Angels of Bourbon Street (Jade Calhoun Series: Book 4)

by Deanna Chase

  His brow crinkled in confusion. “Then I don’t understand.”

  Bea turned to me, and her eyes seemed to move past me over my shoulder. Her jaw set with determination as she nodded toward the house. “I believe the witch on my porch might add some perspective.”

  Drake turned slowly. His eyes went wide with shock for just a moment. Then they sparkled, and his tone shifted to one soft and full of wonder. “Hope?”

  “Drake?” Bea said.

  He tore his gaze from Mom and focused on Bea. “Yes, Beatrice?”

  She held her hand out to me. “I’d like to introduce you to your daughter, Jade.”

  Chapter 25

  “No!” Mom flew off the porch and ran toward us.

  “What?” Drake eyed me in total confusion. “You’re mistaken. This is the witch with the shared soul, is it not? And that’s the angel.” He pointed at Meri.

  “Yes,” I spat, my confusion spilling out as anger. He couldn’t be my father. He just couldn’t. Not him. “And you and the damn council were willing to sacrifice my life for the greater good as if I have no value as a person. Who does that?”

  Drake ignored my outburst and raised his eyebrows in Bea’s direction.

  Coldhearted bastard.

  Bea let out an exaggerated sigh and nodded.

  Mom came to a stop just on the other side of the illuminated pentagram. It was clear by the frustration on her face that she’d been locked out. “No! You’ve got this all wrong.”

  Bea turned to her. “Are you saying Drake isn’t her father?”

  Mom placed her hands on her hips and scowled. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  My gaze drifted between Mom and Drake. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her, and she was shooting daggers at him.

  “You don’t belong here,” she said through clenched teeth.

  “I never did,” he said quietly.

  Mom paced behind me. “Send him back.”

  “I can’t do that.” Bea cocked her head to the side. “Besides, Jade needs him.”

  “No. Not him.”

  Bea threw her hands up. “What do you suggest she does then, Hope? Are you going to give her your soul? Because she isn’t going to survive the week if she doesn’t get some help.”

  “If I have to.” She glared at all of us, her dark hair loose and framing her face. “He’ll never do the right thing. Look at what he did when she went before the council. He tried to kill her!” Mom’s voice cracked, and tears streamed down her face.

  Drake turned his attention to me, and something in his expression shifted. Some small piece of recognition lit in his light green eyes. He frowned then turned his attention to Mom. “Hope, is this true? Is this young lady really my daughter?”

  She fell to her knees, wiping the tears from her stained cheeks. “Please just go,” she choked out. “I don’t want you to be her father. Everything about you puts her in danger.” Her eyes were swollen and red with anguish as she met mine. “I didn’t want it to be true. I couldn’t tell you because he’ll hurt you. Because he already has. I’m sorry.”

  I felt the blood drain from my face as my body started to tremble. He was my father—the man who’d signed my death sentence. No. No. This wasn’t happening. It had to be a mistake. My entire life was a lie. My throat ached with unshed tears. I’d found my father…my angel father.

  Hopelessness settled over me, making me almost numb. He’d never give me part of his soul. High angels, for all their soul-saving bullshit, didn’t give a damn about individuals. They’d never risk one of their own for a damaged witch.

  I turned and took a step toward the house. I didn’t want any part of his inevitable rejection. He could keep his damned soul. I’d find another way.

  Bea’s deceptively strong hand wrapped around my arm, stopping me. “Do not break the circle,” she warned.

  Her tone and the fury blazing in her eyes stopped me in my tracks. I studied her, noted the way she glared back and forth between Mom and the angel, and decided her fury wasn’t aimed toward me. Instead, it was directed at two clueless parents.

  Drake tried to move forward, but the circle held him in place. “Beatrice, I demand you release me.”

  “Not yet.” She shook her head. “Not until you hear Jade out.”

  Oh, crap. She was going to make me explain how I needed part of his soul. My insides recoiled at taking anything from him, of baring any part of myself to someone who cared so little for human life. But my friends’ faces materialized in my mind, and I knew I’d do it, no matter how much I wanted to run away screaming. Where was Kane?

