“He’s on fire.” Daire took the guy and deposited him on the sofa. “How much did he take, Tori?”

Tori? Felicity scrambled for a kitchen towel to wet in the sink and hurried to press it against the guy’s neck. He moaned and blood slid from his ears to run in rivulets down his neck. Steam rose with a hiss from the liquid mixing with fire.

The woman stood back, tears in her eyes, shock whitening her pretty face. “I don’t know. Bob was outside after our last set, so I brought him here.”

“Why here?” Felicity asked, her stomach roiling. Poor guy.

Tori shrugged, panic fluttering her hands. “The hospital doesn’t have a cure, and I know you guys are studying the drug. Please tell me there’s something you can do.”

Adam growled and all but pushed her into a chair. “I put a man on you. Where is he?”

Her blue eyes widened. “I didn’t have time to talk to a bodyguard, Adam. Back off.”

Irritation, true and sharp, sizzled through his eyes. “Oh, I don’t think so.”

So, Adam could get emotional. Interesting. Felicity eyed the woman with speculation. Human, definitely enhanced, emitting soft waves. An empath?

Daire lifted the guy’s eyelids. Striations of red, yellow, and blue marred the whites of his eyes. Fire shot from his fingertips right at the chair.

Tori yelped, and Adam shoved her entire chair backward, covering her with his body.

Was he keeping her from seeing anything?

Daire pivoted and put Felicity behind him. He held out his hands, and fire crackled across his palms as he crouched. “This might work.” Setting his hands on the now convulsing man, Daire allowed fire to spread out over his chest. “Shit. He’s on fire inside.”

The guy screamed, the sound full of agony.

Felicity took a step back and chills rippled down her spine. She shivered, her eyes wide. The guy convulsed, and blood arced across the room.

“This is Apollo?” she coughed out.

“Aye.” Daire sat back, his shoulders slumping as he dropped to his knees. “This is Apollo.”

The guy rattled something from his lungs and then went silent. Death hung in the air.

Felicity took another step back. Oh, she’d seen the drug on video and understood and what the concoction did to humans, but she’d had no clue as to the agony. Or the smell. The stench of burned flesh and organs made her cough up bile.

“Who was he?” Daire asked, half turning on his knees.

Adam lifted Tori from the floor, and the woman trembled as she neared the couch. “Bob Bailestorm. He is, I mean was, our bass guitarist.” Tears ran down her cheeks. “He was twenty-two years old.”

“I’m sorry.” Daire stood and wiped a hand across the back of his neck. “Any idea where he got the drug?”

“No.” Tori shook her head. “There were a couple of Titans of Fire members in the bar earlier, but I didn’t see them do anything.”

Daire glanced at Adam. “Since Kellach has been gone, we haven’t been involved enough in the club. If this is a new batch of Apollo, then the distribution wasn’t shut down like we originally thought.”

Adam grimaced. “I’ll go to the club meeting tomorrow and check in. It’s possible Fire isn’t involved, though. There have been different distribution avenues and an odd mix of dealers from the beginning.”

Daire shook his head. “I don’t understand why, though. The drug has evolved and now can be put into darts to shoot at, ah, our people at home. Why keep feeding the poison to Seattle citizens?”

Felicity lifted her head. So Tori must not know anything about witches, humans, or the true purpose for Apollo.

Adam glanced at Tori and then at the dead guy. “Seattle citizens connected to us in one way or another.”

Tori swallowed, her gaze hollow. “Or to the Grizzlies. I mean, that motorcycle club has been involved since the beginning, and I’ve been dating one. Well, I’ve gone on a few dates with one.”

Adam stiffened. “Excuse me?”

Felicity hid a grin. The oh so cool enforcer was quickly losing his cool. “Did Bob have family?”

Tori shook her head and then seemed to focus. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Tori, Lex’s sister.”

Ah ha. Lex, a Seattle cop, had recently mated with Kellach Dunne, and they were currently in Ireland meeting with the Coven Nine about Apollo. Felicity smiled. “Cee Cee Kyllwood.”

The woman nodded. “Are you Daire’s girlfriend?”

Felicity faltered. Could a century-old demon be a girlfriend? “Ah—”

“Yes.” Daire crossed around her and slid an arm over her shoulders. “Cee Cee is in, ah, banking, and she handles my accounts.”

Adam snorted.

Tori held out a hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Felicity shook. The woman had no idea about the world she’d entered. Interesting. “You too.”

Tori’s gaze strengthened. “Wait a minute. The prospect? His name is Logan Kyllwood. Is he your brother?”

Brother? “Cousin on my mother’s side,” Felicity lied smoothly. She cut a hard look at Adam. If they were going to draw humans into their world, they should at least be honest and upfront about everything. Playing the woman for a fool didn’t set well with her. “What Grizzly have you been dating?”

“Lucas Clarke,” Tori murmured.

“Like a bad boy, do you?” Felicity asked, not missing Adam’s sharp look.

Tori nodded. “Always have.”

Now that was funny. Adam Dunne was probably as bad as they got, but with his current cover, he seemed rather tame compared to Lucas. Man, could appearances be deceiving.

Tori ran an obviously shaking hand through her thick curls. “I guess we need to call the police?” She turned toward Adam. “Your people are working with the local authorities, right?”

Felicity kept quiet. What exactly were their covers, anyway?

“Aye.” Daire reached for a blanket to place over the corpse. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to take care of the situation and not deal with the local cops, especially since your sister is in Ireland. Alexandra is the only local cop I like or trust.”

Felicity moved forward. “Are you sure Bob didn’t have family?” No way would she let the enforcers cover up his death if he had family out there looking for him.

Tori nodded. “I’m sure. His only living relative was his great-uncle, who died last year from a heart attack. Bob was alone.”

Poor Bob. He’d looked so young and frightened in the last moments of life.

“We’ll take care of him,” Daire said. “Right now, Adam is going to escort you home.”

Tori nodded, her lips trembling. “That’s fine, but at some point, you all are going to have to level with me, Dunne.”

Daire stilled. “Excuse me?”

Tori’s eyes flashed all sorts of blue fire. “I’m neither naive nor stupid, but I’ve been waiting for my sister to get home to discover the facts. If she’s not here soon, one of you is going to bring me up to speed. Like it or not.” She turned on a high-heeled boot and stomped out into the night.

So much for the cute and clueless human. Felicity grinned. “I like her.”

“You would,” Adam retorted as he followed the human and shut the door.

Chapter 15

Daire returned to the cabin after burying Bob’s body beneath an outcropping of rocks far away from the river. Burying bodies too near a moving stream only ended with their being found miles away. His gut hurt and his head ached from failure. For months he’d been chasing the distributors and manufacturer of Apollo, and he’d only shut down one main distributor, Yuri Demidov, who currently was decomposing under dirt without his head.

The river gurgled behind him, and the sweet scent of pine surround him, but his mind refused to relax. So he took time and several deep breaths to calm himself as he strode across damp earth, letting the silence finally seep in. The cabin came into view, and his heart kicked back into gear.

Setting the shovel by the front door, he stomped mud off his boots and walked inside.