follow the rules. Here it would be easy to do that, but would

  she be able to go back to what her life was supposed to be if

  she did? The clearest answer when she looked at Levi was no.

  That would be impossible.

  “After that dinner, how about something a little different

  tonight?” Levi said with that damn smile that showed off her

  dimples.

  “I’m in,” Zara piped up, surprising her not at all.

  “Good, come on.” Levi took their hands and led them to a

  bar full of dancing people.

  Yasmine didn’t recognize the music but the man on the

  stage was playing an accordion—that she recognized. The guy

  next to him was raking his hands up and down what appeared

  to be a crinkled metal sheet, and it both confused and

  delighted her. The large man at the door who seemed to be

  keeping an eye on the crowd slapped hands with Levi and

  pointed to the left.

  “What is this, and what’s that?” Yasmine asked, pointing to

  the man playing the metal board.

  “That’s called a rub board, and the music is called chank-a-

  chank or zydeco. It’s a Louisiana tradition and it comes with

  its own kind of dancing. You two dance, right?” Levi looked

  pretty sure of herself, as if she’d found a way to get closer

  without appearing to walk over the line she’d set.

  “Doc, how you doing?” a large man wearing denim

  overalls without a shirt asked. “It’s hotter than my wife’s

  titties. What can I get you to drink?”

  “Ah,” Levi said, shaking her head. “Bring us three

  madrassas, and I don’t want to think about your wife like

  that.” She waited for him to walk away before she turned her

  attention back to them. “Sorry about that. The man put the c in

  crude.”

  “Doc?” she asked, resting her chin on her hand.

  “I have a doctorate in history like everyone in my family.”

  Levi shrugged, and it was adorable. “Eventually I’ll teach, but

  not yet.”

  “You have something against the classroom?”

  “No, but I’m having fun in the field.” Levi’s friend

  dropped off three drinks, and they picked them up and tapped

  their glasses together.

  “You can do both, you know.” Whatever this was, it was

  delicious.

  “Now you sound like my father, but enough of that for

  now.” Levi offered her hand to Zara and cocked her head

  toward the dance floor. “How about a little two-step?”

  Zara appeared totally charmed and gladly accepted. For the

  next couple of songs Yasmine watched as Levi taught her

  sister the steps. Zara was having a great time, she could tell by

  the way she was laughing as Levi guided her around the floor.

  They came back and finished their drinks as the band

  announced they were taking a break. Levi rolled her sleeves up

  and combed her hair back, clearly hot.

  “That was fantastic.” Zara seemed ready to dance some

  more, so Yasmine doubted they’d be home any time soon.

  “Next time we’ll have to opt for shorts,” Levi said,

  mopping her forehead. She lifted her hand, and her friend

  came back with more drinks.

  They talked now that it was quiet enough to be heard, but it

  didn’t take long for the band to start up again. Yasmine stared

  at Levi’s hand when she stretched it out, and it was Zara’s

  poke to her side that woke her from her frozen state. “I’m not

  really a good dancer.”

  Levi took her hand and led her to the dance floor anyway.

  Once they were closer the music changed to a slower number,

  but it still had a little pep. “All you need to do is follow my

  lead.”

  Yasmine understood the words to the song “Jole Blon” and

  smiled as Levi put her arm around her and held her. There

  hadn’t been much dancing in her past but she did know the

  basic steps to a waltz, and that’s what Levi led her in. “Is there

  a pretty blonde in your past who went back to her family and

  left you all alone?” The song was all in French, and that was

  the gist of it.

  “This is like the Cajun national anthem, and if there was a

  song called ‘Jolie Noir’ I’d have requested it.” Levi leaned

  back a little and smiled at her again. “Right now, concentrate

  on this long rendition of the song and relax. I’m still trying to

  make up for all my rude behavior when we first met.”

  “You did that the same day when you apologized. There’s

  no reason to keep at it.”

  “You’re smart enough to know that’s the excuse I’m going

  to keep giving you so you don’t slap my face.” Levi laughed,

  and the sound filled Yasmine’s ears and her heart. “I like

  spending time with you and showing you a good time.”

  “The feeling is mutual, and I’m glad you do on both

  accounts.” She did as Levi asked and simply enjoyed the

  moment. It didn’t have to mean anything. There was no reason

  to sit and think about why being in Levi’s arms brought her to

  life like nothing aside from her job ever had. She wasn’t

  interested in women, and she definitely wasn’t interested in

  Levi Montbard.

  The song ended and she didn’t move away from Levi even

  as the other dancers bumped them as they started what Levi

  had called the two-step. All that seemed to be was dancing on

  your toes in a certain pattern. Levi held her tighter and

  motioned for Zara. They all moved to the side and Levi

  danced with both of them. That’s how they spent the rest of

  their night until Yasmine made the mistake of yawning at one

  in the morning and Levi walked them home.

