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  I ignored the fact that he had my girlfriend’s arm around his neck because we really needed to get out of there. Sure enough there would be others attracted to the scene. The burning just seemed to release the evils of the house. LaLaurie would be present until the burning was complete, plenty enough time to call someone else after Ana, to entice them.

  We finally slowed our place when we got to the moonwalk by the river. I would have to send Luke back to get the car eventually, but right now I think Ana just needed to sit.

  “Breakfast?”

  She looked up at me, surprised. She paused and I wasn’t sure if she was going to reply or not. Maybe she just needed to comprehend all the supernatural occurrences that she encountered.

  “Yeah,” She smiled dreamily back at me.

  That word was never more welcoming.

  “Good, I know the perfect place.” I led us towards Jackson Square.

  Ana was looking around the city as if taking inventory. Looking at the French Quarter, she seemed relieved. It had been two months and downtown didn’t sustain much damage. It was a city that needed to be run, and many of the residents were already strolling in for work that morning. I was impressed that the humans had been so resilient in returning and going back to their normal lives. And as it so happened, it was still a recovering city so our stunt at the LaLaurie mansion went undiscovered.

  “Wait here,” I told Ana and Luke as I recognized the white-and-green canopy.

  I jogged to the front of Café Du Monde. There was one worker on the patio setting up tables. For whom? I wondered idly.

  “I’m sorry were not open yet,” She said to me kindly, without looking up from her work.

  I took out my wallet. “We just need a couple of au laits and an order of beignets.” She turned to me, ready to chastise me but stopped as she saw the bills I held up in my hand. “Please?”

  “How many?”

  I gave her a smile.

  Ten minutes later, I had the coffees and bag of beignets in my hand. Ana rewarded me with an impressed smile when I returned. I was amazed how great she could make me feel for something so miniscule.

  The sun was rising over the Mississippi and, for a second, with the silence and lack of artificial light in the city, I couldn’t tell what year it was.

  Ana walked a while more before choosing a bench facing the river. Luke sat on the other side of her and, once again, Ana was in the middle.

  Epilogue

  “Do we know anything new yet?” Luke asked me while I waited in the foyer of our house. We had brought Ana back that day and given her the guestroom of our spacious New Orleans property. Since the night of the LaLaurie incident, Luke had told me what he overhead the young Vasquez telling Ana before he killed him. The boy had apparently escaped with Ana to the balcony to trade her to another supernatural. “LaLaurie is nothing. She doesn’t want you dead for what you are. I can get more for you than she has ever offered. I can get immortality.” Ever since, I have been pulling all of our contacts to find out what he meant.

  “No, not yet,” I shook my head.

  “Luke!” A high-pitched voice called from the living room.

  “You have got to be kidding me,” Luke said under his breath.

  “Be nice,” I warned. “They’re Ana’s friends.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” he said behind him, and it was left with just me, as it should be, waiting at the end of the staircase for Ana.

  I heard the door to her bedroom open then the soft, hesitant patter of feet.

  “Ana,” I gasped as she made her appearance in the satin, yellow dress I'd ordered for her closet.

  She descended the last step, and I held out my hand. When she took my hand, I couldn’t believe she was mine. “You look beautiful,” I couldn’t hide the awe from the voice.

  She blushed and looked away. Why did she never take compliments so easily? I was sure people told her how amazing she was all the time.

  “Are you ready?”

  She nodded and I led her into the dining room. Everyone was already sitting down as we entered. My parents were in deep conversation with Ana’s father. Nikki and Marie, Ana’s best friends were sitting by Luke, who stared straight ahead looking bored. Ana, of course, captured everyone’s attention when we walked in.

  I had wondered when the last time I had celebrated Thanksgiving was, and a twinge of guilt came over me for skipping my mother’s the last couple years. The dinner was Ana’s idea of course. She wanted to do something normal. My parents had happily come from Tampa to meet her father. I doubt it would have made a difference either way if he'd found out that my parents didn’t really live with us, but Ana didn’t want to raise any suspicions. I had called to have Troy arrange the meal, but Ana insisted she cook it all by herself, something about being homemade. I smiled at the memory of her enlisting my help to peel the potatoes. Yes, next time I would definitely be calling Troy.

