Valentin (Bayou Brotherhood Protectors #6)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Ouida Mae Maudet gave her classroom of fifteen-year-olds a challenging stare. “You know that if you finish your homework before you leave for the day, you won’t have to do it at home—and you’ll have the benefit of my help.”

Ginger groaned. “Oh, Miz Mo, no one wants to stay at school any longer than they have to. And it’s Friday. We just want to go.”

Miz Mo, as her students referred to her, held up her hands. “Just saying. Some of you could use the assistance to improve your grade in this class. And with the test on Tuesday...”

“I got football practice,” Brady Johnson said. “Coach makes us do more pushups if we’re late.”

The students had already started shoving their books and papers into their backpacks, ready for the bell signaling the end of the school day.

Ouida Mae’s lips twisted. She couldn’t blame them. She remembered being that age. All her classmates had been halfway out of their seats before every bell had rung. Only she had been the nerdy kid who had stayed after class to learn even more about biology and other sciences. Having grown up in Bayou Mambaloa, she had been surrounded by opportunities to explore and discover all the things nature had provided.

The bell rang.

Students lunged for the door, slinging backpacks over their shoulders and pulling cell phones out of their pockets.

Ouida Mae adjusted the papers on her desk and reached for her purse in the bottom drawer.

The sound of someone clearing a throat brought her attention back to the classroom she thought had been emptied.

Sophie Saulnier was still at her desk with her textbook open. She gave Ouida Mae a weak smile.

“Ah, Sophie, I didn’t realize you were still here.” Ouida Mae crossed her hands on her desk. “Did you need additional assistance with your homework?”

The girl swallowed hard and nodded, her cheeks flushing a ruddy red.

Ouida Mae gave her an encouraging smile. “There’s no need to be embarrassed to ask for help. Where are you having the most difficulty?”

“Um, I don’t know where to start.” Sophie’s gaze shifted toward the apple on Ouida Mae’s desk.

The hungry look in the teen’s eyes made Ouida Mae study her more closely. The girl was painfully thin and had dark shadows beneath her eyes. Her dark hair hung long and straight down her back. Ouida Mae would consider the girl’s hair and dark eyes her best features. But she really needed to put some meat on her bones.

Ouida Mae leaned forward. “You know it’s hard to study and learn when your body doesn’t have the fuel it needs.” Her hand curled around the apple. “When was the last time you ate?”

Sophie shrugged.

Ouida Mae’s eyes narrowed. She couldn’t remember seeing Sophie sitting at a table in the school’s cafeteria at lunch. “Sophie, are you hungry?”

As Sophie shook her head, her stomach rumbled loudly.

“Have you had anything to eat today?” Ouida Mae asked.

Again, Sophie shrugged.

Ouida Mae stood and walked down the aisle between the desks to where Sophie sat at the rear of the classroom. “Here, you can have my apple.” She handed the apple to Sophie. “As a matter of fact, I didn’t eat all of my lunch today. It’s still in the refrigerator in the teacher’s lounge. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

Though Sophie took the apple, she shook her head. “Please, that’s not necessary.”

“If I’m going to help you with your homework, you need to be sufficiently fueled to absorb the material.” Ouida Mae lifted her chin. “I’ll be right back. Stay here.”

As Ouida Mae left the room, she glanced back over her shoulder, happy to see Sophie take a bite of the apple. Ouida Mae wondered when her last meal had been. She made a mental note to check with Sophie’s mother to find out what was going on. In the meantime, the chicken breast and salad she hadn’t eaten for lunch would make a decent meal for the teen.

While she was in a teacher’s lounge, she purchased a bottle of apple juice from the vending machine, pulled the glass storage container with the chicken inside from the refrigerator, and popped it in the microwave for a minute and a half. She took the container with the salad out of the refrigerator and poured some dressing over the leafy greens from the bottle she kept stored in the refrigerator.

When the microwave beeped, she gathered the salad, the chicken and then a juice bottle and left the teacher’s lounge.

The sound of shattering glass and moving furniture echoed down the hallway.

“What the hell?” Ouida Mae hurried to her classroom, which was near the end of the hall where the noise emanated. Before she reached the classroom, a door to her left opened, and a hand reached out, snagged her arm and yanked her into Miss Donna Durand’s classroom.

Heart thumping, Ouida Mae juggled the containers in a desperate attempt to keep from dropping them.

Sophie stood beside her, her eyes wide and a finger pressed to her lips. “Shh,” she said softly.

“What’s wrong? What’s happening?” Ouida Mae whispered as she set the food containers on a nearby desktop.

