When I got back to the shop, I had to double check the address to make sure I had walked into the right place. Since I had been gone, dingy sheets had been draped across over every surface and over every piece of freestanding furniture. The place looked like a cheesy haunted house.

Luc popped out from the back. A smile spread wide across his face at the sight of me. "Hey!" he said, striding across the room. "Did you get your cheque?"

I stared blankly at him for a moment, then... "Shit!" I groaned. "I completely forgot!"

Luc raised his eyebrow. "How did you forget your paycheque? That's the whole reason you went out."

"I got distracted," I said running my fingers along the back of my neck. Despite the heat, my fingers felt cold. "First Polly called, and then..." Rick. His name rose in my throat like vomit, but I choked it back down. I really didn't want to relive that event with Luc right now. "It was a weird outing," I finished, my voice warbling slightly.

Luc noticed. "Weird?" he repeated, his smile falling. He took my hand. "How weird? You didn't see another... ghost, did you?"

I chuckled to myself. Only from my past. "No, no ghost girls," I clarified.

"Then what happened? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," I said, averting my eyes for a moment. "It's a long story. I'll tell you about it later."

"Alright," he said, giving my hand a squeeze. "Well, whatever it was, perhaps it was serendipitous you ended up back here." He released me, then went over to one of the sheets and flipped it back. Underneath was the desk; Luc leaned across it to dig into one of the drawers. "I forgot to give you you other paycheque this morning," he said, pulling himself up. He held out a small slip of paper to me. "Now, at least, you won't have to make two trips to the bank."

I stared at it. It was just one of his personal cheques, his messy handwriting scrawled over every line. Only the number written in the corner was much larger than I was expecting.

"Luc..." I began, irritation sneaking into my voice.

"That includes your reimbursements for purchasing the furniture from the thrift store," Luc explained, grinning.

I quickly did the math in my head. Still, it didn't add up. "This is still too much!"

His grin grew wider. "What can I say? I treat my employees well."

"Luc..." I said again, my voice shifting to a whine. I really didn't want to fight; after my encounter with Rick, I didn't have the energy to fight. "Just because I'm your girlfriend doesn't mean I need special treatment as your employee."

"It's not special treatment," Luc said, leaning in to kiss my forehead. "You work hard. You deserve it."

I glared.

Luc shook his head. "Ok, fine, if it really bothers you, we can renegotiate before your next cheque. Though, I have to say, I've never had to negotiate to pay someone less." He leaned in lower, closer, towards my lips...

A glimmer on his cheek caught my eye. I stiffened and pulled back from him to inspect his face. Smattered through his hair, freckled over his cheekbones, splattered over his shirt... Gold. Glinting against his dark skin, it made him look like some unearthly creature fresh from a fairytale. Dazed, I reached out and touched one of the shimmering spots. It smudged under my finger.

Paint?

The sheets suddenly made sense. "What have you been doing?" I wondered aloud.

His eyes led upwards. Mine followed.

A thin line of curling gold script trailed along the molding at the top of the wall, spanning the entire perimeter of the room. Though I couldn't read it, I knew it: it was a barrier spell, like the one that had kept the Beast and Lillian out of his old apartment.

But, without the threat of the Beast... "What's it for?"

"To keep us safe," he said, finally claiming the kiss I had distracted him from.

Though his lips threatened to obliterate all thought, I mastered myself enough to push him away. "Why?" I asked again, careful to make my tone serious. "Are we... Are we not safe?"

He laughed. "We're fine. It's just a precaution," Luc said, kissing the tip of my nose. "Like a lock on a door."

"You sure?"

"Of course," he said, giving me a reassuring smile.

I stared at him, studying his features for any clue that he might be hiding something. The faceted green of his eyes seemed calm, but that didn't mean there wasn't something lurking beneath.

Those enigmatic eyes widened. "Oh!" he said, straightening up. "One more thing." He began searching through his pockets, then extracted a long gold chain with an elaborate pendant.

No, not a pendant...

"And every lock needs a key," Luc said, slipping the chain over my head before I could object. The old fashioned key dropped heavily against my chest.

It was the key to Polly's house. Though she had given it to me, it had been a long time since I had seen it; when we had been living at Polly's, the key had fallen into Luc's regular possession, just because he was out more often with his work. But we no longer lived at Polly's...

"Why do I need this?" I asked.

"Just another precaution" he said, smoothing against my collarbone. "Better safe than sorry, right?"

I twisted the key between my fingers. The gold of its hand handle twisted together into a delicate flowery design. It was true that it offered a kind of protection; it had managed to repel both Lillian and the Beast, though we still weren't sure why.

If it had been this one thing, it would've been easy to believe him. But it wasn't just the one thing. First his secret seance, then painting a barrier, and now giving me the key...

Luc was hiding something.

"Luc, what is going on? You're acting—"

A familiar chime ripped through the shop; Luc's phone. He had pulled it out and answered it before I even had the chance to object.

"Tory?"

I let out a frustrated groan as Luc turned away from me and walked over to the edge of the room, muttering quickly into the phone. I couldn't hear what he said, but I already knew what it meant.

After a few moments, Luc jabbed at his phone and threw it back into his pocket before turning back to me. "Look, I have to head out and meet a client—"

Despite my irritation, I laughed. Nailed it!

"—so when you get back from the bank, could clean up the paint and stuff for me?"

I just shook my head.

Luc tilted his head. "What?"

"Are you serious?" I snapped. "You drop all this on me and now you're out of here? I know there's something you're not telling me..."

"Rachel, you're being paranoid," he said as he dug out his jacket out from under one of the sheets.

"I'm being paranoid?" I scoffed. "You paint a barrier, drop the key on me, and I'm being paranoid?"

"Like I said, those are just precautions. After everything we've been through, don't you think it's wise to err on the side of safety?"

"It's not just that," I said, my resolve wavering. When he said it like that, I felt crzy. "Y-You haven't been telling me what you've found—"

"That's because right now there's nothing to tell," Luc said with an exasperated sigh. "Look, I promise I will tell you as soon as there is something. Okay?"

"I still want to talk—"

He shook his head as shrugged the jacket on over his paint splattered shirt. Was he really in that much of a hurry that he couldn't even change? "I thought you said you wanted to talk later..."

I threw my hands up. "That was about something else!"

"Well, we can talk about whatever you want when I get back, okay? I won't be long."

"But—"

"Sorry, Rachel, but I can't do this now. I really gotta go."

He pulled me in to try and kiss me on the forehead, but I pushed back. I was too angry to want his affections.

Luc just looked at me for a second, and again his eyes were unreadable. I glared back.

"We'll talk when I get back," he said again.

"You bet we will," I replied, still holding my glare.

He gave me a half smile before he moved around me and headed out the door.

I stared after him, watching him as he climbed into the car and pulled away.

He could try to run away, but I would be waiting for him when he got back home. And I was going to make him tell me exactly what was going on, or I really was going to sic Polly on him.

+ + +

Okay, now Rachel is sure that Luc is hiding something from her.
Do you think she's right? What do you think Luc might be hiding?

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please remember to vote & comment if you did!

As usual, I'll be posting the next chapter on Patreon next week,
and then on Wattpad the week after that!