Witch Is The New Black (Paris, Texas Romance #3)

“So what did she give me?” she asked on a wince, her words thick and tight.

Eddie smiled at the memory. The same smile he used to give her when he recalled something pleasant. “Marie gave you the gift of life, totally unbeknownst to your mother and father. She popped into the hospital one night under the guise of a visit and gave you her blood magic—she loved your mother that much. The blood magic saved you from certain death, Bernie. But it also made you very valuable to the not-so-nice people in our world.”

Her head spun and her arms ached as she tried not to strain against the chains for fear of setting them off. “So my parents really didn’t know I was a witch? Or half witch? Or whatever the hell I am?”

“A witch with blood magic, pretty girl. And I thought they knew. Come to find out much, much later, they had no clue. I think Marie’s plan must have been to confess to them later on in your life. Maybe when you turned thirteen, when all good witches really begin to come into their own? So she could help you acclimate. Who knows? But if I knew Marie, and I did, she’d never let you stumble around the way you did for almost twenty years, not knowing who you’d become. Of course, I’m only guessing at what her intent was. She died long before she had the chance to tell your parents, or anyone. In fact, she died only a few days after your miraculous recovery.”

Bernie’s heart began to throb painfully in her chest, pushing against her ribs until she thought she’d pass out. Her breathing sped up.

Closing her eyes, she asked the dreaded question. “How do you know this? How do you know all about me and Marie and my parents?”

“Because I was there, Bernie.”

“There?”

“Uh-huh. I was Marie’s lover at the time.”

She’d slept with someone who’d slept with her mother’s best friend? Gak.

Process, Bernie. Process this information quick and figure this out!

“You knew my mother and father?”

Eddie finally grinned, his face, so oddly pale, lighting up. “I did. We barbecued, we played board games; Marie and I did all the things boring humans do as couples. Nice people, your parents. But I was just passing the time with Marie. No serious intentions. I had no clue she possessed blood magic until I caught her saving you—with that damn book.”

“What happened to Marie, Eddie? How did she die?” she almost screamed, hearing the rising panic in her voice.

Eddie sighed with what sounded like regret. “What a mess that was. Sometimes impulsivity and my endless rage at being the butt of every warlock joke known to man can be my curse.”

Maybe it was because she’d been in the dark for so long or maybe she was just a glutton for punishment, but somehow, the devil was all up in her details. “How did she die, Eddie?” she repeated through clenched teeth.

“The same way your parents did. At my hand.”

Her panic rose to a level she almost couldn’t keep in check—but the good news was, she’d finally figured out where she was.

Wine—there was a rack of it in the corner.

She was in Ridge’s storm cellar.





Chapter 14



“Wine!” Fee yelped, hopping onto a stack of boxes. “I just heard my B! I don’t know what the hell it means, or how it relates to her, but she’s thinking about wine!”

Ridge stopped dead, fighting the rising tide of panic. “Where is she Fee?”

Fee swatted his tail, his ears twitching. “It’s not clear yet! She’s all damn wonky in her head right now. I’m trying to get inside her damn brain, but she’s such a mixed-up mess I can’t nudge my way in for very long.”

Ridge removed his Stetson and ran his hand over his head, taking a deep breath as he leaned against the wall of the large storage unit where Bernie’s parents’ things were located. Thank God, she was still alive. If she was thinking wine, she was still alive.

Please stay alive.

Winnie and the seniors were tearing through box after box, searching for anything that might help them to understand Fate’s vision, looking at things with witch eyes instead of the eyes of an innocent, as Bernie had been when she’d packed everything away.

Gus and Flora worked side by side, poring over old magazines, shaking them out, while Glenda-Jo flipped furiously though tattered scrapbooks. Clive picked through boxes of Tupperware and kitchen sundries with Greta’s help.

Calla and Daphne broke a lock on a filing cabinet, tearing out one file after another.

The moment they’d realized Bernie was missing, they’d banded together and searched every corner of Paris until they’d found the Pacer, parked right off of Pecked Hen Lane.

Jacques the GPS, still panicked, frantically explained that someone named Doris had kidnapped her, and then Winnie made the decision to take matters into her own hands by zapping them all here to the storage unit.