Page 80 of Hooked on a Witch
Chapter Nineteen
Merck imagined ways to kill Bythos to invoke the most pain while staring at the spot he’d disappeared underwater. He pivoted. Ahhnd…oh, boy. Another Brian face off coming his way.
Shannon, her father, and several other men stared his way. Maybe they were shocked. Maybe they were preparing to attack him. He couldn’t tell.
Brian held Shannon to him by her arms as if she’d been trying to break free, only they now stood frozen. Brian was the first to move, releasing her and stepping toward him.
Brian held out his hand. To shake?Uh, okay.
The second Merck’s hand touched his, Brian pulled him into a bear hug. The bone crusher made him realize his wounds weren’t superficial. They hurt.
Wincing, Merck put his arms around Brian and patted his shoulders. “What’d I do?”
Finally, Brian stepped away. “I misjudged you, son. I’m sorry. I owe you my life. Our lives. Those fuckers were going to rip us to shreds. Nothing we had was stopping them until you and your friends came along.”
Merck blinked at Brian while his brain blanked. “Anyone would’ve done it.”
Brian’s forehead wrinkled. “No. Not anyone would’ve confronted a goddess and offered his life in exchange for us. For my daughter. That took balls. Athena could’ve leveled your ass. You proved there’s a hell of a lot more going on between you and them than even I can understand. That was some top-notch hero shit we just witnessed.”
Before Merck could respond, Eli stepped up. Hug number two. More pain. All he needed was a few steps backward to the water, then he’d be healed.
Eli stepped away and asked Brian, “What about this guy, huh? Some kind of kick-ass for Shannon, isn’t he?”
Parallel-universe time. Brian looked at him as if he were a superman of sorts. A hell of a long way from the hostile who’d faced off with him yesterday and called him a criminal.
“Come on. Let’s get you taken care of,” Brian said.
Merck opened his mouth to say he’d be fine. If he backed up a yard or two, all would be resolved. He only needed a few moments with the water. The openness on Brian Randolph’s face strangled the refusal in his throat.
The ocean screamed her offer of help behind him. He met Shannon’s gaze, indecisive.
“Eli can help you,” she said softly.
Even so, he didn’t relish the trek to the house. The Ericthonian had done a job on his side. “All right. I need to treat everyone who got scratched to prevent the transformation into one of those snake creatures.”
Twenty minutes later, everyone had been treated, except Shannon. He pulled her into the downstairs bathroom and shut the door. “No more delaying. It’s your turn. Shirt off.”
She tugged off the T-shirt, exposing several huge slashes. He allowed a few droplets from the vial to fall into the scratches. He found himself wanting to touch her all over, as if there were other injuries she hadn’t shown him.
She flinched. “Burns.”
“Sorry. Has to be done.”
“I know.” She turned her head away from him, but it didn’t hide the tears running fast and furious down her cheeks.
“Are there any other spots they got you?”
She shook her head.
“It hurts that bad? I wish I could prevent it from hurting when I put the drops on, but I can’t. It sucks. I think you’d make a pretty snake woman, but I’m not really into that kind of girl. Those pointy teeth and slitted nose. Their mindless need to kill…” He shuddered.
She shook her head and grabbed a tissue. “Sorry, I’m kind of emotional right now.”
“You did good against those guys.”
“It’s not that. You offered your life for all of us. I found out I’m just one of the hoard of women who parade through your bed. It’s a lot to take in.”
“Look, Shannon, you and I…”