  “Thanks for everything,” Zara said, kissing Levi’s cheek

  before heading up.

  It left them alone, and every ounce of exhaustion left her

  when Levi looked at her lips and swallowed hard. “I’ll be here

  early, and we can walk to the place I’m thinking of, if that’s

  okay.”

  “Sure.” She was tired of all the voices in her head that

  weren’t hers. “I had a good time tonight.”

  “Me too, jolie noir.” Levi didn’t seem to be able to help

  herself as she reached over and touched Yasmine’s hair. “Call

  me if you need anything until then.”

  “Are you sure we aren’t keeping you from something?”

  They’d monopolized Levi’s time from almost the moment

  they’d met, and it didn’t occur to her until now to ask.

  “You think I’d want to be anywhere but here?” Levi asked.

  Her fingers threaded into Yasmine’s hair, and the sensation

  made Yasmine close her eyes. She wanted to memorize the

  feel of Levi and keep it like a talisman. “If you do think that,

  then let me assure you, I do not.”

  “You do have a way of putting things that makes me feel

  good.”

  “You should never feel any other way.” Levi kissed her

  forehead gently.

  If Levi had lowered her mouth onto hers, she wouldn’t

  have stopped her, but then the cool air returned when Levi

  moved away. “Good night,” Yasmine said.

  “It was an excellent night, and I’ll be back before you have

  a chance to miss me.” Levi hesitated, but then turned and

  closed the door behind her.

  Yasmine locked it and tried to calm her breathing. Her

  heart was racing, and her nipples were so hard they hurt

  pressing against her bra. She was going crazy, but part of her

  didn’t care. Her life would eventually return to the daily

  routine she found comforting, but right now, her only plan was

  to live and be happy.

  The day would come when Levi would settle down with

  some lucky woman. The sad truth was that it wouldn’t be her.

  ✥ ✥ ✥

  Graham Tomkins entered the private house on St. Charles

  Avenue and headed for the small library on the second floor.

  The large old home a block from Audubon Park had been

  purchased from the Catholic Church a hundred years before,

  when the priest thought the land and structure worthless. It

  was close to Tulane and Loyola Universities, and they had

  visitors from all over the world.

  “Graham,” Cristian Bacon said when he lifted his head

  from the thick book he was reading. Cristian was the librarian

  for the order, and his knowledge of history was extraordinary.

  “It’s been ages.”

  “The boss has had me running around on different projects.

  I stayed in the house in Paris, but their archivist wasn’t nearly

  as interesting to talk to.” He sat across from the old man and

  shook his hand. It had been Cristian who’d brought him into

  the order and mentored him until he’d become an important

  member the leadership counted on.

  “Digby Nye said the same, so I’ll remember to stay clear.”

  Cristian smiled and closed the book with a puff of dust. “Are

  you ready?”

  “Don’t worry. I did my homework, and Digby was right.

  There’s something going on, and we need to get involved.”

  “Come on, then.” Cristian had trouble getting out of his

  chair, and Graham came around to help him. “They should be

  ready to start soon.”

  They walked together to the large room at the center of the

  house on the first floor. The place had four floors altogether,

  which gave them plenty of room to have guests like Digby

  Nye, who’d traveled from London. Graham had moved out the

  year before and now had a small shotgun house in the park.

  Cristian went in without him since Graham would have to

  wait for their leader. Today it was his turn to light the candle

  of truth and tell the brotherhood what he’d discovered.

  Bartholomew Layton was this chapter’s keeper of truth, the

  second person from his family to have that honor. The Priory

  of Scion had evolved through the years, and it was so much

  more than what they portrayed in the movies.

  Everyone thought they’d been formed in the 1950s, but

  before that they’d gone by many other names. Their goal was

  always the same: to expose the Church for what it was and not

  what it tried to present to the world. They’d worked

  throughout history to bring to light what the Church tried to

  bury.

  “Rise, brothers and sisters,” Bartholomew said, and those

  in attendance stood around the large round table.

  Graham bowed at the candle that was lit before every

  meeting. It was an honor to be the one who put fire to wick.

  “There is something going on here at home,” Graham started.

  He told them about Baggio Brutos being in town, and the

  death at Levi Montbard’s home.

  “What do you think she has that the church would’ve sent

  their pit bull to get?” Bartholomew shook his head. “I should

  say what would’ve prompted them to send Cardinal

  Chadwick’s fixer?”