  As if he’d heard my thought, his steady voice materialized from behind me. “Jade?”

  I glanced back at him. “Hi.” Hi? Jeez. So eloquent.

  “What’s going on?” Kane stared at Mom and frowned, appearing at a loss as to what to do.

  I choked out a strangled laugh. “Summoning my father. The one who ordered my soul be given to Meri.”

  “What?” His whole body went stiff, and rage blazed in his dark eyes.

  Drake was studying me now. “How old are you?”

  “How old do you think?” I snapped. “Twenty-seven.”

  His already pale face drained of all color, the moon making him appear almost translucent. “Hope?” he asked, desperation clear in his voice, “is Jade my daughter?”

  “Biologically, but you’ll never be her father. Not in the way it counts,” Mom said weakly. “You were gone. You left us.”

  “Us,” he breathed. His eyes darted to me, and this time he took me in, as if memorizing every detail of my face.

  I stared back at him, uncomfortable and a little bit awed. He was tall, illuminated by more than the moonlight and shining with an ethereal glow. This was no low-level angel like Meri, Philip, and Lailah. He was the real deal, a full-fledged angel who didn’t live in our world. Funny, I hadn’t noticed the glow while we were in the angel realm. Maybe it was only obvious when he stood among humans.

  His eyes turned cold and hard as he pinned Mom with his gaze. “You kept her from me.”

  A sharp pain lanced through my heart, and I swear it was bursting into a million pieces. That was two fathers Mom hadn’t given me a chance to know. I felt as broken as she looked, crumpled on the lawn. If she hadn’t kept this secret, would the angel council have voted differently, knowing who I was? Would Drake have? I clutched my chest and concentrated on breathing.

  Mom stood on shaky legs. Her hands flexed and then curled into tight balls. “You left me. Didn’t want me. You said it plainly enough. ‘Hope, thank you for our time together, but you knew all along this was temporary. I have my place, and you have yours.’ Then you left. Not an ‘I love you’ or a kiss goodbye. You just walked out the door and never looked back.” She sniffed back the tears and hastily dried her eyes. “I was temporary. We were temporary. I wouldn’t let you be temporary in Jade’s life. Not then, not ever. You never even checked on me. Not once. I gave you four years of my life, and you just left.”

  “You know why,” Drake said, steel in his voice.

  “Yeah, I know all about why you left,” she said, sarcasm dripping from her lips. You weren’t going to be there for her anyway. And worse, you would’ve hurt her the way you hurt me. That’s why I never told you. She didn’t know either until five minutes ago. And I swear to the Goddess, if you try to take her back to the realm, I’ll come at you with everything I have, even if I have to enlist Hell for help.”

  Whoa. Four years? Mom had dated my father for four years, and I’d never heard one word about him.

  He jerked back, shocked by her outburst, then narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean, you know all about why I left? I was called to the order. You know that.”

  “You bastard.” Her bravado left her in one fell swoop. “You’re lying. I know you found your mate. And I know you left me because of her.” She turned on her heel and stalked back to the house.

  Drake pressed forward but once again was stopped by t
he wall of the circle. “Let me out,” he demanded, staring after Mom.

  “We have some negotiating to do first,” Bea said mildly.

  He glared at her. “This isn’t the time.”

  “Now is the perfect time,” I said, sympathy for Mom thawing some of my anger. Damn angels and their stupid mates. After all these years, Mom was still crushed. No matter what choices she’d made, it was clear she hadn’t made them lightly. “Because of you and your council, I’m living with half a soul, which apparently means I’m susceptible to ghost possession. And so are a few of my friends who I’ve shared some energy with over the years.”

  His pale eyebrows rose. “Possession?”

  “Yes,” Bea said. “Since Jade lost Hope for a number of years to Purgatory, she didn’t find out about her witch status until recently. But she was an empath and learned she could help people by transferring calming energy. What she didn’t know was that she was also giving up some of her essence each time. A ghost has created a bond with Jade, and because her soul is weakened, she can’t break it. Now the ghost is taking turns possessing her friends to get Jade’s body.” Bea placed her hands on her hips. “There’s a solution, of course.”

