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  I circled my apartment, while Ian followed holding some kind of electronic meter. The two other guys were busy manning their own equipment. One held a palm-sized video recorder and the other juggled three different cameras.

  I had no idea how accurate any of their readings would be. Ghost hunting wasn’t in my knowledge base. But I did have a weapon they didn’t know about. Deciding it was best to be in the know, I let my guards down and took in the lingering emotions. Ian’s excitement tingled up my spine.

  “You really enjoy this, don’t you?” I asked.

  “Everyone has a passion. Now, don’t talk. We’re taking measurements.”

  I mouthed ‘sorry’ and zeroed in on the camera guy’s boredom and the videographer’s impatience. Seems Ian’s helpers didn’t share his passion. Blocking the three of them, I concentrated on any other emotional imprint. Nothing. I kept my senses open. When we neared the bathroom, trepidation slowed my steps. Ian nudged me. I had no choice but to suck it up.

  The Honey Dust still covered the floor, and the sweet honeysuckle scent brought the afternoon’s events right back. I almost felt the mini tornado swirling around me. But as I stood there taking it in, nothing penetrated my emotional energy. It just felt peaceful.

  Ian steered me to the center of the living area and asked me to say something.

  “Hello?” I called.

  Silence.

  “Are you here?”

  After a moment, Ian nodded. I tried again. “If you’re here, give us a sign.”

  We tried a few more rounds of calling the ghost out, but nothing happened. With my part finished, I asked Ian to leave the key with Pyper, and left to find Kat.

  I found a note on the empty table in the courtyard. Kat was waiting for me in the club. What? That’s the last place I’d expect her to be.

  As I rounded the corner I spotted a bride-to-be dressed in a short, black sequined dress and a white veil, surrounded by a group of women decked out with condoms and penis pops. The group moved as one to the front of the entrance. Is it normal for a woman to have her bachelorette party in a strip club? Huh.

  I moved to join the back of the line, trying to avoid a crowd of men moving toward the party girls.

  Someone grabbed my arm, startling me.

  “Hey!” I cried out.

  “You don’t need to wait in line,” Kane said. Was it weird my insides turned gooey every time I heard him talk? “Your friend’s inside at the bar.”

  “Thanks.” I smiled up at him. As I walked through the door I turned back to wave and caught him watching me. My insides were warm and mushy…until emotional energy slammed into my gut, knocking the wind out of me.

  I would have fallen if the wall hadn’t been directly behind me.

  Gasping for air, I envisioned a glass silo then mentally put myself in it. The pain in my gut lessened enough for me to breathe, but didn’t fully vanish.

  The biggest problem with being an empath is I couldn’t effectively block out others’ emotions in a highly charged atmosphere. And this placed was charged. Usually an individual person’s energy has a distinct imprint. I could feel his or her energy and knew the specific owner, much in the same way I could pinpoint the sound of a voice to a particular person. But in situations like this, it was a shouting match of emotional energy. Only, I felt the pain in my stomach, not my ears.

  With so much energy surrounding me I couldn’t focus. If I didn’t merge my senses with someone else, I’d collapse…soon. With emotional chaos making my head spin, I reached out blindly. Unfortunately I chose the wrong person.

  My stomach rolled as rage crawled up my spine, wrapping around my neck as if to strangle me. Gagging, I pulled my energy back and placed my mental image safely back into my glass silo. Jesus! Nothing short of evil resided in that body. On the outside he looked completely normal: an average balding, thin man sitting in the corner, rolling an unlit cigarette between his fingers. I made a mental note to somehow warn Pyper and the staff to stay away from that one. Sometimes my gift comes in handy, and other times it’s downright unnerving. In this case, it was definitely both.

  My eyes watered. I didn’t notice Kat until her hand touched mine. “It’s okay, zone in on me,” she said.

  The pain subsided, and I gave her a weak smile. “Thank you, again.” Having someone to focus on usually worked better than my cylinder, but it had to be a person with nontoxic energy or else it was useless.

  “No, it’s my fault you’re in here. I got a hankering for a margarita.”

