Haunted on Bourbon Street (22 page)

A chill ran up my spine. “You mean, apart from my ghost-attracting abilities?”

He took his time before he spoke. “No, Jade. This isn’t about your ghost. I can sense your energy. I don’t know how to explain it, but even if I can’t see you, I always know when you’re around.”

The statement couldn’t have surprised me more. It hit me hard as if he’d punched me in the gut. “You do? How?” Mortified, I gnawed on my lower lip, suddenly very interested in my hands now lying in my lap.

I risked a glance, catching his eye.

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just feel it. Probably the same way you feel me while I’m dreamwalking.”

“Does this happen with anyone else? Can you sense Pyper?”

“No. I’ve never experienced this before. It’s something special about you.”

I stood up and carried my dishes to the sink. How could I possibly tell him about my own abilities? I knew my invasion of his privacy was just as bad as his dreamwalking, but I’d told myself I didn’t do it on purpose. Of course he’d said he didn’t either, he just didn’t do anything to stop it. Well, neither had I. Worse, I hadn’t even wanted to, until this morning when things got too intense. My stomach knotted, making me glad I hadn’t eaten much.

Overcome with emotion, my eyes filled. I blinked rapidly, trying to keep the tears at bay.

Kane walked up behind me. “Jade, are you going to tell me about it?”

“I’m sorry,” I said, so low even I could barely hear it. I turned around, realizing he deserved an honest answer. But I just couldn’t tell him. The last person I’d told was Dan, and that had turned out disastrous. In my heart I knew Kane was different. He wasn’t likely to cast me aside. I just wasn’t ready to face what I’d done, especially after how I’d reacted to his confession. “I really am sorry. I just can’t talk about it right now.” Unable to hold it back, a single tear fell down my cheek.

Cupping my face with his palm, he caught the tear with his thumb. “There’s no need to be sorry,” he said softly. “We’ll talk later. It’s all right.”

The tenderness made the tears flow fast and hot. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me close. For the first time all day I felt safe. My world narrowed to all things Kane. His fresh scent. The hand gently stroking my hair. The way he held me, patiently waiting until my tears were spent.

Finally I removed myself and made my way to his bathroom. After a long, hot shower, I changed into a T-shirt and a pair of Kane’s boxers and returned to the living room.

The two of them were huddled together, talking quietly. The image gave me a small jolt, reminding me how close they really were. I was in danger here and didn’t know how to stop my growing emotions. They both said they were just friends, and I didn’t have any reason to think otherwise, but my rational mind wasn’t convincing my inner jealous woman.

Not wanting to interrupt, I tried to make my way quietly to the guest bedroom.

“Where are you going?” Kane asked just as I was about to open the bedroom door. Caught. Damn.

I put a smile on my face before turning around and said, “To bed. I could really use a good night’s sleep.”

“In there?” the two asked in unison.

“Uh, yeah. Is that a problem?”

Kane gazed at me with an intense look, while Pyper glanced back and forth between the two of us.

Kane turned to Pyper. “And where are you sleeping?”

“Here, I guess.” She patted the couch cushions and failed at the attempted smile, resulting in a smirk.

‘No,” I said quickly. “You can sleep in here.” I pointed to the queen-sized bed through the now-open door. “I don’t mind sharing. As long as you don’t snore.” I teased.

Pyper lifted her eyebrows, questioning Kane.

He stared at the ceiling. “It’s college all over again.”

“Huh?” I asked.

Pyper giggled and punched his arm. “Get over it already.” She turned toward me. “I dated one of his ex-girlfriends in college.”

“Dated? More like stole,” Kane said.

“You can’t steal someone from someone else, Kane,” Pyper replied.

“Close enough.”

“Umm…” I didn’t know what to say.

“Don’t worry. I haven’t hit on a girl in ages, and I’m not going to start with Jade.” Pyper turned to me. “I don’t mind sharing if you don’t.”

“Not at all.” I waved as I turned toward the room.

‘I’ll be right there,” Pyper called.

“Take your time. Once I’m asleep there’s no waking me up. I closed the door behind me and crawled into bed.

The dream came on in a vibrant cascade of soft white light. My awareness floated somewhere near the ceiling, giving me a clear view of the room. There I was, snuggled up with a pillow, Pyper curled up next to me. Beautiful light illuminated both of our faces. We looked so peaceful. The light was like a protective layer of warmth and love. As my awareness drifted back to my body I spotted Mr. Sexy at the foot of the bed, keeping a watchful eye over us. The last thing I saw before I drifted back into unconsciousness was a small reassuring smile from him.

I woke, feeling thick and groggy. The sun was doing its best to shine through the shade on the window. Blinded with sleep, I stumbled to the bathroom to complete my morning ritual. When I’d finished I found Pyper sitting in an armchair in the corner, waiting.

“Morning. The bathroom is all yours.” I shuffled over to the bag Kane had packed for me the day before and found a blue cotton skirt and form-fitting white tee. He couldn’t have done better if I’d given him a list.

“I had a dream,” Pyper said, still sitting in her chair.

Her words triggered the memory of my own dream. I stopped rummaging through my bag and sat on the bed opposite her. “And?”

“I slept better last night than I have in weeks. The dream was full of warmth and light. I felt safe, protected even.” She gave me a small smile.

I frowned. It made no sense. This was the ghost that had hurt both of us. “I had the same dream. Did you see anyone in it?”

“No. Why, was Kane there?”

I shook my head. “No. Someone else.” She tensed. Should I tell her? I bit my lip, then decided she had a right to know. “Our ghost was there, but all I sensed was him protecting us.” Her face went white. “Both of us.” I added reassuringly.

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t, but you felt it just the same way I did. It didn’t feel threatening, did it?”

She shook her head.

