Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“He sent you to steal things?” Gypsy's voice rose in bewilderment. “I can’t believe Grandpa would encourage you to do something so dangerous.”

“How do you think he got into this business in the first place?” Lacey asked with a slight smile.

“I’ve only heard rumors,” Gypsy whispered more than a little amazed by the confession. Some of the highest ranking people at the underground auctions had been throwing her hints for the last couple years. She’d just nodded politely at them and smiled, then bleached the rumors from her mind not wanting to think too hard on them.

She sighed as she admitted, “I just shrugged it all off thinking they were picking on me because we often got a hold of things the others wanted very badly.”

“They had every right to be jealous. Grandpa was a notorious cat burglar in his prime and he was able to get his hands on a lot of valuable items during those years,” Lacey confirmed with pride in her voice.

“His specialty was supernatural items… old spell books, journals, paintings, and various magical items. Underground rumor mills say that he actually found the Holy Grail and hid it from the man that hired him to find it. I seriously doubt he did, but it only adds to the myth that surrounds Grandpa.”

Gypsy frowned, “How did he stay alive all these years going after such dangerous items?”

Lacey shrugged, “Who knows? Grandpa made a lot of enemies before he retired from his favorite pastime. No one could prove it was him because he had mastered the art of thievery. One of the first things he’d stolen was a cloaking device that rendered him completely undetectable. His shield against most of those enemies who did suspect him was the fact that a lot of the things they thought he might have stolen were powerful enough to be used against them if they retaliated.”

“A cloaking device,” Gypsy repeated with wide eyes. “Like Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak?”

“I don’t know… I never got to see it since it disappeared before either of us was born,” Lacey answered. “I guess someone else was an even better thief than Grandpa.”

“No 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 was just the tip of the iceberg. If they truly knew everything, they would have already tossed her out the door and locked it behind her.

Nick noticed the intense look Ren was giving Lacey and wondered if the idiot was actually going to lay into the girl for being the thief he’d originally accused her of being. In the deepest part of his mind, he hoped Ren did do something stupid so that the girls could put him out on his ass.

Deciding to wait and see what happened, Nick walked over to stand near the side of the sofa where Gypsy was and watch the show.

Knowing they were busted, Gypsy quickly pulled her hand away from the crystal and cringed when Ren stared down at it with an expression of disappointment. She didn’t understand why, but being caught by Ren made her feel like a child and she frowned, scooting across the cushion to get closer to Nick.

“Under ordinary circumstances, a privacy crystal might have worked with your grandpa and your other relatives… but I’m not human,” Ren informed them both but his words were meant for Lacey. “And after what I just heard, I think keeping secrets isn’t the best idea… in fact, it’s a very bad one and you,” he added pinning Lacey with a hard stare, “didn’t tell nearly half the story.”

Lacey pressed her lips together and gave him her most defiant glare, “No one asked you to eavesdrop you little sneak.”

Ren was suddenly towering over Lacey, staring down at her with his intense silver eyes and his sunglasses in his fisted hand. How dare she call him little, he was twice her size.

Gypsy jumped up and quickly moved to stand behind Nick when Ren slammed both of his palms against the back of the sofa, caging Lacey against the cushions.

“Start talking,” Ren ordered in a harsh voice hoping intimidation was the key to getting the details he wanted.

Now that Gypsy was behind him and couldn’t see his expression, Nick's lips spread into a wide grin. He took a step back, bringing his body that much closer to hers, silently letting her know that he would protect her from the big bad out of control Ren. It wasn’t his fault Ren was making him look like the good guy.

Lacey glared up at Ren with equal ferocity and slipped something out of her pocket, palming it without anyone noticing. Feeling the thin warm metal against her skin, she surprised everyone when she slammed her palm against Ren’s chest and easily shoved him away from her.

“Back off,” she insisted calmly.

Ren felt something stinging his skin through his shirt and did indeed take a reluctant step back. His lips thinned knowing she had some kind of enchanted medallion in her hand and with one quick motion he jerked it away from her. When it instantly burned his hand, he slung it across the room.

“Enough with the childish toys?” he growled, silently wishing his hand would stop stinging. Whatever that was… it hadn’t liked him very much and the feeling was mutual.

“I don’t have to tell you a damn thing,” Lacey said keeping her voice unhurried and even as she rose to her feet.

The fact that the medallion had worked so well on him let her know he was powerful. It only reacted to power and usually wouldn’t even work on low level demons because they didn’t have enough of it. Honestly, she hadn’t expected it to work on him… it was just the only thing she’d had within reaching distance.

“I may be only human but don’t make the mistake of underestimating me.” Lacey exhaled loudly when Ren took a threatening step toward her. “I don’t even know you,” she informed him with a raise of her eyebrow.

Ren ran a hand through his bangs in exasperation and silently counted to ten… not that it was helping.

Ignoring Ren, Lacey directed her gaze toward Gypsy. “I’m going to get out of these boy clothes and take a shower. Did Grandpa save any of the clothes I left here?”

Gypsy nodded deciding Lacey had more balls than she remembered, though her cousin had never really been a push over. “They are packed away in the trunk in the closet.”

Lacey smiled thankfully, “Good, I’ll see you in a few minutes. And you,” she continued, sending another glare at Ren and paying him back for the way he’d done her just a few minutes ago, “don’t you even think about peeking.”

“As if,” Ren said insultingly and crossed his arms over his chest as he gave her the once over, “you look like a dirty little street rat.”

Lacey let a smirk appear on her face deciding that if she couldn’t beat him at the insult game then she would have fun with him, “You know you want to.”

“I think you have it backwards,” Ren glowered down at her. “You’re the one known to pick the lock and slip in where you are uninvited.”

Giving up, Lacey threw the silencing crystal still in her hand at him and took off for the shower, slamming the door behind her.

Ren smirked as he caught the crystal in midflight and skillfully pocketed the trinket… they wouldn’t be using that little bit of magic again.

“She forgot her clothes,” Nick remarked nodding toward the closet Gypsy had indicated.

Within seconds, the door flew open again and Lacey stormed out grumbling under her breath about needing a testosterone free zone. She went straight to the closet and dragged the trunk into view.

Gypsy lifted an eyebrow and fought the grin that tried to appear on her face when Lacey pulled the heavy trunk into the bathroom with her and slammed the door again, never once even looking their way.

The moment they all heard the shower turn on Gypsy let her light tinkling laughter fill the room. It was going to be so much fun having her cousin back. If nothing else… the girl was entertaining and had been her best friend as far back as she could remember.

“I fail to see why you’re so amused,” Ren grumbled and stormed out of the apartment, stomping his feet all the way up the stairs. He had no clue how the hell he could be this aggravated and turned on at the same time.

Nick snorted and looked over at Gypsy, “I do believe they were just flirting with each other.”

Gypsy nodded liking the idea. Maybe this would be another reason for Lacey to stay. “Well, if she is in trouble… and I suspect she is, who better to protect her than Ren?” she said with a smile.

Nick didn’t know whether to be jealous that she thought Ren was a better protector than he was, or to be happy that Gypsy seemed fine with Ren and Lacey's weird attraction to each other. He thought about it for a second then gave in… silently admitting Ren was bigger, stronger, and way more powerful. Too bad the big guy’s downfall was the fact he was lacking a few brain cells.

Ren had heard Nick's crack but ignored what he was insinuating. Flirting… there was no way in hell he would ever think about being attracted to that brat. She was sarcastic, devious, and a thief… all minuses in his book. He made it up the stairs and started pacing back and forth in the huge storage area.

“She actually ordered me… ME not to peek,” he ranted in a harsh whisper as he paced.