“Sure. Go ahead.”
“How does a young woman from a generations-old family in New Orleans, especially one with roots in voodoo, find themselves in Whimsy, Florida, of all places? I can’t imagine something like that made your kin all that happy, especially given your incredible abilities.”
Neeta burst out laughing as she looked at everyone, then rolled her eyes. “Isn’t that the truth? I thank my lucky stars every day I wasn’t cursed.” The team laughed. “Toward the end of high school, I just felt the need to go to art school in a place where peopledidn’tknow me or my family. I don’t know how much you understand about Louisiana culture, but that can be incredibly difficult, as much as you might love your kinfolk.
“Common understanding in Louisiana holds that Cajuns are white and Creoles are Black or mixed race; Creoles are from New Orleans, while Cajuns populate the rural parts of South Louisiana.” She smiled and gently touched the beautifulcafé au laitcolor of her cheek. “Marie Laveau, the famous voodoo queen of New Orleans, was actually a distant relation of the Pourciau family. I needed an escape from all that for a while, to go somewhere I could be just Neeta the art student for a while, if that makes any sense at all.”
Piper’s voice was soft. “I’m hearing your roots calling you home, though, friend.”
Her eyes brightening with tears, Neeta nodded. “TheLoa, the voodoo spirits, have been indulgent. As long as I used my gifts to help others when I could while I was here, they were willing to let me take a breather for a few years to have this learning opportunity. I upheld my end of the bargain, they upheld theirs, but my time here is drawing to a close.
“When I am finished with school, I will go back home and resume my path there, grateful and thankful for the friends I made in Tampa Bay and the chance to experience life outside of New Orleans for a while.” She smiled at a tearful Alyssa. “I’ll be back to visit occasionally, Lys. You’re not that easily rid of me.”
“I’m thinking a congratulations and goodbye get-together at Seashells right before you go is on the schedule then.” Alyssa wiped her eyes. “We also have a spare bedroom in our ‘playhouse’ apartment right across the street where you can stay when you come to visit. You aren’t that easily rid of us either, girl. You’ll always be welcome here.”
After Neeta had left with Alyssa, Brooke, Kelly, and Piper, Blake said, “To recap then, Drew and her associates will keep shaking the trees in Purgatory—discreetly—to see what pops out. See what kind of intel they can dig out about Reflex’s current scam, in which all indications point to a con that goes far beyond simple embezzlement. ThankChristmy woman doesn’t have to go back to Cask & Canvas anymore. I don’t want her near any of those Reflex bastards.
“She can work on her art from home, where she’ll be safe. In the meantime,” she raised an eyebrow at Bryn, “I don’t think it’s a half-bad idea to put a tail on each one of those fuckers while Drew does her thing. Where are they going, who are they seeing? No doubt it will tie more shit together for us, especially with what my cuz will find out.”
“Do it,” decided Bryn. “You, Jaime, Casey, and Drew choose who to assign from each of your teams to follow them. We’llmeet back here in a couple of days to assess unless something bubbles up unexpectedly.”
The team rose to go. “Brooke has been under so much stress these days, I’m going to talk to her tonight about going out on my dad’s cruiser yacht one afternoon.” Bob Seibert, a master mariner—the highest grade of licensed seafarer qualification—had downsized considerably when he and his wife had retired to a small cruiser yacht; Blake herself had a U.S. Coast Guard Captain’s license. “The break will be good for her,” Blake told them as they moved toward the conference room door. “While I’m quite aware she is heads-down on the label art for Cask & Canvas, she doesn’t need to get sick because she’s pushing herself too hard. One afternoon relaxing on the water isn’t going to put her behind schedule, not if I know my woman.”
“Look at you, being all nurturing and shit.” Drew snickered along with the rest of the team as Blake flipped her off. “Seibert, we have waited foryearsto give you the same aggravation you’ve always subjected us to. The fuck we’re not going to enjoy every single minute of this.”
Blake rolled her eyes as they reached the door. “Says the asshole who is going to get it right between the eyes one of these days. You mark my words, Hollister. Bet me because I can see it coming now.”
“Yeah? I don’t think so. As much as I love femmes, I can’t even fathom a single woman existing out there who could beeverythingI needed for the rest of my life. Just ain’t happenin’.”
