Angels of Bourbon Street (8 page)

I ignored his taunt. “But Summer House…” I trailed off, not wanting to say the words. It was where he’d proposed, where his grandparents were married. Part of his history. He deserved a grand, elegant wedding, not some half-assed Bourbon Street tourist attraction. What if Camille possessed me the day of the wedding? Would Kane be married to her? I shook my head, banishing the thought.

Kane’s hand slid over mine, warm and reassuring. He leaned in, his breath tickling my ear. “Summer House is only a house. I told you before I don’t care where we live, and I’m telling you now I don’t care where we get married. I only want you.” His lips brushed lightly over my temple. “No matter what.”

My mother’s voice rose from the other room. “I already told you, Jade is not an angel. It’s impossible. Find a different explanation!” Her footsteps rang through the house as she stomped toward the kitchen. A second later, the back door slammed.

“Hope,” Gwen called and followed her.

I sighed and turned my gaze to Lailah. She stood with her hands jammed in her cargo pants pockets, watching Philip watch his ex-mate. Meri had moved back into the living room and sat as far away from everyone as she could get. Her eyes were closed, and the pained expression on her face made me tense with alarm. But when Mom stormed back into the house, ranting at Gwen about my supposed angel status, Meri’s face pinched even more, and I realized she was just having trouble processing the high emotions running through the room.

It was bound to happen. She hadn’t grown up being exposed to everyone’s emotions from birth. I’d developed ways to shield myself. From the looks of it, she needed help.

“Mom,” I said evenly.

“It’s no one’s business but mine and Jade’s,” she carried on.

“Hope,” Philip said, “I’m just trying to find out why her aura changed suddenly. That’s all. It could be a clue to help figure out the possession.”

“Maybe it’s because she only has half a soul,” Mom snapped. “Thanks to you!”

“Mom.” I raised my voice.

She spun and hurried to my side, placing a tentative hand on my shoulder. “What is it, honey?”

I sat up. Kane’s grip eased, but he didn’t let go. At one time, that would have annoyed me. Now his actions were reassuring, as if I had support in anything I did. “You need to calm down.” I nodded toward Meri. “She’s having issues controlling my gift.”

Mom jerked her attention to Meri. She watched her friend and then slowly lowered herself to the arm of the couch. Rolling her shoulders, she reached one hand behind her neck and kneaded her muscles. “Sorry,” she said to Meri.

The tension in Meri’s face eased a bit. She nodded at Mom.

“If you need a reprieve, you can go outside for a few minutes,” I offered. Sometimes nothing worked but solitude. Experiencing everyone else’s emotions was as physically draining as it was emotionally. If you couldn’t block people out, “emotional vampire” took on a whole new meaning.

Meri shook her head and stared at me pointedly. “I can’t.”

Frustration welled in my chest. “Seriously? You’ll be, like, twenty feet away.” Then a sinking horror coiled in my gut. “Are you saying we have to stay in the same room until this is figured out?”

“No, just the same building. The walls absorb energy, giving you more breathing room. But when one of you goes outside, the other needs to stay close. It’s more of a risk,” Philip said.

That was something at least.

Meri got to her feet, waving off Dan, who sprang to her side. Where had he come from?

“Dan,” Mom said, sounding just as surprised as I was, “you’re still here.”

He nodded and hunched his shoulders. “I wanted to make sure Meri was okay.” He glanced at her, and I wondered, not for the first time, what kind of relationship they had. It skeezed me out to imagine a romantic one. Meri had been his dad’s mate. I shuddered with the thought. Too gross.

“I’m perfectly fine, Dan,” Meri said with a slight grimace. “Really, stop worrying.”

Dan hovered, and Meri turned to him, her gray eyes flashing with irritation. When he didn’t take the hint, she used both hands to shove him sideways.

“Hey!” he protested, rubbing his arm. “Watch it, will ya? You didn’t need to put any angel power behind the blow. Jeez. You gave me a dead arm.”

She smirked, something I hadn’t seen her do before. A sense of recognition washed over me. For the first time since Meri had come into my life, she was behaving like a living, breathing human, not a demon or an angel.

As I watched them, I realized I’d never seen her or Dan touch intimately or share a lover’s glance. No, they interacted with each other much more like the way Pyper and Kane usually did. Fiercely loyal and relentless. Just like brother and sister. A vision of Dan helping Meri find her strength so they could leave Hell came rushing back. I’d witnessed their struggle through a dream while I’d been sharing a soul with Meri. Ah, their relationship became clear. They’d bonded while fighting for survival.

