Haunted Nights ✅ Completed

Chapter Eighteen: A Lunch Date & A Revelation

A Lunch Date & A Revelation

Maya sat at a posh restaurant in the heart of the French quarter. She was staying at the five star hotel across the street and finding herself incapable of leaving the city she now loved; a city that would always remind her of Daniel. She stared out at the people walking by. It was months after Mardi Gras, the hordes of crazed vacationers and party goers were long gone, leaving the normal locals who were simply happy at having survived one more year in the Big Easy.      

It was still early in the day - just after noon. Julian and Remy had yet to return from their meeting with a new lawyer. After hundreds of years of living under Isadora’s thumb, she was surprised at how adept they were at assimilating into this new age.

As Isadora’s slaves they’d become familiar with some modern conveniences like cars, computers and even the internet. Still, they’d marveled at her GPS (that miraculously worked once more), her iPhone, and the new New Orleans. It was a vastly different city than what the brothers were used to, but arriving with a trunk full of gold had a way of ensuring both Julian and Remy got up to speed rather quickly.

It seemed all of the LaRoche brothers were natural born businessmen. It helped they were every bit as fearless and bullheaded as their older brother. They'd had little trouble finding the proper connections to procure modern identities - identities they used to establish their new lives in their old state.  

Over the last few weeks Maya had done her part by helping Julian and Remy with the finer nuisances of the modern age – and to their credit they were pretty quick studies though getting in a car with Remy behind the wheel still made her cringe. When she started to worry about her usefulness coming to an end, they’d sat her down over dinner and explained she was family and she wouldn’t have to leave unless she truly wanted to. They knew she’d been Daniel’s woman, no matter how briefly, and that made her family. They’d adopted her as their new sister and vowed to care for her so long as she lived. Maya had cried. She hadn’t wanted to leave and felt a little lost without Julian and Remy. They weren’t Daniel, but they were the closest thing she had – and they’d become her family too.  

She’d only been inside Daniel’s home for a week but almost a full month had passed for everyone else. Her parents hadn’t bothered to call and when she managed to get in touch with her mom, she hadn’t even realized Maya had been missing. Her boss was a different story. He had noticed and promptly fired her for job abandonment. Instead of dismay or anger, Maya only felt a huge sense of relief. She had absolutely no desire to work for a reincarnated Visigoth ever again and decided to enjoy a much needed vacation in New Orleans.

Besides, she hated the idea of living anywhere else.

With the house gone, New Orleans was the next logical choice for all of them - a city that was in some ways starting over itself. Julian and Remy were already checking out properties close to the French Quarter and they’d made it clear they would only buy something she loved as well. She was grateful for their love and support, even when looking at them made her sad. They looked so much like Daniel and some days were tougher than others. When that happened, Julian and Remy gave her breathing room. They knew she needed time to mourn but made sure Maya understood she wasn’t alone in her grief – they’d all loved Daniel.

Now, as she sat alone people watching, she felt the suffocating weight of her loss threaten to overtake her again. Maya closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. When she was sure she wouldn’t embarrass herself by bursting into tears she reached for her glass of water. She was pleased to notice her hand only trembled a little as she brought the glass to her lips and took a long sip.