Tequila for Two: An Althea Rose Mystery (The Althea Rose Series Book 2)

by Tricia O'Malley

  “He tried to take our power. Pretty much like you said – a psychic vampire who feeds on power.”

  “But what about the summoning the dark underlords thing?” I asked, pushing my hair back from my face.

  “I think he tried to cover what he was doing with a ‘draw down the moon’ ritual. Usually the ritual is considered quite holy and beautiful, a way to connect with the Goddess Diana or one of the other goddesses. I’ve been present for a few, and found them to be really lovely,” Luna said, checking her rearview mirror.

  “This was not lovely.”

  “No, what he was trying to do was take power. From us. From the crowd. And from those below,” Miss Elva said ominously.

  “Why would someone do that?”

  “To feed their ego. The more power he has, the more he can control people. It’s a dangerous game to play,” Luna said as we approached the end of the gravel road where we would turn back towards civilization.

  “Goddesses are gonna smack him down,” Miss Elva observed.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Goddesses don’t like when someone tries to trifle with that stuff. Just you watch, Horace is going to get what’s coming to him.”

  “Did you curse him?” I asked. Miss Elva was legendary for coming up with the best and most inventive curses.

  “Child, I didn’t have to. That man cursed himself when he started trying to steal power from Goddesses. Trust me, he’s in for it.”

  “I suppose that’s something, then,” I said, craning my neck to look behind us. “There aren’t, like, demons or anything coming after us, are there?”

  “Not us, child, not us,” Miss Elva said.

  “Speaking of no harm coming to us,” Luna said, as we sped towards downtown Tequila Key, “what was that little magickal number you pulled back there?”

  “Me? What about you? How come we could leave the circle and not be harmed? I was convinced we’d pick up another Rafe.”

  Rafe sniffed beside me, his nose in the air. “You’d only be so lucky.”

  “There is a little-known spell for breaking a circle when the one who cast it has ill intentions toward you. It’s old magick,” Luna said and Miss Elva nodded her head.

  “That’s a good one, Luna child. I hadn’t even thought of that one.”

  “Well, thank you. I’m glad we didn’t get zapped by whatever that light was,” I said, running my hands up and down my arms to soothe myself.

  “You should be proud of yourself, Thea. You sure did a good job of protecting a whole lot of people,” Miss Elva said.

  “I tried,” I said, shrugging it away.

  Luna glanced at me in the rearview mirror; I could just see her eyes in the glow of the console lights.

  “Tell me how you controlled it like you did.”

  “I don’t know, really. I thought of the white bubble and was starting the protection spell when I looked around at all the people behind me. I kind of felt guilty that I was just going to protect us and not everyone else, so I made a magickal donut.”

  Miss Elva snorted, and then began to rock back and forth in her seat, wheezing as she slapped her knee.

  “A magickal donut?” Luna squeaked.

  “Yeah, one that was basically a circular protective ring around us and everyone outside the circle, with a hole in the middle for whatever nonsense Horace was about to pull onto himself,” I shrugged, feeling a little foolish.

  “Only you would make a magickal donut,” Luna said, shaking her head back and forth before she began to laugh.

  “I like donuts,” I protested.

  “Who doesn’t?” Miss Elva laughed.

  Lights flashed across the interior of the car and I froze, fear racing up my spine.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I groaned.

  “Nope, we’re totally getting pulled over,” Luna swore and eased the car to the side of the road, the interior of the car silent as we waited for Chief Thomas to approach.

  I swear – it was almost like it was a full moon or something.

  Oh wait.

  “Evening,” Chief Thomas said as he leaned down to look in the car, the light from his flashlight blinding us momentarily before he lowered it. “Ladies.”

  “Chief Thomas,” we all chorused dutifully, and he shook his head.

  “Do you know why I’m pulling you over?” Chief Thomas asked Luna, his eyes serious.

  “Because I was speeding?”

  “Yes, you were. Going twelve over. You know you can’t drive like that in a small town like this. What’s the hurry?”

  “Miss Elva wants a donut,” I piped up, and felt the seat in front of me shake as laughter rippled through Miss Elva.

