Page 42 of Rhett

Outside, someone banged and rattled the front door. The owl hooted and flew back upstairs. The door slammed open, sending shards of wood everywhere. Rhett charged inside with sharp and dangerous canines lengthened past his lip.

“An owl attacked me,” I blubbered as my legs buckled. Rhett caught me before I crashed to the floor.

His canines retracted before he asked, “What did it look like?”

“Big catlike eyes. Large tufts of feathers on its head that looked like horns.”

“That’s a damn great horned owl,” he roared so loud that I felt it in my bones. “Wait here,” he demanded before taking the stairs two at a time. I heard footsteps above, then silence. Nervously, I shifted from one foot to the other. Then I heard footsteps again, and Rhett came thumping down the stairs.

He walked up to me, wrapping his arms around me. “You okay?”

Breathing hard, I held on to him like a life preserver. “Yes.”

Releasing me, he stepped back, examining me. “No injuries. That’s good. Tell me what happened.”

“I was sleeping and heard this loud noise. When I awoke, it was that…” I swallowed hard. “Damn creepy owl sitting on my bed, just staring at me with yellow eyes.” I shuddered. “Why would an owl want to attack me?”

His eyes tightened. “That owl was Josie. She’s a great horned owl-shifter, and I scented her all over the bedroom.”

I gaped at him. “The psycho biscuit lady?”

“Yes.”

Now I was pissed. When I saw her ass again, I was going to cunt punt her across Main Square.

“Why the hell would she want to attack me? I don’t even know the bitch.”

“I suspect it’s because of me.” He scowled.

Utterly mystified, I stared at him. “Why?”

“There’s a rumor going around town that I like you.”

“Is that true?”

“You’re not bad,” he said simply.

“Not bad?” I pursed my lips. “What the hell does that mean?”

“Irrelevant right now, don’t you think? Especially when we have bigger fish to fry with this whole Josie attack.”

With an aggrieved sigh, I said, “I guess so.” Then I eyed him suspiciously. “What are you doing here anyway?” Not that I wasn’t grateful for his presence, just curious.

“I dropped by the gallery to check on you, but Bonnie said Imani dropped you off here at the house after lunch. I called you several times just to make sure you were all right, but when you didn’t answer, I got worried. So I drove over here.” His stoic expression turned grim. “Why the hell didn’t you answer your cell?” He lifted an eyebrow and waited.

I glared up at him, but my resolve faltered beneath his steady, authoritative stare.

“When Imani dropped me here after lunch, I crawled into bed to take a quick nap before Bonnie came home. I just didn’t realize how tired I was until my head hit the pillow.” I shrugged. “I’m a sound sleeper when I’m exhausted.”

He glowered. “You’re in a town with shifters that might want to hurt you because of your Hunter bloodline, and that’s your answer?”

“Yes.” I sensed his anger simmering just below the surface. “Why are you so angry, Rhett?”

“Because when I drove up to the house, I heard your bloodcurdling screams.” He paused as if trying to calm down. “I thought you were being killed.” He clenched his fists. “Why didn’t you stay with Bonnie instead of telling Imani to drop you here?”

“Because I’m not a baby, Rhett,” I said between clenched teeth. “I don’t want Bonnie putting her life on hold to babysit me.”

“It’s called protecting you, Nova,” he bit the words out, tight-lipped.