Chapter 17
This part of Bayou St. John was, believe it or not, a wide, well manicured expanse of water that split the city.
The more wealthy who lived on the far side of the bayou lived in gated communities, the back yards of their homes backing up near the bayou.
They often peddled their peddle-boats, and paddled their kayaks along the bayou when they got home in the evenings, and more on the weekends.
This was exactly where the professor and his well-deserved wife lived in an overly large, overly ornate three story, gated home completed with an in-ground pool and glass walled pool house just beyond.
On the opposite side of Bayou St. John, where the everyday people lived, Havoc, Bane, Charlie, and Lucien sat in Havoc’s truck, finishing off the last of their poboys, as the sun went down and they kept an eye on Professor Bourne’s house.
“What’s the name of that restaurant?” Lucien asked.
“Liuzza’s” Havoc said. “Best damn pretty-much-anything they offer in the city.”
“Yes, indeed,” Lucien said. “I want that seafood muffaletta next.”
“You’re just now finishing the last bite of that sandwich! It’s a freaking foot long and full of shrimp!”
“Yep. And I think I need the seafood muffaletta next.”
“Man, that’s a lot of food,” Charlie said. “The sign said it weighs sixteen pounds. It feeds six to eight!”
“Or one gator! And yes, it is a masterpiece! Garlic butter soaked and toasted muffaletta bun, a layer of fried catfish, a layer of fried shrimp, a layer of fried oysters, a layer of fried soft shell crab, a layer of fried crawfish tails. Cocktail sauce and tartar sauce between the layers; what’s not to love? !” Lucien said.
“Why didn’t you get it when we were there?” Havoc asked.
“I needed to be sure I could move fast. If I’m really, really stuffed, the gator don’t move so well,” Lucien said with regret.
“Hey, look, is that him?” Bane asked, focused on the house, instead of the incessant banter of his nephews.
“It’s somebody, him or his wife,” Havoc said, his eyes now locked on the house and he wiped his hands on his sixth or seventh napkin and dabbed at his mouth. For as rough around the edges as he was, he had impeccable table manners, even when there wasn’t a table present.
They watched as the driver’s side door opened and a woman got out.
She was dressed to the nines and wore heels so high it looked like she might teeter off of them at any given moment.
Her hair was bleached so blonde it was almost colorless.
Makeup on so thick, that if she wore it that way every day, there was zero chance her skin had felt the sunlight in years.
She turned back to the car and shrieked at it.
“Can you get out and get the damn door?! I told you I wasn’t digging for the keys!
It messes up my nails. GET THE DOOOOR!” she screeched again.
The passenger side door flew open and a man got out. He was dressed as nicely as she was, and was actually an attractive man. “If you keep screaming at me like that, I’ll put you through the damn door!” he yelled.
“Yeah, right. Then you go live on your teachers’ salary! Daddy would put you out of my house so fast!”
“It’s not your house. It’s ours!”
She laughed almost hysterically. “Yeah, like I’d allow you to have anything!”
“Fuck you,” he spat.
“No, fuck you! And open the fucking door!” she screamed.
The man opened the door, bitching about it the entire time, then went inside the very large, very expansive house, giving the woman time to get inside, then slamming the door behind them both.
“Holy fuck,” Havoc exclaimed. “I’d shoot my fucking self, if I was either one of them.”
“I’ll just kill them. Nobody will mind. Hell, nobody will miss them,” Lucien said.
Bane eyed the area they were sitting in.
The sun had set and it was getting darker.
The street lights that would normally light the area were out, as was par for the course in New Orleans.
And the bridge he needed to take to cross the bayou to get to the house was a few blocks down, and even darker on the side they were on.
He looked again, to assure himself that no one even gave a damn that they were there, then he got out and started walking the half a block to Bayou St. John, where he would then turn East and go over the bridge to the mansions sitting on the other side.
“Hey! Hey, wait!” Havoc called out, hurriedly getting out and running to catch up with Bane.
“You better hurry if you want a part of this,” Lucien said, leaving the truck behind.
Charlie reached for the keys Havoc had left in the ignition, shoved them in his pocket, then got out, too and fell in behind them.
He had no idea what would happen, but he knew one thing.
These males loved Daisy and they were here to make sure these horrible fucking people knew that whatever they faced was because of the trauma they put her through.
