Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Ace
Daylight is fading fast into nightfall two days later and we finally make it to Parish District Five. Liz directs us to a small house sitting back on a two-track road covered with huge trees. I pull up to the small house and park my bike. The sweltering humidity is making my clothes stick to my body and sweat beads on my forehead. Liz looks comfortable in this weather as I slap the bugs bigger than my head away.
“Where the fuck are we?” Stone asks. If he’s creeped out, then the rest of us should be too.
“Our stop for the night. We can’t go any further when we lose daylight or the gators will eat you alive. Besides, we can’t take the bikes where my Memaw lived.” Liz dismounts my bike, her legs are a little wobbly so I steady her.
Stone and Duke check out our surroundings. Tex slaps the side of his neck. Stone grumbles before dismounting his bike and Duke does the same.
Duke wipes the sweat from his brow and swats a bug away, “If I’m murdered by some backwoods hillbilly playing the banjo, I’m coming back to haunt your ass.” I try to hold back a laugh but fail. Duke is so uncomfortable down here, worse than the rest of us. “What are you laughing about asshole? It’s like Deliverance down here. Gives me the creeps.”
We all lose it when Duke shudders and glances behind him trying to peer through the woods. Once I stop laughing at him, Liz grabs my hand and pulls me toward the single-story house. “Come on. I want you to meet someone.”
She walks up the steps, opens the screen door and knocks on the other door. I’m right behind her, crowding her with my body, ready to move her out of the way if there is any threat inside. The door slowly creaks open and I have my hands on Liz’s hips, ready with tension rolling off my body. A single watery, blue eye peeks at us through the crack in the door. It blinks once, then twice before the door opens wider and Liz enters with me on her heels. My brothers hang back a little bit, waiting for something to happen.
A musty smell permeates the air the further inside we go and the humidity from outside is nonexistent. I check behind the door but the body that belongs to the eye isn’t anywhere in sight. “I don’t like this,” I whisper to Liz.
She turns her face up to me with a bright smile. “Be patient. He doesn’t take to strangers very well and I’m sure your size is intimidating to him.”
“Then why the fuck would he answer the door if I’m intimidating?” I question.
“Because you’re with me. If you came here alone, I’m sure he’d place a hex on you.” Liz giggles like it’d be funny if I were cursed. We walk further into the house and old newspapers are strewn everywhere. Melted candles, dice I’ve seen Liz use, decks of cards and dust are scattered across every surface of the house I can see.
We step into what I’m assuming is a dining room and it’s completely different than the rest of the house. It’s cleaner, for one and for two there is only a single deck of cards, melted candles and a pair of dice on the old oak table with no dust or newspapers scattered around.
“Very funny, ha-ha. If he harms you in any way, I don’t give a fuck about hexes or curses. I will end his life.” Suddenly a cold, wrinkly hand lands on the crook of my right arm making my skin crawl. A growl radiates from deep inside my chest but the hand doesn’t let go. If anything, it tightens further. My vision changes to a hazy red, ready to kill this motherfucker for touching me. “Let go of me, now.” I tightly clench my teeth together, surprised I don’t crack a tooth.
The hand disappears and I take a deep breath in through my nose and out through my mouth, trying to calm down. An old man with a hunch walks past us, not even batting an eye that I was close to killing him for touching me. He shuffles toward the table and takes a seat at the end, motioning for us to follow. Liz tries to sit in the chair closest to him, but I subtly move her into the seat furthest away from him. If he is a threat, I’ll be damned if I let him get close enough to my woman to harm her. I take the seat closest to him, keeping Liz behind me. The old man’s eyes are closed like he’s in a deep thought or sleep.
The stubborn woman won’t have any of this bullshit and she moves to the spot across from me and next to this guy. Before I can protest Liz isn’t safe, she gently places her palm on the old man’s arm, startling him. He blinks a few times, his blue eyes watering slightly.
“Petite-fille.” The old man smiles widely, showing off his perfect teeth. With this guy's age, I’m shocked at how straight and white they are. I had a precognitive notion they’d be missing or rotting.
“Pawpaw. How are you?” Liz asks, squeezing his arm a little tighter. Tears are glistening in her bright blue eyes. He grunts before wiping his eyes.
I give Liz a questioning look and she motions toward me before giving Pawpaw her attention once again. “Pawpaw, I want you to meet my friend, Ace.” Her eyes lock onto mine again. “Ace, this is my Pawpaw, or my grandpa, Amir Elijah LeRoux, sixth generation Cajun. He met and fell in love with my Memaw, Madeline who was a Creole descendant and the Queen of Louisiana Voodoo, over sixty years ago. Back then, it was unheard of for a Creole and a Cajun to be together, but those two did it. They loved each other so much that no matter who tried to stop them, they thrived together and overcame the odds. Pawpaw’s time is coming soon to be with Memaw.” A lonely tear trails down Liz’s cheek and her grandfather wipes it away.
“No tears, Petite-fille. I’ll be with Memaw soon and you’ll be free.” He taps on the deck of cards before lighting a candle next to him. “Free Rose.”
“What does he mean, Liz? Free from what?” I ask. Amir shushes me in a stern tone and I snap my mouth shut.
Amir mumbles something in another language I can’t understand while holding onto Liz’s hands. His boney fingers tighten around hers as the flame from the candle flickers. He continues to chant before releasing Liz’s hand and taps on the deck of cards with a long nail. “This will tell us your future, Petite-fille. Do you want to know your fate or your future?” His watery blue eyes land on me. “You have many demons in your past, buoy. But my Petite-fille will bring you into the light if you allow her. She has darkness inside of her too.” He grabs my hand before I can protest and the candle flickers rapidly, creating a smokey haze surrounding us. “You will help her channel this darkness and control it.”
