Angels of Bourbon Street (5 page)

“No.”

“Kane?”

“Of course not.” She pulled the cap off one of the bottles. The sweet scent of lavender tickled my nose.

I inched closer, wondering how I was going to get through this relationship without my empath gift. “Do you regret being my surrogate soul guardian?” Technically, Philip was still my assigned angel, but Lailah had asked permission to watch over me. I’d thought it was temporary, but she’d informed me we were bound unless she petitioned the council. And neither of us was in a hurry to see them anytime soon.

“No. Not at all. It’s just…” She put the lavender oil back on the shelf and faced me.

I raised one eyebrow.

“I called Philip.” Her eyes were too bright, filled with a deep hurt she rarely showed anyone.

“Oh,” I breathed. I took her hand and led her back to the counter. Philip and Lailah used to have an on-and-off-again relationship after his mate, Meri, had turned demon. The problem was that, once an angel mated, he or she couldn’t fully commit to another. And yet, Lailah had fallen for him. She loved a man who could never truly love her back. And I thought prior to meeting Kane I’d had unhealthy relationships. “You don’t have to stay when he gets here.”

She stiffened. “Yes, I do.”

“Lailah—”

“No, Jade. He betrayed you. I don’t care what his motive was. I’m not letting you out of my sight when he’s around.” Her lower lip quivered slightly, and she bit down on it and gave a short shake of her head. “It’s just hard. That’s all.”

“Okay. I hear you.” I scanned the shelves, and when I found what I was looking for, I led her to a locked case filled with small vials of potions. “Then we need to get one of these resistance elixirs in you.”

She snorted out a laugh. “Seriously? You, the queen of never taking magical enhancements, are suggesting I arm myself with an anti-love potion?”

“Yes,” I said indignantly. “You make the stuff, not me. If anyone should feel comfortable taking it, it’s you. It doesn’t matter how
I
feel about ingesting them.”

She chuckled again. “True enough.” Then she shrugged. “You might be right.” After producing a small key from beneath the counter, Lailah opened the case and plucked out a small vial of red potion. Without any hesitation, she popped the cork and downed it.

“Better?” I asked after she relocked the case.

“Oy, that stuff is strong.” She shook her head, her eyes watering a bit. “I won’t know until he shows up.”

“He’s on his way then?” I hadn’t known he was still in the area. Though that made sense since Dan, his son, was living across town, sharing a house with Meri. Where else would he go?

“Yes,” she said softly and then shuffled into the small restroom near the back of the store.

In the candlelight, I flipped through one of the spell books Lailah had left on the counter, pausing when I came to one titled
Summoning the Spirit
. I scanned the incantation and recognized it as a modification of the one Lailah had performed the day she’d tried to rid Pyper of Roy. I took a bookmark and stuck it between the pages. If Camille or anyone else did possess me, this spell might help. It called upon Selene, the moon Goddess. She was ruler of those who walked the shadows.

Could she help me? Maybe we should call her in advance. The thought sent a tendril of apprehension straight to my gut. That night the Goddess had actually possessed Lailah. Talk about unnerving.

Get a grip, Jade
.

A brief appearance by a Goddess was hardly anything to get worked up over. I mean, I’d fought a demon, almost died from black magic, and lost half my soul. How could things get any worse?

The door rattled, followed by an incessant knocking. “Jade! Open up.”

Kane. Thank heavens. I ran to the door, struggled with the sticky lock, and finally wrenched it open.

He swept in, grabbing me in a tight embrace. “I’m so sorry, love,” he whispered into my hair.

I clutched his broad shoulders and melted into his safe embrace, breathing in the traces of his crisp cologne mixed with his musky male scent. “For what?” I whispered back.

He pulled back just enough to plant a tender kiss on my lips. “For subjecting you to some crazy ghost. Pyper told me what happened. Are you okay?” He scanned my body from head to toe, inspecting every square inch of me. “That’s twice now a ghost has tried to harm you.” Crushing me to him, he let out a frustrated groan. “Maybe we need to live in a brand new house, one guaranteed to be void of all spirits.”

I gently pulled myself from his embrace and closed the door. “It’s not your fault. I’m the one who—” I stopped midsentence. “She only surfaces when those candles are lit. Maybe we’re overreacting.”

“Not likely,” a deep voice said from behind Kane.