“A brick crashed through the window and landed on the floor by my feet,” Sophie said in a voice barely above the whisper. “I dropped to the floor and crawled out of the room. When I looked back, a man dressed in black scraped the glass out of the window frame and crawled through it into the classroom.” The girl wrapped her arms around her middle. “I ran. I didn’t know what else to do. Then I thought about you. I couldn’t let you walk into that room. I didn’t know why he broke in or what he planned to do, but I couldn't let him hurt you.”

Her heart warmed by the student’s concern for her safety, Ouida Mae crossed to the phone hanging on the wall. A relic of the past, the phone was only used to communicate with office personnel. She lifted the receiver, hoping someone in the office was still there.

No one answered. The staff must have gone home for the evening. She returned the receiver to its cradle, pursing her lips. “My cell phone is in my purse in the classroom.” She frowned. “I don’t suppose you have one?”

Sophie shook her head.

The muffled sound of crashing furniture continued down the hallway.

“What do we do?” Sophie asked.

Ouida Mae debated sneaking out of the classroom and down the hallway to the office, where she could place a 911 call on the landline. That would mean leaving Sophie by herself.

That wasn’t going to happen.

What if the man destroying her classroom decided to continue his destruction spree and found the girl alone and unprotected?

Ouida Mae twisted the deadbolt lock on the classroom door and glanced toward the windows. Afternoon sunlight peeked through the fluttering leaves of an oak tree in the schoolyard.

“What if he comes through the window?” Sophie asked as if reading her thoughts.

“We stay out of sight and hope he doesn’t. If he does try to come through the window, it will take him time. Time enough for us to leave the classroom and get out of the school.”

“Couldn’t we sneak out a window?” Sophie suggested.

Ouida Mae shook her head. “Not the way the windows open.” She nodded toward a desk in the back of the room. “Help me move this desk to the corner.”

Student desks were built to withstand teenagers over the years of use and abuse. They were a little heavy but not so much so that Ouida Mae couldn’t scoot one to where she wanted it to be. But that would make noise, and she couldn’t risk making noise and drawing attention to the classroom where she and Sophie were hiding.

Between the two of them, they lifted the desk, carried it to the far corner and set it down gently without making a sound. Once it was in place, Ouida Mae tipped her chin toward it. “I need you to hide behind the desk.”

Sophie dropped to her knees and scooted behind the desk. She glanced up at Ouida Mae with a frown. “What about you?”

Ouida Mae had already turned to search the room for something she could use as a weapon. “I’ll be all right.” The only item she could find of use was a single chair standing beside Miss Durand’s desk. To reach it, she would have to pass in front of the classroom door with its narrow window. Ouida Mae stood still for a moment, listening to the sounds coming from down the hall in her classroom. According to the amount of noise generated, the perpetrator was destroying everything he could get his hands on.

Not knowing for sure if the man was operating alone or with a partner, Ouida Mae couldn’t risk being seen through that window. She dropped onto her hands and knees, glad she had on pants instead of her usual sundress. She quickly crawled beneath the window and all the way over to the desk. She placed the chair over her back and returned the same way, crawling across the floor until she reached Sophie.

The girl helped her take the chair off her back and place it gently on the floor.

Ouida Mae sat on the floor behind the chair with Sophie behind her. It was all she could do to stay put when every fiber of her being wanted to storm out in the hallway and chase the bastard out of her classroom. If she had been alone, she might have done just that, but she had Sophie to think about.

Moments later, she heard a shout in the hallway.

“What the full darn heck is going on here?”

“Jonesy,” Ouida Mae and Sophie whispered at the same time.

Ouida Mae was on her feet in seconds.

“Stay here,” she commanded as she grabbed the chair by its back and unlocked the door. She stepped out into the hallway in time to see Jonesy enter her classroom.

“Don’t—” she started to warn the school’s eldest employee.

“What do you think you’re doing?” The old man demanded.

She raced down the hall with the chair held out in front of her. Ouida Mae hadn’t reached her classroom before another crash and a loud thump reverberated in the building.

“Leave Jonesy alone!” she shouted as she rounded the door frame and rushed into the classroom.

A man dressed all in black, including a black ski mask, had one leg over the windowsill, ducking low to squeeze through the opening.

The anger and adrenaline coursing through her veins pushed Ouida Mae forward with her chair held high, her sights set on the escaping offender. She took two steps forward and fell over an obstruction on the floor. The chair flew from her hands, skated across the tile and came to a stop at the base of the now-empty window.

