Page 43 of We Are All Sinners

The waitress comes over, takes our drink orders, and tells us the specials to mull over.

I took the liberty of looking at the menu online, knowing exactly what I want, so I don’t have to spend my time looking over menus. I want to get a read on this guy.

“So, let’s not beat around the bush. You have information on Mark Boudreaux and his business dealings?” Liam sits back in his chair looking at the menu.

“He has been detained for a while, which is why I thought lunch would be a good idea.” He smiles as he takes a drink of whatever is in his tumbler.

“When is a good time for us to interrogate him?” I ask, a little more forceful than intended.

The waiter brings our drinks and takes our orders. I stiffly order the risotto with quail, waiting impatiently to get more information as the others order.

I take a long drink of my Manhattan as I take in the light and fresh feel of the place with flowers hanging everywhere. I think Evie would love this place.

Is this what she wants for a proposal?

“We have time. Devereaux has assured me that he isn’t going to kill him or his accomplices quickly, and my soon to be bride has been more than forthcoming with all information about him and his so-called queen.” Alec laughs as if something he said is funny.

We all just stare at him.

“Augustine Devereaux has him? What could he possibly want with him or the woman he protects, the queen or whatever?” Liam asks with an apparent scowl on his face.

Alec chuckles, “Your father really hasn’t given you any of the information I sent over about them?” Alec asks, slightly dumbfounded, shaking his head, “Your little witch’s mother, who calls herself Queen Fiona, is none other than Viviann Devereaux.”

He takes a sip of his drink and sets it back down before continuing when we just stare at him without showing anyemotion to what he just said, even though I want to rip someone’s head off.

“Augustine believed that she was dead. He had no idea about the sex trafficking, or that his son, Sebastian, aka Bash, was involved. Augustine actually married one of their accomplices, Sylvia Bennet, recently, but that didn’t work out in the end. Now that you are caught up, I have information that you aren’t expecting. Have you heard of Christian Devereaux?” Alec sits back in his chair with a cocky smirk on his face.

“No, should we have?” Noah chimes in as we all look at each other, knowing exactly who he is, but until he just mentioned him, I hadn’t put two and two together because I assumed Viviann Deveraux was dead. I didn’t look at how long she had been dead! We just crossed her off the list of initials V.D. when we saw that she was deceased.

I’ll admit, I’m a little thrown off by the information.

“Tell me, how do y’all feel about how women are treated within the Saints?” He asks.

I watch as his demeanor changes slightly. He is nervous. I can tell he is sweating, rubbing his palms on his pants under the table.

“Cut the shit. There is no need for theatrics. We know that you are trying to take out whoever has been trafficking girls using the Saints as a front. We want the same thing. Now, what exactly do you need from us?” Liam replies, taking a drink of his bourbon.

“I want the bullshit women have to go through to be done with. My covenant, I met her when I was twelve, and knew she was it. She was raised with Mark and Viviann to be a pet. Nothing more. All because she was born to parents who couldn’t protect themselves, let alone her. My girl, MJ, was their revenge on Sylvia Bennett for getting Vivian exiled from New Orleans. I want her. We are to be married in February. She is with the Devereaux’s now. Viviann had several children that no one knew about, including your little witch, her twin sons, Christian and Sebastian Devereaux, and Maxwell Augustine Jr, that we know of. The Devereaux’s will get their retribution. Max had Christian’s wife, Savvy, for over ten weeks, and he just recently got her back. She is in her third trimester now, just weeks away from giving birth to their son. We can interrogate the people detained before Devereaux’s wife kills them all. She is one I don’t want to mess with. MJ, my covenant could be tarnished. I need to know that when the facts come to light, that won’t happen, and that she will remain safe. That’s all I want.” Alec hangs his head, knowing everything he just quietly said could get him worse than exiled.

He must really love this girl.

“My little witch has a name, Genevieve. She is not a pet or anything else other than mine. She deserves to know what happens to her parents, that’s all. Boudreaux hurt one of her friends. She wants his blood, nothing more.” I let him know, without saying it out loud, that we are all on the same page.

“We will all pay the rebels a little visit soon. You can get retribution for Genevieve and her friend, maybe even some answers. But don’t throw new family at them just yet, they aredealing with a lot. I think you will like this particular Devereaux. He is new to the Saints way of doing things and feels the same way we do when it comes to the woman he loves. He is just very skeptical of who to trust at the moment.”

Chapter 14

Evie

Igo through my day in a haze from all the latest information that I have had catapulted at me in the last few days.

I only had a few new customers come in today, but it’s only hump day, and tourists don’t usually start coming in until Thursday.

I hang the last of the lavender thinking about how much everything has changed. I feel different. It’s almost as if a weight has been lifted that I didn’t know I was holding onto.

I decide to close up a little early since I have nothing left to do today. The lavender is already hung to dry out overnight for some new products I have been creating to pass the time. It’s like Brix being back in my life opened up another creative side to mixing scents.

New scented bath bombs and lotions grace my shelves in the shop. I have also been putting together some special delivery boxes to go to a few witches in the quarter.

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