Page 7 of Guarded By the Gargoyle

“Let me go!” I said in a low, trembling voice, somehow managing to get the words out. “I’mnotyour wife anymore.”

“Yeah? Well, we’ll see about that.” Carlo let me go at last and took a step back, but that appraising look was back in his eyes. “Seems to me that you and I have some unfinished business, babe.”

I didn’t say anything, just stared at him as he and Josh finally left the store, the bell tinkling to announce their departure. Trouble…this meant nothing but trouble, I wassureof it. Carlo had remembered me and now that Pop-pop was gone, whatever spell or curse he had cast on him was clearly wearing off. I had a really bad feeling that I hadn’t seen the last of my ex—not by a long shot.

I put up my hand to touch the place where he had grabbed me and my fingers came away wet. Damn it, was Icrying?I swiped at my eyes and took in a trembling breath that was more than half sob. It seemed that I was, though there was no way I ought to be crying over my asshole ex.

But the awful memories from my marriage—memories I had tried really hard to bury and forget—were now uppermost in my mind. They made me feel sick and sad and scared all at once. Carlo was the reason I was never,evergoing to trust any man ever again. He was also the reason I never wanted to have any kind of sexual intimacy because he always made sure sex hurt. He?—

“Hey, lady—is it safe to come out?” a little voice asked and someone tugged on my skirt.

“Oh!” I looked down in surprise. In the wave of awful memories that was crowding my brain, I had completely forgotten about the boy who had been crouching behind the counter all this time, doing his best to be invisible.

“Yes—it’s safe,” I told him, swiping at my eyes again. “Though you’d probably better leave by the back way, just to be sure.”

“Okay.” He nodded. “I reallydidn’ttake anything,” he said, looking at me earnestly. “I mean, I picked up something but I put it right back. I wouldn’t never steal—my Mama would beat my ass if I did!”

I smothered a watery smile.

“I believe you. Here…” I went to the praline display and grabbed a few of the plastic wrapped candies to give to him. “Just go home and be safe, okay?” I told him.

“Thanks!” He examined the pralines eagerly. “These are myfavorite.”

“You’re welcome.” I ushered him through the small back apartment and let him out. “Be careful!” I called to him as he looked around cautiously before running down the side street.

He threw a wave back at me but didn’t say anything. I watched him disappear in the early morning crowd of tourists and then shut the door and double checked the lock. I didn’t blame the boy for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he had certainly brought a whole heap of trouble to my door that Ireallydidn’t need.

I wondered how long it would take for Carlo to show up again. Now that he had remembered me, I was very much afraid he wasn’t going to leave me alone.

3

WILLOW

The day dragged on but at least my ex didn’t come back. Neither did the tourists, though. I only had two or three people duck their heads in and nobody bought anything.

At the end of the day, I found myself looking through the books and feeling extremely worried. There was no way I was going to be able to make rent on the shop at the end of this month if things didn’t pick up considerably. How had my Grandfather managed all those years?

Pop-pop had never had trouble paying the rent or any of the bills for that matter. For some reason, he was always solvent, even when business was bad.

I wished I knew his secret! If things kept on like this, I didn’t see how I would keep Madam Callahan’s Magic Supply open even one more month. But closing it would kill me—it had been Pop-pop’s pride and joy and it was all I had to remember him by. Well, besides Miss Sassy, who was currently snoozing on one end of the counter, completely unworried about our financial situation.

Just as I was closing up for the evening, two strange men walked through the door. They weren’t police and they weren’ttourists—they might be locals but both of them were dressed in nice suits, like they were going to church.

“Er, can I help you, gentlemen?” I asked, lifting my eyebrows at them.

“Yes, ma’am, you can,” the first one said in a soft, Cajun accent. “Our boss wants to meet with you.”

“Who’s your boss?” I asked, frowning. “And what does he want to meet me about?”

“You ever heard of Big Nicky?” the second man asked, raising his eyebrows. “Nicky Valentino?”

I felt a shiver go down my back. I certainlyhadheard of Nicky Valentino—I’d listened to Carlo talk about him more times than I could count when we were still married.

I don’t think most people realize that Organized Crime is still a real problem in the US—especially in port cities like New Orleans. The Mob takes a bite out of everything that comes through Port NOLA and Big Nicky Valentino was all the way at the top of the food chain, taking the biggest bite of all.

He was protected too—the police couldn’t touch him because he had several senators, bought and paid for, in his pocket. Which was one reason my ex was always bitching about him and how the police couldn’t stop his illegal activities.

“Er…no,” I said, since it didn’t seem wise to admit that I knew their boss was the head of the local Mob. “Never heard of him. Does he need some magical supplies?”

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