Page 62 of The Wolfing Hour

“Then help me understand,” he said.

I hadn’t wanted to dump anything else on Ronan’s plate, but even more than that, I didn’t want to deceive him. So, I told him. All of it. From Bronwyn to Sexton to my breakdown on the backroads of La Paloma.

His expression was thoughtful as he absorbed it all. One of his thumbs drew small circles on the sensitive skin of my inner knee, the other tapped the top of my thigh as if he were sending me a message in Morse code.

“Thanks for telling me. I wish I knew how to help,” he said finally.

“I’m not worried about you helping me figure this out. I’m worried about becoming a liability to you.”

He sped up the tapping on my thigh. “Does Demon Betty like me?”

“Likeyou?”

“Yeah? Does she like me?”

He didn’t look like he was kidding, so I gave it some thought. Howdidshe feel about him?

“She’s protective of you.”

“How do you know that?”

“When she’s around, I feel what she feels—which isn’t much, so take that into consideration,” I said. “I assume she’s protective of you because she knows I love you.”

His smile was as quick as it was genuine. “And that you love Ida, Gladys, Fennel, and Cecil.”

“What’s your point?”

“That you might have more control over her than you think. After all, she’s only taken over when someone you love has been threatened.”

“She first appeared in the bathroom mirror right after we had sex, Ronan. I was basking in the afterglow, not feeling threatened.”

That smile again. There and gone. “Did she take over?”

“Well, no. She was just kind of there.” I frowned. “You think she only takes over when someone I care about is in trouble?”

“I don’t think it—it’s what she does.” Ronan reached for my hands, cradling them in his own. “Betty, you’re amazing.”

“I know, but why are you bringing it up now?”

That netted me a chuckle. “Do you know anyone else strong enough to be taken over by a demon and not only survive it with her soul intact, but also use the power to protect people?”

“But I care about Bronwyn, and I?—”

“Didn’t kill her?”

“The point is, Iwantedto. She looked into my eyes and believed I’d kill her.”

“Conveniently, what you needed to do to counter the secrecy spell threatening her life,” he said. “I know you want me to freak out about all this, but look at it from my point of view. You haven’t done a single damn thing wrong.”

“I’ve made some questionable choices,” I said.

“Yeah, you have. You told me you once spent an entire afternoon drinking spelled wine with Ida then made the only sober member of your group, Ms. Alvarado, take you to the drive-in, where you proceeded to pass out face first into a bag of buttered popcorn before the opening credits had finished, sustaining a first-degree burn on your eyelid.”

“Thankfully, Trini had an ice pack in her glove compartment.”

“Evidently, she’d partied with you and Ida before,” he drawled.

“So, you’re saying I have a history of behaving irresponsibly.”