Meri glanced toward the dining room, where Lailah and Philip sat talking quietly. Philip lifted his head to meet her eyes. Meri glanced away without any acknowledgement.

Lailah’s lips formed a thin line as her gaze darted between Philip and Meri.

He abruptly pushed his chair back and stood. “There isn’t anything else to do tonight.”

Lailah rose, still watching him. “You’re leaving?”

“I have research to do. Jade should be safe as long as Meri’s here.” He nodded his goodbye to Lailah and strode over to where I sat with Kane and Mom. “I’ll be by tomorrow to let you know what I find.”

I suppressed a scowl. I didn’t want him around or working on this new development. It was my dumb luck he was still my guardian angel. If it were up to me, I’d have let Kane rip a limb or two off, but that would’ve only gotten Kane imprisoned in the time-warp room and me back in the angel court, trying to free him. Philip wasn’t worth it. The back-stabbing piece of angel turd.

It was much easier to deal with him when I pretended he didn’t exist. Reluctantly, I gave him a short nod, indicating my consent. Without saying another word, he left. The room gave a collective sigh of relief as soon as the door slammed shut.

“Where’s Kat?” I asked Lailah this time.

She glanced around. “She’s not here?”

Dan got to his feet. “She said she’d be a few minutes behind us but”—he glanced at the wall clock—“that was an hour ago.”

My heart pounded with fear. I grabbed my phone, but before I could hit Send, Dan was already speaking to her voicemail.

“Damn,” he said, shoving his phone into his pocket. “No answer.”

I jumped up and grabbed my purse. “Meri, let’s go.”

She startled. “Where?”

“We’re going to backtrack to the store, and if we don’t find her, we’ll head to her apartment. Something’s wrong. Nothing would keep Kat away on a night like this. Not even if I begged her.” I strode to the door and turned to give her an impatient glance when she didn’t move. “Well, hurry up.”

Kane moved in front of me. “Maybe it’s better if Lailah and your mom go.”

The magic in my chest tingled and electric sparks sprang to my fingertips. Shocked, I stared at the blue-tinged glow, overwhelmed with the desire to blast him out of my way.

Holy crap, Jade. Get a grip.

Horrified, I backed away from everyone. I’d almost zapped Kane.

Mom’s hands covered mine. Her soothing earth magic stifled the electric desire. “You’re too weak after what happened, sweetie. It isn’t your fault. Magic can take on a life of its own when your body has been through so much.”

Kane reached out a hand to guide me, but I jumped out of his grasp. I was too dangerous to be anywhere near him.

“Jade?” he asked.

“I’m sorry.” The words came out choked. “Go find Kat. I know something’s wrong. Please,” I begged him. “I’m going to go eat something, try to shake this off.”

“Promise?” he asked, his concerned eyes boring into mine. “Dan’s going.” He waved at my ex already striding out the door. “So’s Lailah.”

She hovered near us, car keys clutched in her hand.

“Yes. Just go. The more the better. Meri and I will be fine here. Call as soon as you know anything.”

Kane ran a light hand down my arm, and I struggled not to flinch, grateful when my magic didn’t electrify him. Then he followed Dan, Mom and Lailah out the door. That left me, Gwen, Meri, and Pyper, but Pyper was still hiding out in the kitchen. Gwen sat beside me and took my hand in hers.

“Don’t worry,” she soothed. “I have a feeling she’s going to be fine.”

“Going to be?” My voice rose with each word. Gwen was a psychic. She didn’t talk about her visions usually, but
going to be
fine was a far cry from actually being fine.

Gwen ran a sun-weathered hand over mine. “The message is vague but strong. ‘Going to be’ is good enough for now.”

I didn’t care for that answer at all, but what could I do? I grabbed my phone and called Kat again. Straight to voicemail. “Damn,” I said, echoing Dan’s sentiment.

The three of us sat in silence, Meri curled up in an oversized chair, her eyes closed, and Gwen and I huddled together, waiting. I didn’t wait well.

After five more attempts to reach Kat, I got to my feet. “I’m going to check on Pyper.”

“That’s a good plan,” Gwen said. “I bet she could use someone to talk to right about now.”

I nodded and retreated to the kitchen at the back of the house then paused in the doorway. Pyper stood at the sink, clad in yellow rubber gloves, scrubbing the dishes Kane must’ve left from breakfast.

