Serendipity (Bayou Magic 3)

“Would he dare try?” Brielle asks. “I know he’s a psychopath, but hear me out. He’s no stranger to witchcraft. He was part of a dark coven his entire life. He knows how powerful Miss Sophia is. Would he try to go up against her?”

“He’s got an ego the size of the moon,” Millie reminds her. “Yes, I think he would. I think he’ll try to get to anyone who might try to help us. You guys, I’m even more convinced that we should all be together under one roof. We are exponentially stronger together, and we all know that. Please, please stay here. We have more space than we know what to do with.”

“I’ll stay,” I say softly, again surprising the ones I love. “I’m scared. I’m not convinced the protection spells on my place have kept him out, and I want to make sure you’re all safe. If we’re better together, then we should be together.”

“Agreed,” Brielle says.

The men nod in agreement, as well.

“Starting today,” Millie adds. “Go gather your things and bring them here. I’ve just finished furnishing all the rooms, so there are plenty of beds.”

“What about our jobs?” I ask. “We can’t just sit here until the eclipse.”

“No one is ever alone,” Lucien says.

“I’m fine working at Reflections with Daphne,” Jackson adds.

“And I always have Esme at the shop,” Millie adds. “Along with Gwyneth part-time.”

“I’m taking a leave of absence from my lab,” Lucien announces. “Until this is wrapped up, I’ll be doing research and everything else I need to do in order to make sure we don’t fail. I’ll be able to do the bulk of my work from Witches Brew.”

“I’m literally never alone on my ghost tour,” Brielle says. “I’m booked solid. There will be at least twenty people with me every evening.”

“And I’ll come along,” Cash says before kissing his wife’s cheek.

“What about you, Cash?” I ask him.

“I’m a cop.”

“You’re a man. One of the six. You can’t be alone, either.”

He blows out a breath. “The eclipse is less than two weeks away. I’ll talk to my boss about also taking a little time. He knows what we’re up against. I don’t think he’ll balk.”

“Good.” I sigh in relief and look at each of them, one by one. “I love you all so much. And we’ve already been through hell and back with this. We’ve defeated him twice. I promise we won’t fail this time.”

“No, we won’t.” Jack kisses my hand. “Who’s going to call Miss Sophia and talk her into staying with us for a while?”

“That means Mama’s coming, too,” Brielle says with a sigh. “It’ll be a full house.”

“It’s a big house,” Millie says, reminding us all. “We’ll make it work.”

“I think Millie should talk to Miss Sophia,” I say and grin when my sister turns wide eyes to me.

“Why me?”

“Because you’re her favorite. And she’s your great-granddaughter. Tell her she either does what you say, or she gets a time-out.”

“I don’t think it works that way,” Millie says with a laugh. “I don’t think I can put Miss Sophia in time-out.”

“I was kidding—sort of. But you are her favorite, and she is your great-granddaughter. She’ll listen to you. Just be honest. Explain our fears.”

“Daphne’s right, my love,” Lucien says. “I won’t let him get to her.”

“Agreed.” Millie sighs. “Okay, I’ll talk to her. But she’s stubborn.”

“So are you,” I remind her.

Chapter Fourteen

“Violent delights tend to have violent ends.”

-Richard Ramirez, The Night Stalker

“Those little bitches,” he growls after he picks himself up from being thrown out of his playtime with his toys. They just marched right in and threw him out.

“They think they’re so smart,” he says. He has to curl up into a tight little ball because they zapped so much of his energy. The new energy that he’d just pulled from his toy.

The skin peeled away so beautifully. It hadn’t been the first time he’d wished he could do it himself, with his own two hands, but watching was its own kind of beauty. She’d bled out sooner than he would have liked, but still, it was a masterpiece.

They interrupted him before he could finish with the other toy. The six were together now, and they cast a spell on him.

How dare they? Why did they refuse to understand—to believe—that everything he did, every single thing, was for his girls?

“Those men are brainwashing them,” he mutters in disgust. “Women are so weak. So easy to manipulate. I have to get rid of the men, and then I’ll be able to get through to my girls. Make them understand. I got rid of Jackson once. Killed his parents, and made him go. I can do it again. I can get through to all of them.”

Happy with that plan, he moves to his special mirror, the one he’s gained most of his energy from. When he has to wait much longer than ever before, he grows impatient.