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“I suppose, though would she have a connection to Bran? Belladonna usually indicates a woman,” Grams said. “Fourth card: Rose. Lovers, weddings, the joining of hearts.” Grams stopped, looking confused. “Bran, are you sure you haven’t been seeing anybody as of late?”
“I haven’t,” he said. “Not since I got back from Europe.”
“All right, let’s see the last card.” Grams turned it over. “Morning Glory. Whoever it is has hope for a fresh start, for a new beginning.” She paused.
“Holy crap, I know who it is,” Bran said, the color draining from his face. “I know what’s going on.”
May turned to him. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Gloria—she wants me back. She turned out to be a real narcissist.” He shook his head. “I can see her doing all this.”
“But I thought she was with some French guy?” I said. I turned to Grams. “Gloria was Bran’s fiancée until he caught her naked with a French guy over in Paris.”
Grams stiffened. “Yes, it’s her. My alarms are ringing like crazy.”
“I better call Daisy and have her track Gloria down. She must be back in town—” Bran froze. “Did you hear that?”
I strained my ears. “No, what are you talking about?”
“That—” He frozen. “I’m not sure but…”
His words drifted away but were replaced by another sound—one that we all heard. The sound of an explosion rocked the ground and I ran to the window, looking out to see my shop in ruins. It looked like a bomb had gone off.
“Call the police and fire department—my shop’s gone!” I raced to the door. “Get the cats and Fancypants and get out of the house.”
“Wait—” Grams called behind me, but I was out the door, leaping down the stairs as I ran. Bran followed me. At that moment, Von and Kells raced into the yard, but there was no sign of James.
“Are you all right?” Von asked.
I nodded, suddenly hit with a wave of nausea. The headache had come on rapidly, and I felt like my head was going to explode. Somebody was hammering at my brain—I could tell it was magical and not physical. So if it was Gloria, she had to be around here somewhere.
Taking a deep breath, I cast around for the direction from which the energy was coming. My gaze immediately went toward the shed, and I darted across the wet ground. Bran was right by my side. He tried to stop me but I shook him off, racing harder.
As we neared the shed, the door opened and out streaked a woman clad in pale pink. She held a wand, and as we came closer she aimed it at me.
“Don’t come any further or you’re going to end up as deconstructed as your shop!” Her eyes flashed, gold flakes shimmering in the deep brown pools. She was a beautiful woman, but the look on her face told me she’d checked out. She was living in a world of her own, and I did not wish to be a part of that world.
Bran motioned for me to stop. He stepped forward. “Gloria, stop. Don’t hurt her. If you’re mad at me, talk to me.”
She hesitated for a moment. “Why did you leave me?” Her voice was plaintive, sounding like a child.
“You left me, remember? You met Julien.” He grimaced—I had the feeling he was second guessing his answer. But she tilted her head, looking confused.
“Julien didn’t love me. He told me he did, but after you left, he started seeing other women on the side. I didn’t have any money. I couldn’t leave. He took my passport and phone, and kept me prisoner. When he got drunk, he beat the crap out of me. And I waited for you to come back, to save me, but you never came.” Her voice cracked, and for a moment, I could see the broken woman beneath the crazy.
Bran let out a sigh. “Gloria, I thought you wanted to be with him.”
“It was a mistake—and by the time I got away, you were long gone.” She seemed to have eyes only for Bran at this point, and I slowly began to ease to the side.
“I’m sorry, Glory. I thought I was giving you what you wanted.” Bran sounded helpless now, and I realized he was torn. Torn between feeling guilty for something he shouldn’t feel guilty for, and yet—he had loved her, and leaving her there was probably one of the hardest things he’d ever done. He started to take a step toward her.
Gloria suddenly stiffened, then frantically waved her wand at him. “Stay back,” she said. “Stay there. I’m so confused.”
“How did you get out of Europe?” Bran asked.
I had frozen in place when she became agitated, but now her attention was totally focused on him again, her face rapt in a mixture of love and hate and longing. Once again, I began to inch towards her.
“One night he was angry at his boss, and he came home. He raped me, then he got so drunk that he forgot to lock me in my room before he passed out. I managed to get the key and some money out of his pocket and ran outside. I didn’t know where I was, but I was able to flag down a taxi and I had them take me to the embassy. They helped me get back home.”
