16. Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Sixteen
Joshua “Loki” Ledet
The smile on Wires and New York’s faces had hope surging through me. It was like Decker had fallen off the face of the earth. Numerous calls to his office either went unanswered or whoever answered relayed the message that Decker would be out of the office indefinitely due to a family situation.
We all knew what that situation was. His ass was on the run, and I still hadn’t been able to find shit on him. Even Brian Hamm had been collaborating with Wires trying to find out where the hell he’d disappeared to. And so far, nothing had panned out.
“Please tell me you’ve got good news.”
I ran my hand through my hair, sighing. I had a long conversation with Nikki about her publishing her story and more importantly were I stood with what happened between us after I fucked her a couple more times. Did I regret the conversation we needed to have? Fuck no. She needed to know where I stood, because I was all in when it came to her.
I was starting to agree with her friend, that maybe subconsciously, I couldn’t move on with other women because she was the one who I always wanted to be with. I didn’t know how true that was, but I knew she was something I wanted back then, and I wanted her now. Time, circumstances, nor distance changed that.
I wanted a relationship with her. A genuine relationship. Now she had to decide if that was what she wanted. I gave her space to make a decision about us and get her story about Decker together.
She claimed she had a few more sources to confirm things with before she was ready to publish it, but as long as she kept the boys around for protection, I’d back whatever she decided to do.
She now had a target on her back not only from Decker, but other powerful people who were at that auction. And I definitely wouldn’t make the same mistake with her, I made with Monica.
“I do have good news,” Wires said, plopping down in the chair in front of my desk while New York took the other chair. “Samantha Decker has been spotted. Apparently, she’s superstitious as fuck and you’ll never guess who she goes to see to read her fortune?”
Wires and New York laughed, and I knew immediately who he was referring too.
“Let me guess. The self-proclaimed, Voodoo Queen of New Orleans herself, Bloody Mary,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“The one and only,” New York said with a smile.
I shook my head. “Fucking quack.”
Sheila Ledet, or Bloody Mary as she called herself these days now that she had finally fell off her fucking rocker, was my father’s youngest sister and a fucking nut-job who catered to tourists and misinformed people who had no claim to Voodoo. For the right price she’d sell you a potion, some magic crystals, and a pile of dogshit. And I hated to admit it, but she was fucking good at it. People ate that shit up no matter how ridiculous it was.
I’d been around the real shit most of my life being friends with Reggie. His and Nikki’s grandmother was a practitioner of Haitian Vodou. She was a manbo or a priestess if I wasn’t mistaken. And when I was younger and hung out at their house, people would come from everywhere, even fly in to see their grandmother.
My aunt was no priestess like she claimed to be and definitely had no blood to lay claim to it, but she was one of the best con artists in the fucking state.
“Alright,” I sighed, dreading having to talk to the crazy bitch, “let’s go pay my delusional aunt a visit.”
As I pulled open the door, the small silver doorbell hanging over the entrance of Spiritual Awakenings chimed softly. The overpowering aroma of incense invaded my nose, and the gentle melody of light music played in the shop’s background.
The flickering candlelight created an eerie ambiance, casting a haunting glow over the assortment of trinkets, potions, candles, and voodoo dolls my aunt passed off as the real thing, but I knew better.
I walked closer to the counter, while New York and Wires flanked me on either side.
“My name is Mandy,” the young woman said from behind the counter. “How can I help you?”
Although she was polite, she looked at us like we had three heads. I guess she wasn’t used to bikers coming in here.
Of course, Mandy looked just like you would think someone would look who was into this hippie new age shit my aunt tried to pass off as Voodoo.
Mandy’s long dark hair which was a stark contrast to her pale skin, hung over her shoulders in two braids. She wore a loose flowery dress, and a bunch of silver and gold bracelets on both arms. She also had a couple of small hoop nose rings as well as a couple of long, beaded necklaces of a variety of colors around her neck and large silver hoop earrings. She looked like the typical wannabee spiritualist who plagued the city selling lies to people looking for help and those looking to harm, like Samantha Decker.