“Famous last words, cuz.” Blake smirked as she hit Drew’s shoulder with her own before going out the door. “Because whenyougo down, my friend? They’ll hear the crash on Mars. Guaran-damn-teed.”
Chapter 11
“What an amazing day,” Brooke sighed as she lay curled up in Blake’s arms, sleepy after her hot shower. Blake had surprised her a couple of days earlier by telling Brooke the pair would be spending this afternoon on her dad’s cruiser yacht, where she expected Brooke to take a much-deserved break. After some half-hearted pushing back, Brooke had found herself excited at the thought of a day on the water with her butch.
Today had been a perfect day—brilliant sunshine, a perfect temperature since it wasn’t too hot in Florida yet, and calm skies with little chop on the Gulf waters. Astounded by Blake’s skill as she expertly handled the small yacht, Brooke listened in awe as Blake explained that she had learned everything she knew about seafaring from her dad, who was a master mariner.
“Master mariners,” Blake had told her, “can captain a commercial vessel of any size, of any type, operating anywhere in the world. My dad isamazingwith any vessel under his command. Had I not started APS with those assholes I call my best friends,” she had cut her eyes sideways with a droll look at Brooke, who’d giggled, “I may have followed in his footsteps, if I didn’t become a video game designer. As it is, I love being on the water any chance I get. I’ve never seen the sense in having a boat of my own before this, though, but that may have to change in the future.”
After dropping anchor and securing the boat, Blake had taken Brooke into the snug cabin, where the two of them had lost themselves in each other’s bodies, touching and tasting until their passion was sated. Afterward, Blake had produced a picnic basket with cold roast chicken, succulent peaches, and a bottle ofa delicious non-alcoholic sparkling Chardonnay her mother had thoughtfully packed for them.
“I don’t drink when I’m boating, tigress, especially when I’m captaining the ship, but I figured my Italian baby would appreciate some type of wine anyway. This was the best compromise I could come up with.” After tasting it, Brooke had pronounced it surprisingly yummy, enjoying her scrumptious lunch—then basked in the rays of the warm sun after Blake had carefully spread sunscreen on each of them and they went up on deck. Blake explained to Brooke that, even though she had gold-streaked auburn hair and a skin tone that was fairly light, she actually tanned well, informing her femme that she didn’t usually burn as long as she took sensible precautions.
It had been a splendid afternoon. Brooke had seen what a kind, romantic soul Blake was under her snarky exterior, unable to wrap her head around how much Blake kept hidden from view. She remembered Kelly mentioning how warm and tender Riley was when it was just the two of them, the dangerous leader the Armstrong twin was nowhere in sight when she was alone with her woman. “Maybe they’realllike that,” she’d thought as she had relaxed against Blake under the brilliant blue sky. “Maybe the romantics they are deep inside is something only their femmes ever get to see. Lucky us.”
With difficulty, Brooke had forced back the tears that had started to spring to her eyes, as sure as she could be that she was irrevocably in love with Blake Seibert. “She is even more than I’ve guessed, although it’s never been a secret how remarkable she is. And she’smine. She’s mine, and I will be damned if anything in this world willeverseparate us.”
Now, as Brooke felt sleep fast approaching, she buried her face in Blake’s neck and whispered, “I love you. Thank you so much for such an incredibly special day.”
Blake kissed the end of her nose. “And I love you, baby. Thankyoufor making the day so perfect. You have no idea how much I’m looking forward to doing it again, too. The twins keep a much larger cruiser yacht at Rowan and Kelly’s back dock—it’s thirty-five feet in length, whereas this one is only twenty-seven—and, while it would be fun to go out with some of the others, I loved having you all to myself today.”
“Don’t they try to throw you overboard when you do, considering how much you deliberately aggravate them?” Brooke inquired sleepily.
Blake burst out laughing and held Brooke tighter. “Oh, they’ve thought about it on more than one occasion, I promise. So far, I’ve managed to dodge that bullet. That’s not to say it still won’t happen in the future, but I’ve been lucky up until now.”
With an even sleepier grin, Brooke kissed the side of Blake’s neck. “I can see it happening, too. Good night, honey. I think this girl is done and ready to drift off to dreamland. Thank you again foreverything.”
“Good night, tigress. It’s back to work for us tomorrow, but we’ll do this again soon. As long as I spend time with you, I don’t really care where we are or what we’re doing. Just having you in my life has made all ofmydreams come true.”
