Angels of Bourbon Street (22 page)

Once dressed in my regular clothes and fully covered, I almost felt normal again…until I walked out of the bathroom and spotted the bed. I stumbled back, pressing my palms to my eyes trying to block out the memories of Ian groping me and Camille urging him on.

A hand landed on my back. “Let’s go.” It was Kane. “Time to get out of here.”

I let him lead me out of the room and down the hall, but when we got to the elevator, I shook my head. “Stairs.”

Meri and Pyper met up with us, but neither said a word, only followed us down the stairwell. Tourists bustled past, and thankfully, the bar was packed with a line waiting at the entrance, blocking the area where I’d kissed Ian. A tremor ran through me at the thought.

When the door opened and we spilled out onto Bourbon Street, I stood in the street, dazed and almost paralyzed by the crowd. Tourists swarmed, jostling me into drunken coeds.

My eyes glazed over, and the next thing I knew, Kane was leading me up the steps of his shotgun double. It was the middle of the day, but I headed straight for his bedroom, closed the door behind me, and crawled into bed, burying my head in a pillow. I closed my eyes, wanting only to sleep, but I couldn’t turn off my mind. Ian was everywhere. Camille, the magic that had swirled in me and her disturbing need to have sex with Kane the night before, and how she’d compelled Ian to act in a way I couldn’t believe. How could he have done that?

I tossed and turned, trying to clear my mind. Eventually, I sat up and stared at the opposite wall and the bright painting depicting a flooded New Orleans with houses in treetops. It was sad and hopeful all at the same time. My gaze flicked to the wing chair in the corner, the one Ian and Pyper had fallen asleep in one night while watching over me.

Ian and Pyper. How was she doing? My hand automatically landed on the nightstand and wrapped around my phone. I tapped out a quick message and waited. A few moments later a light tap sounded on the door.

“Pyper?” I called.

The door opened, and her dark head floated in the opening. “Hey.” Her eyes were wide, her tone tentative.

“Come in.” I patted the bed next to me.

She pasted on a fake smile and slipped into the room. “Can I get you anything?”

I shook my head.

The bed dipped as she crawled across the king-sized bed and sat cross-legged beside me. She smoothed the bed, concentrating on the subtle geometric pattern. “Can I do—”

With someone else to focus on, my bravado returned, and I held up my hand. “I’m fine.”

She let out a dismissive snort.

“Okay, maybe I’m not fine, but I think I will be.”

“Of course you will.”

I smiled at that then sobered. “And what about you?”

She shrugged.

“Pyper?”

Her eyes softened, and then she grimaced. “Please don’t do that. Don’t feel like you have to talk to me about this. I’m not the one who…never mind. I’ll process my own feelings later. Right now, Meri’s in the hall. We have something to tell you.”

The tiny amount of relief at not having to discuss what happened with her boyfriend fled. “What is it?”

“I think Meri needs to explain it.” Pyper opened the door, and Meri, along with Kane, entered the room.

Well, wasn’t this just a great big slumber party? Kane perched on the side of the bed, his hand resting lightly on my thigh. His solid presence helped to soothe my unease.

“What’s going on?” I asked, noting Meri’s hesitant expression. “Where did you go earlier?” My mind whirled with a faint memory of Pyper leading Meri away right before Camille possessed me. I turned to Pyper. “Why did you tell her I was downstairs?”

She winced.

“Jade,” Meri started, “Pyper was compelled to do that.”

I stared at her, mouth open. “What…?” I trailed off, realizing exactly what that meant. “She was possessed?”

Meri nodded slowly. “That’s what we think. It was a mild possession.”

“What does that mean? Mild? How can someone be
mildly
possessed?” I gripped the bedspread to keep myself from punching something.

Meri gave me a sympathetic smile. “I know. All it means is the hold wasn’t that strong. Camille was able to control Pyper for a very short time—”

“Camille? How? I thought I was the only one at risk.”

Meri nodded. “For the most part, you are. But you seem to have a connection to Kat and Pyper—”

‘Wait! What? Kat’s involved in this too?” My head was spinning. Pyper and Kat had been possessed? I thought back to the night before, when Lucien had to calm her down. “Shit,” I said, catching on. “Camille possessed her when she was with Lucien, right?”