“Where’s Shelia?”
The girl who had to be in her mid to late twenties furrowed her brow and I rolled my eyes.
“Where’s Bloody Mary?” I asked, this time using her stage name.
“Oh!” the girl said, a wide smile crossed her face. “She’s with a client right now. I’m her apprentice. Maybe there is something I can help you with.”
She looked at me, then her eyes drifted over to Wires and New York before moving back to me.
“Nah, that’s alright. I need to have a word with my aunt.”
I started walking towards the back, where the sounds of Shelia’s captivating performance echoed through the air.
“Hey wait! You can’t go back there!” Mandy shouted, trying to get me to stop because my dear old auntie was with a client.
“Keep her up front,” I said over my shoulder.
Wires grabbed her, keeping Mandy at the front of the store, while New York followed me to the back. When we reached the area, my aunt was in top tier con artist mode.
She waved her hands around, chanting, while black smoke swirled around. Wind from a fan I knew she had stashed somewhere lifted their hair like a ghost was around them. And this bitch even had the lit candles flickering. She was going all out for this client.
“Bravo!” I started clapping my hands, startling both women. “Bravo!”
When they looked over at me, my aunt’s eyes were wide as saucers until she realized it was me, then they narrowed.
“Joshua, what the hell are you doing here?” my aunt asked, as she stood to her feet.
“I’m sorry to interrupt you taking some poor bastard’s money. No offense to you, lady,” I said my eyes flicking to her client before they landed back on my aunt. “We need to talk.”
“And you don’t know how to use a phone?” she asked angrily. “I have a business to run so I don’t have the time to talk to you right now.”
New York snorted loudly. “You mean you have a con to run,” he said which provoked a glare from her, causing him to shrug because it was the truth.
“Nope, this needed to be done in person, Shelia,” I said, when her eyes landed on me.
She should know by now, there was no way she was getting out of this. I wasn’t going any fucking where until I got the answers I needed. I wanted to know the last time she had talked to Samantha Decker and where the hell she was.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Decker,” my aunt said to her client. “Let me handle this, and I’ll get back to your reading.”
New York looked at me and mouthed what the fuck.
There was no fucking way we could be that lucky. There was no fucking way Samantha Decker was sitting only a few feet from me. She didn’t look anything like the pictures we had of her. This lady had curly, fire engine red hair, where Samantha Decker, had long, straight almost platinum blonde hair.
“That’s alright, Bloody Mary,” Samantha Decker said, standing. “I think I’ve heard enough.”
“Sit down,” I said as calmly as I could.
It took everything in me not to put a bullet in her head. She was just as responsible for that house of horrors as her husband.
“Excuse me?” she said, her uppity attitude plastered all across her face.
“I said sit the fuck down!”
She hesitated for only a second before she sat down in the chair.
“Joshua what the hell are you doing?” my aunt hissed.
“I need to have a little conversation, with Mrs. Decker, Shelia. Would you rather that be done here or somewhere else?”
Shelia glared at me for a moment then looked back to Mrs. Decker. “What did she do?” she asked me.
“All I’m going to say is if you don’t want the cops to disrupt your business, make the right choice.”
“Get her out of here,” Shelia said, and Samantha Decker jumped to her feet.
New York grabbed her before she made a run for it.
“Let me go!” she screamed, struggling against his hold. “Do you know who I am!”
“I know exactly who you are,” I said. “And I know exactly what you and your husband do.”
Her already pale skin turned a ghostly shade of white and I couldn’t do anything but laugh. “Yes, that’s right, Mrs. Decker. It’s time to pay for your sins.”
I turned to my aunt. “Make sure you tell Mandy, none of this ever happened. And if anything comes back to the Sinners, this is the first place I’m coming. Do we have an understanding?”
She nodded her head. “We do. Now get the hell out of here before you run my customers away.”
A smile crossed my face. “Nice seeing, Shelia.”
Now it was time to find where Decker was hiding, and his wife would tell me everything I needed to know.