“There’s no other way to get home,” Gabriel told her. “We have to walk down one of these streets, and it makes sense to walk down the street we actually need to be on. We stayed on Bourbon as long as we could.” He gave her a reassuring smile and started down the sidewalk, shadows covering him. “Come on. It’s just a block and a half. We’ll be there in three minutes.”

Sara rushed after him, not because she was convinced they weren’t going to die, but because she sure in the hell didn’t want to be left alone.

“Nothing has ever happened to me,” he added.

As far as she was concerned, that meant he was statistically due to get attacked. But she wasn’t sure how much of her concern was based on good, solid common sense, and how much on the fear she grappled with from her mother’s murder. Maybe it was both, but the end result was she had clammy skin and a sick churning in the pit of her stomach. Shoving her hands in the pockets of her denim skirt, Sara glanced back and forth, back and forth. Checking every doorway, every dark nook and cranny, and ensuring she was close enough to Gabriel to grab him for assistance if necessary. His shirt was in touching distance in front of her, and she found that immensely reassuring.

Especially when she heard a shuffling sound to her right. Reaching out, she wrapped her fingers around Gabriel’s forearm to halt his progress and whispered, “Did you hear that?”

“What?” He stopped walking and glanced back at her, looking only mildly curious. Not at all concerned.

Sara’s fear was so solid and palpable she could have served it on a platter and eaten it. And she could hear the sound again.

“To the right. I hear a shuffling. Someone’s in that doorway two feet in front of you.” She was trying to pull him backward, but Gabriel was resisting. He was actually trying to move forward to see where the noise was generating from.

Which was ridiculous. Suicidal. There was probably some guy with a gun just waiting to rob and murder them. The logical thing to do was to turn tail and run. They could hail a cab on Bourbon Street to take them back to Gabriel’s.

Obviously Gabriel had a different plan. His involved pulling away from her and just strolling straight up to the doorway. What kind of stupid idea was that? Sara opened her mouth to scream, just in case she was going to need to alert the masses that they needed help, as he peered around the storefront window.

She held her breath as his head tipped downward and his shoulders relaxed. “It’s just a cat, Sara.”

Oh, shit, thank God. Sara grabbed her chest and expelled a huge burst of breath. “Are you sure?” she asked.

“Sure that it’s a cat? Uh, yeah.” He sounded amused as he went down on his haunches and held his fingers out.