Page 78 of Don't Bait Me (Nora Jacobs 3)

My eyes bulge. I hadn’t thought of that. “Oh.”

He grins at me. “Come here, and help me take my mind off the pain.”

I laugh. “You seriously want me to kiss you right now? You’re riddled with bullets and basically having surgery.”

He flashes me a wolfish grin.

I shake my head, laughing, but bend over to press my lips to his. When I try to pull back right away, Rook grabs my head and kisses me thoroughly.

“All done!” Parker announces.

I stand up straight, and Rook waggles his eyebrows. “I told you that would work.”

“Glad I could help,” I say wryly, shaking my head and chuckling.

A low groan has me whirling around. Enzo has his hands on Oliver’s chest, cleansing the drugs from his system. After another groan, Oliver leans over the side of the couch. We all know what’s coming. Parker, using his vampire speed, grabs a wastebasket and gets it under Oliver just in time to catch his puke. “Ugh,” Oliver moans, “I’m so sick of being drugged.”

It’s really not funny, but we all chuckle anyway, even Enzo. “Don’t worry, Mr. Oliver. The nausea will pass in just a second. I’ve got most of the drugs out of your system now.”

“Thanks, Enzo.” He looks around for a second, but then lies his head back down and closes his eyes. “Did we get them? Is everyone okay? What happened?”

“That’s exactly what I’d like to know,” Director West says from the doorway to the lounge. She assesses our team and raises her brows at both Nick and me.

“It could have been worse,” I mumble, while Nick mutters, “We got the job done.”

Director West looks between the two of us, blinks twice, and then throws her eyes heavenward. “You two really are perfect for each other. She comes into the room and pulls out a chair. “Heaven help this city if you two do partner up. You’re liable to level it in the pursuit of justice.”

Nick and I both frown, and Director West lets out a tired sigh. “Someone explain to me what the hell happened.”

All eyes fall on me. Guess I get to do the honor of detailing our botched plan. Wusses. I help Oliver sit up, then fall to the couch next to him. He leans his head on my shoulder, as if he’s still groggy. “Well, first of all,” I tell Director West as I weave my fingers through Oliver’s, “I was never the target, so we never got any warning that they were here. And since everyone’s attention was focused on me, it was easier for them to go after Rook and Oliver.”

Director West’s eyebrows crease. “But why?”

I think back to the imprint I got off of Rook. “Thanks to their discovery of Skinny’s, they figured out that the fey aren’t the only nonhumans to exist. They also saw us survive that blast. They knew the men with us who weren’t fey must be something else. They wanted to capture them in order to get information on things like what kinds of creatures exist and how they can kill them. They knew I was waiting for them, but they never had any intention of bothering with me. At least, not tonight. They wanted Parker, Rook, and Oliver.”

“They also had a third hunter with them,” Nick says. “We assume they sent her inside to scout out who was where so that we wouldn’t recognize anyone since we’d never seen her. She’d probably been watching us all night. She waited until we split up, and when Henry distracted us all, they finally made their move. From there it turned into one giant shit storm because they came prepared, knowing it was a trap.”

I sighed. “They were a step ahead of us from the start.”

Oliver nuzzles my shoulder, making me wonder if he’s still got some of the drugs in his system. “We still got ’em in the end,” he mumbles.

“Yes. And I suppose there was no way to take them in alive?”

Director West casts her pointed glance at Illren. He somehow manages to give her a bored look that suggests he’s gracing her with his attention and she should be grateful. “They were heavily armed and had one of our men. I saw no reason to let them live.”

I barely resist the urge to snort. Bloodthirsty faerie.

Director West eyes Illren warily for a few more seconds, then casts her gaze all around the room again. “All right.” She pinches the bridge of her nose. “I suppose, all things considered, you got the job done, and it could have been worse.”

I smirk. That’s exactly what Nick and I said earlier.

“Well done, everyone. I’m glad you’re all safe. Go on home, and get some rest. Let the rest of us deal with the cleanup. “Gorgeous and Jacobs, I want you both in my office tomorrow for a full debrief.”

Gorgeous and Jacobs. Even Director West is married to the whole “partners” thing. Good grief. Do either of them realize I haven’t actually joined the Agency? Do they even care? Nick catches my eye roll and shoots me a smug grin. I make a face at him and tell Director West, “I’ll come in before work tomorrow evening.”

Director West gives me a pleased smile. “I look forward to it.”

“Well.” I slap my lap and rise to my feet. “If that’s all for now, I could really use a nice, long soak in a hot bath.” I help Oliver to his feet and smile at all of my men. “Let’s go home, boys.”

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