Page 65 of Highballs & Hexes

Fionola’s worryfor Patrick was like continuous nettle pricks under Noah’s skin. Not because he was jealous—he absolutely was—but because her emotions were all over the place, and whatever she was feeling for the man was stronger than anything she’d believed she felt for him. That emotion was the main reason he’d given them his blessing and walked away yesterday after she kissed Patrick. Of course, she didn’t need him to say anything or offer his approval, but he desired for her to move on without the guilt she was wont to wallow in.

As their trio walked up the hill toward Fi’s home, he told them what he’d heard.

“Tadhg and Clara came for Jimmy earlier in the day.” He gave her a sympathetic smile when she grimaced at the idea her father was too pissed to put one foot in front of the other to makehis way home. “Your da’s a good man, Fi. Just disillusioned by life.”

“What did they say?” Fintan asked.

“Tadhg asked Clara if she’d heard back from the men she hired.”

The air escaped Fi’s lungs in a rush, and Noah reached for her when she swayed on her feet, cursing himself for his bluntness and assumption that she could handle whatever he happened to regurgitate regarding her family’s conversation.

“Fi?”

“I’m grand,” she croaked, drawing on whatever reserve she had to continue up the hill.

The look he shared with Fintan was half worried, half exasperated. Someone like Fionola Bohannon would never admit to what she perceived as weakness if she could help it.

“Yeah, and what did Clara have to say in response to her son?” Fintan asked.

“She informed him she hadn’t yet, and appeared vexed by the situation.”

“Oh, Mam,” Fi whispered.

The distressed sound, along with her building angst, tugged at Noah’s heartstrings. His empathic ability was working overtime on her behalf, and the Bohannons’ betrayal of her trust felt personal. Fi was strong-willed, yes, but she was also intelligent and deliberate in her choices. Had Clara and Tadhg simply voiced their concerns instead of sending thugs to hurt O’Malley, they’d have gotten farther with their objective.

The cottage came into sight, and Noah felt a sense of impending doom so strong it stopped him in the middle of the road. Fintan and Fionola took another moment to realize he’d halted.

“Noah?” Fi’s tone was concerned but distracted, and he recognized she was still obsessing over her family’s part in all this.

“Something’s off,” Fintan said, cutting off Noah’s reply. “The patriarch is here.”

“Aye.” Noah shot Fi a grim look. “I feel him, and he’s not happy.”

She took off at a run.

Swearing savagely, he followed. Luckily for him, his legs were longer than hers, and he caught Fi prior to her bursting through the door.

“Wait!” He kept his voice low despite his urgency. “Don’t go in half cocked. You don’t know what you’re dealing with here.”

Fintan held up a hand with a glare and snuck closer to an open window. Voices were audible, but only Tadhg’s was raised in agitation.

“Kill him now, Mam, and be fuckin’ done with it already. Fi doesn’t know the bastard’s here, and she’ll not be missing him. With his scrambled brains, she’ll think he deserted her, she will.”

Noah clamped his hand over her mouth to prevent the anticipated explosion. An elbow to his ribs was her repayment. He grunted, but refused to let go.

“Stay calm and listen,” he whispered into her ear. “Clara’s not prone to swift reactions, and we’ve time to help.”

After receiving her sharp nod, he released her. Of course, she followed up with a heel to his instep. No one manhandled Fionola Bohannon and got away with it. He’d have laughed if it wouldn’t have given them away.

As they huddled on either side of the window, waiting for the scene to play out, Noah experienced the eerie sensation of being watched. Easing his head around, he scanned the area, seeing no one but feeling another life force in the general area. Closinghis eyes, he drew on his limited magic and sent it through the Bohannon home.

Three. Where was the fourth? Shouldn’t Jimmy be present, too, even if he was merely sleeping off his earlier imbibing?

Concentrating harder, Noah pulled his remaining power from his cells, picturing the invisible thread in his mind and sending it room by room. In the primary suite, he found Jimmy, slumbering. The knowledge almost caused him to recoil, but he pushed through and sent the thread into the room on the other side of the wall from where they crouched.

Tadhg’s energy was like a live wire, as always, with Clara’s more subtle in nature, but still containing irritation. For Tadhg or Patrick, Noah couldn’t quite tell. When he reached for the third entity, he found none.

He did recoil that time and hissed out a breath. O’Malley wasn’t soulless, so how was it he put off no energy signature? What the hell was happening?

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