I jumped, and Kane turned, positioning himself in front of me. I peeked over his shoulder and suppressed a frown. Philip stood in the open doorway, the late afternoon sun bouncing off his light brown hair. His emerald-green eyes were trained on Kane, who no doubt had fury streaming off him. He practically vibrated with it. I placed a tentative hand on Kane’s shoulder, a silent request to not kill the man standing before us. His muscles tensed under my fingers.

Philip nodded an acknowledgement to Kane and then met my gaze. “Jade, it’s good to see you again.”

A low rumble reverberated from Kane’s chest.

“Philip,” Lailah said, her tone welcoming, “come on in.”

I studied her, noting the sudden spark in her eyes. Was that potion working? She looked entirely too happy to see him.

Kane glanced at her, his arms flexing in barely constrained control.

“Kane, move aside and let Philip in. Jade, lock the door, will you?” Without saying a word, Lailah waved one hand around the room. Candlelight flared to life in the sconces on the wall.

Philip glided past us to Lailah and wrapped one hand around her waist as he kissed her cheek in greeting. She tilted her head and smiled up at him. I clenched my teeth at his audacity and moved to flip the deadbolt.

Kane’s hand stopped me. “Pyper and Ian will be here in a minute.”

“Oh, yeah. Why did you have his phone?” I glanced at Lailah, who was now leaning into Philip, and scowled. The spell most certainly wasn’t working.

Kane followed my gaze and shook his head. “Pyper and Ian were getting out of her car when I got home. I helped them carry in the stuff from the caterer, and Pyper had just finished filling me in on what happened at Summer House. Then Ian’s phone buzzed. It was lying on the counter, and when I saw your name, I grabbed it.”

“Ah.” I shook my head. “Understandable, but you didn’t let me talk to Ian. And when I called back, it went straight to voicemail.”

He narrowed his eyes. “What did you want Ian for?”

“His ghost experience, of course. He says he can exorcise a ghost now.”

Kane shook his head. “Right. Because he did such a great job last time.”

I took a step back and studied him. Kat had recommended Ian when I’d realized my apartment was haunted. All I’d wanted was peace and quiet, and all Ian had wanted was to study the ghost. Unfortunately, he’d never actually gotten around to trying to expel the ghost. Bea and Lailah had done that in the end. “You know he’s had some success lately. Just last week, he managed to cleanse a jewelry shop on Saint Peters.”

“Or so he says,” Kane mumbled.

The bells on the door chimed, and Pyper rushed in, followed by Ian, who had his hands full of equipment. I refrained from rolling my eyes. I had wanted him to come, after all. But the ghost wasn’t here. She was back at the house.

Kane turned the lock on the door and guided me back to where Lailah and Philip stood, laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I demanded, gaping at them.

Lailah let out another gale of laughter and placed a limp hand on Philip’s chest. “Oh, Jade,” she gasped out, “you’re going to die when you hear this.”

Her response triggered a deep chuckle from Philip, and both of them cracked up.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared at her. “Lailah.”

“Hold on a sec.” She sucked in a breath, tried to speak, and fell into Philip, hanging on as she struggled to collect herself.

“Jesus. Is she drunk?” Pyper asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.

“Not unless she was guzzling booze in the bathroom.” I turned my attention to Philip.

Noticing my glare, he sobered and clasped Lailah’s shoulders, steadying her. “Sorry. Now isn’t the time.”

“But—” Lailah started.

“Later.” He smiled down at her and placed a light kiss on her nose.

Her eyes lit up, and she gazed at him with lovesick wonder. What. The. Hell? What happened to that potion? She seemed more like she’d taken ecstasy instead of some resistance drug. Good Goddess.

“Um, I hate to interrupt,” Ian hedged.

“Please do.” I waved an arm, hoping he’d distract me from the disturbing pair.

“Thanks.” He gave me a sheepish smile. “Do you mind if I set up my equipment? I want to get a reading as soon as possible.”

“The ghost isn’t here,” I said. “She’s at Summer House.”

“Right.” Ian glanced at Pyper. She nodded her encouragement. He cleared his throat. “You know I’ve been gathering a lot of data the last six months.”

“Yeah.” The word came out clipped, almost hostile.

Kane’s hand tightened on mine. He pulled me closer and placed a soothing kiss on my temple. “You did call
him
, love,” he whispered in my ear.