A groan brought her attention back to the obstacle that had brought her to her knees.

Mr. Jones, the school’s janitor, lay on his side, a gash across his temple oozing blood.

Pushing aside the desire to discover the identity of the man who had attacked her classroom, Ouida Mae focused on the janitor. “Mr. Jones, are you okay?”

The old man groaned in response.

“Sophie,” Ouida Mae cried. “Sophie!” she called louder this time. Footsteps rang out in the hallway.

The teenager appeared in the door frame. “Oh my God. Is he dead?”

Ouida Mae shook her head. “No. But I need you to get my cell phone out of the top drawer of my desk and dial 911.”

The girl stood frozen, her eyes filling with tears.

With the old man lying on his side, semi-conscious, they didn’t have time for tears. “Go!” Ouida Mae said.

Sophie turned and ran across the room to Ouida Mae’s desk.

Ouida Mae prayed the man who had attacked Jonesy hadn’t re-entered the school. If he had, they might only have seconds to place a call for help.

The old man lay still, no longer groaning.

Feeling for a pulse, Ouida Mae touched her fingers to the base of the old man’s throat. For a long moment, she felt nothing. Her heart skipped several beats. Then, the slow, steady thump bumped into her fingertips. Ouida Mae released the breath she held.

He was still alive.

For now.

Footsteps pounded toward her from the direction of the office.

Sophie appeared at Ouida Mae’s side, the cell phone pressed to her ear. “I dialed 911,” she told Ouida Mae and then listened, her attention on the dispatcher.

“Yes, ma’am, there’s been an attack at the junior high. We need an ambulance. Jonesy—Mr. Jones—the janitor, is hurt. He’s unconscious. Is he breathing?” Sophie looked to Ouida Mae,

Ouida Mae nodded.

“Yes, he’s breathing, and he has a pulse.” She listened. “He was dressed all in black and got in and out through a window in Miz Mo’s classroom… Are we safe?” Sophie gave a nervous laugh. “I hope so. Please hurry.” Again, she listened and nodded. To Ouida Mae, she said, “They’re sending the sheriff and an ambulance. They want me to stay on the line.”

A siren wailed in the distance, its volume increasing as it moved closer.

Afraid to leave Mr. Jones's side, Ouida Mae tipped her head toward her desk. “There’s a first-aid kit in my desk. Get it, please.”

Before she finished speaking, Sophie flew across the room, still holding the phone to her ear. She opened drawers, rummaged and slammed them shut one by one.

“Bottom right drawer,” Ouida Mae called out.

A moment later, Sophie handed her the kit and then stood back, tears sliding down her cheeks. “Is he going to be all right?”

Ouida Mae nodded, hoping she was right. She extracted a packet of gauze, tore it open, and pressed it to the wound on Mr. Jones's temple.

Sophie clamped a hand over her mouth. Her face blanched. She turned, grabbed a wastepaper basket and threw up what little bit of apple she’d eaten. “I’m sorry,” she said into the cell phone. “No, I’m all right.”

“Oh, Sophie, sweetie,” Ouida Mae said. “Mr. Jones is going to be all right, and so are you.” She wished she could go to the girl and hold her in her arms to reassure her. But the Jonesy needed her more.

The sirens screamed to a halt.

“Sophie, you need to go open the door at the end of the hallway to let the sheriff inside.”

The girl straightened, wiped her mouth on her sleeve, and squared her shoulders. She drew in a deep breath and stepped out of the classroom, then raced down the hallway.

Within seconds, Ouida Mae’s classroom was filled with first responders.

Sheriff’s Deputy Shelby Taylor was the first to arrive, easing her belly out from behind the wheel. She wore a sheriff’s department maternity uniform that only emphasized her very pregnant state. At over eight and a half months along, she’d cut her hours in half but insisted on working up to her due date.

“Sweet Jesus, Ouida Mae,” she said, her gaze scanning the room, “what happened?”

Relief filled Ouida Mae’s chest at the sight of her friend. Tears held in her eyes, but she couldn’t let them fall. Not yet. Not in front of Sophie. She blinked them back and lifted her chin. “Someone came into my classroom and destroyed it. Mr. Jones tried to stop him. Apparently, the assailant hit him.”

Deputy Taylor carefully knelt beside Mr. Jones and felt for a pulse. After a long moment, she nodded.

“I was afraid to move him in case he’d suffered any spinal injuries in the fall,” Ouida Mae said.

Shelby patted her arm. “You did the right thing.”

Paramedics arrived, carrying a stretcher and a box filled with medical devices.

