Vendetta (Deadly Curiosities Book 2) by Gail Z. Martin Page B

him I didn’t know anyone by that name. Teag was in the back, so he wasn’t there to shoo this fellow away. Looked like a rough sort.”
    “Did he say anything else?” I asked, glancing at the door.
    “He said he’d be back. That there was a reckoning to be had. And that this Sorren fellow had better be prepared to finish what he started.”
    “What did he look like?” I asked. I didn’t know whether to take what the stranger said as a pronouncement of fact, or a threat. And until I knew whose side he was on, I intended to be very careful.
    “Big guy, about as tall as my husband, maybe six foot six or so,” Maggie replied. “He had a leather jacket on, funny with the heat to wear that, don’t you think? And it was pretty beat up, plenty of scratches. He looked like he’d been in a few fights himself. Had a scar that wound around one eye and down his cheek, and he was missing part of an ear. His hands were all scarred up, too, and he had several big silver rings that looked like they’d hurt if you got hit with them.”
    Yikes . “Thanks, Maggie,” I said. “We’ll keep an eye out for him. If you see him again, make sure you yell for Teag or me.” I managed a smile. “Now why don’t you sit down and eat, and I’ll cover for you and Teag.”
    I went up front to handle any customers while Teag and Maggie ate, then came back to finish my lunch after they were done. Mrs. Teller was right. There’s a storm brewing. And unless we figure something out, fast, we’re going to be smack dab in the middle of it.
     
     
    T HAT EVENING, B AXTER and I had some old people to cheer up. I closed up shop at Trifles and Folly, warning Teag and Maggie to be extra careful. The stranger who had been looking for Sorren didn’t come back, and I didn’t spot Coffee Guy anywhere near the store. I headed home to get changed and have a bite to eat. My little blue Mini Cooper slid into a parking space near the curb and I checked all around me before I got out, but there were no lurking strangers or ominous shadows.
    I live in what Charlestonians call a ‘single house’. The house is turned with the narrow side toward the street, so the main door in from the sidewalk enters the broad front porch, not the house itself. What most folks call a ‘front’ door actually looks into a small walled private garden. The house had been in my family for a long time, and when I moved back to Charleston after I inherited the store, my parents were just about to move to Charlotte, so they sold me the house at a discount, and we all got a good deal.
    Baxter was already yipping and squeaking when I turned the key in the lock. I paid close attention as I touched the doorknob, using my magic to sense whether anyone else had tried to open the door since I left, but it was undisturbed. Thanks to Sorren, our friend Lucinda the Voudon mambo had placed wards around my house and Teag’s place, to keep bad things at bay. I wondered whether Sorren’s people in Boston had similar wards, and whether our protections would be any good against whatever was eating ghosts. I shivered, even though the night was warm.
    “All right, all right,” I said as Baxter jumped and danced on his hind legs. I set down my purse and scooped Bax into my arms, getting my nose licked in the process. My senses were on high alert as I took Baxter around the block, even though it was still light outside and plenty of people were making their way home from work or out for a stroll. Once we got home, Baxter ate his kibble enthusiastically while I heated up a slice of leftover pizza and changed into jeans and a t-shirt.
    “Ready, Bax?” I asked, and he pirouetted on his hind legs. “Save the fancy tricks for the old ladies,” I said, tussling his fur as I put his harness on him. “They like it when you show off.”
    Baxter enjoys riding in the car, and I have a carrier seat for him so he can ride safely and still see out the window. We didn’t have far to go. Palmetto