  Drake frowned. “You’re not suggesting…?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.” Bea’s tone went from patient friend to authoritative coven leader in the blink of an eye. “And judging by the state of things, I’d say you owe this young lady a lot more than a portion of your soul.”

  Drake shook his head slowly. “This is against council policy. I cannot do what you ask.” He cast a pained look my way. “Not even for my only daughter.”

  “You could ask for a hearing,” Meri said, speaking for the first time. “You could bring Jade before them and present her case. There is a precedent of exceptions to the bylaws in certain cases regarding souls.”

  A terrifying shiver crawled up my spine. Yeah, ones where they gave perfectly good souls to other beings. Another hearing? Had she lost her mind? That was entirely different from having them approve a petition. A trial would be putting my life in their hands. “No!” I shouted. “I’m not going back there.”

  Every instinct demanded I run far away from all of them and this crazy mess. If I went back in front of the council, they could take away the rest of my soul. I met Kane’s eyes and all but passed out from the pain and fear I saw staring back at me. He wouldn’t let me go anyway. I could feel it.

  But Drake was nodding. “Of course, I could do that.”

  Bea met my pleading stare. “It’s the only way, dear.”

  I shook my head violently. No way was I going anywhere.

  Drake pulled out something that looked suspiciously like a Blackberry, tapped a few keys, frowned, tapped a few more, and then nodded. “It’s set. One week from today, the council will hear the motion and vote on what to do.”

  “What? No! I said no.”

  Drake turned to me. “My daughter, I do apologize. I would’ve loved to watch you grow and to prepare you for this separate world we live in. I’ll do my best to see you through this, but you must understand. I can’t let you walk around with a broken soul, one that could be possessed. This is for the best. Otherwise, it’s likely your guardian angel will get orders to bring you in himself. Be ready in seven days. I’ll send for you.”

  “Only if I’m allowed to go with her,” Kane said from behind me.

  “Who are you?” Drake asked almost dismissively. Then his eyes narrowed. “Dreamwalker?”

  “Yeah.” Kane tensed, and the muscle in his jaw pulsed.

  What did his dreamwalking have to do with anything? And why was Kane suddenly defensive about it? I’d never seen him react that way.

  “I’m her fiancé, and I’ll be damned if I sit by and watch her disappear for another two months.”

  “Kane,” Meri said quietly, “it’s not that kind of hearing.”

  He snorted. “I don’t give a fuck what kind of hearing it is. Jade isn’t going without me.”

  Drake studied Kane with interest. Then he pressed another button on his angel-version Blackberry. Nodding, he said, “Your request has been granted.”

  My breath caught in my throat. His acceptance of Kane’s demands had come too easily. Drake was entirely too interested in Kane. What did the angels want with dreamwalkers? I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from screaming.

  “Bea,” Drake said, “can you release me now?”

  She nodded, whispered something in Latin, and then stepped back, breaking the circle.

  Drake gave her a nod of appreciation. His eyes met mine as he held out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you, daughter.”

  I stared at his outstretched hand, not quite sure what to do. Awkward silence fell all around us, but he didn’t relent. Quickly, I grasped his hand and shook it once.

  He squeezed lightly, dropped my hand, and with a small smile, vanished into thin air.

  Chapter 26

  Mom stalked off the porch toward Bea and glowered at her with murderous eyes. “If you ever interfere in my daughter’s affairs again, you’ll regret the day you inserted yourself into her life.”

  “Mom!” I cried, grabbing her arm and jerking her away from my mentor. “Apologize.”

  She clamped her mouth shut and glared at all of us defiantly.

  “Bea, I’m so sorry,” I said quietly and turned back to Mom. “Stop. Bea isn’t to blame. I asked for her help.”

  “It wasn’t her place, Jade.”

  Really? This from the mother who lied to me and both men in her life? She had some nerve.

  Bea cleared her throat. “I think I’ll go inside and give you some privacy.”