  “Can I get anybody anything?” Ana asked, being the gracious host.

  “For God's sake, Ana, sit down! I’m starving!” her outspoken friend, Nikki playfully scolded her.

  “Ok, ok! Hold on, I’m going to grab a Coke. Dad?”

  “I’m ok. Thanks, babe.” Ana’s father held up his still-full drink.

  I waited until Ana disappeared in the kitchen, then sat in my chair next to the little note card in Ana’s handwriting that said “Hayden.”

  When I looked up, Luke was excusing himself from the table.

  My father looked at me, and I gave him a tight smile. He knew what I was thinking.

  Ana’s father had asked me a question and I tried to politely answer him while listening to the kitchen.

  “Do you play any sports, Hayden?”

  I heard the refrigerator door shut and Ana’s sharp intake of breath as Luke's presence startled her. I cleared my throat. “No, sir. I used to play football but that was a long time ago.” Decades ago. “At my old school,” I corrected.

  “I can’t take this anymore, Ana.” I heard Luke say. I took a quick look at my parents; they would be able to hear him, too. And what’s more is that Luke didn’t care who heard him.

  When my gaze went back to Ana’s father he was looking at me expectantly. What had he asked me? I searched through my memory.

  “Yes, sir. I plan to stay here for college.” Why had Ana’s heart rate increased? That’s it. “If you’ll excuse me…”

  “I meant what I said. I love you, Ana.” Luke had her cornered.

  “Ana,” I announced. Ana seemed relieved but startled. Luke was startled as well, and it was noteworthy that he didn’t even hear me approach. “Your friends and family are waiting.” I tried to remain calm as I spoke.

  “I know.” She ducked under Luke’s arm and made her escape. She clutched my hand tightly. As I led her back to the dining room, I felt her head turn back briefly toward Luke.

  I heard Luke’s words, spoken softly for my ears only. “Game on, brother…”

  Continue on for a sneak peak of the sequel!

  About

  Hurricane (Hurricane, #1)

  Tempest (Hurricane, #1.5)

  Aftermath (Hurricane, #2) coming Feb 2013!

  Untitled (Hurricane, #3) coming late 2013!

  Thank you for reading Tempest, book 1.5 in the series. I hope you enjoyed reading about the mysterious Hayden Boudreaux as much as I enjoyed writing his perspective! I am a recent graduate of the University of St. Thomas with degrees in Political Science, International Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies. I found my passion in writing and I am grateful to my readers for their support so I can continue doing what I love!

  I love to hear from my readers and any comments can be directed to:

  [email protected]

  I look forward to hearing from you!

  Continue reading for a sneak peak of Aftermath. Coming Mardi Gras (February) 2013!

  Adriana can't decide which is harder—living in post-Katrina New Orleans or living with two immortal brothers. Ana an
d Hayden are finally together but Hayden’s brother Luke is trying to come between them… and he has never been known to play fair. Ana is still attempting to cling to her normal life despite psychic visions taking over her dreams. With Mardi Gras season approaching and a vision of a murder, Ana will find out if she can really change the future or if she’s just upsetting a very delicate balance. What she could never predict was just how far Luke would go to satisfy his obsession...

  * * *

  “Oh, no.” The blood drained from my face as I slumped into a chair by the computer.

  “What’s wrong?” Hayden beat Luke to asking.

  “This means you’re leaving, doesn’t it?” I remembered my dream all at once.

  Hayden remembered, too. I just wasn’t sure about what part of my dream made his eyebrows furrow in hurt. “No, I am sure Luke can go pick it up.”

  “I can?”

