Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Three months later
Keno—
Maggie is cuddled on my chest, and her weight on me feels good.
We’re laying on the couch in the little house I rented for us. We still have the apartment above the bar, but that’s no place to start a life together.
My baby needed a yard where she could plant flowers and a deck where we could have cookouts and invite the club and all her girls. The one out back has an amazing view down the hill of Durango. It looks especially pretty at sunset when all the lights sparkle in the distance.
We’re watching a movie marathon… or we were, until Maggie fell asleep on me about fifteen minutes ago.
I stroke her back and press a kiss to her forehead.
Life has a funny way of coming around full circle.
I never thought I’d have another shot with her. I thought I’d lost my chance the day I left New Orleans. Leaving her was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do, and I came to regret not taking her with me.
Though what kind of life I could have given her at the time, I don’t know.
Maybe neither of us was ready the first time around.
She was young, and I needed to figure out what mattered most. I feel like it’s taken me years to learn that lesson, but I know now what that is, and she’s cuddled against me, snoring softly.
I grin, happier than I can ever remember being.
There’s a rap on the door, and she shifts.
“Wake up, baby. Someone’s at the door,” I whisper.
She yawns and stretches, sitting up, and I pull my legs from under her to go to get the door.
Peering through the peephole I see two guys in suits.
I half expected it to be the state police.
It’s been three months since Remy and Derek got out on bail, and I know they missed their first court date.
Maggie never mentioned it, and I never brought it up.
She comes to stand next to me. “Who is it?”
“I don’t know,” I say, opening the door. “Can I help you?”
They both flash badges in leather cases. “We’re detectives with the St. Bernard Parish Police Department,” the bald one says, then looks beyond me to Maggie. “Are you Marguerite Celine Laroche?”
She glances at me, then answers. “Yes.”
“Can we come in and talk with you?”
“Sure,” I say, stepping back. I lead them to the dining room table. “Have a seat.”
“Would you like some coffee?” Maggie offers.
“No, thanks,” the bald one replies. “I’m Detective Landry, and this is Detective Thibodeaux. We’re looking for your brother, Remy Laroche. Do you know where he is?”
“I don’t,” Maggie replies. “The last I heard he was arrested in Denver for attempted armed robbery, but I heard he got out on bail.”
“Yes, he did, and apparently he didn’t show up for his court date, so they’ve got a warrant out for him and your brother, Derek.”
“They haven’t come here. We don’t get along,” Maggie explains.
“I see.”
“You said you were from Louisiana?” I ask.
“Yes, sir. We’re investigating a series of rapes in the parish. The cases went cold years ago, and we presumed the suspect left the area. Last week we got a hit in CODIS, the nationwide DNA database. We got a match for Remy Laroche to four rapes.”
“Oh my God,” Maggie says, covering her mouth, her eyes welling.
I reach out a hand and rub her shoulder.
The detectives notice my movement and meet my eyes. “And who are you?”
“I’m Sully Bossier, her fiancé.”
Their eyes drop to the diamond on her finger.
“I see,” Landry says. “You know anything about those crimes, Mr. Bossier?”
“I stopped one once.”
“Tell us about it.”
The MC never talks to police, but this isn’t about MC business. This is about a son of a bitch who doesn’t deserve any sympathy from Maggie. She needs to know what kind of man he was.
“I spotted Remy’s truck out by a shed near the back of Griffin Park. I thought maybe he’d broken down, so I pulled over on the side of Rue de la Mason. I heard a commotion in the shed. He had some chick in there. He was raping her.”
“Are you sure it was rape?” Landy asks.
“She was screaming for him to stop.”
“What did you do?”
“I pulled him off her and beat him bloody. He got his hands on a shovel and slammed it against the side of my face then ran out.”
“What happened to the girl?”
“I wanted to take her to the hospital, but she refused. Said she just wanted me to go. Said she’d get herself home. I asked if she wanted me to drive her to the police station. She shook her head and screamed at me to get out.”
“What’d you do?”
“I waited by my truck. I didn’t want to leave her there. I was afraid Remy would come back. Finally, she came out clutching her torn clothing around her, ran to a car parked in the lot across the field and drove off.”
“Did you know who she was?”
“No. Never saw her before, and she didn’t give me her name.”
“We need to find him. If you know anything about where he is, we need to know,” Landry says.
“He probably left Colorado. Most people suspect he was involved in a series of robberies of businesses here in town. Since he got arrested, they’ve stopped,” I say.
Landy drags a hand down his face. “He’ll turn up. If you hear from him, you let us know.” He lays a card on the table and stands.
“Absolutely,” I say. “He’s trouble, and I don’t want him around my family.”
He looks to Maggie. “He’s dangerous, so if you hear from him, do not help him or go to meet him. That would get you into a lot of trouble, miss.”
“I understand.”
I see them out, then turn and take Maggie in my arms, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “You okay?”
She nods. “I can’t believe it. All those poor women.”
“Thank God he didn’t do worse. Many rapists don’t leave a live witness.”
“So, if he hadn’t gotten arrested at the track for attempting to rob the ticket office, his DNA would never have gotten put into the system.”
“Yeah, guess so.”
She pulls back and looks at me. “He’s never coming back, is he?”
I know what she’s asking, and I can never give her details, but I can tell her that much. “No, babe. He’s never coming back.”
“And Derek?” Her eyes mist.
I shake my head. “No.”
A tear spills down her cheek. “I’m not sorry about Remy, but Derek…”
“He knew better, Maggie. He knew what they were doing was wrong, and he went along anyway. If he’d been present for any of those rapes, he’d have gone along with Remy and never said a word. That’s his crime.”
“I wish things had been different.”
“Maybe if your father hadn’t turned to the bottle, maybe if he’d been more present for his sons, things would have turned out differently for Derek, but Remy was who he was, and nothing your father did would have changed that.
If a man’s got that evil inside him, if he doesn’t give a damn about hurting people, if he’s got no remorse, he’s not fixable. That’s just a fact.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“If he’d gone to prison for ten years, he’d have been the same asshole when he came out, probably more deadly.
” I cup her face. “But you’ve got a new family now.
One who loves you and will never let anyone hurt you again.
You’ve got me, and you’ve got a bunch of new girlfriends ready to take you out and get you drunk and make you forget about all this. You want, I’ll make that call.”
She shakes her head. “I think partying is out for me right now, at least for the next nine months.”
My mouth parts, and I go still. My eyes drop to her belly. “Are you saying…?”
She smiles. “Yes.”
“You serious, Maggie? This isn’t a joke?”
“I haven’t gone to the doctor yet, but I took two tests to be sure.”
I pick her up and spin her around, then set her down, drop to my knees, and kiss her belly. “I’m gonna love you so much, little one. Just wait and see.”
Maggie strokes the hair back from my face and grins at me. “I love you, baby.”
“I love you, too, Six, until the end of my days.”
I stand and touch my forehead to hers. “You know what this means, don’t you?”
“What?”
“Lola and the girls have a wedding and a baby shower to plan. They’ll be in party heaven.”
“Will you mind, baby?”
“Not a bit, Maggie. Not a bit.” I heft her up and start walking.
“Where are we going?” she asks.
“I’m taking my woman to bed. Any objections?”
“None at all, my sexy man. None at all.”
“Good.” I smack her ass. “I think I still owe you a spanking.”
“Yay!” she says with a tinkle of laughter that lights me up.
“Yay, indeed, pretty girl.”
***
I hope you enjoyed CROSSING THE LINE.