“And what about after? You’re only invulnerable while you’re pregnant. And there are other things he can do to you …”
He was right, of course. And though she really wanted to rip him a new one, she had to put herself in his position. “Marc, I understand why you think you had to run away, but Goddammit, this isn’t just about you. We’re mates. True Mates, and we do things together now. Your problems are my problems, and if anyone tries to hurt you or our pup, I’m going to fucking murder them.”
His dark eyes stared at her. “I can’t let you—”
“Shut up and let me finish, Delacroix. I’m about to make a declaration of love here.” A spark flashed in his eyes, and she couldn’t help the smile curling up the sides of her lips. “I love you, okay?” She cupped his face in her hands. “Now, take your head outta your ass and sit down with me. We can solve this. You and me.”
He looked stunned. “You love me?”
“Are you stupid, Delacroix? Of course I do. I—”
He kissed her urgently, his lips smothering hers, conquering and taking, but also in a way, it felt like a surrender. When he was done, he pressed his forehead to hers. “I love you.”
“Then promise me you won’t try to leave me again.”
“I promise. There’s nothin’ in the world that could tear me away from you or our pup.”
“Good. Now, tell me what you were trying to do.”
He dropped his duffel bag to the floor and led her to the couch. “I wanted to make sure Remy never came after me or you ever again.”
“How?”
“I was going to sneak back into Pont Saint-Louis and put a bullet in his head.”
Just like Remy did with the baby’s parents. “Surely it’s not going to be that easy.”
“It won’t,” he said. “Remy almost never sleeps, and he’s always got someone guarding him. Also, by tomorrow morning, he’ll know Alphonse and the others failed in their mission tonight. He would have had them checking in every hour. Most people underestimated Remy. Think that he’s just another backwater redneck. But he’s smart and a psychopath.”
A deadly combination. “He knows you’re coming.”
“I bet he’ll have his entire place lit up. No shadows. He made me tell him exactly how my powers worked, and I’ve taken him into the shadows myself.”
“And you would have just walked in there?” Her blood pressure rose. “That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Never said I was smart, cher.”
“Fuck.” She thought for a moment. They needed to take Remy out of the picture, without getting themselves killed. “I have an idea. And it doesn’t involve killing him or getting yourself killed.”
“Cher, there’s no other way.”
“You can’t just walk in there and kill him. That’s murder. The council will demand your head, and I won’t be able to protect you.” In the distant past, Lycans would settle things by killing and taking revenge on each other, but that only made it harder to keep their secret from the humans. The Lycan High Council was formed to keep peace and arbitrate disputes, as well as mete out appropriate punishments for Lycans who committed crimes or risked exposure to humans.
“Then what do you propose we do?”
“We need to gather evidence against him. Hit him where he’ll hurt, which means taking down all his ‘businesses.’ He’ll have his home secured at night, but what about other places? Does he have an office or a stash house?”
His brows knitted together. “I know a couple places.”
“Good. We’ll gather evidence and take it to high council. We can even offer to take Remy in ourselves. With solid proof, they won’t have a choice except to remove him as Alpha and send him away to the Lycan Siberian prison. Or worse.” If they could find hard evidence that he really did kill those humans or anyone else, the council could order Remy be put down.
“I suppose that’s a good plan, but I won’t let you—”
“Won’t let me what?” she challenged. “I told you, we’re in this together. And the only way you’ll stop me is if you lock me up. C’mon.” She placed her hands on his shoulders. “You know this is an excellent plan. And there’ll be no more bloodshed. No more violence.”
He let out a long sigh. “All right, cher, we’ll try it your way.” His eyes took on a hard glint as his hands moved protectively over her belly. “But the moment you’re in danger, I can’t guarantee there won’t be any bloodshed.”
Mika was determined to see this through to the end. It was the only way she and Delacroix would ever have peace. When she told the rest of the team at GI what was happening, they all offered to help, but she wouldn’t let them.
“We’re already stretched thin as it is,” she told them. “And this is a personal matter. If things go wrong, I can’t have any of this blowing back on you or the clan.” She had also informed Lucas of what she was planning, and he gave her his blessing.
“You’ll need backup,” Arch said. “What if he catches you?”
“Daric and Cross are in Moscow doing an important job, so I can’t just pull them out of that operation. But I’ve spoken to Daric, and I told him I would only call him if we needed him to transport us out and back here.” Everyone in GI had a special token that was magically enhanced so either Daric or Cross could get to them in an emergency.
And so, Mika and Delacroix found themselves in Louisiana that same evening. Lucas had lent them his private plane, and they landed at an airstrip about thirty miles from Pont Saint-Louis. They rented a car and were soon headed toward the clan’s territory.
“Remy’s got a warehouse deep in the bayou,” Delacroix said as they sped down the highway. “It’s his biggest stash too. Drugs, guns, and God
