by Alicia White
Midnight, New Orleans Style 1
Erin’s Redemption
When five college friends reunite, one night changes their lives forever.
Erin Holmes is dying. She empties her account and heads to New Orleans. Her plan: one last party before saying good-bye to her friends. After meeting her old college buddies at their hotel, they have a few drinks and take a trip to a cemetery.
Mikael Moreau is a vampire. Inside the cemetery, he smells his Eternal Love—a vampire’s perfect match. Abandoning a territory battle, he spots an unconscious woman. He carries her back to the coven, hoping he can save her life.
Elijah Moreau is angry when he learns that his brother went into battle without him. When he goes to confront the other man, the smell of death hangs in the air. He soon finds out that the woman lying on the bed is Mikael’s Eternal Love. To save Erin, both men must donate their blood to empty hers of disease, which means that Mikael will need to share his Eternal Love with his brother. The three form a blood bond, but is it enough to last an eternity?
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 30,639 words
ERIN’S REDEMPTION
Midnight, New Orleans Style 1
Alicia White
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
ERIN’S REDEMPTION
Copyright © 2014 by Alicia White
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63258-391-8
First E-book Publication: October 2014
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
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DEDICATION
To my friend…wherever you are, I hope you’ve found love.
I want to thank Corinne Davies, Karen Mercury, Tara Rose, and Marla Monroe for including me in this series. It’s been a pleasure working with you all.
I would also like to give a shout-out to my good friend and Louisiana resident, Debbie Labit Lore, for all her feedback and comments. Thanks, lady!
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
About the Author
ERIN’S REDEMPTION
Midnight, New Orleans Style 1
ALICIA WHITE
Copyright © 2014
Chapter 1
Erin Holmes came awake slowly. Blinking several times, she tried to clear her sleep-fogged mind. She took a deep breath and stared out the window. The morning sun spilled through the blinds, casting a warm yellow glow into the room. The sight made her smile, and for a moment, she was completely at peace. With a jaw-popping yawn, she stretched her arms above her head and instantly froze.
A gasp escaped her lips as pain tore through her back in stabbing sensations of agony. The blessed relief she’d found in sleep gave way to a reality of suffering she’d never get used to.
Erin clenched her teeth and tried to relax her muscles. At thirty-four, she should be enjoying the prime of her life, but instead she was in a constant state of pain. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been comfortable in her own skin. What started out as a headache a couple of years ago had taken a downhill slide and left her a complete mess. What she’d assumed was stress had quickly turned into headaches and eventually migraines that would put her out of commission for weeks at a time.
She’d finally gone to see her doctor after her health began spiraling out of control. Erin could still remember hearing the words that would change the course of her life forever.
You have a brain tumor.
The devastating news had been crippling, threatening her sanity, leaving her curled in a ball of fear and anguish. The tears eventually subsided and anger slid to the forefront. She’d be damned if she would go down without a fight. Death could kiss her ass and lick its wounds. This was one battle she intended to win.
Erin had decided to end her long-term relationship with her boyfriend after receiving the grim news. Not that the two of them were moving forward or anything. Staying with him wasn’t the answer. She certainly didn’t want him staying with her out of guilt or pity. She was determined to beat the cancer, move on, and have children. Something she always wanted, but he didn’t.
Erin knew loss. She’d been through a lot—the death of her parents, grandmother, and younger brother. And as always, she moved on with life, trying to have a positive outlook regardless of the circumstances.
She refused to allow anyone to sit by her side and watch her wither away. Erin had remained by her mother’s side and the images were burned inside her brain forever. She didn’t want her friends to have to go through that. She’d shaved her head and prepared herself for surgery with only the dream to be normal again. After getting her skull
cut open and having the killer tumor removed, she had hoped the quality of her life would improve.
The headaches still remained.
When she should have been completely healed, other health problems started. It was hard to keep a job when she could barely get herself up in the morning, but she forced herself to go to work because she needed insurance. Nobody knew the truth about what she’d been through, or even what she was experiencing now for that matter. Erin kept herself secluded, but that was about to change.
