At around five foot eight, Craig wasn’t a tall guy, but he was overmuscled by gym visits. And probably steroids, Rose thought uncharitably. But she wouldn’t put it past him.
He cut her a dark look as he shoved into the apartment, his gaze going straight to the wall.
Oh shit.
She’d totally forgotten about the kettle and the plaster.
“I got a call from your neighbor that there was a disturbance.” Craig gestured to the wall. He turned to glare at her. “What the fuck?”
“Your concern is touching. Really.” She gave him a dry smirk because they both knew he couldn’t give a crap about her. He just wanted to keep his damn deposit.
He scowled as he approached her. Rose braced.
“You”—he stuck his finger in her face—“are not getting your deposit back, and if one more thing happens like this, I’m evicting your arse.”
Feeling her anger simmer, Rose noticed her lights flickering.
No, no, no.
“I’d appreciate it,” she said through gritted teeth, “if you got your finger out of my face. I’ll pay the damages. But I’d like you to leave. Please.” She stepped back, opening the door.
Craig crossed his arms over his chest, glee glimmering in his eyes.
He thought he’d broken through. He thought she was afraid of him.
If only he knew she was afraid for him.
“What happened?” he gestured to the wall.
Rose clambered for a lie. “A … a guy I was seeing. We argued. He did that. I threw him out. He won’t be back.”
She’d barely finished the lie when her landlord started moving toward her again. Rose tensed against the opened door.
At five six, with a slender, athletic build, Rose was dainty compared to this guy, and he wanted to make her as aware of that as possible. He stood so close, she could feel his breath on her face.
“Say the word, Rose,” he said, touching a finger to her cheek, “and I’ll protect you from arseholes like that. I might even cover the repair work on the wall, depending how good you are.”
Revulsion roiled in her gut.
Every time he paid a visit, the slug propositioned her, and every time he got a little more forceful about it. What was it about her that attracted this kind of attention? It wasn’t as though she was some stunning, sexy bombshell. Was it the faerie thing? Were guys attracted to her because of magic?
Images of the frat party, of Judd Grant flying across the room, flooded her.
Oh my God. She sucked in a breath. Had she attracted his attention because she was fae? And … maybe she had killed him after all.
Horror eclipsed all other emotions.
One by one, the lights in her apartment exploded.
“What the fuck!” Craig ducked as he spun to see the last, the ceiling light, burst into pieces.
The sun had already begun to rise, so the room was merely dull, not dark.
Her landlord turned to her, a terrified, vicious look on his face, and he grabbed her by the hair, pulling her toward him. “You’re a fucking witch!”
Astonishment flooded her.
He knew about supernaturals?
His grip on her hair tightened as spittle flecked from his lips. He snarled, “How the hell did I miss it?”
“Step back,” Rose warned.
“Oh no, no.” Craig shook his head. “I haven’t come across a witch in a long time. You’ll be useful to me, Rose.”
Wincing at the sharp tug on her head, Rose wrapped her hand around his wrist. “I said, step back.”
All she’d meant to do was tug his hand out of her hair.
That was it.
Instead, she gave it a jerk. A loud crack, followed by his scream, filled the apartment. Agony pervaded his features as he fell to his knees, clutching his broken wrist in his other hand.
Holy. Shit.
Rose stared at her hands.
Her strength … she didn’t know how to control it.
“You bitch!” Craig screamed.
The whole building would have heard, including the staff at the bakery below.
In a whirl of panic, Rose blurred across the room to the drawer by her bed where she kept her passport. Shoving her feet into her comfiest boots, she then grabbed her wallet and her phone, along with her jacket. Turning toward the door, she saw Craig was gone.
She pricked her ears and heard him stumbling down the staircase.
Damn.
Okay. You can do this, Rose. Just focus.
Concentrating on the building door, Rose blinked and she was beside it.
“Holy…,” she whispered. It worked. A strange giddiness flooded her before she remembered to worry about being seen using magic. Thankfully, none of her neighbors saw her pop out of thin air.