  No wonder she seemed relaxed. “How many have you had?”

  “Two or three…or maybe this is the fourth one. I can’t remember. Pyper wouldn’t let me pay for them.” She giggled.

  I laughed. “Okay. Let’s go sit.”

  When we got to the bar, Kat handed me her drink and left to use the restroom. Sitting, I tapped my mental cylinder again. This time, it held. Thank God.

  “What can I get you?” The bartender’s radiant heart-shaped face turned toward me, breaking into a smile that extended to her eyes. Her spiky red hair glowed under the bar lights.

  “Bottled water, if you have it.”

  “Three dollars.” She set a bottle, dripping with melted ice, on the counter.

  Yikes. “Thanks. Can you tell me where I can find Pyper?” I wanted to tell her to look out for Ian so she could get my key.

  She nodded to the stage. “Right up there, but she goes by Candy when she’s working. Don’t tell the masses though.” She winked. “You’re not here for an audition, are you? Those are usually during the day when the club isn’t open.”

  I choked, spitting the water out. “Oh, no. I just needed to talk to her for a moment.” A vision of myself on stage made me shudder.

  “Too bad. I’d have liked to see that.” She grinned and turned her attention to a waiting customer.

  I watched in fascination as Pyper rode the pole to the beat of “Cowboy” by Kid Rock. Multi-talented didn’t begin to describe her as she climbed the two-story-high pole, using just her arm strength. Once she was two-thirds to the top she wrapped her legs tightly around the pole, released her hands while arching her back and spun around for a good thirty seconds. Damn. That was impressive.

  The men hooting in the front row were clearly not put off by the implications of a woman who could hold herself up with her thighs. A fact demonstrated when they whipped their dollar bills out and waited for her to give them a moment of personalized attention.

  Mesmerized by Pyper’s performance, I didn’t notice the man sit down next to me until he spoke.

  A whiskey stench assaulted my senses as a male voice whispered low and hot into my ear. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, bringing Kat here?”

  It’s a good thing my protection cylinder held, because I knew if it hadn’t, my po’boy dinner would have ended up on the club floor.

  “Dan,” I replied. “Who invited you?”

  3

  I quickly scanned the club for Kat, but she still hadn’t come back from the restroom.

  “Kat called me, drunk off her ass.” Dan moved to stand in front of me. His hostility filtered through my defenses, making my skin crawl. Where had that come from? We certainly weren’t friends anymore, but we had formed sort of an unspoken understanding to ignore each other. He leaned in. “Stay away from her.”

  My temper flared. I planted my palm on his chest, pushing him back as I stood. “Or what, Dan? Are you going to keep her under lock and key?”

  “Don’t ever touch me again,” he seethed.

  Like I wanted to? My hand ached with a slow burn from the contact we’d just had. My physical reactions to him were getting worse. “Then leave me alone. Kat doesn’t need to be rescued. She’s a big girl.”

  His eyes narrowed as he pushed me, knocking me down onto the stool. “You expect me to believe she came into a place like this on her own? Have you decided to become a stripper now? I’m not surprised. Or maybe you just switched teams since you can’t s
eem to hold onto a man.”

  Stunned, I stared up at him from the stool. In a million years I’d never guess he would assault someone, and especially not me. No matter how angry we were with each other. Not after what the three of us had been through the summer before our sophomore year in high school. It was clear he’d been drinking, but I’d never known him to be an angry drunk. Worry for him eroded some of my anger. What the hell was going on?

  “Excuse me.” The bartender leaned across the bar, tapping Dan on the shoulder. “Maybe you should take a step back.”

  Dan cut his eyes to her. “Mind your own business.”

  “This is my business. Now step back, or I’ll have you thrown out.” She signaled to someone across the room, but I couldn’t see whom with Dan blocking me.

  “You can’t throw me out. I haven’t done anything.” Dan dismissed her and turned to a man sitting to my left. “Stupid dikes.”

  All my concern for Dan’s mental state fled as I registered his vile words. It was like he’d been possessed.

