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As the girl turned to ring up their order, Andy assessed Nikki with her exotic dark eyes "My treat today," she said

"Don’t be silly"

"No, ever since I came aboard, you’ve been wonderful" She had only been a tour guide for Myths and Legends of New Orleans for about four weeks For Nikki, it was old hat

"Hey, we all rely on each other, since ork in pairs And you’re doing just fine"

"Oh, I don’t know," Andy said, tossing a length of her sleek dark hair over one shoulder "I know all the stories, and so over hosts"

Nikki shrugged, glancing around the café "Maybe it’s just ingrained," she said "I went to school with half the pal the Quarter these days I guess it’s like… well, walking into any place that’s really historical… and…"

Nikki frowned and floundered, looking for the right word

"Creepy?" Andy suggested

Nikki shook her head "Where deep feelings existed, where trauma occurred--like Westminster Abbey in London When you walk in there--"

"The place is like one giant cehed "Yeah, it is But you can get the sa at a Civil War battle site--even with all the bodies re the past, of history, people, the emotions Remnants of the lives that were lived there, lost there"

"You see ghosts," Andy said, nodding sagely

"I do not see ghosts"

"You have an affinity for the unco of… history and the huets it at some point, at some place"

Andy reflected ain several of the cemeteries And now and then in the cathedral, there’s a kind of… vibe"

"Exactly," Nikki agreed She reached for the tray, but Andy was getting it, so she turned to head back to their table and nearly screamed

The derelict had risen He was in front of her, his , as he reached for her

She couldn’t help but recoil, but even so his hands touched her shoulders She thought he was going to collapse against her, but he straightened, his

He neededinto her purse She pulled out a bill and, pity replacing her feelings of revulsion, said, "Get yourself a real s, please Get food"

She felt his touch again as she went quickly past hi with the tray

The others were outside, but before they could reach the table, Andy said softly, "Nikki, that was really kind of you"

"He’ll probably just drink it or shoot it up his arm," Nikki said

"No, maybe not Actually, he didn’t look like a junkie"

"Just a buo I," Andy murmured beneath her breath Nikki turned to look at her, but Andy shook her head She had been in trouble with drugs; she’d been dead honest with Nikki when the two had first met She’d been clean for years, however She seldoht out, a celebration

At the moment, however, she clearly didn’t want to say anyfor them: Nathan, Julian, Mitch and Patricia

They all worked for the sa a success of it, despite the competition in New Orleans Maximilian Dupuis, the founder of the business, had taken Nikki on board first Max had found her through the articles she’d been writing for one of the local tourist papers

Max hi Tall, dark and bony, he resembled a vampire and could have haunted New Orleans just fine hiars he loved to chomp on kind of ruined the ihostly occurrences himself