Scarlet Roses: Book Two of the NOLA Shifters Series Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Foreword

  Author's Note

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Other Books

  Scarlet Roses

  Book Two of the NOLA Shifter Series

  Angel Nyx

  Angel Nyx Publishing, LLC

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidences are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.

  Copyright 2017 by Angel Nyx. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the express written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Angel Nyx Publishing

  Cover design by Najla Qamber of Najla Qamber Designs

  For Maria...

  Who would have thought downloading a free book would lead to such a wonderful friendship? Thank you for all your words of encouragement, your guidance, your advice, and most importantly, your friendship. You have been a huge support on this crazy journey and I am so grateful, and lucky, to know you. You rock, girl!

  Foreword

  The NOLA Shifters Series is set in the Louisiana Bayou. Many of the characters you will meet are Cajun. Their speech patterns reflect this. Too often, authors are leery of using a dialect that is specific to an area or to a group of people. I feel it would be an insult to anyone who is Cajun for me to make my characters Cajun while having them speak perfect English. I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into their world!

  Author's Note

  While each book is a stand alone, books one and two run congruent with each other. As a result, there are scenes that only loosely take place in the first book that are more in depth in this, the second book. The remainder of the series is not so closely intertwined.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Foreword

  Author's Note

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Other Books

  Prologue

  At the tender age of ten, Emelise learned a very hard, very painful life lesson. Never depend on a man to provide for you. Her mother had met Sean Scotsdale when Eme was four and they’d quickly moved in together. He became the father she wanted but didn’t have. Emelise, as young as she was, believed he would be there forever. The day he packed his things and left was the worst day of her young life.

  “I know it hurts, sweetie, it hurts me too, but we’ll be okay. We’re strong, we can get through this. We don’t need a man to take care of us,” Adelaide said as she rocked her daughter. Sean would be the second, and last, man she allowed into her life. From that day on she devoted herself solely to raising her daughter to be a strong, independent woman.

  Fifteen years later that strength would be the only thing that would get Emelise through the worst event of her life.

  Emelise looked at the clock and sighed. Her mother was still out. You’d think it would be the other way around; she would be the one out and her mother would be watching the time; but Adelaide had needed a night out with her friends and went out while her daughter was at work. It was late though. The jazz club Emelise worked at closed at one, it was almost three in the morning, and Eme had expected her mother to be home before now. The sound of a car pulling up outside reached her and she frowned. She knew what her mother’s car sounded like and it wasn’t the one that pulled up outside their home. Before she made it out of her bedroom there was a knock at the front door and her frown deepened. When she opened the door and found a police officer standing on the other side, she grew concerned. “Can I help you, officer?”

  “Sorry to disturb you at such a late hour miss. Do you know an Adelaide Rousseau?”

  “Yes, she’s my mother. Oh gods, don’t tell me she got herself arrested or something.” The instant she said it she knew that couldn’t be why the officer was there because if her mother was arrested she’d be getting a call to bail her out.

  “I’m sorry, Miss Rousseau, but there has been an accident. Your mother is being transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center’s trauma center.”

  Emelise felt her entire world stop with those words. “Oh gods,” she whispered. “What... what happened?”

  “Another car crossed the median and hit her head on. Do you have someone you can call to drive you to the hospital?”

  She shook her head. “No. It’s just me and my mother.” She was shaking but she forced herself to stand tall, or as tall as her 5’4” would allow. “Thank you, officer, for telling me. I need to go, I need to get to her.”

  “I’m very sorry to have to deliver such bad news. I’ll give you a police escort to the hospital.”

  She nodded and went to grab her purse. She locked the door behind her and drove her car on autopilot because she didn’t even remember the drive itself. She was glad the officer hadn’t realized just how shaken up she was. She rushed into the ER and approached the desk. “My mother was brought in by ambulance, Adelaide Rousseau,” she said and tried to not snap at the receptionist to hurry up while she looked her up on the computer.

  “Miss, your mother is in surgery, someone will come get you when they can.”

  Emelise was staring at the doors leading into the back of the ER when she was finally approached. “Miss Rousseau?” She knew. When she looked up and saw the doctor’s eyes, she knew what he was going to say. “She’s gone, isn’t she?” Tears fell as the doctor explained they’d done all they could but there was too much damage and they’d lost her on the operating table. Emelise barely heard him. There was paperwork she had to sign, and then a bag was handed to her. Inside it was her mother’s purse, her phone, and what jewelry she’d been wearing at the time of the accident.