“It’s definitely odd, but better than the alternative, right?”

She plucked at the blanket. “I guess.”

“Then let’s consider it progress.” I stood, not wanting to dwell on it any longer. “Did Kane make something to eat?”

Her lips quirked. “Yes. I don’t know what you did to him, but I never got breakfast before.”

“Well,
I
didn’t steal his girlfriend.” I winked and headed for the door. When I glanced back, she stuck out her tongue. I was still chuckling when I found Kane.

“Sleep well?” he asked, giving me a light kiss.

I nodded. “You?”

“No.”

“Really? After all that happened yesterday, I’d have thought nothing could keep you up.”

“Nothing but the knowledge of the two of you sharing a bed.” He gave me a rueful smile and I rolled my eyes.

“Men.”

***

Later that day, Pyper and I worked late closing down the café. I was covering for Holly, who’d been working extra while we played ghost hunter.

“He’s coming at five?” Pyper asked, referring to Ian.

“Yep. When he called, he said he wasn’t finished analyzing but wanted to share what he had.”

“Did you tell Kane?”

“No.” That would be counterproductive, since I wanted to avoid him. I still hadn’t found the nerve to be honest with him. And as each hour passed, my anxiety about it grew.

“Okay, I’ll give him a buzz and let him know.”

Great. “I’ll just go get cleaned up and meet you back here in about fifteen.”

“Sounds good.”

I heard the phone ringing as I unlocked my door. “Coming!” I called, as if someone could actually hear me. By the time I got in and picked it up, I’d missed it. “Damn.”

The message was from Kat, wanting to see when we could get together. We’d been playing phone tag ever since I’d found her note and gift card. I’d forgiven her after having some distance and did want to see her, but didn’t think I’d have enough time to spend on a proper conversation since we hadn’t actually spoken in a few weeks. I made a mental note to call her back later.

I changed my clothes and took a few extra moments to reapply my makeup. Just because I wanted to avoid Kane didn’t mean I had to look like a slob. On my way back down I grabbed a six-pack of beer and a bottle opener. Something told me getting results sober was a bad idea.

Once inside the café, I took a seat between Ian and Pyper and popped the cap on my Guinness. “Anyone?”

Pyper grabbed a bottle. Kane got up and poured himself coffee.

“Not yet.” Ian passed out a pile of graphs and charts to each of us. “Let me get through this first. Does everyone have this sheet?” He held up a color-coded chart.

We each nodded.

“Good. This graph here shows the level of assumed paranormal activity when Jade was in her apartment. Do you see how it spikes when she speaks?”

The graph peaked in several places. “All of these are only when I was talking?” I asked.

“Yes. Except for here at the end of the chart—it peaks higher than any of them. That happened right after you left the room to find Pyper.”

“When we were trapped in the apartment,” Kane said.

“Right.” Ian said.

“This just confirms my ghost was in my apartment and stayed there when I left.” I shrugged. This wasn’t anything we hadn’t already suspected.

“Yes it does. But what’s more interesting is this.” He pulled out a second graph. “This one is the readings from right after we found the two of you in Pyper’s apartment.”

The graph was similar to the first, but had about twice as many peaks as the first one.

“Each peak is when either Pyper or Jade spoke, but no one else.” Ian eyed my beer.

I held it up, offering, but he waved me off.

“So, the ghost is…what? Giving off energy when either Jade or I speak?” Pyper asked.

“Yes. He’s responding to your voice or energy. The only other time we see a spike is when he trapped us in the apartment.” Ian held up another graph. “Now, check this out. This one is after you both left for the night. Not only are there no peaks, but there isn’t any paranormal activity at all.”

“This was from Pyper’s apartment?” I asked, looking it over.

“No, both. Your apartment too.”

“You’re saying he’s only present around either me or Pyper?”

“From what we have here, yes. But we can’t be totally sure. I wish we’d thought to get a reading of Pyper while we were getting that first reading with you. It would answer some questions.”

“What questions?” Kane asked.

“I’d like to get a reading on both Pyper and Jade at the same time, but in different areas of the building. We don’t have a clear idea how Pyper could be haunted in her dreams, while Jade is interacting with him at the same time. If I could get some more readings—”

“What would happen in these readings?” Pyper asked, cutting him off.

“Pretty much the same as what we did with Jade. We’d take readings and have each of you speak to him to see the response.”

“What exactly will that accomplish?”

“It’ll help us understand what’s going on,” Ian said.

“So?” Pyper asked.

Ian pursed his lips. “So, don’t you want to know what’s going on?”

“No.” Pyper stood up. “I want him to leave me alone. Will answering your questions make him stay away from me?”

“Uh…” Ian cleared his throat. “I can’t say, really. It might give us some insight on when and why he attacks.”

“Haven’t you been listening? He attacks me every time I sleep, with the exception of last night. If you don’t have a solution for getting rid of him permanently then I’m out.” Pyper grabbed her beer and stalked to the back room.

“Ian,” I said. “Do you know how to exorcise a ghost?”

He rolled his shoulders. “To be honest, I’ve never had a case this intense. Usually we just ask the spirit to back off and it does. Mostly I’ve been just recording information and trying to understand it.” He paused. “This case is really intriguing and I didn’t stop to think about how it’s affecting the two of you.”

Perfect. All this time, I’d been putting my trust in him as the experienced ghost hunter, and he didn’t have any better understanding about what to do than we did. “Last night I pretty much demanded he stop hurting Pyper, and he did. Do you think that did the trick? He did leave her alone last night.” I met Kane’s eyes when a mixture of worry and gratitude radiated from him.

“Maybe. Only time will tell.” Ian stood up, grabbing his papers. “In the meantime, I’ll try some of my contacts about what else can be done if need be.”