CHAPTER 15
Aurelie slumped against the ropes binding her to the tree. When they’d pulled her out of the water, she’d fought hard, kicking, biting and scratching until the big guy she recognized as the man who’d thrown her into the bayou backhanded her so hard she’d passed out. Not for long, but long enough to know she wasn’t strong enough to fight her way out of this predicament.
She had to come up with a better plan.
Though she’d regained consciousness, she pretended to still be out cold, using the guise to learn more about her capturers and their plan for her and to come up with her own escape.
When they’d tied her to the tree, she’d let her head loll and her body remain limp. As they’d pushed her back up against the tree, she’d arched it and puffed out her arms like a defensive lineman. They’d tied her body tightly, but when her captors weren’t looking, she’d relaxed, and the ropes around her slipped lower.
The men who’d plucked her out of the water stood near the boat they’d used to ram Pearson’s skiff.
Aurelie had been conscious when they’d pulled her out and when they’d fired rounds into the water at Beau. She hadn’t been able to see him, nor had she seen Lady. Since the men on the boat weren’t celebrating the kill, she hoped and prayed Beau and Lady had escaped.
The boat had zigzagged through the bayou, going deeper and deeper into the narrower channels. Trees had hung over the water, making it difficult to see past their branches.
Even if she did escape, Aurelie feared she’d get lost trying to find her way back. As far into the backwaters as they were, Beau and his team would never find her. The phone in her pocket had been submerged and probably wouldn’t work. Her prospects were looking grim.
If she weren’t her father’s daughter, she might’ve just given up. But she was made of sturdier stuff than that. She’d be damned if she went down without a fight. For the first time since her mother had died, she wasn’t weighed down by the guilt that she’d lived when her mother had died in that car wreck.
Being with Beau had been the catharsis she’d needed to shake free of the regret. Knowing he’d felt the same kind of survivor’s guilt had helped her see how foolish it was to wallow in the what-ifs. The people who’d died would have wanted them to live their lives to the fullest, not wish they’d died instead.
Since meeting Beau, Aurelie had discovered an unquenchable desire. For the man, yes. But more importantly...for life. Her guilt had held her back from dreaming of a future filled with hope for a man to love and who would love her. For children. She hadn’t allowed herself to consider children. She’d thought she didn’t deserve them. Didn’t deserve to be happy.
Beau...and Lady had awakened her happy gene, setting her on the path to a future where she could see herself living a full, joyful existence. No longer was she standing in her own way of that goal.
The only thing standing in her way now was the group of men plotting her demise.
Well, fuck them.
She relaxed back against the tree and used her fingers to move the rope around, searching for the knot. Moving her shoulders and her fingers, she worked the loops around until she could feel the knot the men had tied so tightly, now looser like the loops of rope around her.
Maintaining the appearance of being unconscious, she worked her fingers into the knot while listening to the conversation between the men.
The two biggest men had to be Slash and Lansky, the hit men. She didn’t understand why they hadn’t just shot her like they’d been shooting at Beau. Not that she was disappointed that she was still alive. It just didn’t make sense.
Unless the previous attacks had been warnings. Slash could have killed her before throwing her into the bayou. As big as he was, he could easily have snapped her neck, choked her or worse.
The home invasion, care of Lansky, had happened while she’d been at the masquerade ball. Since the two men worked for Manny Marceaux, they had to have planned the simultaneous attacks, knowing exactly where she’d be and when.
The two hitmen were known to her, but who were the other men standing near the boat? She’d bet the man who commanded the attention of all the others was Marceau himself, the Cajun mafia kingpin. It wasn’t until the younger man turned enough for the starlight to shine down on his face that Aurelie recognized him and gasped before she could contain her shock.
The five men turned toward the noise.
She kept her head down and tried to look as limp as a ragdoll, with only ropes keeping her from falling over.
“Are you sure she’s unconscious?” Jason Gousman asked.
“It doesn’t matter if she’s unconscious or wide awake,” Marceaux said. “By the time anyone finds her, she’ll be little more than scattered bones.”
“Then why not kill her now?” the other man asked. “Why leave anything to chance?”
“We hold all our cards until the senator announces his withdrawal from the race,” Marceaux said. “He might demand a last-minute proof of life, especially since the last image sent was of his precious little girl unconscious.” Marceau glared at Slash. “We need her alive until the announcement goes out on television. That means you don’t get to hit her until I tell you to hit her. Got it?”
The big hitman gave a single nod of his head.
“Seems to me you’re expending a lot of energy on the wrong person,” the mystery man said. “Taking out the whistleblower should keep tree-huggers like her from snooping around where she doesn’t belong. She never would’ve known where to look and when to show up if it hadn’t been for the tips she received. I pay you well enough to keep shit like that from happening. What guarantee can you give me that this won’t happen to my interests?”
Marceaux stepped up to the other man, getting nose-to-nose with him. “You pay me to do your dirty work. Do you think you can do better? Knock yourself out. You couldn’t even keep the snitch from infiltrating your precious company and discovering you don’t play by the rules any more than the others the bitch has already had the EPA shut down.” Marceaux’s voice lowered to a dangerous rumble. “And remember, you didn’t get to where you are without a few skeletons hiding in your closet. Or should I say in the foundation of your new office complex in New Orleans? What’s your tagline, again? ‘JBX Chemicals built on trust?’ How about ‘built on the bones of your competitors?’”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the man blustered.
Aurelie finally placed the mystery man. Patrick Holzhauer, CEO of JBX Chemicals. She was supposed to have met with him earlier that day. All the while, he’d been paying Marceaux’s Cajun mafia to keep the EPA out of his business.
Had the other corporations she’d exposed quit paying Marceaux to run interference with EPA agents?