  During the three weeks it took for Emelise to get all of her mother’s affairs in order, go through things and get rid of what she didn’t need, pack what she wanted to keep, and get the house listed for sale, Emelise had made a decision.
She’d wanted to open her own night club and her original plan was to do so right there in Phoenix. Now that she had other options, she knew where she wanted to be. It made little sense, this driving need to go to New Orleans when her mother was so sure she wouldn’t be welcome there, but she couldn’t ignore the way she felt. She had to go to New Orleans.

  She’d scanned properties that were for sale, made some calls, got some photos of several potential spots that were in fairly high volume areas of the city, and made arrangements to meet with the Realtor to look at the one that caught her eye the most. She knew from what the Realtor said about it that the place was a bar until the owner died several years ago and it had been sitting empty and untouched since then. It already had the bare bones of what she would need even if it did need a good cleaning and possibly a complete overhaul of the interior. It was the one. She was sure of it.

  Emelise took one last look around the house she’d grown up in before she stepped out and closed the door behind her. She handed the keys over to the Realtor who would handle the sale for her and took a deep breath of morning air. It wasn’t too hot yet. By early afternoon the sun would be scorching the sidewalks but she would be well on her way to New Orleans by then. Of course, she’d be driving right into more heat, this time coupled with humidity. She wasn’t sure how much different that was going to be from the dry heat of the desert but she’d adjust even if it took a while to get used to it.

  She felt a little trepidation as she made her way to her car but she chalked it up to being nervous about starting a new chapter in her life in a new city. She knew anything could happen but at least she was going to a city where she knew at least one person. Her best friend, Lily, lived in New Orleans so she wasn’t going to be completely alone.

  It was strange, really. One would think that having grown up there in Phoenix she would have a large group of friends, people she would really miss when she left, but she’d never been that close to any of the girls she’d gone to school with. Having to keep the fact she was a leopard shifter from them had made getting close to any of them a bit difficult. How could you be close and share secrets if you had to keep the biggest secret of all to yourself? There was only one person she was really going to miss, a fellow shifter and coworker at the club she’d worked at, but they would keep in touch.

  She slid her sunglasses on as she slipped into her car, turned the radio up, and she was on her way. She was both excited and nervous about what the future might hold for her but she sure as fuck was going to meet it head on. She was no shrinking violet, she wasn’t a wallflower, she wasn’t going to let a little uncertainty stand in her way or change her mind. She would chase her dreams and by Goddess she would succeed because failure wasn’t an option.

  Emelise drove out of Phoenix with a light heart. Yes, she missed her mother, she would always miss her, but letting her grief bog her down wouldn’t do her any good. She would live her life and keep her mother’s memory alive. She knew her mother wouldn’t want her to wallow in misery day after day just because she was no longer here. “Look Out New Orleans, here I come,” she said as she left the town of her birth behind her.

  It was a little over twenty-one hours to New Orleans from Phoenix, but because she did a little sightseeing along the way, it took Emelise twice as long to get there. Her first view of the city was as the sun was setting. The red, gold, and orange sunset reflected off the waters of Lake Pontchartrain as she neared New Orleans was breath-taking and even at a distance the city seemed to be filled with life. She’d been exhausted from the drive but now that she was there, titillation thrilled through her and once she checked into the hotel she’d booked ahead of her arrival, she found herself wandering the streets.

  While she wandered she thought about all she had to do starting the following day. She needed to meet with the Realtor to look at the old bar and sign the paperwork, because, really, she’d already made her decision without seeing it physically, start looking for an apartment, catch up with her best friend, oh, and then there was the whole being in the Black Water Pard’s territory uninvited. On the bright side, she was a leopard and her mother had been a part of the pard before she’d taken off, so getting the Alpha to let her stay probably wouldn’t be too difficult. On the downside, she had no idea who the Alpha was or how to contact him, but she was hoping Lily did. She was a wolf in their territory, she had to have met the Alpha at least once, right?

