Page 97 of Strike It Witch

I picked up the rake I’d discarded earlier and leaned on it for a long moment. Then I began slowly covering the salt circles with gravel.

Bronwyn approached me the way a person might approach a strange dog, making sure I saw her before she spoke. “Are you okay? After all this, I mean.” She waved her hands over the place where the demons had appeared.

“Sure,” I lied, with a straight face.

“That nearly got out of hand,” she said.

“The demon would never have broken free of the second circle. You weren’t in any danger.”

“I know. But you were.”

“Part of the job. I knew the risks.”

“Speaking of risks.” She lowered the tone and volume of her voice and smiled as if to soften her words. “For future reference, you might not want to threaten to kill Margaux in front of witnesses. Covens don’t take kindly to threats.”

I let out the entirety of the deep breath I’d been holding since confronting Margaux and faced the delicate, pretty witch. “I genuinely like you, Bronwyn. I don’t feel that way about many people, so that’s saying something.”

“Why do I sense a ‘but?’” she asked.

“You’re welcome on my property,” I continued, “as long as you’re not here on coven business. The La Paloma coven is unwelcome at the Siete Saguaros Mobile Home Park. Furthermore, and from this point on, if any coven member steps onto my property uninvited they will be brought to a rapid and complete understanding of how unwelcome they are.”

Her smile faltered. “In other words, you want me to leave.”

“Only if you’re still here on coven business.” I scraped the rake over the salt circles, breaking them, and took an over-the-shoulder look at the scene behind me.

The moon hung round and full in the clear night sky and seemed close enough to reach out and touch. It illuminated the area enough to see even without the parking lot lights.

Ronan paced like a raging lion in front of the SUV. His anger was a force so strong it felt like an entity separate from human and wolf. I was surprised he hadn’t already stormed over to yell at me, but he was keeping his distance.

For now.

“Who’s behind the wheel of the SUV?” I asked.

Bronwyn appeared nonplussed. “Mason Hartman.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“I didn’t think it was a secret,” she said. “It sounded like you already knew he was there.”

“Just wanted confirmation.” Mason’s presence was evidence that Alpha Floyd had expected trouble and was more afraid of that trouble than breaking our deal and losing the book.

It was also evidence that he didn’t fully trust his own son to protect him.

She went to the SUV, and Ronan strode up. Guess it was his turn to give me crap about how the night had gone. Well, I was pretty pissed at him, too.

Bring it on, wolf.

Chapter

Twenty-Four

“Betty.”

“Right here.” I turned fully around to face Ronan, holding onto the rake for balance. “Before you start in, your father was perfectly safe. Everyone here was.” Except for me, but that wasn’t the issue. “I always account for contingencies like?—”

“Thank the gods.” He cradled the side of my face, fingers threading into my hair. His chest heaved. His body was rigid. Fur covered his arms, neck, and jaw. “You’re all right? Really all right?”

Well. Hadn’t expected that response.

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