Shaking his head, Alistair took a deep breath. “No, I refuse to use my gift in this obvious coup.”
Cope’s smile widened. “Okay, well then allow me to usemine.” He turned to Jude and dropped a sexy wink before focusing his attention back on Allistair. “First of all, your name isn’t Alistair Hooke, it’s Simon Jones. Your mother is pretty angry at you for cremating her when she expressly wished to be buried in the family plot.” Cope paused. “Damn, you spent your entire life pissing this woman off. You’re no more talented than my sister, Mistress Endora, who spent her life conning carnival crowds and fattening herself up on fried dough and the wallets of the men she slept with when the carnival closed for the night.”
“Uncle Jude!” Everly grabbed Jude’s arm. “You need to stop Uncle Cope. Now!”
Jude didn’t think twice. He pointed to Ronan. “Get the kids out of here.” He got out of his seat and made his way toward the opposite end of the row. He stopped to tell Wolf to go with Ronan and then whispered to Tennyson to meet them out in the lobby before continuing toward Cope, who was still speaking.
“Well, hello, Endora, it’s nice to meet you!” Cope said, never taking his eyes off Alistair, who was wriggling on stage like a worm on a hook. “According to your dearly departed auntie, you didn’t call 911 when she had hersuspiciousheart attack.” Cope paused, his smug look turning to shock.
“Who the fuck are you!” Alistair Hooke demanded.
“Copeland Forbes,actualpsychic medium and legacy witch from New Orleans Devereaux coven!” Cope crowed proudly.
Alistair’s mouth hung open as the crowd began to applaud Cope. He looked as if he had more to say about the issue, when Judefinally reached him. “Everly says we have to get the hell out of here.”
“I’m just warming up.” Cope grinned at his husband. “This asshole thinks he can come in here to our city and pull this fake psychic bullshit? Not on my watch.” Cope turned back to the stage, but thankfully, Alistair was gone.
“Let’s go. The kids are upset and I’m starving.” Jude couldn’t remember being this angry with his husband in a long time.
Cope looked as if he were about to argue, but instead nodded his head and reached for Jude’s hand.
Jude led his husband out of the theater. As they walked back toward the exit, everyone who could reach him patted his shoulders, while others applauded him. Cope had spent the last seven years building his reputation in Salem. Jude just hoped that what happened here tonight wasn’t going to destroy everything his husband had worked so hard for.
4
Cope
Twelve hours after his triumphant smackdown at the theater, Cope still felt like he was walking on air. Jude had plenty of things to say to him once they’d gotten home and tucked Wolf into bed. His son had been begging to go to more theater events if they were all as exciting as Alistair Hooke’s performance.
Now, he was sitting in his office reading stories from the local newspapers describing what had taken place the night before, calling Alistair the lowest form of conman, while referring to Cope as a hero. Unfortunately, Carson and Cole were concerned over what had taken place and called a meeting. Cope rolled his eyes.
“You ready, Cope?” Carson asked, poking his head into Cope’s reading room.
“Yup.” Cope shut the lid of his laptop and followed Carson into the conference room where Ten and Cole waited for them. He was surprised to see Fitz, Ronan, and Jude, who were sitting together, posing a united front. What the hell was happeninghere? “Hey, guys.” Cope shut the door behind him and took a seat at the table. He could feel the tension in the room.
“I wanted to get everyone together to talk about what happened last night with Alistair Hooke,” Carson began, sounding solemn. “I spoke to Ten and Ronan to get a fuller understanding of what happened and I have to tell you, Cope, I’m very concerned.”
Hold on a second, was Carson about to drop the hammer? Cope had been nothing but a loyal, hardworking employee for years. He’d not only brought in new clients, but had a high retention average with previous clients. He’d read for people at block parties, street fairs, and in grocery stores, always making sure to hand out his West Side Magick card. Taking a deep breath, Cope turned to Carson. “What is it that’s concerning you and how can I help resolve it?”
“I would certainly hope you’re going to help resolve things! The phone has been ringing off the hook all morning, we’re slammed with appointments, and there are members of the media who want to interview you. The shop is going to be an absolute madhouse today and I’m not sure we have enough people on the schedule to handle the volume.”
Cope blinked a few times. “Wait, hold on. You’re not going to fire me for running my mouth last night?”
“Fire you?” Carson laughed. “I’d like to clone you to help serve customers today.”
“Can I help?” Jude asked. “I’ve been cleared to return to work and Kaye’s got the kids today.” He looked eager to jump right in.
“Can you answer phones, book appointments and run a cash register? Carson asked, grinning.
“Uh, yeah, sure I can, with a little help,” Jude said.
“Great, you’re hired.” Carson turned to Ronan. “You’re a hell of a salesman. If you want to jump in, we’d love to have you. Same with you, Fitz.”
“I think we can fit that into our schedule.” Fitz looked a little shell-shocked.
“Let’s get to it, guys!” Carson grabbed his notepad and was out the door. Cole was right behind him.
Cope had never felt so relieved in his entire life. He’d been pretty sure Carson was going to start shouting about how stupid and irresponsible he’d been with Alistair Hooke, which he himself had to admit wasn’t his best move, but it seemed like the fates were smiling down on him instead of kicking him in the sack.