  Hayden let out a tormented breath. He knew he was wasting time trying to convince Luke to go instead of himself. I wondered if that was because he believed in my ability to predict the future, as I had already seen him leaving in my dream last night, or more appallingly because he knew this was the opportunity Luke was waiting for. “I will go on the next hunt alone if you will do this for me.”

  “No way. I have school, remember brother?”

  Hayden shook his head. I had almost forgotten that tomorrow was the first day I would be going back to Ecole Classique High School, the private academy I attended, since Hurricane Katrina. Hayden and Luke enrolled as students before Katrina hit and would continue to play the role as normal teenagers, but Luke was only trying to fool himself into pretending he cared about something as mortal as high school. Hayden couldn’t even look in my eyes as he walked past me, heading toward his room upstairs. I gave Luke a death stare before running after Hayden.

  “What’d I do?” Luke said behind me.

  It was unusual seeing Hayden alone in his room. His room was clean and smelled of him with a hint of something else, something I couldn’t figure out yet. I had never looked at his room this way before and I realized I was looking at it as an outsider and not something we shared. The thought burned the edges of my heart and I tried not to add guilt to that feeling by remembering what I had said to him in my dream. He came out of the closet, throwing a small black duffle bag on the bed. Something clanked inside that told me there was something other than clothes in it. I hadn’t seen Hayden this upset since I had a death wish and stole his Porsche.

  “I’m going with you.”

  He smirked, pulling up one side of his smile. “You can’t.”

  “I am not staying here alone.”

  “You won’t be alone.” He looked at me now as if to gauge my expression, “Luke will be here.”

  “I don’t want to be without you.” I walked over to him, stopping him by wrapping my arms around his neck. He looked away and I tried to catch him with my eyes. “There is no reason I can’t come with you. It’s not like it’s anything dangerous.”

  “Tomorrow is your first day back at school since Katrina and you have dinner with your father. It would look a little suspicious if he asked about the truck and then all of a sudden you didn’t show up.”

  I could have argued with him. It would have probably gone something like this: I demanding that I was going, he refusing, and then I ultimately begging to go with. But what that said was that I wasn’t capable of being alone, or that Hayden couldn’t trust me alone with Luke. There was no uncertainty in my feelings for Hayden. There was no reason I couldn’t be alone, even if it was with his brother with whom I shared a passionate kiss on the beach .

  I pulled Hayden into my lips. He would be gone for a night and I had to stock up on the kisses I would lose. I parted my lips to feel his velvet tongue meet mine. His eyes changed and something sultrier took over him. He exhaled one breath, letting me know I had won. I smiled as I returned his kiss. He always kissed me like it was his last.

  * * *

  I woke up and it was dark out. Somewhere between watching Hayden pack and get ready , I had decided it was a good idea to lie down. I looked at the clock; it was only 7:30 pm. I hated sleeping like that; I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep again until dawn. I looked around the room. No Hayden, just like I had dreamt. A pang of sadness shot through me along with the déjà vu. At least I was able to succeed in assuring him of my intentions before he left. I picked up my phone. I had a few missed calls and texts but the only one I focused on was Hayden’s.

  Hayden: I left for Texas, but you already knew that. I love you, and even though you already know that too, I will never stop telling you.

  My heart ached even more than it had before.

  I got up and decided to do something productive. I had called Marie to tell her all about the dream I had during my nap, another nightmarish dream that I hoped wasn’t a prediction. Nikki and Marie had been very accepting after I told them everything, well, almost everything. Marie, surprisingly, believed what I had said right away, Nikki on the other hand was harder to convince. Luckily, my dreams were cooperating and I was able to predict a few things to Nikki. I scared her off for a good week but she came around. Pretty soon she was back to the same old Nikki, joking and thinking my predictions were humorous. She asked for the lotto numbers on more than one occasion. Marie was oddly the supportive one. She was the first one I would call after a dream.