  “I heard that.” A vicious scowl spread over the bartender’s face. “This is your last warning. Leave the lady alone, or you won’t like what happens next.”

  Dan laughed and placed a possessive hand on my arm. “Me and the lady go way back,” he slurred. “I’m not bothering you, am I, Jade? I mean, it’s not like you don’t know how I feel about you.”

  His touch sent a ripple of disgust through me. Twisting my arm, I did my best to dislodge it from his grasp. “Let go, Dan. I mean it.”

  “I think you better do as she says.” Kane appeared at Dan’s side.

  “Who the hell are you?” Dan turned, his body poised for a fight.

  “The manager. I suggest you remove yourself from my club.” Kane appeared relaxed, but his voice was laced with a dangerous edge.

  “Oh. Good.” Dan let out a menacing laugh. “Just the one I was lookin’ for. If you’re thinking of hiring this bitch,” Dan pointed at me, “you should know she’s a mind-reading freak.”

  In a blink of an eye, Kane twisted Dan’s arm behind his back and shoved him toward the exit.

  “Let go, you bastard,” Dan howled, kicking out as he struggled. “I’m doing you a favor.”

  The music drowned out Kane’s reply, but icy fury radiated off him. Dan appeared livid, but his energy betrayed intense satisfaction. What had he thought he’d accomplished? Had he shown up specifically to hurt me? I watched as Kane literally threw Dan out the door and then followed him.

  “Jade?” Kat put her hand on my arm. “What’s going on?”

  “How long have you been standing there?”

  “I just got back. Was that Kane throwing Dan out of the club?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Wait. What was Dan doing here? Did you two fight? I thought you were ignoring each other.” Her eyes stayed glued to the door, and disappointment rippled from her.

  I heaved a heavy sigh. “Look Kat, Dan physically attacked me and when the bartender asked him to step back, he lost it. This is on him, not me.” Delayed adrenaline coursed through my veins, making me shake.

  She twisted so fast she stumbled, but caught herself on the neighboring stool. Her bloodshot, slightly glazed eyes struggled to focus on mine, making me wonder just how much she’d had to drink. “Dan would never do that. Have you forgotten what happened in that foster home years ago? He saved us. Both of us.”

  A frustrated growl slipped from my lips. “No. Of course not. How could I?”

  That was the summer I’d lost my mom, and I’d been put into the system before Aunt Gwen had come to take care of me. On the fourth of July the pair of them had come to pick me up from the foster home on the way to the fair. Only we’d never made it out of the house. A cold shiver snaked down my body as I remembered.

  Dan had risked his life to save the two of us from unspeakable things, enduring far more than a fifteen-year-old boy ever should have. By some miracle Kat and I had made it out with minor injuries. Dan hadn’t been as lucky. He’d put himself between our attacker and us over and over again and would have surely died protecting us if the police hadn’t shown up when they had.

  From that day on, the three of us had formed an unbreakable bond of friendship. Until Dan and I had screwed it up with our relationship.

  “I better go make sure he’s okay. See you back at my place,” Kat said.

  “Don’t count on it,” I said to her back as she wobbled through the crowd, but I doubted she heard me over the music. Gritting my teeth, I turned back to the bartender. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Why?” Her brow dimpled as she frowned.

  “Because it’s my fault Dan was here.” My hands started trembling. I balled them into fists, furious at my reaction.

  “Did you invite him here or something?”

  “What? No.”

  “Then how is it your fault? It’s obvious you don’t harbor any love for the dude.” She shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not the first time some random drunk started trouble.”

  “He’s not so random,” I said quietly.

  “Really, don’t worry about it. Kane will take care of it. I’m Charlie, by the way.”

  I shook her hand. “Jade, and thanks for the help.”

  She cocked her head in interest. “So, is it true?”

  “What?”

  “What he said. Can you really read minds?”

  “No.” Technically I couldn’t read minds, so it wasn’t a lie.

  “That’s too bad. I’d love to have a gift like that.” Charlie turned to wipe down the bar and then asked, “Wouldn’t you?”

