A Barrel of Whiskey - (An Urban Fantasy Whiskey Witches Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page B

tried warning you away from Mark, and you ran into that one, too. I tell you about the shifters, you’d’ve gone straight to them, tryin’ to find a better solution.”
    Paige stopped breathing. There it was. Again. Alma’s fear of her gift. And that fear was the reason behind how Alma had handled this situation?
    “I was wrong, Peanut.”
    Paige breathed shallowly, slowly. Alma had made two decisions for her through a lack of trust. And because of that, Paige had a door to Hell inside her soul and could very well have started a war.
    Alma blinked, her white gaze settling on Paige. Her lips were tight, her shoulders bunched. “I was wrong.”
    She had been. Was hearing the admission enough?
    Only if things changed.
    Paige settled her ruffled emotions. Because she had to. She still had one nail left to hammer.
    Leslie flinched as the tea kettle whistled. She turned and pulled it from the burner. “Cocoa, anyone?”
    “Yes, please,” Dexx said.
    Leslie didn’t seem to hear the lack of further requests because she made enough for all the adults. She brought two steaming cups to the table. “So, what kind of threat is Merry Eastwood?”
    Paige took the blue mug from her sister and gingerly set it on the table, her fingers scalded. “I don’t know. I don’t know anything about her.”
    “That can’t be good.” Leslie retrieved her cup from the counter.
    “No. But the shifters in Nederland seemed pretty concerned.”
    “Really?”
    “Yeah.”
    Leslie sipped her cocoa. “Does it seem silly to anyone else that shifters know more about witches than we do?”
    It did to Paige.
    Alma turned as the timer dinged. “We know more.”
    “No.” Paige pounded the table with her fingertip. “ You know more. We’re still in the dark.”
    Alma narrowed her white eyes at Paige. “Tell me something first.”
    That was rich. She wanted information? Great. Paige forced down her anger. In order to keep the family safe, she needed to remain in control of her emotions.
    “Why were you called to investigate the shifters?”
    Paige stilled. She had a feeling she knew where Alma was leading her. “Demons. Sven, specifically. He was trying to harness an animal spirit.”
    “Why?”
    Paige rolled her head on her neck, popping it twice. “Shifters know how to strip away a witch’s power.”
    Leslie went still.
    Alma didn’t even flinch.
    Leslie blinked. “What?”
    “They don’t do it.”
    “But,” Alma said, “they can.”
    “Yeah, Grandma,” Paige said, exhaling. “They can. You could also be hit by a bus if you left the house. I don’t see you staying inside for the threat of a bus attack.”
    “This is different and you know it.”
    Paige clucked her tongue. “I know that a person with a gun can be scary. But so can a person with a pen. I know that a shifter can strip me of my powers. But they’re also people, too. I’ve met these people , Grandma. They don’t all suck.”
    And, Paige said inside her head, not a single one of them did anything like you did. To me.
    Alma looked down, clenching her teeth.
    “What I don’t know is how many witch families there are.” Paige ticked off these facts with her fingers, needing to get the conversation back on track. Information procurement. Emotions could wait. “I don’t know if they’re gathered together. I don’t know how powerful their coven is.”
    Dexx’s gaze settled firmly on Paige’s, giving her silent support.
    “And I don’t know,” she continued, “what kind of threat Merry Eastwood poses here in Texas.”
    “None,” Alma said, her tone leaving no room for argument. “Portland is a long way from here.”
    “She’s here.”
    Alma’s startled white gaze daggered Paige’s.
    “The Nederland pack warned me.” Paige nodded, terror tangling with anger inside her. “Weird thing is, she’s not here for us.”
    “Us?”
    Alma wasn’t dumb. She had to know something was going on.
    “What did you do?”
    Dexx stood, closing his eyes. A calm