Page 27 of Xavier

“The boss who went to jail based on my testimony died in his first month. They ruled it suicide.” Lissette snorted. “I think someone didn’t want him back as boss.”

“Do you know who took over for him?”

“From what I heard in the prison grapevine, the organization split into a couple of factions, and there was some infighting. I’m not certain who came out on top. If they want retribution for my testimony, why did they wait until now? I’ve been out for a few months. They would’ve come after me sooner—probably as I stepped off the bus into Bayou Mambaloa.”

“Is there any other reason they’d come after you?”

Lissette shrugged. “No idea. Maybe they want me to work for them again.” She held up a hand. “Don’t worry. I have no intention of going back to a life of crime. One trip to prison was enough for this girl. The food was terrible, and I prefer a little more color in my wardrobe.”

The bell over the door jangled, and a woman entered, her gaze darting around until it landed on Lissette. Her brow furrowed. “Is Madame Gautier in?”

Lissette drew in a breath and let it out. “No. It’s just me.”

“Oh.” The woman raised a hand to the side of her neck, covering an angry red rash. “I just...she said she had a salve I could use...but never mind.”

Lissette took several steps toward the woman. “I know the salve she would recommend. Let me get some for you.”

The woman’s eyes widened. “No, that’s okay. I’ll just come back when she’s available.”

“She won’t be back for a while. I know all the potions, tinctures and salves. I can help you,” Lissette insisted.

“No, no,” the woman backed through the doorway. “I don’t think so. I’d rather do business with Madame Gautier.”

Lissette reached for a jar on a shelf and turned to the woman. “Try this. It’s what my grandmother would recommend.”

The woman didn’t respond, having left the shop, the door swinging closed after her.

A flush of color stained Lissette’s cheeks. “The woman obviously needed that salve. But she’d rather live with the discomfort than be in the same room as I am.”

“Does that happen often?” Xavier asked.

“Too often.” Lissette placed the jar back on the shelf. “If my grandmother is out of commission for too long, we might have to close the shop. People don’t want to do business with an ex-con.” She shrugged. “I don’t care that they snub me, but my grandmother set up the shop, so I’d have a place to work. It has to bring in enough money to pay the rent and utilities.” She shook her head. “At this rate, we’ll go under.”

“Surely, they’ll come around when they realize Madame Gautier won’t be back for a while.”

Lissette’s lips twisted into a frown. “They’ll likely take their business to Bayou Miste and their Voodoo queen.”

He’d known Bayou Mambaloa was quirky, but he’d thought it unique to the area. “Does every town have a Voodoo queen in the bayou?”

“Not every town,” Lissette said. “There aren’t that many people left who practice the healing arts of Voodoo.” She gave Xavier a weak smile. “I know a little, but I’ve only scratched the surface of the amount of knowledge my grandmother possesses. She’s training me and my cousins Gisele and Holly, but we’re novices at best.”

Xavier narrowed his eyes. “Is she training you in the darker skills?”

Lissette cocked a pretty eyebrow. “Darker skills?”

“You know, like poking pins in a doll? Potions that could make someone sick or die? Not that I believe pins in voodoo dolls do anything, but the potions... Now, that could happen if you know what plants are poisonous.”

Lissette’s eyelids dropped low, and her lips curved in a wicked smile. “Worried?”

“Not at all,” Xavier said. “You said yourself you didn’t want to go back to jail. I’d think if you poisoned someone, that would get you a one-way ticket back.”

“If they knew it was poison or that I was the one who gave it to them—not that I would do anything of the sort.” Her full lips turned upward enough to capture and hold Xavier’s full attention, making him wonder how they’d feel pressed to his.

Whoa.

Where the hell had that thought come from?

One week and he’d be gone. He’d never see her again and never return to Bayou Mambaloa. Though he found her intriguing, he didn’t need to get involved with anyone with baggage when he had enough of his own to work through.