  Mom scoffed. “As if any of that matters now.” She spun on her heel and headed back into the house.

  Bea frowned, watching her go.

  I waved an impatient hand and shook my head. “Forget it. You helped me do what she refused to do. Thank you.”

  Bea’s frown deepened. “She had a very good reason.” Her amber-brown eyes locked on mine. “Do you not understand what just happened?”

  Biting down on my lip, I nodded. “Yes.” I knew exactly what had happened. “My father is an angel, and in one week’s time, my life will yet again be in the council’s hands.” My voice cracked, and I swallowed the lump clogging my throat. Fear rose up, threatening to strangle me. I pushed it down, refusing to be beaten. “I understand the consequences, but it isn’t something that can be helped. You know I won’t stand by while my friends are in danger. Just like Mom wouldn’t. You’d think she’d understand my deep-seated need to do what’s right by them.”

  Bea nodded as her gaze landed on Meri. “Yes, you’d think so. But letting your daughter put herself in danger is much harder than putting yourself on the line.” She cut her eyes to the house and then back to Kane. “I suspect you know a little something about protecting your loved ones.”

  A shiver ran up my spine. Yes, I did.

  Kane held his hand out to me. “Come here.”

  I gladly wrapped my arms around him and buried my head into his chest. “Take me home?”

  He gave me a squeeze then released me. “Let’s go.”

  Not even bothering to walk back into the house, Kane deposited me and Meri in his car and got into the driver’s side. “Do you need to tell anyone we’re leaving?”

  I shook my head and pulled out my phone. One group text later, I nodded, indicating we could go.

  ***

  No one spoke on the fifteen-minute ride back to Kane’s house, not when he parked and not when we shuffled through the door. Meri headed straight for the guest room, only pausing to say goodnight just before she disappeared behind the closed door.

  Kane ran a reassuring hand down my back, a caress he’d given me a thousand times before. Standing alone with him in his house, I stiffened and took a small step forward. All of a sudden, his touch was too personal, too intimate after the day’s events.

  He moved with me, wrapping that same
arm protectively around my shoulders.

  My thoughts jumbled, and somehow, I was transported back to that hotel room. The memory of the cool tile echoed on my skin, and all I saw were black and white squares. My shoulders hunched as I longed to curl once again into a ball and slip away into the safety of my numbed mind.

  “What’s wrong?” He tucked me tighter to his chest, his warm breath caressing my ear.

  “Let go!” I jumped from his grip and took a deep, steadying breath.

  He held his hands up in a surrender motion. “Whoa. What’s wrong?”

  “I…” Another deep breath. I ran a hand over my forehead. “Nothing. Sorry. I just need a minute.”

  What the hell was wrong with me? My skin was crawling. Ian’s face, dazed and out of control, replaced Kane’s. Something broke inside me, and I ran. He called after me, but I didn’t stop until I was safely locked in the master bathroom.

  My knees buckled as the memory of Ian’s touch slithered over my body, greedy, heated, and utterly repulsive. I slid to the hard tile floor, shaking.

  A soft knock sounded behind me, and I jumped away from the door, wrapping my arms around my middle as I continued to struggle to breathe.

  “Jade,” Kane said through the door, “what happened?”

  I didn’t answer, only backed up toward the tub. The words were frozen in my throat.

  “Love, I’m worried. Please open the door.”

  My heart started to crack. I couldn’t. I just couldn’t talk to him right then. My body was betraying me. My head screamed for me to open the door, to wrap myself in his safe arms, but the cold sweat covering my skin held me prisoner.

  “Jade…please,” Kane pleaded. The doorknob rattled. “Unlock the door.”

  The worry in his voice spurred me into action. This was Kane. Not Ian. He wasn’t controlled by a ghost. And I wouldn’t let what happened control me. Besides, if I didn’t answer soon, no doubt he’d find a way to pop the flimsy lock. I reached down and turned the knobs in the tub until the water sprayed full blast.

  “Shower,” I called over the rushing noise.

  “Just tell me you’re all right.” Frustration overshadowed the concern in his tone.