept through Simone, and heat filled her chest. “Nobody is perfect.” In fact, she felt very imperfect and a little out of control. As if mirroring her thoughts, another dash of fire swept across her hands. Pink fire. She gasped.

  “That’s what I mean. It’s fucking pink,” Moira hissed.

  Simone shook her head. “This is just a fluke. I’m really upset.” Her mind spun and then just went blank.

  “Simone?” Vivienne called weakly.

  Moira gripped her arm. “Go sit with your mother. I have a meeting, and then I’ll bring the soup. Just stay here and calm down.”

  Simone nodded and moved woodenly into the other room. Perhaps the planekite poisoning had messed with her fire? She crossed to sit by her mother, her brain flashing to Nick.

  He wanted her to run, and she was considering it. But she couldn’t leave her mother right now.

  “Stop fretting,” her mother said weakly. She lay against the down pillows, small purple veins crossing her delicate eyelids. “This is part of the illness.”

  Viv had been hit with two darts, and her initial strength had ebbed as the poison tunneled into deep tissue and organs. “You’ll be all right, Mother.”

  “I know.” Viv opened bloodshot eyes.

  Simone reached for a cup of milk, and her mother shook her head. “God. No more milk.”

  “You need your strength,” Simone murmured, trying not to tear up at how quickly her mother was losing weight.

  “No.” Viv struggled to sit up and accepted help with the pillows this time without protest. “What’s going on with your trial?”

  Simone bit her lip. “We have it all figured out.”

  Viv’s gaze sharpened. “You’ve always been a terrible liar.”

  Simone frowned. “I have not. I’m an excellent liar.”

  “Obviously not. Now, tell me the truth.”

  Simone debated the issue for all of two seconds before she poured the whole sordid story out for her mother.

  When Simone finished, Viv’s mouth opened and closed several times before she could speak. “You are bloody well kidding me.”

  “No.”

  Fire lanced across Viv’s arms to be quickly snuffed. “I told you that demon was bad for you. I told you, and yet you committed treason to help him in a war against our allies.”

  Simone nodded, her chest aching. “I know. I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

  Viv patted her arm. “What’s done is done.” She wiped the back of her mouth with a shaking hand. “Either way, you’re guilty of treason.”

  “I know,” Simone whispered. “We’re trying to figure out some sort of defense, but everything we come up with is weak.” Hope filled her that her mother, a political genius, would figure something out.

  “You’re screwed.”

  Simone sat back, her hopes sinking like a balloon losing air. “Not what I was hoping for.”

  “You have to run, sweetheart.” Viv’s eyes opened wide. “You don’t have a chance here.”

  “Run where?” Simone asked. “There’s nowhere to go.”

  Viv swayed and dropped back to the pillows. “The demon could hide you, but eventually, the Guard would find you. The witches would go to war with the demons, and at some point . . .”

  “Too many people would die,” Simone finished for her. No matter how the war ended, she’d be the cause of too many deaths, maybe even of her loved ones. “I can’t take that chance.”

  Viv nodded, her eyelids fluttering. She grabbed Simone’s arm and dug in sharp nails. “Call Bear.”

  Simone shook her head. “No. The shifter nation can’t get involved in this, either.”

  “Promise me. Call Bear.” Her mother’s voice grew weaker.

  “I’ve tried.” Simone tucked the covers up around her mom, her body feeling heavy with foreboding. “He won’t answer or return my calls.” When Bear disappeared, he did it right. Always had.

  Viv’s nails bit harder. “Then call Desmond. Bear must’ve met with him while he was here.” Her voice trailed off.

  Simone leaned in. “Desmond? Who’s Desmond?”

  “I’m sorry, Simone,” Viv murmured. “I should’ve told you. Or protected you. But you have to call him. It’s your only chance, if he doesn’t kill you.”

  “Mother?” Simone leaned in, feeling her mother’s hot forehead. A chill clacked down her spine. “Who’s Desmond?”

  Viv’s breathing turned shallow, and her eyelids flipped open again. “My phone.”

  Almost in
a daze, Simone reached for the smartphone by the bed and handed it over. Viv’s hand shook, but she dialed a number and pressed the phone to her ear.

  “This is Vivienne,” she whispered. Two seconds went by. Then another. “Are you there?”

  Somebody must’ve answered. “Simone is going to be killed if you don’t come get her, Desmond. It’s time for you to protect her.” She clicked off.

  Simone sat back. “Desmond?”