  “No. I wouldn’t,” I answered truthfully. My shoulders relaxed as I smiled at her.

  It wasn’t long before Kane strolled back in, his expression cool as if nothing had happened. He walked straight toward me. Just as he reached the bar I said, “I am so sorry. I don’t know what his problem is.”

  “You don’t? I do.”

  “You do?” My hands started to shake again.

  “Being an asshole is his problem. Don’t worry, the other bouncers have been instructed that he’s not allowed in here again. Ever.”

  “Ever?”

  “Is that a problem?”

  The tension in my jaw eased as I let out a long slow breath. “No. Thank you, Kane. I’m sorry he caused such a scene.”

  He nodded, staring at me with intense curiosity radiating off him. I willed myself to keep eye contact and waited. He clearly had questions, but as time ticked by it became equally as clear he wasn’t going to ask. And I wasn’t offering.

  “Well…thanks again, I appreciate the help. If you need anything from me, let me know.”

  His gaze traveled the length of my body, then back up. “Maybe later.” With that, he turned and walked off.

  “Uh-oh! Looks like the boss has his sights set on a new girl,” Charlie sang as she did a little dance next to me.

  “What?”

  “I saw that look. I may not be into guys, but I know how one looks when he’s interested.”

  “But what about Pyper?”

  “What about her?” she asked.

  “Uh…aren’t they together?”

  Charlie laughed, long and hard to the point of almost crying. “Honey, if Pyper had a thing with Kane, you’d know it. Subtlety’s not her strong suit when it comes to men.” A wicked smile played at the corner of her mouth. “No. They’re just business partners. And the boss man has his eye on you.”

  ***

  After the adrenaline rush wore off, pressure built behind my left eye, threatening a migraine. If I didn’t leave the club soon, someone would be carrying me out. I thanked Charlie once more and made a quick getaway. The pressure didn’t start to ease until I entered the narrow walkway to my building’s courtyard. By the time I reached the inner sanctuary, the brick walls had succeeded in blocking out the commotion of Bourbon Street. Sighing in relief, I flopped into a chair.

  “Jade?” Pyper called. I followed the so
und of her voice and found her leaning against the side entrance. “I thought you were going to your friend’s house.”

  “Change of plans. What brings you out here?”

  She walked over and sat next to me. “Just taking a break. What about you?”

  “Waiting for Ian to finish so I can get to sleep.”

  Pyper sat up, her eyebrows raised. “Really? You’re not afraid?”

  I lifted one shoulder. “I was up there with Ian, and nothing happened—even when I tried to speak to it. I figure I better get it over with.” My halfhearted smile faltered at her skeptical look. “It’ll be fine.”

  She pulled a business card out of her bag. “My cell’s on there. If anything else happens or if you just get spooked, call me, and you can come to my place. I live next door above the café.”

  I furrowed my brows. “Thanks. That’s kind of you, especially since we hardly know each other.” I liked her and thought we were on our way to being friends, but trust wasn’t something that came easy for me. I’d suffered too many past betrayals. Depending on anyone was just asking for trouble. Look at Kat, for example.

  I realized she hadn’t seen the exchange between Dan and I, and the whole thing was so out of character for him, but when I’d told her what happened she’d dismissed my claims without even considering them. Being drunk wasn’t a good enough excuse. She seemed to comprehend Dan being thrown out of the club just fine. That alone should have given her a clue something wasn’t right. The whole exchange left me feeling empty and alone.

  “What can I say? I feel guilty we rented you a haunted apartment. I really thought Kane was full of shit. If you want out of your lease, I’ll make it happen.”

  Ah. Guilt made people do a lot of things they normally wouldn’t do. Still, I appreciated both offers. “Thanks, but I think I’ll stick it out for now. Hopefully Ian can come up with a solution for a ghost-free apartment.” At this point I didn’t have many options. So unless the ghost sent knives through the air at me, I’d already decided I was staying. “But if things get worse I might take you up on it.”

  “You’ve got guts. I like that in a woman.”