  “I’ve been following Baggio for a while now because I

  suspected he was up to something because of the travel he’s

  been doing.” Graham placed a map on the screen at the

  opposite wall from him. “He spent some time in Turkey but

  then rushed off to Paris. There was an auction at Drouot for

  some scrolls dated from around 1300 AD. Baggio wanted

  them but Montbard got there first. I witnessed the moment

  Baggio hunted her down and offered her a large amount of

  money, but she turned him down.”

  “I’ve kept an eye on Levi Montbard, and she’s not one to

  suffer fools,” Cristian said. “She’s actually fascinating.

  Something set her on a course of acquiring a vast number of

  documents a few years ago, and I have yet to figure out what

  that was. The whole Montbard family is doing the same work

  we are, but they’ve never explored joining us.”

  “We’ve never come out of the shadows for them to

  inquire,” Digby Nye said. Digby held the same position as

  Bartholomew, and it was his job to keep the order well hidden

  in Europe like Bartholomew and three others did in the United

  States. As far as the world knew, the Priory of Scion did not

  exist any longer.

  “We’ve never done that because it wasn’t necessary. The

  Montbard family understands the importance of uncovering

  and making public whatever they find, and they don’t need us

  to do so. Baggio Brutos and his handlers are the complete

  opposite.” Bartholomew stared at the map. “Graham, you need

  to stick with Levi and make sure she’s able to work through

  whatever she’s searching for. Baggio has left the country, and

  from what I can see, he left no one behind to give her a

  problem.”

  “And if there is?” Graham asked.

  “Digby will be here to deal with that. He has some people

  he can call on in the States to take care of any problem you run

  into. You do nothing but report back. I need you to be able to

  travel wherever we need you, so make sure you remember that

  last part.” Bartholomew looked at him until he nodded.

  “You have no idea what it is she’s after?” Digby asked.

  “Levi, I mean.”

  “I don’t know, but this is a departure from her usual way of

  working. When she finds something, she writes about it. This

  time there’s been nothing, and with Brutos in the picture I can

  only guess that whatever she’s found will make an impact that

  will rock the Church. If it weren’t for Brutos, it could be

  anything, but with that connection… Perhaps that’s wishful

  thinking, but Levi was one of my students. If anyone can cause

  the Church a problem, it’ll be Levi Montbard.” Cristian had

  taught for years in addition to his responsibilities, and very

  few students had impressed him. Graham had been one of

  those, but Levi was the star who had eclipsed everyone else.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll stay on her and make sure she’s free to

  work without worry. I’ll be sending in regular reports, and I’ll

  make contact if I see anyone else on her.” Because of this

  mystery, he wondered what the future held, but only Levi

  Montbard knew that. “You’re right, what she’s doing could be

  important.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  The clock display read 5:15. Levi was sitting in bed studying

  the translation Yasmine had done, trying to calm the

  restlessness that had awakened her by focusing on the thrill of

  digging deeper. Her doorbell rang, and she chose to ignore it.

  Sometimes drunks thought it was funny to ring doorbells in

  the French Quarter on their way past. The bell rang again, and

  this time she went to answer it. The drunks usually only rang

  once. She opened the door to Yasmine.

  “Are you okay?” She looked her up and down, searching

  for injuries. “Come in.”

  “I’m okay. I hope I’m not bothering you.” Yasmine gazed

  up at her and balanced herself by putting her hands on her

  hips. “I saw your light on and wanted to come and work on the

  other two scrolls, if that’s okay?”

  She’d given Yasmine copies of all four, but the originals

  were in the research room. Whatever reason Yasmine was

  here, she didn’t care. “Sure, but how about some coffee first?

  Or would you like tea?”

  “Coffee sounds good.” Yasmine followed her to the

  kitchen. “Why are you awake so early?”

  “For the same reason you probably are,” she said, and

  Yasmine laughed. “I’ll probably be exhausted later, but I’m

  glad I got up early if it got you to come over for a visit.”

  “How would you feel if Zara and I cook for you and your

  family instead of going out for brunch?” Yasmine didn’t

  exactly ignore what she’d said but had changed the subject

  like she always did. “I don’t want your grandparents and

  parents to think I was ungrateful for everything they’ve done

  for us.”

  “Neither my parents nor my grandparents would think

  anything of the kind. Don’t think you have to do that.” She

  watched as Yasmine waited for the coffee to drip, combing her

  hair back.

  “I’d really like to, but I need you to take me to the store

  again.” The way Yasmine smiled at her made her want to give

  her whatever she wanted. “I realize it’s not your favorite thing,

  but I promise to make it fun.”

  “I’ll take you wherever you’d like to go.” Yasmine could

  drive, and there was no reason she couldn’t go to the store on

  her own. A flare of hope shot through Levi as she considered

  the ramifications of that.

  “Would you mind if I use your kitchen?” Yasmine poured a