And that meant, that he needed to be a part of it.
Because if anyone ever tried to harm Daisy in any way again, he’d likely be spending the rest of his days in prison, and that would be okay, because he knew that Daisy’s family would take excellent care of Carson while he paid for whatever he had to do to protect the female he loved. “I’m coming, too!”
Bane started across the footbridge.
Havoc and Lucien intentionally gave him enough time to cross, then lingered for another few minutes before they finally crossed, laughing and talking, giving the impression they were just buddies on their way home.
Charlie was smart enough to realize they were giving the impression they didn’t know each other.
So, he took out his phone and pretended to be having a conversation as he lingered at the front of the foot bridge.
When he was sure there was no one else around, he finally crossed the bridge, still talking on his phone.
Waving his arms around to make it look like he was having an animated conversation with whoever was on the other end.
When he finally made it to the other side, he hesitated for a moment, not quite sure where they all went. He knew the house, but wasn’t sure that they’d all gone there.
A couple of pairs of glowing eyes, glaring at him, let him know at least two of them were squatted down near the wrought iron fence surrounding the professor’s back yard.
He nonchalantly made his way in that general direction, until he was confident he, too, was hidden in the shadows and rushed to join them.
Havoc grabbed hold of his shoulder and forced him further back in the shadows. He got up close in Charlie’s face and held a finger against his own lips.
Charlie nodded.
Havoc snarled, then grabbed Charlie’s cell phone and held it up almost against his nose.
Charlie’s eyes widened and he nodded as he hurried to turn it off completely. If they didn’t bring wallets, they damn sure shouldn’t have brought phones.
Lucien shook his head, knowing they’d all be caught and have to call their mates to tell them they’d be home in 8 - 10 years, if they could manage good behavior.
“Where’s Bane?” Charlie whispered.
“You have got to teach him to use his head voice,” Lucien whispered.
“He ain’t got one!”
“Some humans do! I’ve heard about it,” Lucien whispered.
“Naw. Well, maybe. I think that my Aunt Janie might have been able to communicate with Uncle Bane,” Havoc whispered, then he got aggravated, growled at Lucien and shook his head vehemently. “Can we discuss this at another time?”
Lucien shrugged uncaringly.
Charlie lifted his arms as though to say, ‘well, I still don’t know where he is’.
Havoc pointed at the house, just as they heard a loud banging on the door.
“Aw, shit,” Lucien said, hurriedly standing and running toward the front of the house.
Havoc was right behind, and surprisingly, so was Charlie.
“If shit goes south quicker than we expect and we shift, grab the clothes. Don’t leave a damn thing here,” Havoc said as he and Charlie brought up the rear.
“Got it,” Charlie said, just as they came to a stop and hesitated just out of sight behind a pair of huge magnolia trees in the professor’s front yard.
“Can I help you?” Professor Bourne asked, his voice full of attitude as he checked his front door for damage.
“No, but I’m here to help you,” Bane said.
“You almost broke my fucking door. This is sinker cypress and cut glass! You have any idea how fucking much this door cost?”
“What is going on in here?!” his wife demanded, walking into the foyer with a drink in her hand.
“I’m handling it! Go back inside,” the professor ordered.
“Don’t fucking tell me what to do! You’re obviously not handling it well.”
“Do either one of you have any idea how fucking much the penalty is for abusing a male’s daughter. A male’s innocent daughter?!” Bane bellowed.
“Hey, fuck you! I haven’t abused any fucking body!”
The wife’s face was suddenly irately furious. “He hasn’t done anything that wasn’t provoked! Little whores keep throwing themselves at him because they’re too stupid to pass otherwise! And he’s just a man, he’s only human, he can’t help himself!” she shrieked.
“Yeah? Well, I’m here to dole out a little justice for mine. And for the record, it’s not just him I’m here for,” Bane snarled.
“I don’t know you. I don’t know your daughter!” the professor yelled, “and get the fuck off my property!”
“The name Daisy Marchande’ mean anything to you?” Bane demanded.
The professor smirked. “Oh, yeah. I do know that one. She was a sweet one. Stupid, too for falling for all the shit I spewed at her. You should have taught her to keep her fucking legs closed if she didn’t want somebody crawling between them.”
“She was a whore, just like all the rest! Should have kept her legs closed and out from under my husband!” the woman screamed.