Page 45 of Dragon in Denial
Chapter 11
She was fucking crazy. Ketu was mated to a woman who was loony tunes.
They’d hooked up, the sex had been off the charts, they’d cleared the air, they were getting along better than ever, it was obvious they were both happy with the turn their relationship had taken—and now he’d discovered she was off her rocker.
“Antoinette, you don’t know this lady. She’s not a good person. She distributes drugs, for fuck’s sake.”
They were seated in the back of an Uber, heading toward his parents’ house. The driver gave him a curious look through the rearview mirror, but Ketu ignored him and focused on the woman seated next to him.
“From everything you and Argyle have said, I can’t help but wonder if she’d be willing to give it up in exchange for actual, real power.”
“You don’t understand. You weren’t there when she lost her fucking mind because Rahu said we were here to take down her drug empire.”
Antoinette’s arms were crossed, her leg folded over her knee, and her lips were pursed. “Do you have a better idea?”
“No, but—”
“Let’s just talk to her. That can’t hurt, can it?”
Antoinette definitely hadn’t taken her crazy pill today.
The driver guided the car to the curb and shifted into park. Ketu thanked him and clamored out of the backseat, then stood next to the door waiting for Antoinette. The driver made the sign of the cross and sped away.
“First of all,” Ketu said, following Antoinette up the driveway, “we have to find her. And need I remind you we have literally no clues regarding her whereabouts?”
When she reached the carport door, Antoinette turned to face him. “Yes, we do. We know where the drug is being manufactured. At some point, she has to get a new supply, right? So we need to stake out the place until that happens.”
He stared at her. “When did you become a private detective?”
She laughed and swatted his chest. “Come on, let’s go reassure Henri that I’m not going to make it a habit of spending the night away from him. And then I have to get ready for my shift at Mitch’s.”
Ketu snagged her arm, stopping her from entering the house.
“What?”
Still holding her arm, he cupped the back of his neck with his other hand. “Listen, Antoinette. We need to talk. About us.”
“I know. But first I need to spend a little time with my son, and then I have to go to work. And we also need to start watching those warehouses, keeping an eye out for Delilah. We have a pretty big to-do list, don’t we?”
She patted his cheek and smiled and pushed open the door.
“Manman,” a child’s voice cried out. Ketu expected Henri to slam into her with such force that she was pushed backward into his arms. Or maybe he sort of wanted that to happen.
Either way, it didn’t, and after a few seconds he became aware of the fact that Antoinette hadn’t moved any farther into the house nor had Henri rushed into her arms.
The reason, he suspected, was sitting at his parents’ kitchen table, smiling cheerfully, a bright red gemstone perched before her, glowing dully.
A witch with long, black hair, pale skin, and lipstick that matched the glowing ruby in front of her. Oh shit.
Delilah.
“Well, hello,” she said, and then she waved. “Do come in. Go ahead, the spell won’t hurt as you pass through the barrier.”
The barrier?
Ketu assessed the situation. His mother also sat at the table, with Henri in her lap. She was still as a statue, but the little boy was struggling against some unseen force. He appeared unable to move from the waist down, but his upper body was thrashing about as he tried unsuccessfully to get off hisgranmé’slap.
“What did you do to them?” Ketu demanded, pushing past Antoinette and hurtling himself into the kitchen.
