Chapter 4
No!
The word exploded in Vincent’s head, but he didn’t say it. His three brothers were all talking at once after Christian’s announcement. All he could do was thank God that Riley was nowhere near Louisiana at this point.
“Vincent,” Lincoln said.
It snapped him out of his thoughts. None of them lived that night like he had, and they all knew it. He swallowed and leaned his hands on the table as he closed his eyes, wishing he could close out the past as easily.
“Evil was here eleven years ago. It infested the bayou until people were scared to venture out once night fell. Linc and I hunted with Mom and Dad while you two stayed with Riley.”
Christian nodded as he pulled out a chair and sat. “I remember it all. I was so pissed that I couldn’t go with y’all, but Dad wanted me here to guard the house.”
“There are times I wish I hadn’t seen what I did,” Lincoln confessed.
It was the first time Vincent had heard such words from his brother. “I wish you hadn’t either.”
“Riley was asleep,” Beau said. “I had just looked in on her when I heard Dad. I ran out onto the porch and saw...”
Vincent knew why he couldn’t finish. None of them could. Not even him, and he had been with his father when they found his mother.
She had been brutally beaten before something clawed her and then ripped her heart from her chest. After all these years, Vincent could still hear his father’s cry of grief and anger. He could still see his father rocking his mother against his chest as tears fell.
Then the rage had taken his father.
Vincent had done his best to keep up with him. He had known that the evil could take both of his parents that night, but he hadn’t been quick enough.
“It’s not your fault,” Lincoln said as if sensing where Vincent’s mind had been.
Beau cut into the omelet and took a bite. “You came back to us. Without you, the state would’ve sent us into foster care.”
“If this thing is back, the only target that’s come close to us is Molly,” Vincent said, changing the subject. He couldn’t stand to think back to that night.
Beau cleared his throat. “That’s not exactly true. The first victim – Lindsey – I had asked out. She was new in town.”
“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Vincent demanded as anger began to spread inside him. “We could have connected the dots sooner if you had.”
He then looked at Lincoln. “What about Breanne, the second victim. Did you know her?”
“We hooked up every now and again. We were friends with benefits.”
Vincent grabbed the plate with the omelet and threw it against the wall. He hadn’t felt this anger in eleven years. There was nothing more to say to his brothers, not when he was this infuriated.
He stormed out to clear his head and try to figure out who was after his family. And just why they had waited eleven years to finish what they started.
Olivia was so startled by the sound of her cell phone ringing that she fell off the couch. She grappled for the phone that had fallen with her, and hastily answered before she looked at the caller ID.
“You sound groggy. Did I wake you?” Ava Ledet asked.
Olivia leaned against the cushion and laughed. “Actually, you did. I didn’t sleep much last night, and I thought to just lay down and chill.”
“I guess you were sleepier than you realized.”
“Obviously.” Olivia climbed back on the couch and tried to push aside the butterflies wrecking havoc in her stomach. “I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”
Ava covered the phone as she spoke to someone else. “Sorry. My assistant had a question. Yeah, nothing to worry about. I wanted to check in and see how you were doing.”
“That’s not what attorneys normally do, is it?”
Ava chuckled, the sound rich and seductive. “No, but then I don’t consider myself a normal attorney. You were a wreck the last time I saw you.”
“Wow. Thanks for putting it so mildly.” It was no wonder Olivia liked Ava so well. The woman put it all out there, but in a way that you adored her for it.
“I’m not one of those women who have lots of girl friends. Well, to be honest, I don’t really have any. I’m more of a loner, which works well with being a workaholic. It’s weird, but as soon as you walked into my office I felt as if I’ve known you my whole life. As if we had always been friends.”
Olivia smiled as she leaned her head back against the cushion. “I felt the same. I had a lot of friends at one time, and yet the more we talked, the more I realized none of those women had really been a friend.”
“Great. So now you don’t think I’m some kind of freak or anything.”
“I broke down in your office, Ava. I let some butt lick sway me so that he committed a crime and framed me. I’m the freak.”
Ava made a sound through the phone. “Not even close, hon. I do have some news about Calvin.”
That made Olivia sit up straighter. “What?”
“You know your company had cameras all over, right? Well, I got a court order to obtain the video for the times that the computer says you were stealing the funds.”
Olivia rubbed her eyes. “Why didn’t the company do that when I said it was Calvin?”
“I think that’s exactly what they were doing when I arrived today with the order. I’m still waiting to get the footage from them. They have until five. Oh, and look. That’s just five minutes from now.” There was a commotion through the phone. “Gotta go. I’ll call you as soon as I know something.”
The phone went dead before Olivia could respond. She set down her phone ran her hands through her hair. It had come loose from the ponytail.
With a yawn, she rose and walked to the bathroom where she stared at herself in the mirror. There was nothing special about her black hair, black eyes, and dark skin so common in the Cajun culture. At just five foot two, she was on the short side, and top heavy.