Soon, she would soon be heading to New Orleans to meet up with her dearest friends.
Creeping out of bed, Erin moved as slowly as she could. The world tilted as soon as her feet touched the floor, and she quickly grabbed onto the bedpost to steady herself, taking a few deep breaths. She needed to see her doctor and tell her about the excruciating pain that rocked her body. She moved cautiously toward the bathroom with her stomach in her throat, barely making it to the toilet before dry heaving. Tears tracked down her cheeks as she fought back the waves of nausea.
The feeling eventually subsided, leaving her weak and shaking, slumped over in a puddle of temporary relief.
After what felt like an eternity, Erin pushed to a standing position before stumbling her way to the shower. She had an appointment with her oncologist before she had to make an appearance at work. She couldn’t afford to miss a day. Money and insurance were commodities she couldn’t live without. The doctors’ visits were expensive enough without the added pain medications she needed to function. This was her life.
The thought of burdening her friends with the details of her illness sickened her. They would only worry and stress over it, and there was nothing they could do to help.
Erin climbed into the shower and stepped under the spray. The hot water sluiced down her skin in a heavenly caress, and she felt her shoulders begin to relax. Grabbing the bar of soap, she rubbed it over her emaciated body, trying to move fast without making herself dizzy. She had lost a lot of weight, but nobody seemed to notice. It was strange to hear people compliment her on looking so good when in reality she was underweight and felt like crap.
At five foot, six inches, she should have a little more meat on her bones. Instead, she could see them vividly beneath her skin. She rested her forehead on the cool tiles as the blessed water rinsed the remaining soap from her body.
The only silver lining to everything was her upcoming vacation. She had been planning it for years, one of the many destinations on her bucket list. She was going to the Halloween Festival in New Orleans in a few days with her best friends from college, Dani, Heidi, Shayla, and Faina.
She just needed to make it a few more days.
Erin shut off the water, grabbed a towel, and dried herself with the movements of a sloth. She had to do everything in slow motion to prevent her world from spinning uncontrollably.
The phone suddenly rang, startling her, but she ignored it. She moved the towel over her body in long, slow sweeps, taking deep cleansing breathes, all the while talking to herself. Coaxing her body into motivation had turned into a morning ritual of sorts.
A simple process that took healthy people minutes to do could take literally hours for her. How could the doctors not find the answers for her? At this point she didn’t care what they said, as long as they could diagnose her.
Erin went back into her bedroom and grabbed a simple pair of black slacks and a white button-up, long-sleeve blouse. She tried to pick outfits that were conservative and that covered her completely—to camouflage the bones pressing against her skin and the needle marks running up and down her arms from the treatments and blood draws.
She just needed to make it the rest of the week, and then she could finally escape her life and pretend to be someone else for a while…a healthy, vibrant, sexy woman.
* * * *
Erin locked up the house and made her way to her car. It took her a few minutes to catch her breath and swallow the sour feeling in her throat. She thought about her upcoming trip. She’d been friends with Dani, Heidi, Shayla, and Faina since they were all freshmen at the University of Mississippi. She’d shared a dorm room with Dani. They’d been through a lot together and had been there for Erin when she’d had no one else.
Starting the engine, she buckled up then reversed slowly out of the driveway. She still lived in her childhood home. Her father had left her the house, and she sometimes longed to move on and leave it behind. The memories occasionally took over, and she found herself crying more than she wanted to admit.
Erin drove down her block, smiling and nodding at the few neighbors who’d ventured outside. She envied them their normalcy as they busied themselves with everyday chores. Working in sales, Erin hated making cold calls, but she was really great at talking to people, which meant big commission sums for her. Her thoughts drifted to the upcoming trip and a wistful smile touched her lips. A vacation was just what she needed.
