Wicked Burn by Rebecca Zanetti Read Free Book Online

world? Something was wrong with the lighting.
    “Fuck it, Simone.” Bear knocked his head back against the wall. “I signed a contract, and if your mother knows I breached it, no matter what the reason, I’ll lose all of my holdings.”
    “She probably already knows, but we’ll just get you out of here, and she’ll ignore the situation.” Fear settled in her stomach, and she tried to keep her voice soft.
    Bear growled low. “I have other enemies in Ireland that you don’t even know about. They’ll try to take my fuckin’ head.”
    Simone stepped back. “Who?”
    He shook his head. “None of your business.”
    Ouch. That kind of hurt.
    Nick’s gaze hardened as he looked from Bear to Simone. “It’s time to catch me up, little bunny.”
    Bear pushed off from the door. “Not your monkey, not your circus. Both of you stay out of my business.” He turned and set his stance. “Get ready.”
    Simone moved forward. “Bear—”
    He planted his boot in the center of the door, and it flew right off the hinges and through the plane. Guns cocked. Simone peered around him to see at least four soldiers with green guns pointed at Bear. The kind of guns that shot lasers that turned into metal upon hitting immortal flesh. Plasma was too unstable for a plane.
    Bear looked down at his hole-riddled sock. “What happened to my other boot?”
    Simone grabbed the boot and hit him in the hip with it.
    Nick grasped her arm and pushed her none too gently behind him. “This will be explained,” he said softly enough that only she and Bear could hear it.
    Bear turned full around, his back to the weapons. “Simone? Does he know anything?”
    She tried not to grimace. “No. Of course not.”
    Nick inhaled sharply.
    As she took in Nick’s raised eyebrows, she knew without question he wouldn’t let it go. No matter what happened next, Nicholai Veis would get his answers, and right now, protecting Bear was all that mattered. So she leaned up on her toes and set her mouth next to Nick’s ear. “Bear’s real name is Beauregard, and he’s my brother,” she whispered.

Chapter 5
    Ireland smelled the same. Nicholai Veis sat in a waiting area far underground in the secret Coven Nine location after a shower and change of clothing. The witches did insist on their comforts, now, didn’t they? At the moment, Simone was probably getting dressed somewhere else. The second she returned, she was explaining her statement about Bear to him. It didn’t make a lick of sense.
    But he liked her strong and pissed. For so long, he’d carried the image of her pale and sad in his mind. From the day he’d broken her heart. The worst day in his entire life, and that said something.
    There was so much blood on his hands, they’d never be clean. He’d chosen his path, and even today, he wondered which moment had tipped his soul into darkness. Was it when he’d turned away from Simone? Or was it the next hour, right after the king had delivered him to demon headquarters?
    Nick leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, forcing himself to face that day. Only by facing the past did he have a chance of remembering to love again. God, he wanted Simone, but how the hell could he find his way back to her?
    Dage had teleported him to demon headquarters, right outside Nick’s rooms. “Jesus,” Nick had muttered, stepping back from the king. “You can come right in past our defenses.”
    “You might want to remember that fact,” Dage said, his silver eyes somber. “I don’t know what Lily told you, but if you ever need my assistance, you know where to find me.” He zipped out of sight.
    Nick took a deep breath, went inside to arm himself, and then strode almost casually through the labyrinth of tunnels to reach his uncle’s rooms. It wasn’t too late to turn back. The image of Simone, tears in her eyes as he rejected her, wouldn’t leave his mind.
    He rapped quickly on the stone door and waited for his uncle to bellow permission