Free Haunted on Bourbon Street by Deanna Chase Page B

heads together at a table in the corner.
    “We’re back.” Ian waved.
    Pyper straightened and smiled at him. “Oh, good. We were just talking about you. Have a seat.” She patted the chair next to her.
    He gave her his sexy half-smile and squeezed in beside her.
    Kane was staring at me, and suddenly my head swam. I grabbed the edge of the table and took cleansing breaths to center myself. His hand rested on the small of my back as he leaned in and whispered, “Maybe you should go up to Pyper’s and lie back down.”
    “Probably.” But I made no move to leave. I wanted to know what we were going to do about the ghost. “Okay, Ian, what’s the plan?”
    “Kane’s going to let us take some measurements down here, so I’ll get started with that shortly. I’ve got a lot to do in an hour.”
    “An hour? But you stayed half the night in my apartment.”
    Kane stiffened beside me. I looked at him, bewildered.
    “Kane said he’d open the club a little late, but he has an event scheduled. Since we can’t measure activity with other people around, I’ll take what I can get. Though I would like to log some data with you and Pyper in there to see if either of you sets anything off.”
    “Just me and Pyper?” I asked.
    “Yes. It seems the two of you have some kind of connection with whatever may be lurking here. I’ll take some basic measurements and have each of you come in for a reading. After I record the data I can compare the results and see if we have any similarities or anomalies,” Ian explained.
    “No.” Kane said.
    “No?” I asked before anyone else could respond. “What do you mean, no?”
    Kane turned serious eyes on me. “I mean, I don’t want you and Pyper involved anymore. You went into some sort of trance today in there, and Pyper could have been seriously hurt last night. I will not allow that to happen again.”
    The blood rushed to my head. Combined with my fight with Kat and feeling like I had no control over what was happening, I snapped. “Who are you to tell me what you will and will not allow to happen?”
    “Your boss.”
    I huffed. “Right. Boss . I had no idea taking orders from you on my personal time was in the job description. Besides, you may be the owner of the club, but technically I work for Pyper, remember? I only filled in tending bar as a favor to her. Why in the hell else do you think I would work at a strip club?”
    “For the money,” he said calmly. “Like all the other girls.”
    “You son of a bitch.” I glowered at him, pissed off, mostly because he was right. I did need the money, but he didn’t have to know that. “You know damn well I only filled in as a favor to Pyper.”
    He opened his mouth to say something, but Pyper cut him off. “That’s true.”
    Kane turned to her. “Which part, the favor part or the son-of-a-bitch part?”
    “Both,” she said lightly. She turned her attention to Ian. “Of course, we’ll both help.” She waved her arm toward me.
    I smiled at Kane’s incredulous expression.
    “Oh, stop being a bully,” Pyper continued. “We’re both big girls. If we want to help Ian figure out what’s going on, we will.”
    Kane stared at her until she raised an eyebrow. Then he studied me. I resisted the urge to stick out my tongue. Real mature , I told myself. Finally, he asked Ian, “Is there something you do to keep people safe in these situations?”
    Ian nodded. “Yes. So far we haven’t had any mishaps…though this situation seems a bit more volatile than most we’ve been involved with.”
    “Really?” I asked. “How so?”
    “Well,” Ian paused, rubbing his chin. “Most of our clients come to us because they see images, like a vision, or they get a sixth sense something is there. Rarely do we come across cases where the spirits are interacting on as personal a level, as they seem to be doing in this case.”
    Kane stayed silent but continued to glare at all of us.
    Ian glanced at him, shifting uncomfortably.