Ouida Mae stood and offered a hand to Shelby. The two women moved out of the way to allow the emergency medical technicians to do their job.

Ouida Mae retrieved her purse from her desk and cell phone from her student. “You did good, Sophie.”

The teen stared around at the mess.

Finally able to assess all the damage, air lodged in Ouida Mae’s lungs. Every desk had been toppled or flung across the room. Her own desk had been slammed against the wall sideways. But the red paint on the walls was like open, bleeding wounds, with messages that frankly frightened Ouida Mae.

MIZ MO THE HO

DIE BITCH!

SAY NO TO SEX ED

EVOLUTION IS BLASPHEMY

LEAVE OR DIE!

“Why would someone do this?” Sophie asked, her voice quiet as if she stood in a library.

Ouida Mae touched the girl’s arm. “I don’t know.”

As the medics stabilized Mr. Jones and eased him onto the stretcher, Ouida Mae slipped an arm around Sophie’s shoulders and pulled her against her.

The student’s body trembled uncontrollably.

“Oh, sweetie,” Ouida Mae rubbed the girl’s arm. “He’s going to be OK. They’re going to take care of him.”

“I’m glad Mr. Jones will be okay,” Sophie said. “That could’ve been us,” she added in a whisper, her body shaking so hard her teeth rattled.

Ouida Mae pulled Sophie into her arms and hugged her close. Even though the student was taller than the teacher, it didn’t matter. To Ouida Mae, Sophie was a child and needed comfort.

Shelby, Ouida Mae and Sophie followed the paramedics as they carried Mr. Jones out of the school and loaded him into the ambulance. Once they had him situated, one of the paramedics turned to Sophie and Ouida Mae. “Are you two okay?” he asked.

Ouida Mae nodded. “I am, but please check my student, Sophie. She might be in shock.”

“Have her parents been notified of the incident?” the paramedic asked.

“I’m okay,” Sophie said quickly. “I’d better get home before anyone worries about me.”

Ouida Mae shook her head. “Not by yourself.”

“Seriously, I’m fine,” Sophie insisted as she backed out of Ouida Mae’s arms. The girl turned and hurried away.

Ouida Mae turned to Shelby. “Do you need me for anything else?”

Deputy Taylor shook her head. “If I have questions, I’ll give you a call or have you come by the station.” Her friend followed Ouida Mae’s gaze. “Do you want me to follow her?”

Ouida Mae’s eyes narrowed. “No, I’ll do that. I don’t think she has a good home situation and is embarrassed by it. I’ll follow at a distance, just to make sure she gets there all right.”

“Are you sure?” Her friend frowned. “The perpetrator only trashed your classroom. Based on what he spray-painted on the walls, you were the target. You might not be safe.”

“I’ll keep my eyes open. I just can’t let that child go home alone.” Ouida Mae left her friend standing among the first responders and hurried after Sophie.

She thought she’d lost her until she spotted the girl ducking between two houses. Glancing over her shoulder often, she followed the girl through the streets of Bayou Mambaloa to what appeared to be a deserted shack perched on the edge of the water on stilts. She climbed into a pirogue, lifted a paddle and pushed away from the shore. As she back-paddled into deeper water, she glanced up, and her gaze met Ouida Mae’s. She mouthed the words, I’m okay .

With no way to follow her student, Ouida Mae walked to the shoreline and called out, “I’m here if you need me, day or night. I mean that.”

“Thank you,” Sophie said.

“No. Thank you . You saved me,” Ouida Mae said. She watched the teenager paddle away into the bayou, wishing she could follow her all the way home. She wanted to make sure the girl had the support she needed at home after experiencing such a traumatic incident.

Ouida Mae suspected she did not have that support. She wondered if she had anyone to help her. As thin and hungry as she’d appeared, she could use a friend and someone to check on her situation at home.

Ouida Mae pulled out her cell phone and called Shelby.

“Is everything all right?” the sheriff’s deputy answered on the first ring.

“I don’t know.” Ouida Mae described how Sophie had paddled away into the bayou. “I’m worried about her.”

“Frankly, I’m worried about both of you.” Shelby sighed. “I’ll take the sheriff’s boat out in a little while and check Sophie’s home situation. We’re too shorthanded to station a deputy at the school, but I might have an alternative.”

“Good.” Ouida Mae’s hand tightened on the cell phone.

“I hate to think of what might have happened if all the students had been in the classroom when the man attacked,” Shelby said.

Ouida Mae nodded, even though Shelby couldn’t see her. “Me, too.”