Free Crimson Cove by Eden Butler

“Your nex is all sorted. The dens will be showing up tonight and we’ll head out at two a.m. sharp. There’s shit to settle before we leave.”
                  Behind us, Mai continued to scream and I rubbed my temples wondering how much energy, how much rage she needed to release before she was sated. If my twin was anything like me—and God knew she was— then her little catharsis could go on and on. I wouldn’t begrudge her the release of the anger she had pent up for months, but Bane did have a point. Still, I wasn’t worried that we’d lose trace of the Elam. I had a feeling that with my nexus centered again and the lines being unhindered, that my abilities would be wide open and very sensitive.  
    “The trail isn’t going to go cold, Bane, and my sister is only defending what is hers.”
                  “To hell with this.” He barely listened to my explanation before he left the safety of the bar.  Rising up, he waved his hand in the air, and both Mai and Ronan froze in their spot, captured in a suspension spell that made their movements slow and disjointed. But Bane’s spell had caught Mai in mid-wince, just as Ronan’s released mug split her bottom lip.
                  “Son of a bitch!” I yelled once I followed Bane from behind the bar. All I saw was the pain scrunching my sister’s face and the wild glee of pleasure that lit up Ronan’s features. Bane caught me before I could get my hands on my brother-in-law, with his large arm pinning down my hands.
                  “Jani, no.” He held me back, strong arms barely loosening as I moved against them. “You wanna end up in front of the board of covens for attacking a spelled wizard? Calm down.”
                  Mai and Ronan fell in slow movements, their bodies, their reactions distilled by Bane’s release of magic and I nodded, let him move me away from Ronan as my brother-in-law slowly fell to the floor. I reached Mai, threw the immobile mug away from her face and caught her around the middle before she fell, my touch completely ending Bane’s spell, and we both landed to the floor in a whoosh of breath. 
                  “Shit, that hurt.” Frowning, Mai cupped her bottom lip and I tugged the rag from her apron, holding it against her mouth in an attempt to get the bleeding to slow.
                  “Hey, asshole,” Bane said, bringing both our attention across the room as he knelt in front of Ronan, shoving him back down when the jerk tried jumping off the floor. “What’s it gonna take to get you out of that house?” Seeming disoriented, Ronan looked around the room, glaring over at Mai, then back at Bane. “Answer me.”
                  Again Ronan tried to move off the floor and Bane held him down. “You can’t throw money at this shit, asshole.”
                  “Pretty sure I can.”
                  There was a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach, one that reminded me of the time Sam roughed up Michael Little after he and his friends threw spitballs at me in Miss Deaton’s P.E. class. I hadn’t needed Sam scaring off anyone. Not Michael anyway, since he spent the next week with a chronic case of chicken pox, and my mother made me clean out the attic and rearrange her canning equipment when she realized I’d spelled a mortal. Point being, I could handle myself despite the consequences I faced. I could handle this as well if Mai couldn’t get through to Ronan. Benoits settle their own debts. Bane had no business speaking for us.
    Patting Mai’s shoulder, I left her on the floor and stood next to Bane. “What are you doing?”
                  He didn’t look at me when I spoke and that only annoyed me further. “There’s a problem that’s keeping your attention.” Finally, Bane glanced at me, his face expressionless and that same fire making his eyes appear gray and glowing.