I laugh. Clover is one of the weakest witches in our coven, she will get what’s coming to her next.

“Make the recording stop,” he bellows, trying to push more audio buttons.

“I’ve only just gotten started, Ryan. You fucked with the wrong bitch.”

I keep the recording playing, knowing as soon as I get out of range, it will turn off, anyway. That felt really nice. So nice that for a few moments I forget about my coven, or the fact that I need to deal with that whole situation. My high slowly leaves me as I get closer and closer to Hex.

I do at least admire the bright yellow posters down Main Street while I park my car and walk the rest of the way to the restaurant.

It’s nice having no one here. I closed for the night, which all the employees seemed to be happy about. See—not a bitch of a boss.

Stevie said she might come join me. She’s not loving sitting in the house all day, so I leave the front door unlocked as I head back to the office.

It’s time to get down to what the Hell is going on with the finances. I’m definitely in a mood as I open up the multiple accounting systems and stare at the numbers. None of it makes any sense. I want to break down, but I keep myself together. If I break down, I won’t be able to pick up the pieces. There’s too much to do. Stevie is depending on me. I’m great at magic and managing people, I can even cook a decent meal. But when it comes to numbers, potions, and baking, I usually leave it to Stevie. It’s like the numbers move while I’m staring at the screen. Supposedly these things are supposed to be idiot proof but clearly not.

I groan and fold my arms over the desk and lay my head down. I’ll figure it all out for us. Why the coven wanted to hurt me and used Stevie to do so. Hell, if it comes down to it, I’ll move Stevie and me so far away from here that they’ll never be able to find us. The deepest, most proud part of myself won’t allow it, though. Hallowsdeep might be a cesspool, but it’s my cesspool.

There’s a light tapping on the door. “Come in,” I say, assuming it’s Stevie. To my surprise, it is a very hot-looking Dax. He’s wearing a heather gray shirt that is so tight I can see his nipples. The short sleeves show off all his beautiful black and gray tattoos. His hair is an organized mess on the top of his head. He looks delicious, and I haven’t forgotten that Ryan hasn’t suffered enough. Dax is the sexiest piece of vengeance I could have asked for.

“Oh, hey.”

“Hey, hope I’m not interrupting anything,” he says with a smirk on his face.

“Just sitting here trying to figure out where this money is going.”