Page 80 of New Nebraska Heat

It seemed whatever force from Serenity that had seemingly supercharged me and the others in the loft, was transferable to Conrad too. This creep was not only a danger to her, but to every girl in New Nebraska. And who was this preacher he was talking about?

I don’t need a name, just a face,snarled my jaguar.Let’s put these rabid dogs down.

Stop it, I can’t concentrate, I admonished before finding another page that stood out:

The flame-haired Fae is proving a useful ally. He’s given the mostdelicious magic to me and my closest kin yet asks for nothing in return. Only that we spread the preacher’s narcotic far and wide, and cause as much death and suffering as possible, particularly among humans and half breeds, drinking our fill from the profits. These are the kinds of activities I take joy in, but he sees them as payment. What a wonderful thing it is, to have a true win-win between such distinguished business figures. The toy’s blood, compounded with the Fae’s magical gifts, will secure me as the most powerful coven leader in this new home the humans think they’ve confined us to. Her essence will keep me forever young and invulnerable to the effects of both time and physical harm.

I’ll be a fucking god among men.

For now, she eludes me, but I will find her and imprison her in one of our coven’s feeding dens. She will live a long and useful life as my blood source and obedient human slave.

I will find her, and she will learn to worship me.

She will submit to all my desires. Or die.

I closed the journal and thumped it down onto the coffee table, exhaling hard. “I get my hands on this piece of shit, he is fucking dead.”

Bryce had stopped de-splintering Dagger and was washing the blood off his gloves, under the hiss of the kitchen tap. “I think we all have similar feelings. But I wonder who this preacher is that he mentions? Is it code? What sort of preacher peddles drugs?”

“Temple ones.” Dagger slipped on a skin-tight tee Seb handed him. “The biggest prick of all being Blunton. If anyone’s capable of spreading misery, it’s him. Shit, I read five pages of his first book and that was miserable enough.” Dagger stood and scooped the journal up, throwing it on the couch next to his gun belt and badge. “I’ll let Teddy have a read and then photocopy it before I hand it over at the evidence locker desk. We’ll get to the bottom of it.”

Serenity rose from my lap and walked to Dagger. “I know you will, hot shot. But, speaking of bottoms…” She peeked around him atthe back of his tattered pants. “I think yours has a few of these nasty splinters in it?”

Dagger waved it off. “It’s nothing, really.”

“It’s not nothing. You could get infected. Now”—she patted one of the empty couches—“lie face down and pop your jeans and underwear down to your ankles, please. I’m going to pick those splinters out.”

Ah man, his bare junk was going to be caressing my couch material. “At least put a towel down there first, if you really have to,” I said, for the sake of my furniture.

Bryce’s lips were pursed in a smile, his cheeks trying to contain building pressure, before he blurted, “Sounds like a lady’s job for sure. As much as I care, Dagger.”

Seb snickered, and when Dagger looked his way, he threw up his hands. “Hey, don’t ask me either.”

Serenity laid down a towel.

Dagger sighed, dropped his jeans and undershorts and lay face down.

So yeah, there I was, having awoken from a peaceful nap only to be subjected to an extremely disturbing read about my mate, and now, as the cherry on the cupcake, my brother’s bare ass was staring straight at me. So much for tranquility.

“Did you at least bring all the fancy steaks?” I asked Bryce.

He shook his head. “Sorry, I rushed right over when I heard from Dagger. Three meetings are postponed until Monday, too. We’ll do steak night tomorrow?” He nodded at my brother’s protruding cheeks as Serenity scrutinized them for splinters. “For now, it looks like oxtail’s all we’re going to have.”

Sighing, I replied, “I’ll get the takeout menus, dammit.”

Serenity braced herself on Dagger’s left cheek to extract a splinter from the right, and his arousal punched through my head with a clarity I hadn’t experienced in years. What the hell?

My jaguar let out a lustful growl, and it hit me. He’d brokenthrough the mental barrier I’d constructed and connected with Dagger’s jaguar. His animal was practically panting as Serenity’s fingers delicately massaged salve into his skin. His jaguar was enjoying it a lot, so I would have bet a hundred bucks Dagger was too.

He was going to poke a fucking boner right through my couch.

My jealousy flared, and I threw the mental barrier back up with all the force of a jailor closing a death row inmate’s cell.

Once Serenity had finished, I bundled up all the first aid stuff on the table and patted my lap for her to come sit. She did, hugging me tight. I covered her eyes as Dagger stood, showing little modesty and a fully erect dick.

If she was going to see a jaguar hard on for the first time, it was going to be mine.

I took my hand away once his junk was safely stashed. “All this has been really heavy stuff. Why don’t we get that takeout, have some drinks, take our minds off things for tonight, watch a movie—”