Chapter 201
Chapter 201
James:
Mattie? Her name was Mattie!
The sound of her name hit me like a punch to the gut. My heart was pounding in my chest, the kind of heavy, unrelenting beat you feel in your ears. I hadn’t expected to hear that name. In fact, the last person I thought I’d see when I stepped into this store was Mattie. The morning had already been a blur. Arranging for Lucas to be cared for in the tiny training center hospital had been chaos in itself. Dr. Johnson had taken the reins immediately and after a few hours, Lucas was finally stable. Thank the goddess, Dr. Johnson finally agreed to be the on-call medic for the training center, even though her background was in OB and fertility. Rue and Travis had worked really hard to bring her on board.
After settling Lucas into recovery i felt like I was running on fumes. The adrenaline from the nights events hadn’t worn off but my mind was crashing and I needed something—coffee, energy drink, or anything caffeine—to keep me moving. I’d ducked into this place just looking for caffeine and I found something so much better.
Her name…
When her eyes turned toward me i lost myself in the molten gold catching the florescent light like sunlit honey. The humorous crinkle on the sides of her perfectly shaped lips as she discussed sprinkles was heart stopping. For a moment, the world seemed to still. And just like that everything shifted. I felt like I was one-step closer to something—maybe answers, maybe fate… I didn’t know.
The woman was fast, too fast and way too swift, like smoke vanishing through a crack in the wall. Houdini had nothing on this girl and her ability to slip through my fingers. One second she was standing there within my reach and the next… she was gone. I looked down at the pile of energy drinks scattered across the floor. I’d slipped on them like Bambi on a frozen pond, trying too hard to keep Mattie within my sights instead of watching my step. My so-called reflexes failed me more and more since Beau disappeared. It was pathetic how human I had become.
The delay was just long enough for Mattie to vanish into the parking lot or wherever the hell she was headed to. It would be disappointing if I wasn’t in awe of how off my game this woman knocked me. All I knew was she couldn’t run forever. If Rue and Travis’s story had taught me anything it was the Moon Goddess always got her way.
The cashier behind the counter didn't miss a beat. She was leaning on one elbow, the other arm crossed over her stomach like Eshe was watching a soap opera unfold in front of her. The image would be complete if she had a bowl of popcorn. Her bubble gum snapped with precision adding a drop of attitude to her amused expression. She snapped her glittery nailed fingers and in a nasally jersey accent said, “You broke or dented any and youse pay for them.”
“Yeah I will.” I brushed off my hands as I crouched to check the neon-colored cans. “Do you want me to help get this cleaned up?”
“Nah,” she answered, blowing a bubble that popped loudly, ”just look and see if any are damaged.”
“You sure?” I gave her my signature smirk that’s gotten me out of more trouble than into it. Well, at least it used to. Before the curse seemed like a whole different person sometimes. The cashier gave me a once-over, eyes pausing just long enough for me to see her pupils dilate with desire, before she shook her head and cracked her gum again. Was i really that off my game?
“Yeah. I don’t mess with Mattie’s things.” She threw her hand up like she was warding off a curse over her shoulder. Interesting gesture… “Her cousins are hot but that whole family? Nutzo!”
“Maybe you could fill me in on Mattie’s last name?” I let my voice take on that slow, deliberate charming edge that's gotten women in my bed, deals in my pocket and security guards to unlock doors. It really wasn’t that difficult to pretend to be that playboy again. She squinted at me, her body shifting and her breath drew in slightly before she caught herself.
“No way. I ain’t a narc and I definitely don’t mess around with that family.” She looked at the mess at my feet, “Why don’t we call it twenty damaged?”
I sighed. A clear shakedown. From what I could see none of the cans were damaged but this wasn’t actually about the drinks. this was about information on Mattie and her apparently shady family. Her cousin’s didn’t really seem like the mafia or criminal type but maybe this cashier was referencing their witch practices. Regardless, I wouldn’t burn a potential source over less than $100 bucks. I pulled out a crisp hundred dollar bill and walked it up to the counter. I repeated the line Mattie had, her sweet voice echoing in my head, “Keep the change.”
Her eyes lit up. she rolled the bill with practiced fingers and slid it right into her cleavage. Classy.
“Mattie’s cousin’s own the Wheel of Fortune.” She wagged a glittery pink nail at me, her eyebrow raised, “But you didn’t hear it from me.”
“Castor and Pollux?” I asked, watching her closely. she didn't answer. She just smacked her gum, loud as a gunshot every time. That was enough confirmation for me. I nodded my gratitude, tapping the counter twice. I stepped back out into the parking lot, the caffeine forgotten. My pulse was finally steady and a new determination settled into my very soul. Mattie wasn't a dream or a ghost anymore. She was a storm front, rolling in heavy and slow. The type of storm, you could feel long before you saw it. The build up only making the dark rolling clouds seem more Imposing. The kind of pressure that darkens the horizon and makes you look twice, wondering if you will survive this or if it will consume you whole. And now, for the first time in a long while, i had a direction—straight into the heart of it.