Page 36 of Strike It Witch

“No doubt.” He grinned then let the smile slide away. “As I told you, I spoke with the alpha tonight.”

My nerves instantly unsettled. “Sounds fun.”

“Oh, let me tell you, it was a joy,” he drawled.

“So, will I be sticking a flower in my hair and making a bar proclamation soon?”

“Not just yet. He has a proposition for you.”

“Wouldn’t be the first one,” I muttered.

Ronan squeezed his eyes shut and cursed under his breath. “Sorry for that.”

“No need to apologize. Not your insult,” I said. “What’s his proposition?”

“He wants to hire you to procure something for him. Also, the La Paloma coven can’t find out about this from you or the deal’s off. He said something about them not approving.”

“I’m listening.”

His eyes widened in surprise. “You don’t mind keeping something from the coven?”

“Mind? I consider it a perk. What does he want?”

“He’s looking for—brace yourself—a book.”

“Abook?” It was my turn to look surprised. “Alpha Floyd doesn’t strike me as much of a reader.”

“Yeah. That’s why I said that part about bracing yourself. The day I found out he had a secret library in his house I thought I’d red-pilled out of the matrix.”

“What’s the book?”

“Some kind of witch tome. He says he’s been haggling with a librarian mage working out of Los Angeles, but negotiations have stalled, and he thinks you might have better luck with the guy.”

“Why not ask the coven to handle it? They have a higher standing in the magical community than I do and, last I checked, the Pallás pack had them on retainer.”

“He did. They refused and warned him not to pursue it.”

I slammed my fist on the table, and both teacups jumped. “Thatfucker.”

Ronan’s brows shot up. “Was it something I said?”

“Negotiations haven’tstalled. If the coven refused to handle it, it’s because the damn book is cursed. Probably a buyer’s curse, meaning whoever exchanges money for it gets an evil surprise as soon as the check clears. More than that, the only way to lift the curse is to resell the book, which I couldn’t do if I gave the thing to your father after I purchased it. Bing bang, he gets his book and rids himself of a troublesome witch.”

He sighed. “Should’ve known it was something like this. Sorry to waste your time.”

I drummed my short, black-painted fingernails on the surface of the table. “I didn’t say no.”

Ronan’s gaze hardened. “You aren’t taking on a curse, Betty. I’ll find another way. In the meantime, Gladys has her position at the bar. She seems to like the work, and when she doesn’t feel up to coming in, she doesn’t have to—she’s covered.”

“Gladys has tended bar all over Smokethorn County. She’s a pro. That doesn’t mean she shouldn’t retire. Your pack should be making things less difficult for its seniors, not more.”

“I know.”

There was a note of defeat in him that I understood. It was dangerous for any shifter to stand up to their alpha leader. Whenthat alpha leader was not only a dictatorial asshatandyour absentee father? I couldn’t imagine how complicated it was.

“What’s the name of the book?” I asked.

“He wrote it down.” Ronan leaned back, jutted up his hips, and reached into his front pocket. I tried to think platonic thoughts while he dug around, dragging my eyes back to his face when he produced a scrap of paper and tossed it onto the table. Scrawled on it in messy block letters were the words:

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