Demons of Bourbon Street Read Online Free PDF

growth.
“ Water?” I asked, my throat barely working from the dryness.
“ It’s behind you.” Dan pointed.
“ Oh.” It seemed too much trouble to move.
A few beats went by. Dan sighed and retrieved the water bottle. He kneeled and carefully lifted my head. A black lock of hair fell over my eyes.
Hmm, odd. I have strawberry-blond hair .
Weird stuff happened in dreams.
Dan brushed it back and carefully poured the sweet liquid over my chapped lips.
“ Thank you,” I rasped when he released me.
He shook his head. “You’d better not be lying to me, or I’ll take you to the devil myself.”
A faint commotion intruded on my dream, and a moment later I opened my eyes to find both Kat and Kane staring down at me.
“ Wake up, sunshine,” Kat said, pulling the quilt off me. “We let you sleep as long as possible, but we have a ridiculously early flight to catch.”
I glanced at the window. Still pitch black. “Does this mean we’re on the six a.m. flight?” After finding out about Lailah’s amnesia, I’d asked Kane to book the earliest flight he could find.
Kane handed me a steaming cup of java. “Yeah. Unfortunately.” He checked his watch. “That means you’ve got thirty minutes.”
I groaned and brought the mug to my lips. The aroma settled in my nose as I breathed in the dark roast. At least my boyfriend knew how to start me off on the right foot.
***
     
The flight was full and our last-minute tickets meant the three of us were separated. Lucky me. My ticket landed me in a middle seat with a young mom and a fussy newborn next to the window and an obnoxious, over-excited male who never stopped talking next to the aisle.
Not what I needed at the butt-crack of dawn.
“ New Orleans is a beautiful city, but they really should do something about Bourbon Street,” the man rambled on. “That place breeds sin. It’s outrageous the city would condone people making money off corruption. I tell you, Bourbon Street and Las Vegas are the Devil’s playgrounds.”
I made a noncommittal sound, plugging my ears with the ear buds of my iPhone.
That didn’t stop him.
He raised his voice and drawled on in his deep southern accent. “Young people like yourself have no hope of becoming productive members of society when you buy into all the immorality. Oh sure, I know you think it’s all just in fun, but mark my words, someday you’ll find yourself in Hell if you don’t see the light.”
Young people like myself? I eyed him. He couldn’t be older than thirty. Attractive, too. Tall, medium build, brown eyes that would have been pleasant if he hadn’t just insulted me.
I pulled the buds out of my ears. “Did you just call me immoral?”
He raised a skeptical eyebrow. “I didn’t say that…exactly.” His tone implied that was exactly what he meant.
“ Excuse me.” I shifted, trying to get further away from him, accidentally bumping the mom next to me. The baby started wailing again. I ignored her and turned my wrath on Mr. Judgmental. “You don’t know me. I didn’t ask for your sermon. If I were you, I’d stuff a sock in it before someone puts a pox on a body part. Preferably on one all you ignorant bastards have trouble keeping to yourselves.”
So the lack of sleep, the baby crying for most of the last hour, and my anxiety over Lailah had zapped my brain. And my patience.
Anger rose from the depths of the man next to me, crawling over my skin. I cringed and shrunk into myself. His face twisted into a scowl and turned almost purple. Whoever he was, he clearly wasn’t used to women fighting back. He reached up and hit the call for assistance button.
I turned away from him and focused on the baby. The mother had given up trying to do anything for the hysterical child. I closed my eyes, praying for calm, and took a deep, steadying breath. It wasn’t going to work. I’d lost my last nerve.
A perky flight attendant with an easy smile materialized. “What can I help you with, sir?”
“ I cannot sit next to