  Chapter One

  Emelise

  “It’s perfect.” Emelise turned to the Realtor. “I know, it’s going to need a lot of work, I can see that already, but it’s still perfect. It has the bare bones essentials for a club, it’s even got a raised platform for the stage. I might be petite, but I’m not one of those dainty little things who is afraid to get her hands dirty,” she added at the look the man gave her.

  “Are you sure about this, Miss Rousseau? I have a couple more properties that are in better condition.”

  “Were they bars?” She waited for his response, which came in the form of a shaking of his head and a quick ‘No ma’am’.

  “No? Then yes, I’m sure. It would cost more to completely change everything than it will to upgrade this one and get it cleaned up.”

  “Well then, if you’re sure, as you requested I brought the paperwork with me. We can get it signed and the building is all yours.”

  Eme felt like she was signing her life away but once everything was signed and the keys were in her hand she couldn’t help but squeal with delight. It was hers! She was one step closer to her ultimate dream. Okay, her second ultimate dream. Like every other shifter, she also dreamed of one day meeting ‘The One’, the one person who was their other half, the one shifter who would complete them. Not that she needed a man to be happy or complete, hell no, but it might be nice to fall asleep in a man’s arms and know he’d be there if she needed him. “Bah, get over yourself, girl, you’ve got more important things to worry about than finding a man. Like meeting the local Alpha and rubbing it in your grandparents’ faces that your mother did just fine without their help and you’re proof of that.” She walked through the building and took mental stock of all she would have to do.

  The entire second floor was set up in a way that, if she’d wanted to, she could turn the space into rooms and rent them out but she was considering turning it into her own massive apartment. She’d think on that and make a decision later. For now she had calls to make. She had to get an electrician in to check the wiring and tell her what it would cost to get it up to code, she had the building inspector coming in half an hour to tell her the same thing (sure the Realtor had had the place inspected prior to listing it but Eme wanted to cover all her bases), and then she had to compile a list of brewery delivery companies in the area and find a master woodworker to restore the woodwork to its original glory. So much to do, so little time to do it.

  While she waited for the building inspector to arrive, she sat down with her laptop and began a search of the best places to get local brews as well as liquor. She was awaiting her liquor license, she’d applied for it prior to talking with the Realtor face to face, and she hoped to have it in hand by the time she needed to start stocking the shelves. One of the benefits to having worked in a jazz club back in Phoenix was that she’d managed to network some contacts and already had a few musicians lined up to possibly be part of the entertainment for the club. She wanted to give local talent a chance as well because, let’s face it, New Orleans was filled with musicians of every kind, but especially jazz. She would no doubt have a list of potentials by the time she opened the doors.

  When the building inspector arrived she followed him as he moved through the building checking everything from the floor to the ceiling. As he made notes she began to get nervous and chewed worriedly on her bottom lip.

  “Well, Miss Rousseau, you seem to have lucked out. You’ll have to get an electrician in here to rewire some of the outlets and replace the fuse box to update it to code, but overall, your inspection p
assed. I will have to come back before you open to check everything one final time, but as it stands, once you get the work done, you’ll be good to go.”

  Emelise flashed him a grin. “Thank you so much. You’re awesome,” she said as she walked him to the door.

  “Just doing my job, ma’am. Welcome to New Orleans and good luck with your venture,” he said before he left.

  Emelise spun around with her arms spread wide once he was gone. She had such visions for the club. The walls were bare brick and she contemplated covering them with drywall and paint but if she was honest with herself, she loved the rustic look of the brick. It needed a good cleaning and possibly some sections of mortar filled in, but the walls were still in really good shape, as far as she could tell. She added a mason to her list of people she needed to consult before she locked up and headed out. She really wanted to go sightseeing but that was going to have to wait. “Apartment hunting first, you can have fun later,” she told herself.

  By the time Emelise finally returned to the hotel to crash her feet were killing her but her spirits were high. She’d looked at more apartments in one day than she’d ever expected to and she’d caught up with her best friend. Okay, so she was apprehensive about meeting with the Alpha of the Black Water Pard. She would have put it off for a few days, or weeks, or months, if she could have, but Lily wasn’t giving her that chance. It would have been nice to meet with the leopard from a more stable position. Living out of a hotel room wasn’t exactly ideal.

  “Nothing you can do about that, you’ll just have to stand up to him if he tries to order you around,” she murmured before she turned the light off and let sleep claim her.