Page 15 of Midlife Animal Rescuer Dragon

I killed someone.Of course she had. Just like Carmen had almost killed him. The more he thought about it, the more distance he wished he could put between himself and Nora. At the same time, he couldn’t help wondering whether there was more to this situation than he was aware of.

“Explain yourself,” was all he said. “What happened, exactly?”

Nora pressed her lips together, as though silently debating the wisdom of telling him even more after the way he’d reacted earlier. Not that Henry gave a damn. Damsel or not, if she wanted his help, she was going to have to loosen up that lovely tongue of hers.

“It all happened really fast,” she said. “To be honest, I’m not entirely sure about all the details.”

“Right.”

“No, I’m serious.” She shook her head. “My coven was supposed to perform a ritual on the Fourth of July, during the full moon. It was a ritual to strengthen each and every member and the coven as a whole. But then something went wrong.”

Henry lifted an eyebrow, finally unclenching his jaw. “What did?”

Nora sucked in a breath. “In the middle of the ritual, something came over me. I’m not sure what. All I remember is shifting and blacking out. By the time I came to, I was back in human form. And one of the other witches was dead.”

It sounded like a classic werewolf story, especially considering she’d mentioned a full moon. “So youdidkill her.”

For a second, she looked like she wanted to debate that, but then she said nothing.

What did she expect him to believe? That she was somehow innocent? That the life lost had been a mere accident? That it had nothing to do with what she was? The fact remained that she was dangerous. What were the odds that she wouldn’t end up killinghim?

He should do something. He should tell someone about this, or try to get away from this woman at least before something terrible happened. But all he did was stand there, staring at her. Why he was hesitating, he wasn’t entirely sure.

“How long do you need my protection for?”

She blinked up at him, looking caught off guard by his question. “Huh?”

“How long do you need me to protect you from the hunter for?” He took a step toward her. “Because according to you, he’s not going to stop hunting you. You don’t know for sure that I can protect you if the need arises, but even if I could, how long would I have to do it for? A day? A week? Another month or two?”

A guilty look crept onto her face. “Well...I don’t know, actually.”

They both gazed at each other in silence. Outside, the fair went on. It was almost amusing to think about. In here, inside this tent, he and Nora were bothering themselves with a grave issue that the rest of the outside world was blissfully unaware of. If he hadn’t agreed to protect this woman, he might’ve been among the blissfully unaware.

That was merely wishful thinking now.

“You must think I’m some kind of monster,” he heard her say, and for a moment she looked like she was about to curl up in her chair. Hurt flashed in her eyes, and they turned misty. “Like everyone else.”

Henry felt his jaw clench yet again.

“I’m not a monster,” she said before he could respond. “I’d never hurt anyone intentionally. I never wanted anyone dead. I never wanted any of this.”

Guilt pricked at him then. Perhaps he’d judged her too harshly? He brushed it aside. “I don’t think you’re a monster, Nora. But I also need to look at the facts. According to you, someone’s dead because of you. I can’t overlook that. And I just—”

“Well, if it isn’t our number-one salesman!” a voice called from outside.

A second later, Cal Stein poked his head into the tent, a big grin on his face. His blue-gray eyes roved about, taking in his surroundings, then lit up as they landed on Henry.

“Melissa and I came to check up on you,” he said, and his fiancée stepped into the tent behind him, the pair of them holding hot dogs. “And, of course, check out the rest of the fair. Tell me the sales are going great.”

“Hey, Melissa,” Henry said, rising to his feet and shaking her hand. He clapped his friend on the shoulder. “Man, you’ll never believe how much we’ve made so far.”

Cal’s eyebrows rose. “Don’t tell me you’ve hit five grand already.”

“No, about a hundred bucks.”

His friend’s expression seemed to deflate. “That’s a shame.”

“Wouldn’t have made half of that if it weren’t for Nora here.”