Her only redeeming feature was that her eyelashes were long and lush. At least she didn’t have to get extensions like so many of her co-workers.
“As if that matters now,” she muttered.
She pulled out her ponytail and let her hair fall down to the middle of her back. With a huff, she blew the long, slanted bangs out of her eyes.
Maybe she should go out with Sean. It might be good to move on with her life as her grandmother said. At the thought of her grandmother, she realized she had been gone all day.
Olivia walked back into the living room and looked through a window. Her grandmother’s truck wasn’t in the driveway. It wasn’t until she checked her phone that she saw the message waiting.
She let out a sigh of relief when she heard her grandmother’s message saying she was going to stay with Grace that night since Grace wasn’t feeling well.
That meant Olivia had the entire house to herself. She had longed for such things as a kid. Now, she didn’t relish the prospect of being alone.
Two hours passed as she flipped through channels catching bits of shows and the news. At seven she finally fixed a sandwich and popped in Horrible Bosses. She was shocked to find her grandmother even had that movie, but she was glad, since she needed a good laugh.
By ten, Olivia couldn’t stand to have the TV on anymore. She grabbed a beer and walked out onto the porch to inhale the sultry night air. The heat of the day still lingered long after the moon rose.
So many nights had been spent sitting at the end of the dock with friends imagining how their futures would be. In all her dreams, her life had never turned out like the one she led.
She hadn’t expected to live a glamorous life in front of the cameras, but she had thought to be a successful accountant, wife, and mother. The only part of that she had gotten was the accounting degree.
Even her job hadn’t been as prestigious as she had wanted. Working for one of the top companies in Dallas had paid well, however, and she thought she was about to get the next title in her dream life – wife.
Calvin dashed all of that in a heartbeat.
Now there was a chance she could go to jail. Over something she didn’t do. Olivia trusted Ava to help her, but she wished she were still in Dallas to be right there through it all.
All but ten thousand dollars of her savings had been used to remain in Dallas for as long as she had. At least she had a home to return to.
She looked longingly at the water. After the night before, she wasn’t going out there alone. Whether it was her imagination or not, it had been a creepy experience.
Goose bumps rose up all along her skin as she felt something behind her. She had been alone on the porch, she was sure of it. And yet, she knew without a doubt that someone – something – was with her.
She turned around to see a dark, hairy shape come out of the shadows and slam her into the side of the porch. Olivia fell heavily, unable to move her limbs where she wanted.
Her eyes couldn’t focus on the thing that had hit her. She tried to call out for help. The...thing...loomed in front of her as she blinked to try and see it clearly.
There was a low growl as it grabbed her arm. She winced when something cut her, but it paid her no heed as it began to drag her to the porch door.
She could feel herself falling into the blackness. Olivia fought it, instinctively knowing that her life was on the line. Dimly, she heard someone shout.
The grip on her arm tightened, and she felt something warm and wet slide down her arm. Suddenly, it released her so that her head once more banged on the wooden porch.
“Shit!” a male voice growled.
She heard the squeak of the porch door as it was thrown open. Large hands, tender and soothing, smoothed back the hair from her face. “Olivia? Olivia, can you hear me?”
She forced open her eyes long enough to see a familiar face. He had hair so dark a brown it was almost black. It brushed the tops of his shoulders with a soft wave that begged to be touched.
His face was hard and rugged. A dose of handsome that gave him a dangerous air with a scar that ran across his right cheek, and brilliant blue eyes ringed with navy that snagged her.
Vincent was protecting her just as she had always wanted.
Perhaps she had hit her head too hard. Vincent would never be there.
“Olivia,” he whispered.
Was it her imagination, or had there been a bit of longing in his voice?
A tearing sound pulled her from the darkness. She opened her eyes again as he gently lifted her arm. The pain pulled her out of unconsciousness enough to realize she was hurt, and that it really was Vincent with her.
Olivia looked at her arm, but all she could see was red. Was that blood? Her blood?
She was mesmerized by how Vincent diligently wrapped her arm and tied the black bandage that looked suspiciously like his tee shirt.
Olivia blinked as the fog of her head cleared even more. His hand was on her forehead pushing back her hair again. A frown marred his forehead.
She had the insane urge to smooth it away and run her hands over his sun-bronzed skin. This was the Chiasson she had silently coveted, the Chiasson that had never looked at her.
“Your eyes are clearing,” he said.
She tried to swallow, to wet her dry mouth so she could ask what had happened.
“Answers later. First, we need to get you to safety.”
Olivia wasn’t sure if she could stand, but she shouldn’t have worried, because Vincent gathered her against him. She rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. The rest of her fear melted away.
It had taken long enough, but she was finally in Vincent Chiasson’s arms.