Page 59 of A Shared Mind

That was something I didn’t know but was grateful to learn. “Thank you, Mary Jane. We look damn good, and you’ve given me new things to research. I appreciate it.”

She hugged both of us. “Thank you for giving me a fun beginning to my day. Come back if you’re in town again, guys. Be safe.”

We left the salon and hurried to Clay’s truck. Once we were inside, he turned to me and grinned. “So, darlin’, where to next?”

“Home, Clay. Let’s go home.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Clay

I stopped my truck in the driveway of the farmhouse. The lights were still on in Mama’s studio. I turned to see my beautiful man asleep in the passenger seat. When I turned off the engine, Justin snapped awake. “Where are we?”

“Home, darlin’.”

Justin sat up and rubbed his eyes. It was absolutely the most adorable thing I’d seen since I found a cat and her kittens in the drying barn last summer. “We’re late for dinner, but maybe Mama put something in the fridge for us. You wanna walk up to the studio with me?”

“Of course I do.”

We both hopped out and once he rounded the front of the truck, I grabbed his hand and the two of us walked up the hill to Mama’s studio. What I didn’t expect to hear was Mama laughing inside, but maybe she was on the phone?

The door was open, so I called out. “Mama, it’s Justin and me. What’s—”

Sitting in a chair across from my mother as she sat behind her wheel was the demon hunter, EZ, and his two hell hounds. The dogs were lying on their sides with empty metal bowls in front of them as EZ and Mama laughed about something. What the hell?

“Oh, Clay, dear. Your friend, Ezgart stopped by to see you. You texted me that you were on your way back, so I invited him to stick around to wait for you. I gave his puppies some leftover chicken and rice I made the other day.

“He said the three of you were planning a trip soon. Where are you going?” Mom’s wicked eyebrow lifted in disapproval because she hadn’t heard the news from me. Hell, I hadn’t made any plans for her to know about.

Fuck that wasn’t good. A demon hunter in my mother’s studio wasn’t good at all.

I glanced at the creature. “Uh, EZ where did we settle on going?”

“You mentioned that you were thinking about going to New Orleans with Justin for a business trip, and I agreed to come along.”

I hadn’t mentioned anything of the sort but based on EZ’s statement and the probability that he knew more than we did regarding supernatural events, it seemed we were heading to New Orleans. Before Justin could say anything, his phone buzzed with a text message.

He pulled it from his pocket and checked the screen before he turned to me. “It’s a message from Kirk Dunston.”

Kirk Dunston? “Oh, the guy Eve mentioned. What’s he saying?”

Justin pulled up the message and stepped closer to me so we could both read it.

Hey, Justin. Long time since we chatted. I got the weirdest call today out of the blue. It was Madame Stella at that weird hoodoo shop in NOLA—no clue how she got my number. She said you needed to meet her at her shop. I hope things are going well for you. Reggie and I have moved to Denver and are buying a house. I’m still here if you need to talk. Kirk

“Okay, uh...” I turned to Mama. “We’re going to New Orleans for a couple of days. Mama, do you need anything before we leave? We’re leaving tomorrow, I guess.” I glanced at EZ to see him nod.

“Oh, no, honey. I’m fine. How long will you boys be gone?” Mama kept shaping a pot as she spoke. The hell hounds seemed to be mesmerized by the spinning clay.

I turned to EZ, who shrugged. “As long as it takes?”

“That’s vague.” The whole thing didn’t seem right to me.

EZ laughed, but the hounds didn’t even lift their heads from their paws, both content to watch my mother. Who the fuck knew that hell hounds could win over my mother’s heart? She’d fed them, and they’d sacked out next to her chair and wheel.

Mama smiled. “Are you flying or driving?”

EZ smirked. “We’ll be flying. I’ll be back in the morning for you. Have a good evening.” He stood and snapped his fingers at the hounds. They stood and shook for a second before they walked over to Mama and licked her arms as if to say goodbye.