CHAPTER ONE

"I think Marcel and Amy are settling in at Belle Fleur," said Miller. "I was over there this morning, and she was giving him orders on where to move the furniture. I thought he'd be pissed, but the poor sap is in heaven. He said he's grateful just to be able to touch furniture, let alone move it. That, and of course, he's madly in love with Amy."

The men all chuckled, shaking their heads. It didn't matter what time period you were from. If your wife said, ‘please move this,' you moved it. Marcel had been given an unbelievable gift. Truly unbelievable. He'd received a second life, a second chance at a life he never dreamed he would have. That seemed a specialty of Gray Wolf, VG, and all the others at Belle Fleur. Second chances were made to happen for those who deserved them. It seemed the magic of Belle Fleur ensured it.

In many ways, Amy had received a second chance as well. The team of Gray Wolf proved her innocence and then were smart enough to hire her to help their own philanthropic activities. She was going to ensure that their legacy lived forever.

"I'm happy for him," nodded Ian. "I can't imagine being alone like that for two hundred years, unable to touch another human or eat real food. All the simple things that we take for granted. Hell, even driving a car or riding a bike. I was taking a hot shower the other night and thought about how strange it would be for him to stand beneath the shower spray or take a hot bath but to wish for something so basic."

"Which brings about another point," said Miller. "How in the hell are the ghosts able to eat and drink now? And where does it go?"

"Where does it go?" frowned Gabe. "In their stomachs! What's wrong with you?" Miller gave a low growl to his little brother who only flipped him off.

"Shouldn't their organs be gone?" asked Antoine. "I mean, they're ghosts. If they have a stomach, do they have a liver and heart? If they have livers and hearts and lungs, why aren't they alive again?"

"You're all giving me a headache," said Nine rubbing his temples. "I don't know how this works, and I'm not sure I want to know. I'm happy for them. Maybe they'll all get a second chance at life.

"Mama Irene and Matthew said that Marcel had died before his time. It would stand to reason that the others did as well. Maybe not Martha and Franklin. They were well over a hundred. At this point, I'm prepared for whatever comes."

"You make a good point, Nine," said Ghost. "I'm not sure that any of us are surprised about this. I mean, in the beginning, but anymore, I'm pretty much prepared for anything that comes our way."

"Jesus, don't say that. I'm not prepared for anything to come our way," said Gaspar, shaking his head. The men all chuckled.

"By the way."

"Shit."

"Damnit!"

"You asshole," said Luc, spilling his coffee down his shirt. Trak just smirked, wiggling his eyebrows. "You do that shit intentionally in your old age."

"By the way, Eagle Feather has requested more deer at the table. I did explain that today there is a deer season, but if we find one on our land, he would see it as a great favor if it could be served in a stew or as a steak."

"Great, now we're creating menus around what the ghosts want," mumbled Pork.

"We did take a suggestion from May and spoke to all of them about the ghost network theory," said Ian. Without a word, Martha, Grip, Tony, and Yori appeared, smiling at the team.

"Good morning," smiled Martha at her handsome boys. Much like Irene, she thought of them all as hers.

"Good morning, Martha," sang the room. The ghostly figure laughed, smiling at the men, most of whom were related to her.

"I do love you boys. You make this old woman smile every day."

"Same, Martha," grinned Baptiste. "So, what's the deal with this ghost network."

"Well, as you're aware, we've had luck contacting some spirits when they've died in other places or are connected to those here. So you know, we did consult with Matthew, and he could not be helpful."

"Could not be?" repeated Rafe. "So, he has the ability, but divinely, in theory, he cannot help with such things?"

"We're not sure," said Grip, staring at the other man. He'd known him since he was just a boy. Seeing him now as an older man seemed strange when Grip himself was stuck at his age of death. "All we know is that we are on our own. The men and women who are buried on this land can easily be accessed unless they've made their way to their final destination."

"Heaven or hell?" asked Nine.

"It's my understanding there are other places as well," said Grip.

"There's more than just heaven and hell? What the shit? When was someone going to explain this?" asked Jean.

"I don't think anyone was supposed to explain anything, nor are they required," said Yori. "We are discovering this on our own. Our relationship is not unique but rather rare. We have the ability to speak with all of you, touch you, and now eat with you. That is highly unusual but can happen in other places."

"You mean there are others that have ghosts on their property and speak with them," said Ian.

"I mean, they have the ability if they have the will to do so." Yori looked at the men and knew they were still confused.

"I want you to think about being a slave in ancient Rome. You are a fighter. Strong and powerful. Your master has chosen you to fight at the Colosseum with dozens, if not hundreds, of other men. Over a period of a few years, hundreds, if not thousands, are killed in the arena. Fast-forward hundreds of years, and as a living person, you are now living in an apartment building next door to the said Colosseum. The ghosts are bombarding you constantly, but the problem is you don't hear them. You don't hear them because you don't believe or don't have the ability to believe."

"You have to believe in order to be able to hear and see the ghosts," said Miller. "That makes sense. We were only able to see you all because of Mama, Julia, and Noah."