“Hey,” I said softly. “You okay?”

She whirled around, a plate clutched in her hands. Her too-bright eyes found mine and then narrowed as her lips turned down into a deeper frown. Without warning, she threw the soap-filled sponge right at me. It landed smack dab in the middle of my face.

I sputtered, spitting out dishwashing soap. “Pyper! What the hell?”

Her mouth dropped open in a surprised O, and then she started to giggle, followed by bone-shaking laughter. Tears streamed down her face. “Oh, God,” she gasped. “I’m sorry. I was just…so mad.” Another bubble of laughter sprang from her lips.

“At me?” I asked, more than a little pissed. “What did I do?”

“Nothing,” she wheezed as she tried to sober. “Nothing at all, and that’s the problem.”

Chapter 7

Eyeing Pyper with caution, I reached over and pulled open a drawer full of dish towels. I wiped the water dripping from my chin and asked, “What are you talking about?”

“You.” Her amusement faded and she huffed with exasperation. “You do nothing, yet everything revolves around you. Everyone drops everything to deal with the crisis of the week. It’s no wonder everyone’s so fascinated with you.”

Her words were a sucker-punch to my gut. Crisis of the week? Everyone drops everything for me? As if I
asked
for these things to happen to me? Hell, I’d even saved her ass once. Everything about me? What the…? I narrowed my eyes. “By everyone, do you mean Ian?”

“Obviously.” She bent down and picked up the sopping sponge from the floor. Her fingers curled around it and a puddle formed at her feet. “And Kane. And Kat. And Lailah. And your coven. Jesus, even your ex-boyfriend shows up.”

My mouth hung open, and as her words sank in, my vision blurred a hazy shade of red. “Are you kidding me right now?” After all I’d done to help her, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Are you saying you’d rather be stuck in an alternate reality with Roy? Or that I should’ve let Meri keep Kane and Kat in Hell? Or that I should’ve given up my soul to a demon? Because all of those options sure as shit would’ve been a lot easier to deal with. In fact, none of us would be here right now to even argue about it.”

“Oh, fuck you, Jade!”

The sponge flew again, but this time I ducked.

A startled gasp sounded from behind me. I whirled to find Gwen standing in the doorway, her red shirt darkened with sponge water. She held the sponge in both hands. “Ladies, is there a problem in here?”

“No,” we said in unison.

I turned angry eyes on Pyper. She’d just nailed my aunt with a sponge, and she hadn’t even apologized. “What’s wrong with you?” I demanded, scowling at Pyper.

“You!” She threw a wooden spoon into the sink and stalked toward Kane’s bedroom. My bedroom now. The door slammed shut, rattling the glassware in the cabinets.

I threw down the dish towel and forced out a breath. None of this was my fault, but I still couldn’t help feeling guilty. I’d kissed Ian. So what if I’d been possessed at the time? It was still awful. My whole body started to shake with delayed adrenaline. Clutching the counter, I hung my head. “Goddess, Gwen. Is that what she thinks of me? That I invite this crap to happen so I can be the center of attention?”

Gwen’s strong, capable hand wrapped around my arm. She gently tugged and led me to the table. “Sit.”

I did as I was told and buried my head in my hands. First, I’d been possessed—twice. Then Kat went missing, and now Pyper was ready to delete my number from speed dial. What a fucked-up day.

“Want to talk about it?” Gwen asked.

“No,” I mumbled, not lifting my face from my hands. “I’d really like to have a moment to myself if you don’t mind.”

I felt Gwen hovering, clearly not wanting to leave me alone, but then she nodded and squeezed my shoulder. “I’ll be in the living room if you change your mind.”

As her footsteps faded into the other room, I dropped my hands and leaned back in the chair. Damn Pyper. Why’d she have to take my room?

“Jade?” a deep female voice said quietly.

I jerked, finding Meri standing just inside the kitchen door. Her head was tilted to the side as she studied me. “Yeah?”

“Do you mind if I join you?” Her tone was quiet, cautious.

Now what? Frowning, I waved a hand at the chair next to me.

She chuckled. The chair skidded across the tile as she pulled it out and took a seat. “I’m not the enemy, you know.”

“I never said you were.”

“You didn’t have to.” She leaned in, her eyes locked on mine. “I’m not the demon who did all those terrible things to the people you love.”