Head Hunter (City Shifters the Pack #3) - Layla Nash Page 0,74

Dodge said. He caught her shoulder and pulled her closer so he could kiss her head. “Today. Then we stay put until this is dealt with.”

“Dealt with,” Evershaw repeated, the glint in his eyes revealing that he shared Dodge’s conclusions about the only good solution for Bridger and her asshole friends.

“And that’s my cue to leave,” O’Brien said. She got to her feet and the dull flash of the badge at her belt made it clear how she planned to address the situation. Everyone in the supernatural community knew she was a stickler for the law and would report whatever the fuck she wanted. She’d even threatened to arrest Smith, if the rumors were true.

The detective walked out after saying, “I’ll be in touch as soon as we learn anything new,” and let the door close behind her without another look back.

Todd frowned as he studied where she’d disappeared. “She is an odd duck.”

“Understatement of the year,” Evershaw muttered. He stretched and yawned, then leaned his elbows on the table. “Now that ole law-and-order is gone, let’s get down to business.”

Persephone went still, her fork shaking as her fingers trembled. “What does that mean?”

“A plan to get you back to the apartment so you can retrieve your stuff,” Dodge said slowly, giving Evershaw a sideways look. The alpha might not have had any qualms about discussing hunting down Bridger and her goons and doing away with them permanently, but Persephone wasn’t ready to hear that kind of conversation. Dodge didn’t want her to ever hear that kind of conversation. The less she knew about that part of his life, the better. “That’s all.”

Deirdre managed a lopsided smile. “Why don’t we look through my closet so you can wear something more comfortable to your place?”

Persephone took one last bite of the mostly-cold eggs and extricated herself from Dodge’s half-embrace. “Sure.”

She followed Deirdre up the stairs but looked back enough that Dodge knew she knew something else was up. He waited until Persephone was all the way upstairs and the door had closed behind her before he exhaled and ran his hands through his hair. “We have to kill them all.”

“Obviously.” Todd did something on his phone, checking a schedule or something, then nodded as he looked up. “But first we get your girl settled here and have the witch surround her with protections or charms or whatever the fuck she does in that back room.”

“Watch your mouth when you talk about my mate,” Evershaw said, an edge to his tone.

Dodge ignored the tension between the two brothers and used the remains of Persephone’s breakfast to create a map of her neighborhood and apartment building. “I’ll take her over there now. At least three others if we can spare them from the packhouse to set up here, here, and here.”

“We can spare them,” Evershaw said. He tilted his head at the back of the house. “And take a couple weapons out of the gun-safe. Just in case.”

Dodge grunted, staring at the eggs. He really wished Persephone would have agreed to stay in the house. He could get whatever she wanted from her apartment, and it wouldn’t matter if Bridger’s goons tried to ambush them. He got up and took the dishes back to the kitchen, and found Mercy wrestling with Cricket for the rest of the ham he’d left out.

He raised an eyebrow. “You should just let him have it. It’s not like any of us will eat it when it’s been clawed to bits and chomped on.”

“It’s the principle of the thing,” Mercy said through gritted teeth. She hollered as Cricket took a swipe at her hand, and she dropped the ham. Cricket bolted, leaving half-chewed bits of food behind him, and escaped out the back door.

Dodge shook his head, hiding his smile, as he went to the gun-safe behind the removable wall near the pantry. Mercy grumbled and griped about the cat, then wandered up behind him. “Going out to make some trouble?”

“Not yet,” he said. Mercy was like everyone’s kid sister. He wanted to protect her just as much as he wanted to protect Persephone, although Mercy had the super strength and additional healing powers of a shifter to keep her safe. He hated the thought of how fragile Persephone was, how easily she could be hurt. If she agreed to stay with him, if she eventually came around to belonging to the supernatural community, he might eventually ask if she’d agree to be turned. He was getting ahead