Broods Of Fenrir - By Coral Moore Page 0,75

after all, and I"ll expect her compliance.” Erik squinted. “What"s that about?”

Brand chuckled, regretting his humor when the pain spread around his chest in a tight band. “She"ll know what I mean.”

206

Chapter 21

Dagny"s fingers drumming against the steering wheel threatened to drive Brand insane. He reached to cover her hands with one of his. “I"ll be fine. I"m not even going in for the grab.” Her irritation prickled in his gut.

With an annoyed grumble rising from her throat, she shook off his hand. “Your healing isn"t going well, and the moon is four days from new. You should be in bed.” She discussed his weakness so casually, but it didn"t bother Brand at all, quite the contrary. He smiled and took her hand again. “Erik needs someone in there that can read Rivera to see if he"s telling the truth, and I"m the only one who can.” He left the absence of Alice unspoken, but Dagny"s softening expression indicated she"d picked up on his sadness.

She exhaled hard, her nostrils flaring. “Mother could do it.”

He tried to calm her mounting aggravation by stroking her hand from palm to fingertips. “Even assuming she agreed to it, Ingrid isn"t an empath. What she does is read body language and brood power. Helpful certainly, but her tricks don"t work as well on humans.”

She curled her fingers around his hand in a tight grip.

“If you let yourself get hurt, I won"t forgive you.” 207

He leaned across to her, ignoring the twinge of pain it caused in his side, and nuzzled her neck. “Oh, I think you will.” The surge of blood under her skin tempted him.

His phone, resting on the console between them, filled the car with the thoroughly obnoxious noise of vibrating plastic. He cursed while bringing it up to his ear. “Yes?”

“We"ve got him.” Erik sounded angry, but not out of control. Brand snapped the phone shut. “Come on.” A shy smile curled the corners of her lips. “Really?”

“Why not? You"re going to ask me. I"m going to struggle to say no while you stare at me with those gorgeous eyes. You"re going to do something really cute, and I"m going to give in. This just saves time.”

She blinked, but her smile deepened. “Call me cute again, and I"m going to punch you.”

He growled, and his mouth lifted into a grin. Her audacity never failed to excite him. “Can we save the foreplay until I"m all the way healed? I think in this state you might break me.”

She scoffed while opening her door. “Not likely.” The furry shape of Gunni in wolf form greeted them at the edge of Rivera"s property. The security gate was open, and the three of them walked through. Brand scanned the dark wooded yard as they followed the path toward the huge house.

“Hey, Gun.” Brand paused to pat the wolf on the head.

“Watch my girl, okay?”

Gunni trotted away from him and took up a position closer to Dagny. She glared at Brand. “You"re the one who repeatedly gets into trouble. He should watch you.” He chuckled. “He"s more likely to watch your tail than mine.” She grumbled, but didn"t argue further.

One of Erik"s brood opened the door for them when they approached. Brand nodded to him when he dropped to one knee. “Which way?”

208

“Up the stairs and to the left, my king.” The male remained kneeling until they turned away.

The title still sounded strange to Brand, and he wondered if he would ever get used to it. By the time they reached the top of the stairs, his chest ached from the effort of the climb. He stopped, and Dagny rushed to his side.

He pulled her close against him and lowered his head to her shoulder. “Stay outside the room. I don"t want him to see you.”

She tensed. “He"s never leaving that room alive. You and I both know it.”

“If he"s not ultimately the one in charge, we might have to let him go to catch whoever"s above him. If that happens, I"ll feel better if he doesn"t know what you look like.” Glaring at him from under her furrowed brow, she nodded slowly. She moved away, crouched against the wall, and pulled Gunni into a one-armed hug when he sat beside her.

Brand smelled the blood before he opened the door.

Including Erik, half a dozen brood males occupied the room where Javier Rivera sat bound to an expensive-looking ladder-back chair. Bruises already darkened his face. Blood from his nose and split lip soaked the front of his tailored