Meri nodded. “We think so. I talked to Bea a little while ago and that’s what she suspects. Because you’ve been known to transfer energy to your friends, and apparently you had some trouble with transmitting your essence, they have enough of you in them that Camille is able to control them. Kat more so than Pyper because she’s spent a lot more time with you.”

Holy fuck. That was all true. I had used my empath gift to help ease my friend’s moods when I could. And I’d been doing it wrong for years. “Oh, no.”

Pyper grabbed my hand. “It wasn’t for long. It’s like I lost five minutes of my life, wandering around the club. No trauma. No flashbacks. Nothing odd except I wasn’t in control.”

Of course it was only for a few minutes. Camille had used Pyper to lure Meri away and as soon as she’d seen her chance, she’d taken me over and turned me into a sex-crazed, psycho bimbo. Ugh.

“And Kat? Is she doing okay?”

“She’s still at Bea’s. She’s perfectly fine, but after today’s turn of events, Bea didn’t want her to be subject to the ghost again. She’s keeping an eye on her.”

I held my head in my hands, trying to make sense of everything. Why was Camille trying to possess anyone at all? To save her daughter? But how? She was fixated on me because I was the easy target. But why Kat? Was she drawn to her because of my energy transfer? Did she think she could take her over? I’d have to talk to Kat about what exactly happened. With Pyper, it was clear what Camille had done.

“No one is safe until I get my soul fixed,” I said.

Meri got up and headed toward the door. She paused with her hand on the knob, her head tilted forward. “I love your mother. She’s been a friend to me when I had no one else. But she’s wrong to have kept the identity of your biological father from you. How long are you going to wait until you take matters into your own hands?”

Chapter 20

Meri’s words set a fire in my belly. As soon as she left the room, I grabbed my phone and dialed Mom.

Gwen answered on the second ring. “Jade! We’re so worried. Are you okay, sweetheart?”

“Put Mom on the phone.” My tone was icy, and I winced at the sound. Gwen hadn’t done anything wrong. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m just…stressed.”

She hesitated. “Perfectly understandable.”

They way she said the words implied she understood, but I’d still hurt her. I frowned, feeling even worse. “Gwen?”

“Yes?”

“You didn’t deserve that. I really am sorry.” I clutched the phone. “Mom’s keeping something from me. Something important.”

“You know I don’t want to get in the middle.”

I bit down hard on my lip. Why was everyone walking on eggshells around Mom? My life was the one at stake. It was really starting to piss me off. “I know.”

“But…” There was static on the end of the line and a mumbling of voices. I had the distinct impression Gwen was covering the mouthpiece of her phone. The line cleared. “It’s time, Hope.”

Silence.

“Jade?” Gwen came back on the line.

“Yes.”

“Your mother just went to shower. If she doesn’t tell you by the end of the day, I will. But I’d rather it came from her.”

I was twenty-seven years old. Why the hell couldn’t they just tell me who my father was? I clenched my fists in frustration and ground out, “How long have you known?”

She sighed. “Just a few days, sweetie. I swear.”

My fingers relaxed. That was why I loved Gwen so much. She was loyal to a fault and good all the way to her bones. She’d give Mom every chance in the world to do the right thing, but if someone Gwen loved was at risk, she’d take matters into her own hands.

“Okay,” I said.

“You know I’m telling you the truth, right?”

“Of course. You don’t lie.” And she didn’t. She’d kept her mouth shut, but she’d never blatantly lied to me about anything. At least not as far as I’d known.

“Good.”

“Gwen?”

“Yeah?”

“Where are you? Back at my apartment?”

“No, we’re at Pyper’s. After what happened today at your place, your mother didn’t feel comfortable going there.”

“You mean after I was possessed?”

“Yes. It’s disconcerting.”

Tell me about it.
“Do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Keep her there. I’ll have Kane pick up some takeout, and we’ll meet you in an hour.”

Silence.

“Gwen? Can you do that?”

“I’ll try, but you know how she is when she gets something stuck in her head.”

“Yeah, she’s exactly like you…and me, for that matter. We don’t let it go.” I rubbed a hand over my throbbing forehead. “Does she have something in mind? Somewhere she thinks she’s going?”

“Maybe.” Gwen said the word slowly as if she wasn’t sure how to answer me.

I knew that tone. She used it every time she didn’t want to talk about one of her visions. “You saw something?”