Amir takes ahold of Liz’s hand while still holding mine and he motions for Liz and me to hold hands across the table, completing the circle. Once our hands interlock, the candle flickers and then goes out. The tension in the room is heavy and there’s something else pressing down on me but I can’t identify what it is. “He’s coming. Protect my Petite-fille from him, Buoy. Promise me you will protect her with your life.”
“I promise, Amir. I will always protect what’s mine.” The candle flickers back to life and I swear the heaviness in the air lifts.
Amir releases our hands and pushes away from the table. He kisses Liz on the head before shuffling over to me, pressing his cold lips against my forehead. “Protect her heart and free her soul.” He shuffles out of the room before either of us can say anything.
I’m sitting at the table with my mouth hanging open, not knowing what to say. “What the fuck?” That’s all that comes to mind.
“Come on, Ace.” Liz stands with tears in her eyes. “We need to get set up for the night.” There’s a sadness in her voice but I don’t push it, not yet.
We walk out the way we came in and the humidity slaps me in the face. Night has fallen and I cringe when I notice how uncomfortable my brothers are. “I didn’t think we were in there that long,” I state.
Liz shrugs, “Time has no meaning inside Pawpaw’s house.” She steps off the rickety old porch and walks down a single path leading into the woods. “This way.”
I follow her with Tex, Duke and Stone trailing behind us carrying our bags. “What about our bikes?” Duke asks, unsure if we should keep someone on guard.
“The bikes will be safe there,” Liz replies, there’s a sadness in her voice that she tries to hide. She walks further into the woods, moving tree branches and brush out of the way. I grab her hand, needing the contact between us and squeeze it. Liz returns the gesture and looks up at me. The pain in her bright blue eyes hurts my heart and I will do anything I can to help her through this. I kiss her softly on the lips, offering to take her pain and put it on me before we move again.
Duke and Stone take notice of the slump in her shoulders and the sadness in her voice. They give me a questioning look, but I shake my head. It’s not the time to get into it. I’ll fill them in later.
“This place is giving me the creeps,” Tex grumbles as he brings up the rear, not realizing the sadness radiating off Liz as he slaps another bug away. Duke lets go of a branch and it swats Tex in the face. “What the fuck, Duke?”
Duke glares at Tex, the bandana covering his bald head is sweat-soaked. “If you value your balls, you’ll keep our mouth shut and quit bitching about shit.” He motions to Liz and Tex snaps his mouth shut thankfully. If he didn’t quit bitching I was going to do something about it.
There is a break in the trees, opening up to a small white house sitting proudly in the middle of a clearing. “We’ll stay here for the night.”
Liz opens the front door and a blast of cool air hits me in the face. I deeply inhale, thankful to be out of the sweltering humidity for a little while. Turning on a light in the living room, Liz looks around before disappearing into another room. I follow, wondering where she’s going.
I find her in the small kitchen, grabbing five water bottles and closing the refrigerator door with her hip. “Talk to me, Liz.” I take the water bottles out of her hands and set them on the old table in the center of the small room. Pulling Liz into my arms, she sobs uncontrollably for a few minutes before she quiets down.
“I didn’t think it would be this hard coming back here. I loved my Memaw and I love my Pawpaw. Losing him is going to hurt just as bad as when I lost her.”
“I know you told me a little bit about her, but I’m listening if you want to tell me more,” I reply, kissing Liz on the forehead. “Whatever you need, I’m here.”
“Thank you, Ace. I don’t think I could do this without you.” Liz leans up on her toes and kisses me. Our gentle kiss turns passionate and all I can think about at this moment is commanding Liz’s body beneath mine. She pulls away too soon and I release a deep breath.
“The things you do to me, woman,” I growl while nipping at Liz’s lips. She whimpers but stands strong.
“I have guests and now isn’t the time, Ace.” She chides me.
“Now is the perfect time, Sweet Cheeks. Those assholes can wait.” I try to kiss her again, but she pushes against my chest.
“Not those guys. We have guests coming any minute. I’m sure Pawpaw told my mom and dad we are here.” Her fingers clutch onto my leather cut tightly at the mention of her parents.
A sudden knock on the door has me pushing Liz behind me and unholstering my gun. Tex and Duke follow my movements and Stone disappears down the hallway. Duke opens the door but before he can see who it is, a strong breeze blows through and shoves the door open further, pushing him back. A woman with tan skin comes barging in dressed in an elegant, long white and gold dress that flows past her ankles with tons of necklaces, bracelets and big hoop earrings. She’s wearing a gold and white silk hat that matches her dress. The woman’s blue eyes glare at Duke holding his gun up but not threatening before she searches the room and her eyes land where I am with Liz still tucked behind me.
“Elizabeth Madeline-Rose LeRoux, get your behind out here so your mama can take a look at you.” The woman’s authoritative voice raises the hair on the back of my neck. Liz’s grip tightens on my cut and I don’t let her move.
“Who the hell are you?” I respond before Liz steps forward.
The woman tsks before stepping toward us with disdain written all over her face. The closer she gets to me, the more similarities I see between her and Liz. “Well, that’s no way to speak to a woman. Didn’t your parents teach you any manners?” My spine stiffens from the woman’s hoity-toity voice and the mention of my parents.
“Mama, please. You don’t know the first thing about any of these men.” Liz returns her question before I can say or do anything.
“Hmph, what I do know is Memaw would be very disappointed that you’re running around with a bunch of bikers.” She looks down at me from the end of her nose.
I open my mouth to say something but again, Liz beats me to it. And what she says next makes me question everything I ever knew and my blood turns cold. “Memaw already gave us her blessing.”