wonder what’s left of our family moved out of the city and warned us about hanging out with Grandpa. I thought it was just because they assumed that he was a nut for believing in the supernatural and running a store like this.” Gypsy shook her head remembering all of the times she’d stood up for him. She still didn’t regret it though. She had loved him and that was all that mattered to her.
“Oh no,” Lacey contradicted her. “The family has no idea. He wanted it that way. He would always act strange around them on purpose… so that they would label him as a weird outcast and stay far away. He didn’t want to put any of them in danger if someone did come after him.”
Lacey's lips hinted at a sad frown as she thought back to when she’d first moved in with Grandpa… right here in this store. When she’d been nine years old, her parents had been killed in a freak accident and her grandfather had showed up to claim her within hours. He had no way of knowing if the accident was truly an accident or not and had confessed that secret worry to her after she’d learned the truth about him.
It was the theory that her parents might have been murdered over some paranormal trinket that had eventually made her want to seek revenge against anyone hording supernatural items in hopes that she’d run across the one that had killed them. Nothing had ever turned up though and she’d quickly become addicted to the thrill of the job. That… and the money wasn’t bad either.
“It was my idea to follow in his footsteps and he was against it from the start,” She reminisced. “But after a while, I wore him down by going out and thieving on my own. I made sure he caught me doing it so that he had no choice but to train me on how to get in and out without being detected. It wasn’t his idea but I left him no other choice. It was either let me do it on my own and get myself killed, or teach me all of his tricks and hope for the best.”
“I see,” Gypsy shook her head at her devious cousin and almost felt sorry for her grandfather. “Poor Grandpa didn’t have a chance.”
“Yeah well… I got in way over my head with this last job,” Lacey confessed. “It was my fault and Grandpa shouldn’t have blamed himself. He knew I was headstrong and he’d done the best he could.”
“Oh no,” Gypsy whispered making a face. “You were gone for more than a year. What exactly happened to you?” She reached out and touched Lacey's cheek with the pad of her thumb, wiping away a smudge of the dirt there. “Is that why you’re dressed like a dirty boy and sneaking around? Are you running from something… or someone?”
“A little bit of both I’m afraid. I shouldn’t even be here right now and the less you know about what’s been going on the better.” She glanced toward the door knowing she should follow her grandpa’s lead and protect the family by keeping her distance. “I was supposed to be in and out of here without anyone noticing, but your guard dog had to go and ruin everything.”
Gypsy noticed Lacey starting to fidget and the way she was now looking longingly toward the door like she wanted to leave. Not wanting her to go, Gypsy quickly blurted, “There is a clause in grandpa’s will about you… he never gave up on you coming home.”
Lacey smiled fondly, “He always did look after us.”
Gypsy nodded earnestly, “Yes he did and that’s why he left half ownership of the shop to you in his will. The Witch’s Brew is half yours and half mine. Even though you weren’t around, I still had them fix the deed exactly like Grandpa wanted it. We’re business partners now, and we can run this place together if you’ll just stay.”
“I don’t know,” Lacey whispered. Her days were numbered. Even if she had gotten the spell book and damaged the demon mark… they would still eventually catch up to her and that would be the end. She started to pull her hand away from Gypsy's but her cousin kept a firm hold. “You don’t know what you’re asking. If I stay… it could be dangerous for the both of us… not just me.”
“I have very powerful friends now and they can help you… keep you safe from whomever or whatever it is you’re so scared of,” Gypsy said raising her chin. “After what’s been going on around here… I’m a little tougher than you remember and can handle it.”
Lacey closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The store she’d always loved was half hers… bless Grandpa’s soul. He’d always said that she reminded him of himself when he was younger and had eventually took pride in that instead of thinking it was a bad thing. Of course, she could also remember his long lectures about getting herself killed. Yep… if he could see her now, the first words out of his mouth would be I told you so.
Gypsy could tell she was winning and added, “You can even tell me what you wanted out of the safe, and I’ll ask Ren to return it for you if it’ll help you feel safer.” She’d been so lonely since Lacey had disappeared and Grandpa had passed away. She’d been convinced Lacey was dead and had even mourned her. Seeing her here now… the last thing she wanted was to lose her all over again.
Lacey's mind was going a mile a minute. She wanted to stay so badly, but did she dare underestimate the demons chasing her by letting her guard down? On top of everything else, one of Gypsy’s friends was a demon… or a superhuman, or something and it made her a bit jittery. That was when something Gypsy had said made her think and a devious smile spread across her lips.
“Gypsy,” she began thoughtfully, “you said the spell you have on the shop… that only the owner can invite people in… right? I’m half owner of the shop, so if I tell someone to leave… they have to leave?”
“That’s right, you get to say who can come in and who can’t if they are not one hundred percent human,” Gypsy confirmed with a quick nod then gasped when Lacey suddenly leaned forward and gave her a tight hug.
“That means I can tell anyone that bothers me to leave including your overbearing bodyguard,” Lacey said with a giggle, feeling nervous now that she’d convinced herself that the smartest move she could make was to stay right here where she had a demon shield around her. Maybe she would just become a recluse, or at least have a heads up on when it was time to face her demons.
“Oh please don’t evict the boys,” Gypsy said and pulled back almost laughing at the disappointed pout on Lacey's face. “If it wasn’t for Ren and Nick, I would either be dead or the slave of a demon and you wouldn’t have had a shop to come back to. I owe both of them my life. And as far as Ren goes, you can’t use the spell he helped put on this place against him.” She hid a guilty smile knowing she’d already done that once in the name of testing the spell.
Lacey nearly rolled her eyes but nodded to let her cousin know she would behave… as best she could anyway. “Can you at least keep my secret? The less people that know about what I have been doing the better. To be honest, I shouldn’t have even told you. Besides, I’d rather get along with your harem instead of fighting with them.”
Gypsy was about to answer when they heard the large wheel on the door turn, making both girls jump in surprise. She sighed heavily knowing that the boys had either decided that they’d waited long enough, or they had heard everything… she’d rather it be the former.
The girls watched wearily as the thick steel door swung open and Ren stepped in, followed by Nick. Ren didn’t look happy at all, while Nick had an understanding expression on his calm face.
“I’m afraid it’s a little too late for secrets,” Ren stated in satisfaction. “We’ve already heard everything.”
Lacey just stared at him knowing they had only heard what she’d just told Gypsy and… that