“Right.” I met Ian’s frustrated gaze. “Sorry. I’m a little on edge. You were saying?”

He cleared his throat. “Well, before the soul-splitting, we already knew you were susceptible to spirits. They affected you more than the average person.”

“Yeah,” I said again, only this time I stretched the word out in hesitation. “Lailah, too, because of our gifts.”

Ian nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. But since then, I haven’t had a chance to get a read on you. I think it’s best we do that before another ghost shows up, so I have a baseline. Do you mind? The sooner the better.”

I glanced at Lailah. She was pressed against Philip, rubbing her hand over his chest. My stomach turned. “Okay. Fine. There’s a lab back here.” I moved to the door, desperate to get away from Lailah’s embarrassing display. Had she taken a harlot potion by mistake? I’d never seen her act so odd before. I glanced at Ian. “That’ll be better, right?”

“Perfect. Otherwise, we’d need to kick everyone out.”

The twitch of Kane’s right eye told me he wouldn’t be going anywhere. I smiled at him. “We’ll be right back.”

“I’ve heard that before,” Kane ground out.

Pyper slid to stand next to him. “Chill, Captain Cranky Pants. All Ian is going to do is turn on some equipment and take some readings. It’ll take less than ten minutes, and we’ll be right here.”

Furrowing his brow, he bent his head, his dark locks covering one eye. “Captain Cranky Pants?”

She grinned.

I shook my head at the ridiculousness in the shop and stalked into the lab.

Ian followed, juggling his cameras and EMF readers. Once he got inside, he kicked the door shut and moved to the clean work station. “What the hell is going on with Philip and Lailah?”

“Her resistance potion went haywire.”

His eyebrows shot up. “What was she supposed to be resisting?”

“Philip.”

He laughed. “I think the label must have been switched. Her behavior looks like the inhibition blocker Aunt Bea’s been working on.”

Wonderful.
“I’ll be right back.” I stalked to the door and pulled it open just enough to poke my head out. “Pyper?”

She slid past Kane and joined me. “What do you need?”

“Do whatever you can to keep Lailah away from Philip. She accidently took some potion that’s making her act crazy. When she comes out of this, she’ll be mortified by her behavior.”

A sly smile moved over Pyper’s lips. “Sure. Consider it done.”

“Thanks.” I gave Kane a tiny wave and disappeared back into the lab.

“Ready?” Ian asked.

I glanced around, noting the three video cameras, an old-fashioned tape recorder, his 35mm camera, and a notebook. “Wow, you’re getting proficient at this.”

“It’s been a busy six months.”

“I guess so.” My feet were silent on the carpeted floor as I moved to his side. “Want me to do anything special?”

“Nah. Just hang with me. I might have you say a few things, but other than that, this really is just for a baseline. I don’t expect to catch anything here.”

“Gotcha. I’m ready.”

Ian set his notebook down, took my hand in his, and said a protection prayer, the one he’d used in my apartment the last time I’d been haunted. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out unexpected memories of Roy and the glass box I’d been trapped in while he tried to torture me. Every muscle tensed as I fought the rising panic.

“Relax, Jade,” Ian soothed. “It’s just a prayer.”

I let out a long breath. “I know.”

With his hand on the small of my back, Ian guided me around the room, pausing for a moment in front of each of the cameras and the recorder. When we came full circle, he stepped back and grabbed his notebook. “Repeat after me.”

I nodded.

“Visitors of the afterlife, we seek your acknowledgement. If you’re here with us today, please make yourself known.”

I hesitated. Inviting ghosts to do anything other than leave made me uncomfortable, especially after what happened at Summer House.

“Jade?” Ian questioned.

“Do I have to? I really don’t want to invite trouble.”

He pursed his lips. “Understandable. I just wanted a clean baseline. You don’t have to.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. I don’t think I could take another possession, not after what Camille—” An icy-cold presence stabbed me right below my heart and spread with a gust of fury through my core. I groaned, clutching the edge of the worktable.

“Jade?” Ian’s worried voice seemed far off in the distance.

“Camille,” I grunted out. “She’s here.” The fog took over, blurring my senses. Ian’s form went translucent as everything else faded to black and white.

A faint “What?” reached my ears. I tried to respond, but my mouth wasn’t mine. I was so cold my teeth should’ve been chattering. Instead, I stood tall and composed, frozen and trapped inside my own mind by a ghost.