Page 117 of Black Willow Witch
Not at all. ‘I figured you wouldn’t want to deal with the smell.’
‘Let me be clear,’ Ripper growled at him. ‘There are no excuses for harming Emberlyn by word or deed. Not a single. Fucking. One.’ A few moments later, he released the guy and stepped back.
His knees buckling, Bennet coughed and spluttered and hacked.
Ripper stared at him dispassionately. ‘I think you get the message I’m sending here, don’t you?’
Bennet nodded hard. ‘I get it,’ he wheezed out. ‘I really am sorry.’
He was sorry he’d found himself on the wrong side of Ripper’s attention. But just maybe it would be enough to cause him to curb his behavior in future. Time would tell.
Side by side, Emberlyn and Ripper strolled down the path. Only once they were back in her car did he say, ‘Either the prick was telling the truth about there being magickal interference, or hewantsto believe it’s true because then he can escape the consequences.’
She nodded, not leaning toward any particular theory.
Ripper clicked on her belt. Just the mere graze of his fingers against her hip made her belly clench. But she didn’t have to curse her body for reacting to him so fervently anymore. He was hers now.
‘He said your uncle-in-law put your name forward,’ Ripper went on. ‘Could Hank have been the one who bespelled the crowd?’
Considering it, Emberlyn gunned the engine. ‘His magick is strong offensive-wise. But I don’t see him being powerful enough to take mental hold of an entire crowd.’
Ripper hummed. ‘I say we go talk to him next.’
Hank only lived a few blocks away, so the journey there was a short one. At Ripper’s knock on the front door, Gill peeked out the living room window. She did a double-take at the sight of them, apprehension washing over her face.
She came to the door, her shoulders stiff, and folded her arms. ‘What do you want?’ she asked, her nerves clearly rattled.
‘To speak with Hank,’ Ripper replied, his entire demeanor once more frightening as fuck.
Gill licked her lips. ‘He isn’t here.’
‘Sure he is. I can smell him. He’s standing just behind the door.’ Ripper shoved it open so hard it flew back, and a loud male cry pierced the air. Ignoring her indignant squawk, Ripper pushed past Gill and yanked her husband out from his hidey hole.
Emberlyn supposed she shouldn’t be too surprised that Hank would take cover and expect his wife to protect him. He’d always been a little weasel who expected others to fight his battles for him.
Ripper shoved him against the hallway wall, baring his teeth. ‘You really thought you could fucking hide from me? It’s like you asked yourself, “Hey, how can I piss Ripper off even more than I already have?” ’
‘You can’t hurt him!’ Gill protested.
Emberlyn shot her a look. ‘Back off. He’s a big boy. He can take his lumps all on his own. Oh, and I’m fine, by the way. Thanks for asking.’
Plastering his back fully against the wall as if it might help him escape Ripper, Hank spluttered. ‘You can’t barge into our home.’ It wasn’t a complaint, it was a full-on whine.
‘Just did,’ Ripper clipped. ‘Makeme leave.’ It was a taunt . . . because they all knew that the odds of Hank manning up like that were slim to none.
And predictably, he didjack.
‘No, you wouldn’t dare, would you? A woman, yes, you’ll attack a woman – especially if you have company. But not someone who could beat the holy hell out of you.’ Ripper held a hand up near Hank’s face and unsheathed his claws. ‘Give me a reason why I shouldn’t. It’ll need to be a good one.’
Hank stared at the claws through bulging eyes, a sheen of sweat building on his forehead.
‘There is no good reason for what he did,’ uttered Gill, defeat coloring her tone.
Ripper lifted a brow at Hank. ‘Hear that?Sheknows. And here she is, standing up for you. Speaking for you. Taking your side over that of her niece, which makes me as pissed off with her as I am with you.’
Gill’s eyes widened. ‘It isn’t a matter of taking sides. He was wrong. I told him that he was wrong.’
‘Did you call Emberlyn to check on her? Did you apologize to her on his behalf?’