  Chief Thomas looked at me and a wisp of a smile crossed his face.

  “Well now, I can certainly understand the pressing need for a donut once in a while,” Chief Thomas agreed. “Y'all coming from that festival?”

  “No, just coming from an early Halloween party down in Looe Key,” I said. Wow, the lies were strong with me tonight.

  “An early Halloween party?” Chief Thomas raised his eyebrow at me.

  “She’s lying,” Luna sighed and shook her head, smiling sweetly at Chief Thomas. “We were at a private party giving readings. We always dress like this when we get hired out. You know, play into the stereotype a bit. It gets us more tips,” Luna explained. I saw Chief Thomas’s eyes skim down Luna’s nude dress and he nodded.

  “Makes sense.”

  “We really were just hungry. Hoping to get to Lucky’s before they stop serving food,” I added.

  The walkie-talkie at Chief Thomas’s waist squawked and he stepped back a pace, raising his finger. Listening, he responded. “On it.” Then he approached the car once more.

  “Ladies, go get that meal. I’ll follow up if I have any issues.” With that, he all but ran back to his car. I watched as he whipped a fast U-turn and sped back in the direction we had come.

  “He’s going to the festival.”

  “That he is. Non-magickal people will have reported that earthquake.”

  Luna pulled the car back out onto the highway.

  “Are we really going to Lucky’s?”

  “Oh yeah. I can’t wait until Beau gets a load of our outfits.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “MY, MY, MY, what do we have here? Did I miss an invite? Is it Carnival up in here?” Beau called, his hands on his hips as he ran his eyes up and down our outfits.

  “Careful, child, I’m not afraid to curse you into being a straight man,” Miss Elva cautioned as she maneuvered herself onto a stool by the bar. Beau laughed, and leaned over to smack a kiss on her cheek.

  “My worst nightmare.” He shivered dramatically.

  Lucky’s was fairly slow for a Saturday night, but I wasn’t surprised. Between the festival in town and a murderer on the loose, people were probably sticking pretty close to home. A few patrons lingered over their food at worn teak tables out on the verandah, the tiki torches flickering in the breeze as they dispelled the bugs.

  “Is food done for the night?”

  “Mostly. I’ll give your our limited late-night menu though,” Beau said, sliding a smaller menu towards us.

  Frankly, I didn’t care. Any sustenance would do. After what we’d seen tonight, I was ravenous.

  A laugh that I knew well caused me to raise an eyebrow. Beau braced his hands on the bar top in front of me and leaned in.

  “Play nice,” he ordered.

  “Why wouldn’t I?” I smiled at him. We both knew I was lying. He just shook his head at me and pulled out his waiter’s pad.

  “Care to order?”

  “Burger, you know what I like,” I said, distracted by the fact that Trace was on a date out on the verandah. God, didn’t he know this was my place? Beau was my best friend after all. Trace should know better than to bring his dates here. Feeling extraordinarily put out, I kept my eyes trained on the bar as I heard him approach.

  �
��Hey, Trace,” Luna finally said and I knew I had to turn or I would appear to be acting like a petulant child. Which I certainly wasn’t, I thought as I pulled in my lower lip and turned around with a bright smile on my face.

  “Hey, how’s it going?” I asked, brightly.

  Trace looked good. Like, really good. I hadn’t seen him in a couple weeks, as we hadn’t gone on our usual dive trips. Someone had been sleeping in more than usual, and I knew it had to do with the girl hanging on his arm. I included her in my smile, though mentally I was totally judging her.

  “You guys remember Sienna, right?” Trace asked casually, his arm draped over her shoulders. Sienna smiled at us, though her eyes narrowed for a moment when her glance slid over me. I knew she was remembering when I’d been bitchy to her on Trace’s boat a while back.

  I had to admit they looked cute together. Trace’s lanky build, his lightweight plaid button-down rolled to his elbows to reveal his tattoos, and his sun-kissed hair pulled back at his neck paired nicely with her petite frame, sandy blonde hair, and perky-all-over cheerleader appeal. I could see why he’d gone for her.

