Spells (Bayou Magic 2)

* * *“We only slept for an hour,” I say as I stretch in the bed, naked and sated.

“So, play hooky today,” he says and kisses my cheek. “Stay here with me, all day.”

“I can’t.” Regret hangs heavy in my voice. “I’m meeting your mother at the Brew this morning so I can keep training her, and I have to start getting ready for the Halloween street party next week. Which, I just realized, is only a few days away.”

“Well, damn.”

“But I’ll meet you back here later this evening.”

“It’s a date.”

I kiss his chin and then roll out of the warm bed. Despite the little sleep I got, I feel energized and ready to start the day.

Is this what being blissfully in love does to a person? Gives one energy they didn’t know they had?

Maybe.

I won’t complain because I’m going to need the extra oomph if I’m going to get through this day.

Lucien and I dress at the same time, and I raise a brow. “Where are you headed so early in the morning?”

“I might as well go into the lab and get started on my day, as well. I have an early meeting, and few things to do to get ready for it.”

“I know I said the other day at Miss Sophia’s that everything we’re involved in right now is cutting into my work and being available for the café. It has to be cutting into yours, as well.”

“A bit,” he says with a nod. I prop my hand on my hip and raise a brow. “Okay, a lot. There’s nothing to be done about that right now, though. I’m an independent contractor, so I’m able to say no to requests if I need to. Right now, my priority is the work Cash is giving me and our journey. The rest will still be there when it’s all finished.”

I hug him tightly and cast a small protection spell over him. I feel him kiss the top of my head.

“Thank you for that.”

“You felt it?”

“Of course.”

“I’d like to mix a potion to put in your coffee, as well, but it doesn’t look like I have time.”

“Millie, I’m fine.”

“He’s hunting men who look like you,” I say, voicing my fears aloud. “If you think that doesn’t scare me, you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”

“I know it does, and I’m telling you right now that I’m careful and safe. I promise. I’ve only just found you again, I’m not likely to do something stupid to lose you so quickly.”

“See that you don’t.” I soften my words with a kiss and then hurry out of our room and down to the kitchen, where I fill Sanguine’s bowl and take a moment to pet the feline. “Good morning, sweet girl. Have a good day today. I’ll take you to the café with me soon. If you’d stay in the reading room, you could go every day, but you’re stubborn.”

She rubs her cheek against my chin before I stand and reach for my bag and keys and smile back at Lucien.

“I’ll see you later, love.”

Before I can walk through the door, he catches my hand in his and tugs me to him, then kisses me long and slow until my mind buzzes.

“Have a good day.”

The drive to work is easy, as it’s still well before six in the morning and not many people are out and about quite yet. I used to be jealous of those who got to sleep in, but I’m used to the early morning hours now and enjoy the alone time at the café before my first customers of the day start filtering in.

The alley behind my shop is blocked today for maintenance, so I score a parking spot just around the corner, lock my car, and toss my keys into my bag as I walk around the block toward the front entrance of my little café.

There’s no one around, but I feel a shift in the air as I get closer, and squint when I see what looks like something blocking my entrance.

“What in the world?” I mumble and then stop in my tracks and stare.

A man.

A man is strung up, hanging from his hands in front of my door. He’s naked, and his torso has been sliced—no, hacked is a better word—open. His organs and intestines have spilled out, trailing down his body to the sidewalk below, where just a tiny pool of blood puddles under his feet.

I’m screaming inside my head, but I can’t make any sound come out.

I can’t breathe.

My eyes travel up the corpse and land on his face, where two things catch my eye.

One, he’s wearing glasses.

And a bloodstone has been embedded in his forehead like some sick third eye.

I swallow hard and reach for my phone, automatically dialing Cash’s number.