  Viv pressed one number this time and held the phone to her ear. A beep echoed loudly enough for Simone to hear it. “Bear? Damn it, check your phone. I called Desmond to help Simone, and he’s on the way. Get here.” Vivienne dropped the phone.

  Simone reached over to pick it up from the floor and placed it on the bedside table. Her mother’s eyes were closed, and her breathing turned shallow.

  Sleep caught Viv, and a very slight tingle of healing wove through the air. Oh, when her mother awoke, she was going to start answering some questions. Simone glanced at the phone and memorized the mysterious Desmond’s phone number. She’d have it traced later. Giving in to exhaustion, Simone stretched out next to her mother and fell into a dreamless sleep.

  Hours later, a rap on the door had her sitting right up.

  “Yoo-hoo?” The door was nudged open, and Moira Dunne-Kayrs poked her head inside. “I put the soup in the fridge downstairs.” She stepped gingerly inside and walked over to place a hand on Viv’s head. “She’s feverish.”

  “I know. She’s getting worse.” Simone pushed to her feet, feeling thousands of years old. She glanced at the brown bag in Moira’s hands. “What do you have?”

  Moira grasped her arm and led her into the master bath. “I started thinking about the pink fire on your arms earlier.” She drew out a pregnancy test. “Just to make sure. You know it’s nearly impossible, right? There’s nothing to worry about.”

  Simone shook her head, tension flying through her on wicked wings. “You’re crazy. Just crazy. We’re not mated, so no way.”

  “But, well, your mom got pregnant with you without being mated.” Moira’s worried green eyes sizzled in the muted colors of the marble bathroom. “And you’ve never created pink fire. Ever. Brenna has been creating purple because of her pregnancy, so I figured . . .”

  “Aye.” No. Simone could not be pregnant. Immortal females produced enough of the pregnancy hormone to be able to confirm a pregnancy within hours of conception, and she’d had a couple of days since having wild sex with Nick. She’d take the test and soothe Moira’s nerves. “The pink fire instead of my usual blue is either just stress or because of the planekite attack, right?”

  “Right.” Moira nodded vigorously.

  Simone ripped open the package, her hands shaking, and her pulse racing. “I’ll pee on this, and we’ll see I’m fine.”

  “By the way, Conn is downstairs,” Moira said.

  Simone stilled. “Your mate is here? Did he see this pregnancy test?”

  “Aye. Sorry.”

  Well, hell. “That’s okay.” Simone dropped her drawers and peed on the stick. Her cousin had seen her naked enough times in her life that she really didn’t give a damn for modesty. “Do you know anybody named Desmond?”

  “No, why?” Moira asked.

  “Because my mother called him to rescue me. I thought she might be delirious, but she knew the number to call.”

  “Hmmm. Maybe an old ally she can count on? There are witches who live far in the hills and don’t like modern life.” Moira frowned. “Man. When was the last time you peed?”

  Simone stopped peeing and rolled her eyes. “I just want to make sure I got it.”

  “Oh, you got it.”

  Simone finished up and placed the test on the counter before washing her hands. “Takes three minutes.”

  “Girl, if you’re knocked up by a demon, you won’t need three minutes.” Moira stood next to her, half a foot shorter in the mirror, and peered at the test. “Oh.”

  Simone dried her hands and glanced down. “Oh.”

  Moira slipped an arm around Simone’s waist. “Um. Congratulations?”

  Simone swayed. Blooming bollocks. She was pregnant.

  Nick practiced his legal argument in his head, all the while eyeing the vampire sprawled in the feminine chair. If Conn Kayrs moved an inch, he might just split the floral high-back.

  “So. How are things?” Conn asked, his green eyes curious, his face hard and set.

  Nick frowned. The vampire soldier wanted to make small talk? As the war had ended and demon headquarters were moved next to the Realm headquarters, he’d gotten to know and genuinely like the Kayrs men. Not one of them ever engaged in small talk. “Just fucking dandy. How about you?”

  Conn lifted a massive shoulder. “Eh.” He tapped his fingers on his worn jeans. His gaze darted around, and tension rolled off him like steam on a lake.

  “What is wrong with you?” Nick growled.

  “Nothin’.” Conn leaned forward, and the chair groaned in protest. “You and Simone, huh?”

  Nick dropped the paper he’d been trying to memorize. “Are you gossiping with me?”

  “No. Geez.” Conn leaned an elbow on the armrest, and the thing crashed to the ground. “Ah, hell. Viv isn’t going to like that.” He grabbed the damaged arm and tried to shove it back into place. Fabric and wood went flying.

