Haunted On Bourbon Street Part 21

"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. s.e.xy 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 rea.s.suring 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 rea.s.suringly.

"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 cafe. 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 a.n.a.lyzing 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 pa.s.sed, 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. "d.a.m.n."

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 cafe, 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 pa.s.sed 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 a.s.sumed 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 grat.i.tude 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."

"Okay, thanks."

He reached over and gave me a tight hug and left.

Jealousy rolled off Kane, but his face never changed. I hid a smile as I drank the rest of my beer.

"I'd like it if you and Pyper stayed at my place for a while," Kane said.

"Are you thinking of a threesome? *Cause I got to say, I'm not into that sort of thing."

"No." He rolled his eyes. "I'd just feel better if you were both nearby where I could keep an eye on you."

"The apartment here is close enough." When he opened his mouth to speak again I cut him off. "Look, Kane, I appreciate the thought. Really, I do. But I'm not afraid of the ghost. After Pyper was attacked yesterday we realized he's only attacked me when I've been close with you." I paused. "Maybe it's better if we have a little s.p.a.ce and see what happens."

He opened his mouth, closed it, then nodded.

"All right then. Beer?" I held one out.

"No thanks." He got up and walked out.

Heaving a huge sigh, I picked up the remaining bottles and went to find Pyper.

"Hey. Want to come back to my place and get stupid drunk?"

Pyper straightened and grinned. "That's the best invitation I've had all month." She eyed the bottles. "But we'll need more than what you've got there. Let's make a stop in the club."

Chapter 15.

A rhythmic pounding entered my awareness. I rolled over, groaning. What the h.e.l.l? I heard a m.u.f.fled voice, shot up in bed and winced when I banged my elbow while fumbling with the light. Once fully awake, I realized someone was banging on my door.

"Jade? Jade? Open up."