"No," smiled Martha. "You believed in them; therefore, you believe in us. It takes belief. But for many, they will go hundreds of lifetimes before someone actually sees them and speaks to them."

"That's kind of sad," said Kegger. "I mean, it's as if they're out there just waiting for someone to recognize them."

"That's right," nodded Tony. "Especially if they were murdered or died under suspicious circumstances. It's very sad to think that they want someone to know how they died or who killed them but can't tell you. Think of the historical implications if we knew who truly killed JFK or were able to solve unsolved murders."

"But not all of you died under suspicious circumstances or were murdered," said Miller.

"That's true. That's one of the many aspects of this that we can't explain," said Yori. "Here's what we can tell you. If the spirit is available to us, we can find him or her and maybe help you in the future. In fact, we're very pleased to be helping you and feeling useful beyond the love matches."

"Wait. Are you guys responsible for the love matches? I thought it was Mama," said Luc.

"Time to go," said Martha. "Love you, boys."

"I'm getting another headache." Nine rubbed his temples, shaking his head from side to side while the others smirked at him.

"I don't want to give my big brother a headache," smirked Rafe, "but I do need to tell you that there's some sort of huge circus festival happening at the fairgrounds."

"Circus? Like with animals?" he frowned, appearing somewhat concerned and panicked.

"Apparently, it's some sort of competition, not just with animals. There are acrobats, tight rope walkers, mind readers, clowns, everything. There are like fifteen circuses that arrived a few days ago, and they can earn a lot of money by winning this competition. It's like the Olympics of circus performers. They've come from all over the world. But," smiled Rafe, "yes, there are animals."

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, we're going to be surrounded," said Gaspar.

"Look, so far Lucy, Violet, Sniff, all of them, have kept their word, and the animals have been well behaved. You have to admit, that damn lion is fucking cool. Poor old guy doesn't have his teeth any longer, but he's loveable, which is surprising considering how he was treated," said Bull.

"You've spent time with the lion," smirked Nine.

"Hey, he's good company. Semu won't let you get near the baby tigers or elephant. She's very possessive. The animals are safe on the island," said Bull.

"Until a hurricane," said Gaspar. They all looked at him. "If we get hit by a hurricane, those animals will be defenseless out there. Even with Alvin speaking to the other gators, and I can't fucking believe I just said that, even with that, they'll be vulnerable. We will have to move them to the K-9 sanctuary so that they can be protected. I don't even know if we have proper places for them out there."

"That wall is almost complete in the bayou," said Angel. "I'll give it to Finley. She's a fucking genius, and Grant and his team have helped her make this happen. The depth that she had to place the pillars, stabilizers, and other things is absolutely mind-boggling. But this could change flood-ravaged regions around the world."

"Just how is this going to work?" asked Whiskey.

"From what I understand, it's like a dam that can rise and fall like a curtain. When the weather is good, we leave it down. It sinks to a depth that won't inhibit boat traffic and won't damage anything moving in and out of the bayou.

"But if it's terrible, or someone is coming at us, it can be raised nearly twelve feet. It's going to stretch from Belle Fleur to the island mansion, G.R.I.P., and Devil's Island. It will surround the whole of our land eventually."

"Let's hope it works if we need it," said Gaspar. "Alright. Down to business. What do we have this week?"

It was another hour before they finished their meeting, heading out to meet with potential new clients. Ghost and Whiskey walked over to the bike shop to check on some things while Gaspar and Nine went into the tattoo shop. Callan hired two tattoo artists, and they were both thriving at the shop.

The businesses as a whole were flourishing beyond their wildest dreams. In addition, the salon-spa, café, dance studio, and Gwen's designs were some of the most sought-after in the country. Beyond those, the Robicheaux General Store was a tourist destination, as well as a haven for artists, writers, and foodies. Their online business alone would allow them to close the store if they wanted to. But visitors came from all over the world to visit their newly renovated and expanded store.

The details that went into making it appear like an old-fashioned general store were meticulous. Old plank wood floors and countertops, soda fountain, handmade shelving. It was a work of art in and of itself, and they could thank the craftsmanship of Grant, and ingenuity of Matthew.

"Would you have ever dreamed all of this when we were busting heads all over the fucking world?" smirked Nine. Gaspar laughed at his friend.

"Never in a million damn years. I thought we'd fight a few more good fights and be retired. This? This is not what I would have ever dreamed, but I'm so damn grateful."

"I probably don't say this enough, Gaspar, but I'm grateful for your friendship. I'm grateful that you trusted me enough to work with us at REAPER and then risked your entire family by bringing us here."

"There was no risk involved, Nine. You've always been a brother to me. You trusted in me and my brothers and sisters, you confided in me, and bringing all of us to REAPER made us feel fulfilled. Besides, I think the true thanks goes to Mama and Pops. None of this," he said, sweeping an arm over the property, "none of it would be possible without them."

"Agreed. You know, I find myself thinking about all those brothers that didn't make it. I mean, they came home but couldn't do it. How many didn't we get to help?" frowned Nine.

"Brother, we can't think about that. Look how many men and women we have here. Hundreds! We couldn't save them all, Nine. Maybe we weren't supposed to."