Chapter 25

Chapter

Twenty-Five

LEAH

" W ake up, Beautiful," the smell of freshly brewed coffee tickles my nose, and the bright sunlight makes me blink a few times before Fabien's face comes into focus.

"Morning," I croak and frown from the way my throat feels so raw.

I clear it and sit up to find Fabien holding two mugs of coffee and a brown paperback hanging from his teeth.

"What is that?" I take the mug he offers me and place the bag on my lap once he has free hands.

"That, in my opinion, is the best bagel outside of New York City. The generator is out of gas, and the freezer is thawed. So we're cooking everything. My favorite bakery back home makes these, and I always keep a few frozen." I open the bag and smile.

"Everything?" He nods.

"Damn right, only bagel worth eating." I giggle at him.

I have never met food snobs like the ones here in New Orleans. They sure do know what and where to eat, though. The meals I've had while living here have been life-altering. When it's time to leave…

My train of thought stopped cold.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I glance up at Fabien and shake my head.

"I don't want to go," I whisper, but before I can explain, my phone rings.

"Here, but I want an explanation of that last statement. I just got you. You aren't going anywhere." I bite my lip and nod.

"Hello?" I answer without looking and have the pull the phone away from my ear when Annie starts screaming at me.

"BITCH! Are you alive? You were never a strong swimmer. I've been biting my nails waiting to hear back from you, but not one of my dozen text messages went through." I sip my coffee as she goes on and on about the storm and how it's still going to get worse.

"Annie, breathe. I'm okay. The sun is out, and I think it's over." Fabien shakes his head at me while Annie curses on the phone.

"Eye of the storm, Babe. It's about to double down on you. They called for an evacuation. Why the fuck are you still there?" Wait, what?

Before I can ask Fabien, every phone in the building starts beeping.

"Annie, I have a ton to tell you, but I have to go." I move off the bed to look out the window and frown.

The street is flooded, covering the tires and most of the doors of the cars that are parked on the street.

"Oh no! Talk to me now. You know my imagination will only drive me crazy." I glance over at Fabien, who's at the door talking to someone in the hall.

"I lost it," I whisper into my phone.

"Lost your mind? Yes, I know! Those levies are not going to hold the water back. Get the fuck out of that city now!" I roll my eyes because, of course, I'll need to spell this out for her.

"NO, you lunatic! My virginity." The phone grows quiet.

"Hello?" I check to see if the call is still connected.

"At least you won't die a virgin, I guess." Oh my god.

"Bye, Annie. I love you and will call you after this passes." I hang up and turn to Fabien.

"Get dressed, Baby. If you want to shower, do so quickly before we lose the water, too." My brows crease as I glance out the window again.

"How bad is this going to get?" I tap the glass and watch the raindrops roll down the pane.

"Bad before it gets better." He hugs me from behind and kisses my neck.

"Can we leave?" He turns me in his arms and pinches my chin.

"The water is too high to drive. I need to get Kai and Phoebe here. Mayhem's got a boat we're going to use. We have about an hour before the storm starts up again. Get that shower while I'm gone." He kisses me slowly.

"Please be careful," I sigh against his lips before he pulls away.

"Always," he walks out the door and leaves me staring as it closes.

The happy, giddy feeling I woke to morphs into dread.

I walk into the bathroom and take a quick shower, hissing at how sore I feel. I opt to leave my hair wet and steal a pair of sweats and a shirt from his dresser. I open the door and glance down the hallway. It sounds like everyone is downstairs, so I follow the sounds of dishes banging and laughter.

"There she is!" Nova holds a beer up to me.

"The Lady of the Hour. Welcome, Leah, to your first official Hurricane party." He bows like a court jester.

"Party?" Everyone agrees in one form or another, as I find a free stool at the bar where I can sit.

"The bloody fools make a party out of anything here, and they call us Scots lushes," Skull tips a beer back, draining it.

I watch as the prospects use big rubber squeegee to move the water on the floor to drains on the outer edge of the room. I always thought they were air vents, but now I see they are drainage for this very thing.

"When Seer bought this place, he had those put in. The problem is that with this much rain, eventually, they'll back up. So a toast!" Nova calls out to the room.

Everyone crowds the bar, where he has a line of shots poured out.

"To staying dry as long as possible!" Cheers ring out around us while they drink to the storm.

"Do we have any power?" I frown when I see my phone is about to die.

"There's a power bank back here," I pass Nova my phone, and he plugs it in.

"The grills are going out back. Go grab something hot while you have a chance. Once the storm starts again, it'll be sandwiches and water." I nod and go in search of food.

I'm starving and giggling to myself as I wait in line for a plate.

Sex really does work up an appetite.