“Yes, but you know I’m not going to say anything about it.”

I shook my head. “Of course not.”

Gwen chuckled. The conversation was a familiar one.

“See you soon.” I hung up and turned to Pyper. “They’re still at your place. Is it okay if we pick up dinner and head over?”

“No problem at all.” She followed me to the door and laid a gentle hand on my arm. “Are you sure you’re ready to deal with everything after what happened this afternoon?”

My mind whirled once again from the memories. I forced a bright smile. “Better than sitting around here thinking about it.”

“Fair enough.” She held the door open and swept an arm out. “After you.”

***

Forty-five minutes later, with a sack full of po’boys and steaming French fries, Kane pulled into the parking spot behind Wicked. During the short ride and wait for the food, my frustration with my mother had kept me sane, as if anger were holding me together. But as soon as I saw the building, apprehension filled me.

Kane must’ve felt the shift in my emotional armor because he placed a hand on my knee. “You don’t have to go in. I can go get them, and we can go somewhere else.”

I shook my head, but everything inside me was screaming,
yes
.

Kane narrowed his eyes and studied me. Then he shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. Wait here with Meri, and I’ll be right back.”

His door slammed and Pyper, Meri, and I glanced at each other.

Pyper grinned. “I guess we’re going to have a night picnic.” She reached into the bag and drew out a steaming French fry. The starchy smell made my stomach growl. When was the last time I’d eaten? She reached in, grabbed a few more, and passed them to me.

The salty shoestring-cut fries practically melted on my tongue. “Oh, that’s good.”

Her lips turned up in a satisfied smile. “Told ya.”

She’d dragged us to some hole-in-the-wall local joint that was fifteen minutes out of our way, singing the praises of Loletta’s Po’boy shack. If the sandwiches were as good as the fries, we were going to be daily customers.

Kane emerged from the back of the club with Mom and Gwen in tow. I glanced at the backseat. Kane’s car really only comfortably fit four people. I frowned.

Pyper opened her door. “I’ll just wait here. I’m sure Charlie could use some help in the club. Unless you need me for something.”

I bit my lip. “Actually, if you don’t mind, can you go check on Kat? I haven’t been able to see her today, and I want to be sure she’s okay.”

Pyper’s brows furrowed. “She’s at Bea’s, right?”

I nodded.

“Then I’m sure everything’s fine. Bea would’ve called.”

“Maybe, maybe not. I’m not sure she knows what happened.” I gritted my teeth. “If she does know, and Kat took a turn for the worse, do you really think she’d bother me today?”

Pyper smoothed her hair from her eyes, her black locks shining in the late afternoon sun. “You might have a point.” She stood there, clutching the food bag. “Ian could be there.”

The blood drained from my face. Hearing Ian’s name made my stomach turn. I’d been fine with talking in a general sense, but I couldn’t do this.

Understanding and then anger rolled through Pyper’s bright blue eyes. “That doesn’t make one bit of difference. Kat is my friend, too. I’m not going to let him stop me from seeing her.”

“Okay. Thanks.” I took a deep breath, trying to expel the unease claiming my body.

She trotted off to her red Bug.

Gwen glanced once at me then at Pyper. I waved for her to go with my friend. Gwen had already said she’d tell me by the end of the day if Mom didn’t come clean. She’d keep her word. “Take care of Kat for me.”

“Of course, honey.” Gwen grabbed one of the bags of food and smiled at me as she climbed into Pyper’s car.

Kane held the back door open for Mom, and she took Pyper’s spot.

Mom studied me, her gaze concerned. “Are you okay?”

No, I wasn’t okay. What kind of question was that? I’d been sexually assaulted and she was making me crazy keeping secrets. “I’m fine, or I will be once you tell me about my father.”

She sucked in a breath. “It’s only been a day. Give me some time.”

“It’s been twenty-seven years.”

Silence filled the car.

When it appeared Mom wasn’t going to respond, Kane cleared his throat. “Where to?”

“The coven circle,” I said, not knowing why I was choosing that place. Maybe it was the large oaks. Maybe it was the feeling of being surrounded by a buzz of familiar magic. But I didn’t want to be indoors anymore, even if the temperature was dropping fast into the low forties. My lungs just didn’t feel like they were getting enough oxygen.