Karma's Kiss

Chapter Twenty-Four: Prepping for a Surprise

*Copyright: All Rights Reserved, Stephanie Myrick, 2024. Posted to Wattpad ONLY*

Maverick parked down the street from the store and looked up the photographer. She worked out of her home, judging by the location on the GPS. Not wanting to show up at her home randomly, he called and asked her if she would meet with him about taking some pictures for a wedding and set up an appointment for the next morning. A little annoyed that he was going to have to wait to move forward in his investigation, he checked his messages and saw Levi had messaged back and agreed to meet him, telling Maverick that his band was setting up at a nearby club all afternoon and he could stop by whenever.

Deciding to head there after he was done with Jynx, Maverick put Watson's vest on him and headed into the store. He stopped and looked around when he got inside. It had changed a lot since the last time he'd been inside, and not just because it doubled in size. Directly in front of the doors was the check-out desk with a register on each end. To the left was the clothing store, divided into two, with the Raven line on one side and the Jynx line on the other. The right was the Wiccan supplies. Built-in shelving lined the back wall, which had probably been full of books, statues and figurines but was pretty empty at the moment. At the far end were refrigerators that he assumed were for fresh herbs and other fresh ingredients, he assumed because they were empty and turned off. To his immediate right was a large glass cabinet that held a few large crystals and pieces of jewelry that hadn't sold yet and a mostly empty bin that held smaller tumbled stones. Other shelving held teapots and mugs, packets of tea, boxes of tarot and other cards.

All the shelving and racks were practically empty, so the sale must have been an enormous success. There were still quite a few people in the store buying up what was left, though, so he was positive they would be closing the store earlier than they intended. Spotting Jynx standing with Antonia and Raven near the back, he made his way over to them. Antonia saw him first and immediately went from laughing about something to looking anxious.

"What did you find out?"

"Nothing about him... having extracurricular activities, sorry. I have a meeting with the photographer tomorrow morning. She works out of her home, so I thought it would be better to meet somewhere public. I did find someone he cheated with though." He smiled apologetically as Raven crouched to greet Watson.

"Rosalie Coleman." Antonia folded her arms. "I knew there was something weird there. She avoided both of us at the calendar's launch party to the point that it was rude."

"She hasn't been in the store in like a year either." Jynx put her hands on her hips and drew herself up to her full height, her lips in a hard line. "And she won't be allowed back." Raven nodded in agreement as she stood up, brushing Watson's fur from her pants.

"Isn't she married to Vinnie Coleman?" she asked, pulling out her phone and opening her social media. "With like six kids?"

"Two kids, it just seems like more because they constantly have large groups of friends over." Jynx leaned over Raven's shoulder. "Do we have any proof we can send to her husband?"

"No, just what she told me." Maverick shook his head. "They haven't been together since she realized he was with Antonia and confronted him. He threatened to destroy her career."

"That is his go-to threat," Antonia sighed as she looked around the store, rubbing her upper arms nervously. "But of course, he's managed to do it to the people who tried to stand up to him before, so I can see why people would be scared."

"Yeah, but the difference here is you're getting proof before you confront him, and he doesn't know you're aware of anything yet, so he can't start his campaign of terror," Maverick reassured her. The more he learned about Dallas and his tactics, the more he thought Antonia was right to get as much proof as possible before she ended things. "I'm meeting Levi to get his side of the story later this afternoon." He looked at Jynx expectantly. "Do you still want to go over your plans for my office with me?" Both Raven and Jynx were taking haunting Nola pretty seriously and were out most evenings, either doing that or with Eric and Keanna, so they hadn't spent a lot of time together. Jynx looked at Antonia and Raven.