  I was describing the attack that I saw in my dream. “The scenery sounds a lot like Lafitte,” she noted. She was right. The swamps and the walking paths in my dream did look like Jean Lafitte National Park. I hadn’t been there in years so I had no idea what it could look like now. “But there are a lot of places in Louisiana that look like that, so…” she added after my pause.

  “Yeah,” I agreed but my mind was focusing back to my dream. I wrapped things up with Marie, realizing that the house seemed too quiet. I wondered if Luke had left me alone. It was completely dark as I walked downstairs. I looked to the couch, where I expected to find Luke flipping through channels. A sole light shone from the kitchen. I walked apprehensively towards it, raising my bare feet unintentionally to my tiptoes.

  “Luke? What are you doing?” My heartbeat leveled, feeling relief that I was not alone.

  He looked up at me from the breakfast table, “Reading a book.” He held it up with one hand as evidence.

  “You’re reading?”

  “Yup.”

  “A book?”

  “Yes...” he sat the book down now, looking me square in the face from across the table where I was now sitting. “Why is that so hard to believe?”

  “It’s not, I just didn’t expect it is all. So what are you reading?”

  “Oh, just some book I found of yours.”

  I scoffed. Of course he went through my purse. “Well, do you like it?” He would say no at which point I could say that he shouldn’t have been going through my stuff, then.

  “Actually, yeah. It is really good. I haven’t been able to put it down.”

  I raised one eye brow at him but he was serious. I let out a laugh before it disappeared. Looking out the door to the backyard made me think about the dark swamp I saw in my dream and the jogger who went in unknowingly.

  “What’s wrong?” Luke scooted his chair closer to where I was sitting; his scent pooled in the air around me. I held in a breath. Luke chuckled and adjusted his chair. Dang, I hated how he knew of his effect on me. I couldn’t hide anything from these two, especially not the quickening of my heartbeat as a result of my embarrassment. Thankfully he moved further back so I found it safe to breathe again. But I hated the fact that I should care about how good Luke smelled in the first place. His scent was stronger than Hayden’s and completely different. Hayden smelled like summer and Luke, like autumn. Luke smelled sweet yet earthy like oranges and dried leaves.

  I shook my head. “It’s nothing. I just had this dream.” I thought if I talked, it would keep my mind off other things.

  “Tell me ab
out it,” he said before I could brush off the topic.

  “I don’t know anymore, Luke. Why am I dreaming of these things?” The question was rhetorical and his lips curled down and waited for me to say more.

  “I had a dream last night about Hayden leaving and despite anything he or I tried to do, it still came true, he still left. What is the purpose of seeing the future if I can’t do anything about it? I don’t know if I will have an ordinary dream or a horrible dream when I close my eyes. I took a nap today and dreamed of an attack. It was someone I didn’t know, in some place I didn’t know, or maybe I do know but what’s the point?”

  “You know the place in your dream?”

  “Marie said it sounded like Lafitte and maybe she’s right.”

  “Then let’s go.” Luke stood up grabbing his keys off the kitchen counter.

  I followed. “Wait, what? What do you mean ‘let’s go?'” Adrenaline was rushing through my body at the thought.

  “You keep sitting here, beating yourself up about what you see. You want to help, you want to change the future but you’re afraid to do anything about it.”

  “I’m…I’m not afraid. I just thought it was too dangerous. You know, the whole protecting me bit?”

  He raised his eyebrows at me, answering all my questions at once.

  “You really think I can change what I see in my dreams, to stop it from happening?” I was getting more and more excited at the thought of him believing in me, believing that I could do something about it.

  “Well not just you. But you and me? Hell yeah.” He was smiling and I couldn’t help but return the look. “C’mon.” He grabbed my arm, sending a numbing sensation throughout my body as he pulled me toward the garage.

  Inside Hayden’s black sports car, I was second-guessing myself. “What are we doing? I mean, really? Who knows when this is going to happen? It’s only after nine, we could be waiting all night.“

  “What are you afraid of?” His hazel eyes met mine and my chest immediately constricted. I held his gaze only briefly before the smell of autumn caught in my nose.