Page 19 of Highballs & Hexes

“Jaysus! Never do that again, woman! You could’ve been electrocuted.”

Her wide-eyed stare held wariness and caused his stomach to tighten.

His anger probably seemed unjustified to her, but for him, the image of her blistered skin churned his guts and made him want to vomit. Hell, the idea of her hurt at all shriveled his bollocks, and that realization had him releasing her faster than if he’d held a sizzling pan without a potholder. He’d no need of caring and relationships other than what he already had with his children. Falling for Fionola Bohannon was a recipe for disaster.

She was already in love with another.

CHAPTER 9

Noah paced the confines of the Black Cat Inn’s parlor, sick with worry for Fi. Another night had passed with no sign of her, and he was ready to lose his bloody mind. The O’Malley’s had used their full range of resources, to no avail.

Why had he let her go? His instincts had argued against it, against allowing her to run off with a stranger, regardless of the fact she wasn’t Noah’s to protect. But he’d wanted to be. Why had he let his past color his future? Why not go all in when he’d had the chance?

He was a bloody fool, was why.

“We should contact the Aether,” Ronan said grimly.

Noah paused in his pacing.

The Aether.

The one person he never wanted to meet.

“Are you all right there, Noah?” Cian asked. The other man’s watchfulness was natural for someone who’d worked for the Witches’ Council, as Cian had. As a spy, he would’ve learned to study movement and expression. Noah imagined it came in handy for him in situations such as these.

“Aye,” he lied. “I’m worried about Fi, and the not knowing is distressing.”

“Understandable.” But there was doubt in Cian’s keen-eyed stare. “Have you met the Aether, then?”

It took all of his willpower not to react to the name. This time, he didn’t need to lie. “No.”

“What do you have against him?”

“Who said I did?” he snapped, immediately giving himself away. “For feck’s sake, it’s no one’s business, yeah? I don’t know the man, and that should be enough.”

Ronan approached him, and the Guardian’s power flared to life, blinding him and forcing him to throw up his hands to shield his eyes.

Fucker could tone it down!

“I could, but then you wouldn’t have given me the response I was after, would you?” Ronan replied aloud.

Dropping his arms, Noah locked gazes with him.

“You can read my mind?”he asked silently.

“No. But it seems you can telegraph what it is you’re wanting others to know.” A wary look settled on Ronan’s face, and his silvery eyes narrowed with displeasure. “Who andwhatare you?”

“I’m a pub owner. That’s all. I’ve no special abilities other than those of a standard witch.”

“Somehow I doubt that,” replied a cultured voice from behind him.

Noah’s arsehole clenched.

The voice was similar to the one from his childhood. The one he’d grown up answering to whenever he stepped out of line. That of his father, Damarius Dethridge. But it couldn’t be Da. He was long dead.

Gathering his courage, Noah turned.

The black-haired man bore no resemblance to his father, just as Noah hadn’t. Damarius had been golden with blue eyes leaning toward gray. They’d darkened in later years, becoming the color of a storm cloud, and eventually they turned flat, as if the weight of his sadness had stolen all the light from his soul. Other than his handsomeness, there wasn’t much to recommend his father. No shining personality traits that made him stand out amongst the crowd.

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