Haunted On Bourbon Street Part 20

"No, I didn't. How could the door be blocked by nothing?"

"You've got me. Ian said it was the ghost's energy keeping us trapped in the room. It was hot, like fire. I could get right up next to it and feel nothing, but as soon as I tried to go through I'd burn."

I gasped. "How did you get out?"

"Right after the lightning struck, the doorway turned bright orange then dissipated into thousands of tiny particles and flew down the stairs."

My heart started hammering again. "Then what did you do?"

"Came here, obviously." He took my hand and held it lightly in his own.

"Here." My voice was weak and my head swam. "You said it broke right after the lightning?"

He nodded.

"s.h.i.t." My skin went cold and the gooseflesh came back. "I called him. That's why he left." My voice shook. "Well, we both did, actually." I tilted my head toward Pyper's room.

Kane's face turned red. I could see him try to control his anger. "Why would you do that on your own? One or both of you could have been seriously hurt."

I threw my hands up in frustration. "Because we're both sick of being out of control. I guess I figured if we called him, we might have the upper hand."

"And did you?" He looked skeptical.

"In the end, yes I did." I smiled with satisfaction and filled the three of them in on what happened.

When I finished, Ian stopped his frantic recording of my account, put his notebook down and looked at me thoughtfully.

"What?" I asked.

"I was just thinking about the timetable of events. It seems we were encountering something in your apartment at the same time something was going on with Pyper when Kane came to get us."

"Can a ghost be in two places at once?" It seemed unlikely to me.

Ian scratched his chin, pursed his lips and said, "Not that I know of. At least, I've never heard of such a thing. But if it's the same ghost-"

I cut him off. "It is. I saw him materialize in front of me. I recognized him."

"I know, I heard. What I was going to say is, if the same ghost has connected with both of you, I wonder if he can be in one person's mind, while physically somewhere else. Like in Pyper's mind, while interacting with you in your apartment. That would take a lot of energy. More than I've ever encountered."

Kane and I started asking questions at the same time. Then a movement caught my eye. I glanced up to see Pyper, emerging from her room. She'd changed into tiny black hot-pants and a large gray sweatshirt.

"What the h.e.l.l are you wearing?" I asked in disbelief. "You're not going to work at the club after all of that, are you?"

She rolled her eyes. "What am I supposed to do? Sit around here and waste my life waiting for more abuse?"

"Make her not go," I demanded, turning to Kane. "She's in no shape to be dealing with the club. Take her home or out to eat or something, but do not let her go to work."

He patted my hand like a father would his daughter. "Of course I won't let her work. Pyper, are you insane?"

"I hear that's up for debate." She flipped her pink hair over her shoulder and headed for the door.

Kane leaped up from the couch, scooting in front of her. He folded his arms over his chest and stared her down. "Charlie's there. She's got it covered."

Pyper narrowed her eyes, pointed her finger and walked right up to him. "You cannot keep handing everything off to Charlie, Kane. It isn't right." She stabbed him in the chest. "That girl deserves a raise and a promotion based on how much you take advantage of her."

"Done," he said.

Pyper took a step back, clearly not ready for that. "You gave her a raise and a promotion?"

"Not yet. But I've been planning to."

"Oh." Pyper backed off. "But you better give her a bonus or something for time already served."

Kane looked up, as if to ask G.o.d for help, or patience. "Fine. Just stay here until we're ready to go." He strode off toward his part-time room.

"Go? Go where?" She turned in his direction and found John staring at her a.s.s, camera pointed and ready. "Jesus, just take the d.a.m.n picture already." She stripped off her sweatshirt, revealing a black lace push-up bra, and posed, sticking her a.s.s right in John's face.

I covered my mouth to hide the laughter bubbling up. John's face went beet-red as he stood, staring.

"Hurry up. I'm freezing." Pyper reached around, snapping her fingers in front of his eyes a few times.

John quickly snapped the picture, then retreated to Ian, who made no effort to hide his laughter on the other side of the room.

Kane cleared his throat and gestured to Pyper. "If you want to put some more clothes on, the three of us-" he nodded, indicating me, "-should get some food." His tone of voice made it more of an order than a statement.

"What's wrong with my outfit?" Pyper cooed from the chair.

Kane rolled his eyes, and I shrugged.

"Oh, all right." She bounced off to her bedroom, clearly feeling more like herself.

"Would you mind if we stayed to do more readings?" Ian asked.

"Fine," Kane answered. "Stay as long as you like. The girls can stay at my place."

Kane glanced at me in question. Despite my earlier concerns that he might be a link with the pain the ghost was causing, I nodded in agreement. I wasn't up for an argument, nor did I want to be alone.

Chapter 14.

With a promise from Ian he'd call sometime the next day, we left in search of food. An hour later we sat at Kane's table with takeout from the Gumbo Shop. The conversation was nonexistent, as the three of us sat pretending to be absorbed in our meals. Letting out a barely audible sigh, Pyper picked up her plate and carried it into the living room, where she curled up in the overstuffed chair. I wanted to do the same but decided she might like a bit of time to herself.

I looked up to find Kane watching me intently. I gave him a weak smile and asked, "Wine?"

Without saying a word he rose, grabbed a bottle of red and two gla.s.ses from his wine rack. A small pop sounded, causing Pyper to look our way. Kane held the bottle up in question, but she shook her head and went back to moving the etouffee around on her plate. After handing me a full gla.s.s, Kane set the bottle on the table, sat down next to me and focused on my face as he sipped.

"Thank you." I raised my gla.s.s slightly.

He gave me a small nod, still staring.

The heat rose to my face as I examined the blackened swordfish on my plate. It was one of my favorites, but it sat untouched. "Stop," I said in a low voice.

"Stop what?"

Whipping my head up, I looked him straight in the eye. "You know d.a.m.n well what. Stop staring at me like that."

"Am I making you nervous?"

"No."

"If you say so."

I glared at him.

Kane scooted closer, bringing his face mere inches from mine. "I wanted to get your attention."

"There are easier ways."

He shrugged. "This was a pretty low-level effort for me."

My eyes slanted. "Now that you have my attention..."

"I just wanted you to know. What we started last night and this morning isn't over." He brought his face so close, I could almost feel the smooth silk of his lips.

I jerked back. "No? I don't think that's for you to say."

"I do. I know there's something different about you. I just don't know what yet."

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. d.a.m.n.

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.