Voodoo Love (And the Curse of Jean Lafitte’s Treasure) (17 page)

             
Her gaze grew frosty, but she didn't look at me.

             
"A long time. Eddie had a rough life growing up. Diego's family played a part in that though I don't know the details. Whatever happened, it made Eddie want to be in law enforcement, but somewhere along the way he realized he'd have to play dirty, have to
get
dirty, in order to take down the Martes family," she said. "So he walked a real fine line and looked for ways to hurt his enemies from both sides of the fence. Revenge consumed him and nothing would stand in his way."

             
"I see." I had a hard time picturing affable Eddie as a double agent, but I suppose anything was possible.

             
"I told Eddie about Jean Lafitte's treasure, never dreaming he'd use it to lure Diego into a trap. He didn’t believe me about the curse, tried to tell me that I was crazy and superstitious."

             
"Why would Eddie put you in danger?"

             
"He didn't think he was. He'd never told Diego about our relationship either."

             
"So Diego, who has no respect for women, thought he could have you and the treasure." I remembered this. Diego had been insane over Euralie, wanting to dominate her. When she resisted, it just made it all the more exciting to him. With the power of his family name and the dirty money they laundered, he swooped in and bought out her club, making her feel like property. "Why didn't Eddie stop him?"

             
"He couldn't. To do so would have endangered him with Diego and the
US
Marshalls."

             
"And yet, he still came to see you these past two years."

             
"But it was you, he married. I prayed to La Sirene, begged her to give me her charms and powers to convince him that the past wasn't important. But he couldn't let go of his need to get revenge against Diego. You were the closest link he had to the man."

             
Wow. In all that time, I'd never guessed that the end game had been revenge.

             
We both stopped talking, lost in our thoughts for what seemed like hours. The silence of the bayou surrounded us and with it came a deep sense of foreboding. I admit that I don't know much about life in the swamp, but I doubt it is rarely completely quiet. Birds are always calling to each other, interrupted only the splash of fish's tail. There was none of that. Nature had gone still, and I noticed we were in a small little stream of water. The trees leaned over us, a canopy of moss and hanging vines, surrounding us with a dank, earthy smell.

             
"We are almost there," Euralie said.

             
"Where?" I could see nothing still, but trees and water.

             
"The island."

             
Sure enough we banked on a small area of land. I stepped onto the moist ground, a vague feeling of déjà vu coming back to me.

             
"This is where Marie Laveau and the Baron sealed the deal," I said.

             
"Shhh…don't say his name." Euralie looked around, nervous. "Now that you have your memory back, his name must be there, too."

             
Actually, it wasn't. I remembered looking at the paper with all it winding little lines and there had been something written in it. However, I'd given it to Juan without really studying it. I'd never known the real name of the Baron. Juan and Jean Lafitte just assumed I had.

             
Which meant I was kind of useless out here.

             
"Surely, you know the name as keeper of the treasure?" I said.

             
Euralie frowned and gave me a look that made it clear that she thought there weren't many creatures dumber than myself on the planet.

             
"I can't say it. I'm the guardian. It's part of the curse. Otherwise, some greedy relative of mine would have taken it a long time ago," Euralie said. "I'm just as bound to it as anyone else."

             
"Why not get someone else to say it for you?"

             
"What the hell do you think I’m doing?"

             
"Wait a second. I thought we were releasing Jean Lafitte, tricking Diego, and freeing Juan. You know, being supernatural bad asses."

             
"And why can't I be a rich supernatural bad ass, too?"

             
I saw her point. Was this the time to tell her that I hadn't caught the voodoo spirit's name though? Probably not. I pulled my purse closer to me, wishing it could offer some sort of protection against the wrath I knew would be coming.

             
The locator beacon. It dawned on me that Juan had put the piece of the map we needed inside it. That's why he'd made me get it in the first place. Hopefully, it was still in my purse and not rolling around in Ellen Elderbee's car.

             
"About time you got here," a familiar voice called out to us.

