Excerpt of Enchanted Again

Here's the second scene from Chapter One of Enchanted Again (I'll tell you why I stopped when you reach the end). I read the full chapter at Mile Hi Con (and think I made some sales).


March, Denver, Colorado

Rafe winced as his friend’s fist hit the top of his car. No way to treat a Tesla. Rafe said nothing. Conrad had just watched his wife divorce him and the judge give custody of his son to his ex.

Not to mention the fact that former wife, infant son and her attorneys vanished as soon as they’d left the courtroom. No sign of them, hide nor hair.

Rafe dreaded the words Conrad would say pretty damn soon.

"It’s the curse," Conrad said.

Those words. Everything in Rafe stilled. Or maybe his muscles froze and his blood pumped hot. One of the strange things that had brought them together in college, the fact that they both came from "cursed" families. Weird in the modern world.

Conrad fumbled his key chain. Rafe jostled Conrad, snagging the door opener when it dropped from his fingers. "You're riding. I'm driving."

Grumbling, Conrad shambled to the passenger side. As soon as he was strapped in, he repeated, "It’s the curse."

Rafe stopped checking the rearview for the progress of the huge SUV inching out into the lane behind him. He looked at Conrad, who was as pale as the white shirt he wore with his gray suit. "You can’t believe a guy you saw once," Rafe said.

"The guy was my father, and he was right. We Cymblers love and lose. Lose our sons, too. Soon after we find the kid again as an adult, we die. Has been happening for generations. He left a family tree. You saw it."

"You shouldn’t believe an alcoholic."

"That’s brutal, Rafe. You’re just in denial of your own damn deadly curse."

Rafe started the car. "I’ll get you home and we’ll check in with the private investigative firm I hired to keep track of your wife."

"Wait. Rafe, just wait a damn minute." Conrad sounded drunk. He hadn't been sleeping well, Rafe knew that, and Conrad was probably hanging on to the last shred of his control. Hell, the man was desperate.

Rafe flexed his fingers on the steering wheel. Nice machine. He preferred Italian, but this electric vehicle was excellent. "What?"

Conrad said, "I’m thinking we need to try more unusual avenues to get rid of our curses."

"What are you talking about?" The SUV was finally gone. Rafe reversed.

"I’ve got the name of a curse breaker." Conrad tapped the nav and a map showed up.

"That’s the way."

Snorting before he grimaced, Rafe said, "This is stupid."

"Humor me." Conrad's voice cracked.

"Yeah, right." Rafe waited a beat. Conrad said nothing more. Rafe could understand pride. "Okay." He scrolled the map so he could see the whole thing, then back at the route. Rafe hadn't been in Denver for a while, but he was good with maps.

A lot of cops were in the vicinity and they eyed the hot red Tesla roadster. Rafe drove carefully to the street.

Before he could say anything, his cell rang with a familiar tone. "That’s my detective. Pocket of my jacket. Put it on speaker." A cop was tailing him, watching. He’d mind his manners.

Conrad snatched the phone, thumbed it on. Through the static, Rafe heard, "Davail, this is Herrera at Ace Investigations."

"Yeah?" Rafe asked.

"We lost them," reported the private detective Rafe had hired…just in case.

"Find them. Money is no object." He jerked his head at Conrad, who turned off the phone. Then Rafe accelerated on northbound Speer and kept to the posted, low speed limit on the elevated bridge.

Conrad said, "Thanks, bro. I’ll pay you back." He rolled his shoulders. "Now it begins, the search—” he waved "—everything else. At least I know I’ll live until I see him again. Not like your family death curse. You really think you’re going to last eight months to your thirty-third birthday?"

Rafe ignored the fast clench of his gut. "For sure. Don’t worry about Marta and Dougie. We’ll find them. This P.I. firm’s the best."

Conrad shook his head again.

A few minutes later they’d pulled up and parked in front of a brick Victorian house, complete with turret. The place was tucked away in a quiet cul-de-sac.

"This is such a stupid idea," Rafe said.

Conrad said stiffly, "She’s the real deal, a gypsy and a curse breaker. I got her name a while back from a Romani psychic."
*****************

All right, I actually wrote a scene where they visited the Romani psychic but cut it since this seemed closer to the start of the action for Rafe. I loved that scene. So I'll stick it up tomorrow.

Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again,
Robin