They were going to New Orleans, a city full of magic. Most people didn’t believe in the supernatural, so Erin didn’t share her thoughts and feeling with anyone but her closest friends, and still she censored most of her beliefs. She had a secret desire, one she held close just in case it didn’t happen. Perhaps some voodoo doctor could help her since no one else seemed to be able to. It was her last bit of hope and she was holding onto it with both hands.
The sound of her phone ringing pulled her from her musing, and Erin clicked the Bluetooth button.
“Good morning. This is Erin.” She kept her tone light in case the call was work-related.
“Hey. How are you feeling this morning?” Dani’s voice boomed from the car speakers, and Erin turned the volume down.
“I’m good. I’m just heading to work. How are you?” Erin didn’t tell Dani that her first stop was to see an oncologist.
“I’m just having my coffee, sitting here in front of the computer, analyzing some numbers. Have you started packing? You’ll be proud of me. I bought a super sexy outfit yesterday. I’m not sure if the four-inch heels are a good idea, but I’m attempting to follow your advice and expand my wardrobe. What the hell? I’m gonna live on the edge.” She giggled and Erin shook her head.
“I’m almost done packing.” She lied smoothly.
The truth was, she hadn’t even taken her suitcases out. She had, however, bought a few new outfits since most everything she owned hung off her.
“No, you’re not,” Dani said seriously. “I can hear it in your voice, and you always wait until the last minute to finish. Are you sure you’re really feeling okay? Are you still having headaches?” The concern in her voice brought a lump to Erin’s throat. She had shared a few minor details about her condition in the beginning, before things had taken a turn for the worse.
It was hard having a friend that knew you too well. It was almost impossible to lie to Dani. She had a way of knowing things that Erin tried to hide, but she never pushed.
“I’m fine. Stop worrying. After work I’m planning to finish packing.” She still wasn’t ready to admit that she hadn’t started. “I’d better hang up now since I’m pulling into the parking lot. See you at the airport.” Erin clicked the end button and pulled into the parking spot closest to the front.
The walk into the doctor’s office wasn’t too bad. The automatic doors slid open, and she made her way to the waiting room. Once she reached the familiar sterile place, Erin slid into a chair and tried to relax. You’re okay. Just breathe through the pain.
“Good morning, Ms. Holmes. Come on back.” The doctor held out her hand, and Erin shook it, grateful they were on time and she wasn’t forced to wait.
“Thanks, Dr. Moore,” Erin murmured and dropped the good doctor’s hand as she stood.
She followed the doctor to the back, hoping the blood test she’d taken a few days prior would be able to provide real answers. At this point, she didn’t even care what the results were. They walked down a long hallway until they reached the last door on the left. Erin swallowed hard as they s
tepped inside a private office. She glanced around the room in open curiosity. Dozens of certificates and awards hung on the walls, a testament to the physician’s competence.
“Have a seat, Ms. Holmes,” the doctor said gently from her chair behind a massive oak desk.
“It’s bad, isn’t it?” Erin asked without preamble.
“I’m so sorry.” Came the reply, but Erin could no longer hear over the pounding of her heart. “The cancer has spread…there’s nothing we can do.” The doctor’s mouth moved, but a loud buzzing sound filled Erin’s head.
It’s back.
I have cancer and I’m going to die.
This is the end…my end.
* * * *
Erin had become a professional liar. She was good at wearing a mask, an expert at pretending everything was great, when in reality her world was falling apart.
Walking through the large double doors at her office, she headed down the hall toward her small cubicle. Her only goal was to eat something and start dialing the phone and making sales. This was her last week of work, and if she could make six more sales, she could earn an extra bonus. She eased back into her comfortable office chair and opened her desk drawer to snag a strawberry breakfast bar. With any luck she’d be able to keep this one down.
She put her headset on and started dialing the phone as she took a bite. This was her usual morning routine. Snacking and talking to strangers. At least she wasn’t stuck in her house all day, by herself, in pain. She did her best to ignore her body and focus on the task at hand.