  I just didn’t have to like it.

  “Did you guys come from a costume party or something?” Sienna asked, wrinkling her nose at our outfits.

  “Yup, massive one. You weren’t invited?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her. I saw the corner of Trace’s mouth quirk slightly in a smile.

  “No, but I’m new here, so I’m not surprised,” Sienna said easily.

  “Well, it was loads of fun. Maybe next time,” I added, deciding not to be a total bitch. I didn’t necessarily want to bully the poor girl for being new in town. It wasn’t like she’d stolen my boyfriend, I silently reminded myself. I’m the one who had chosen Cash over Trace.

  So why did it bother me so much to see Trace with another girl? I’d been friends with Trace for years now and we’d never crossed the line that would take us from friendship into something more. At least, not until a little while ago, when we’d both been single at the same time and Cash had entered the picture. All of a sudden, Trace had been all up in my personal space.

  And I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t liked it.

  Let me tell you, it’s no fun picking between two hot men. There’s a good chance they’ll both get fed up with you and kick you to the curb, and there’s also a good chance you may pick the wrong one. I know it sounds like a fun problem to have, but the situation had bothered me more than I’d cared to admit at the time.

  Now I was looking at Trace in a new light – and it had nothing to do with being dive buddies, and everything to do with being bedroom buddies. I blew out a breath and scolded myself. Clearly, Cash had been out of town for too long and my hormones were overtaking my usual good sense. Strike that – my occasional good sense.

  It figures that two men would come along in my life at the exact same time. Or at least make their interest known at the exact same time. I mean, where’d they been the past six years when I’d been dating someone once every six months at best and supremely unhappy with my love life? Yes, I’d asked the universe for some help with my love life, and it had certainly delivered. A little too abundantly, I might add.

  “Well, we’re going to get going. We want to catch up on the last season of Scandal,” Sienna chirped.

  I raised my eyebrow at Trace and he blushed a little under my scrutiny, shrugging awkwardly.

  “Have fun, see you tomorrow,” I said pointedly to Trace.

  “Yes, I can’t wait to learn to dive,” Sienna gushed and my eyes shot to Trace’s face as I tilted my head in question. Did she just say she was joining us on our dive tomorrow?

  Trace shrugged his shoulders guiltily.

  “Yeah, um, I told Sienna I’d teach her the ropes. When she heard we were going diving in the morning, she told me how much she wanted to learn.”

  I glanced at Sienna and she met my look, her eyes wide and guileless.

  Oh, I just bet you wanted to learn, I thought.

  “Great! I’m sure she’ll have fun seeing the sharks,” I said breezily, turning back to the bar as my food was served, but not before I saw Sienna blanch a little.

  “You didn’t say anything about sharks,” I heard her saying as Trace led her from the restaurant.

  “Where does she think the sharks live?” I demanded of Luna.

  “Maybe I’d better go along in the morning to make sure you don’t drown her,” Luna said, taking a bite of her salad.

  “I promise not to drown her,” I grumbled over the salty crispiness of my French fry. I couldn’t believe Trace was bringing his new girlfriend on our dive. That was our time together. For years, Trace had been taking me out on his dive boat in the very early mornings, before he had customers on board for the day. I used the time to work on my underwater photography, and he used the time to just chill out underwater without having to be responsible for anyone else’s safety. It was a win-win for us both, and I was more than a bit annoyed that Sienna would be joining us tomorrow.

  “I don’t know what your problem is anyway, Thea. You’ve got a scrumptious man, if I recall correctly?” Beau lectured me.

  I shrugged one shoulder non-committedly, and he raised an eyebrow.

  “I mean, I do. Yes. I think I do. We talk a lot.”

  “See, that’s huge right there. Everyone knows guys don’t like to talk on the phone,” Beau nodded at me as he slid a fresh mojito across the bar to me.

  “Why can’t you have them both? That’s what I would do,” Miss Elva said. I gaped at her.

  “You can’t have both,” I argued.

  “Says you. You can if you’re Miss Elva,” Miss Elva chortled, and I almost spit out my food laughing at the horrified look on Rafe’s face.