  “Stop trying to fix it.” Nick frowned. If anything, Conn seemed nervous. “I’ll get Simone out of this mess, I promise.” Perhaps the vampire was worried about his mate, Moira, since she was Simone’s cousin. “Don’t worry.”

  “Oh, I’m not.” Conn cleared his throat. “It’s just that sometimes life takes unexpected turns, you know?” He gave Nick a hard look.

  “Um, yeah. Turns.” Puzzlement filled Nick.

  “Good. Because Simone is family, and well, family is family. Right?”

  Had the vampire sustained a head injury lately? “Are you all right, Connlan?” Nick asked.

  “I’m fine. Just wanted to get things straight.”

  Nick rubbed his chin. “Is this about Simone having dated your brother decades ago?” The king was happily mated to Emma Kayrs with a child on the way, so that didn’t make sense.

  “Of course not. Nobody remembers that, not even Simone. In fact, she and Emma are good friends these days.” Conn leaned forward again, and one of the chair legs gave out. He tipped and jumped to his feet. “The furniture here is not good.”

  Nick searched for words but couldn’t find any. “Uh-huh.”

  “Like I said, the queen of the Realm really likes Simone.” Conn placed both hands on his hips. “You don’t want to piss off the queen. Ever. Emma has a mean sense of revenge, if you ask me.” He nodded. “If you piss off Emma, you piss off the Realm, and if you piss off the Realm, you piss off pretty much everybody.”

  Dear Lord, Conn had lost his mind. Maybe having twin boys did that to a vampire. “When was the last time you slept?” Nick sputtered.

  Conn shrugged. “Dunno. Why?”

  “Perhaps you should catch up on the plane ride home. You are heading back to the States, right?” Nick asked.

  “Yeah, but Moira is worried about Simone and the trial.” Conn scratched a light bruise beneath his jawline.

  “Take her home, Conn. If things go south, you want to be far away from here.”

  Conn’s gaze sharpened. “You have a plan?”

  “Of course.” Hell, he was the ultimate planner, now wasn’t he? “I’ll need you and especially your mate, the Enforcer, out of Dublin just in case. Moira can’t get caught up in the turmoil if things go the way I think they might.”

  Conn nodded. “Understood.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, I was thinking about life, you know?”

  No. Hell no. Nick frowned and tried to find evidence of a brain injury. Conn’s pupils looked fine. “Why?”

  “Well, it’s just that kids bring a lot to your life, and I think everyone should get a few. I mean, start with one. I started with two, and they
’re hellions.” He grinned.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “They’ll change your life, but it’s for the good.” His canines glinted when he smiled. “You have to roll with the punches.”

  Was Conn going to punch him? Nick tensed just in case. Conn was the Realm’s ultimate soldier, and the guy knew how to hit. So did Nick. “I don’t think we should bust up any more of Viv’s furniture.”

  Conn’s green eyes widened. “Totally agree. Especially you, because you really want to keep her happy now, you know? Family unity without strife. She’s Simone’s mom.”

  Nick nodded. Should he call Conn’s brothers and have them make sure he was all right? Something was definitely off with the hulking vampire. “Strife is bad.”

  “Exactly.” Satisfaction lifted Conn’s full lips, and his face lost the intense about to lunge look. “Glad we’re on the same page.”

  They weren’t even reading the same fucking book. “Me too. Are you sure you’re all right?” Nick asked.

  “I am now.” Conn cracked his knuckles. “Good talk, Veis.”

  Nick leaned back and forgot about the papers in front of him. “Um, yeah. Good talk. Glad we had these moments together.”

  Conn either disregarded or didn’t catch the obvious sarcasm. “Family is family, buddy. Our mates are cousins.”

  Well, he hadn’t exactly mated Simone, but Nick definitely had a plan there. “I guess that’s true.”

  Moira jogged down the steps, her red hair bobbing wildly. “Viv is not doing well, and I want to check on my mom. She was better this morning, but I’d like to see her.” Moira grabbed Conn’s hand and all but dragged him toward the door. “’Bye, Nick. It was nice seeing you.” She threw open the door and disappeared. It closed with a sharp snap.

  Nick stood and stared at the broken furniture. What in the hell was wrong with Moira and Conn?

  If that’s what having babies did to two normally brilliant people, he wanted no part of it. Ever.

  Chapter 19

  Simone inched down the stairs, her mind buzzing and her heart hurting. Pregnant. Of all the impossible things, she was with child. Could there be any worse timing?

  Her hands settled over her abdomen in a purely protective gesture.