             
To my shock, Eddie stepped out from behind a tree. His blue eyes twinkled and his lips formed the old familiar smile that I'd come to trust, to even love a little bit. But even though relief ran through me that he was alive, I knew something wasn't right with Eddie.

             
I guess my first clue was the way his smile faded at the sight of his beloved Euralie's boat passenger. Me.

             
My second clue was when he lifted the gun in his hand, aimed it in my direction, and spoke the words that chilled my heart.

             
"I never wanted to kill you, Elizabeth. Now I have no choice."

             
"Eddie, I hate to be one of those nagging wives who is always complaining about their husbands, but I really think that you should reconsider that whole thing you just said about having to kill me," I stammered.

             
For a second, Eddie stared at me, a cunning and cold blooded gleam in his eye. Then he cracked a smile and lowered the gun.

             
"Really
Elizabeth
?" He shook his head, clearly chagrined. "Did you really think I would kill you?"

             
"Well, you were pointing a gun at me and I know that you've been lying about more than one thing these past two years. At this point, I figure anyone could be an enemy." I eyed the gun nervously.

             
"Eddie!" Euralie shoved past me and ran to him. I watched my husband swoop her up into his arms, trying to ignore the odd pang of jealousy that stabbed at my heart. "You're alive!"

             
"Shh…it's okay, Euralie," Eddie soothed as she started to cry. "I'm alright."

             
"What happened? They told me you were dead."

             
"They?"

             
"Yeah." Euralie pointed at me. "Her and her ghost boyfriend."

             
Eddie frowned and put her down on the ground.

             
"I didn't imagine seeing Montoya then?" he asked. "I wasn't sure if that was real."

             
"Oh, it was real alright," I said. "How did you survive that gun shot? I saw Diego shoot you."

             
"I've known Diego a long time. The moment I heard he'd been spotted in the area, I put my Kevlar vest on and was prepared for anything. I knew he'd never shoot you,
Elizabeth
, but since he views me as a traitor, I figured I'd better not take any chances." Eddie unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt, revealing the dark vest underneath.  "Working for the
Marshalls
does have its advantages."

             
"So you really do work for them?"

             
Eddie shifted his gaze from me, a sure sign that he was either lying or about to.

             
"Sort of."

             
"Well, do you or don't you?" I demanded. "I mean, who the hell are you really?"

             
"Your memory--"

             
"I have it back now. So don't even try to make me think that I'm misunderstanding the situation. Quite a few things make more sense to me now. What I want to know is how come you were the one to save me from the life raft two years ago? What were you hoping to gain?" My voice echoed in the little clearing, letting out some of the anger I'd been holding in check for the last few hours.

             
"Revenge," Eddie said. "I wanted Diego Martes dead, but you and the assassin I hired to do the job kept screwing it up.

             
"Whoa. Wait a second. The assassin
you
hired?" I glanced at Euralie who appeared as shocked by this news as I was. "You hired Juan? He showed me a vision of that night in Laveau's Lounge from his perspective, but he never mentioned you. But you were there, weren't you?"

             
"Yes, and Juan didn't know who hired him. He's the kind of guy that prefers to get paid, do the job, and walk away. No strings attached," Eddie said. "Perfect for my needs, really. I wanted Diego to never even see death coming."

             
"I think I need to sit down." I collapsed onto a nearby tree stump, trying to keep everything straight in my head.

             
My husband was a double agent. My lover was a dead assassin cursed to the Deadman's Ferry. A crazed mad man was convinced that I could undo the curse placed on him, and I might have to have sex with a notorious voodoo spirit who liked to play tricks on people.

             
It was a lot to take in.

             
"How long have you had your memory back?" Eddie asked.

             
"Only a few hours."

             
"Really?"

             
I didn't like the doubt I heard in his voice.

             
"Yeah. Really. I haven't been faking my memory loss if that's what you are implying," I snapped. "You're the one who's a liar."

             
"Watch it, girl," Euralie hissed. I just knew she was itching to smack me. I almost wanted her to so I'd have an excuse to hit something.