  “What are you looking at?” Beau asked, following my gaze. I realized I’d grown used to Rafe hanging around.

  “My ghost boyfriend,” Miss Elva said. “He’s a little pissed that I’m talking about taking more than one lover at a time.” She turned to lecture the ghost. “Now, Rafe, you’re going to have to realize – you can’t have me all to yourself until I’m in the spirit world with you.”

  Beau’s mouth dropped open. Then he shook his head. “Of course, why wouldn’t she be talking to her ghost boyfriend?” he asked.

  “I kind of have a ghost boyfriend too,” I muttered, and Luna shoved me a little in my chair.

  “Whining is not very becoming. You’re gonna feel bad about that when Cash comes back down here and rocks your world,” Luna scolded gently.

  “Probably. But for now, the only world that’s getting rocked is Sienna’s tomorrow,” I promised.

  “You leave that poor girl alone. We’ve got enough problems on our plate without you trying to take down some stick of a girl,” Miss Elva lectured.

  “What other problems?” Beau asked, reaching across the bar to pick up Miss Elva’s empty glass. He held it up in question, and she waved her hand in a ‘go ahead’ gesture.

  “Well, we’ve got a murder to solve, for one,” Miss Elva began.

  “Please tell me you aren’t trying to solve that murder out on the beach,” Beau gasped.

  Luna and I looked at each other, guilt evident on our faces.

  “What did you two do?” Beau demanded.

  “Shhh,” Luna hissed, and we leaned forward so that only Beau could hear us.

  “We were on the beach the night of the murder. I was teaching Althea how to cast a circle. The dead body ended up smack dab on our circle,” Luna whispered and Beau gasped, clutching his hand to his heart.

  “Y’all are going to give me a heart attack. I can even with you two. This is not good,” Beau shook his head gravely.

  “Thanks, Mr. Obvious,” I said, glaring at him.

  “Althea left her shoes there too. And whatever else she may have dropped when we ran.”

  “Why’d you run?” Miss Elva asked curiously. “Did my sweet Rafe scare you?”

  Rafe puffed out his chest at her words, an
d I rolled my eyes.

  “I just felt like there was an evil presence on the beach and my gut said to run,” I said, shoving another French fry in my mouth. I was stress eating. Who cares?

  “And now Thea thinks there’s going to be another murder,” Luna said quietly, causing Beau’s eyes to go wide in his handsome face.

  “No,” he said.

  “Yes, and I don’t know when or how because someone interrupted my vision today,” I said, glaring at Rafe. He shrunk to hide behind Miss Elva.

  “You leave Rafe alone. He means well.”

  I hate when people say that. It’s not necessarily a positive thing and I feel like it’s kind of a cop-out – a way to excuse bad behavior. I gave Rafe the stink eye before returning to the conversation with Beau.

  “Is that what you were doing tonight? Gathering clues?” Beau asked as he washed glasses. He paused to wave at a couple who were leaving.

  “We were going to, but the festival took a turn for the worse,” Luna said, and I continued to eat my meal, letting Luna fill Beau in on the night’s events. By the time she finished, he was fanning his face with a dishtowel.

  “Lawd, remind me to get off work more often. Y’all had yourselves some excitement tonight,” Beau exclaimed.

  “Trust me, it’s not as much fun as it sounds.”

  It really wasn’t. I hate thinking about a murderer lurking amongst us. It messes with what I really want to think about – which is Cash and when I’ll see him next.

  “So, all roads lead to this Horace character?” Beau asked.

  “It certainly seems like that,” Luna agreed, biting at her lower lip. I didn’t say anything, and only looked up when the silence grew and I realized that everyone was looking at me.

  “What?”

  “Do you think Horace did this?” Beau asked, enunciating slowly as if I couldn’t understand English. I picked an ice cube out of my drink and threw it at him.

  “I don’t know,” I answered honestly, fidgeting with my napkin. “It’s like, yes, I do, because Horace is crazy and it’s easy to hate him. But then there’s a side of me that feels like this is too neatly wrapped up in a bow for us.”