And what was Jason Gousman’s involvement in the Cajun mafia?
“You think that by ousting Anderson from the senatorial race and putting this puppet of yours in his place, the EPA will stop looking into our activities?”
“He’s running on a campaign to bring more business to the state and thus jobs. It’s what the voters want. He can legislate looser guidelines, which means cheaper costs of doing business. More companies will flock into the state.”
Holzhauer snorted. “More people with jobs to fill your casinos and line your pockets.”
“It’s a win-win for everyone,” Marceaux said.
“I don’t like standing around. I don’t know why you insisted I come along,” Holzhauer said.
“Let’s just say the more skin you have in the game, the less likely you’ll blab to the feds.” Marceaux tipped his head toward Aurelie. “When she dies, you become an accessory to murder—only if you open your mouth.”
“So, this is your way of ensuring our silence.” Holzhauer turned to Gousman. “You’re part of this, as well, about to become a public servant, someone who should be of the highest moral standards.”
Gousman snorted. “What politician is?”
Marceaux glanced at his watch. “Anderson has thirty-five minutes to make his announcement. Once he’s out of the race, Gousman has no competition.”
“And you don’t think people will question his sudden withdrawal?” Holzhauer asked.
“Not when the public learns of the disappearance of his only child.”
“What will keep him from talking when you don’t give him his daughter after doing as you demanded?” Gousman asked.
“Dead men don’t talk,” Marceaux said. “He’ll die of a heart attack. The press will say he died of a broken heart.” He turned to Slash. “Get the bucket out of the boat.”
Slash went to the boat and came back with a five-gallon bucket.
“It’s about to get interesting around here,” Marceaux said. He nodded to Slash.
The hitman waded into the water, opened the bucket and dumped it a little at a time, backing out of the water and up the bank toward Aurelie.
She could smell the stench of rotten fish entrails. Her pulse raced when she realized what he was doing.
Slash was chumming the water to lure alligators.
Marceaux’s cell phone chirped with an incoming text. “It’s done. Anderson just made an announcement on television that he’s withdrawing from the race.” He looked up. “Our work here is done.”
“What about her?” Slash asked.
“No one will find her in time,” Marceaux said. “The alligators will take care of the rest.”
The five men climbed into the boat and left the island and Aurelie.
She hadn’t untangled the knot, she didn’t have a way off the island other than to swim—and were those eyes reflecting the starlight, floating just above the water toward the chum…toward her?
Aurelie worked harder to loosen the knot. With an alligator eating its way through the chum and moving closer with each passing second, she didn’t have time. Every second mattered, and more floating eyes joined the first pair, all looking for the free meal.
Aurelie vowed that she would not be the next entrée.
“The tracking device hasn’t moved for a while. We’re getting closer,” Beau said. “It should be less than a quarter mile from here. It has to be where they’re holding Aurelie.”
“It has to be the place,” Lucas said. “I haven’t seen any signs along the way that would indicate she’s been there.”
“Should we slow down, maybe cut the engines and float in silently?” Remy suggested.
Beau resisted the idea. The sooner they got there, the sooner they could rescue Aurelie.
Suddenly, the blue dot moved, heading away from them. “They’re on the move.”
Remy pushed the throttle forward, increasing the speed.
They curved through narrow channels, ducked beneath low-hanging tree branches and emerged into a small lagoon, nearly ramming into half a dozen alligators, writhing, twisting and fighting over pieces of something floating in the water.
Some of the creatures were on the shore, also eating.
Beau stared in horror. What were they eating?
Remy pulled out a pistol and fired off several rounds, not aiming at anything in particular.
The noise had the desired effect, or they’d run out of whatever they’d been consuming. The half dozen or more alligators slipped into the water and swam away.
Remy ran the front of the airboat up onto the shore and cut the engine. Silence reigned.
“Aurelie!” Beau shouted. Please don’t let us be too late. “Aurelie!”
“I’m here,” a voice called out from somewhere in the branches of a tree.
Beau leaped out and ran for the tree, keeping a wary eye out for more alligators.
When he reached the tree, he peered up into the dark branches. “Hey, babe, are you all right?”
“I am now,” she said, dropping to the ground and into his arms. “I wasn’t so sure a few minutes ago.” She nodded toward the rope wrapped around the tree. “That was too close.”
Beau crushed her to him and held her there, remembering how to breathe. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I was supposed to protect you, and I didn’t.”
“No,” she said. “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have gone chasing after criminals. And I shouldn’t have dragged you along.” She cupped his face and kissed him. “I was so worried. I didn’t know what had happened to you.” She kissed him again. “One minute, I was holding Lady; the next, we were flying through the air. I didn’t even see them coming.” Her eyes rounded. “Oh my God. Lady!”
A shrill bark sounded from the boat.
Beau slipped an arm around her waist and turned her toward the airboat. “I found her under the skiff in the air pocket.”
Gerard held up Lady, so Aurelie could see the wiggling, squirming little dog.
Aurelie hurried toward her and climbed onto the boat, taking Lady from Gerard. She hugged the dog to her, laughing as she was covered in doggy kisses. “How did you find me?”
“The bass boat has a GPS tracking device on it,” Beau said.
Her eyes widened. “Ben’s tracking experiment?”
Beau nodded.
Aurelie’s eyes narrowed. “So, you can still track it?”
Beau glanced down at the app on his cell phone. The blue dot was still moving. “Yes.”
“We have to go after it,” she said. “We have to stop them.”
Remy took the helm, backed away from the island and turned in the direction the bass boat was heading. “Gerard, text Shelby and let her know what’s happening. She’s on standby with her people in the sheriff’s department. We can have them be there when that boat docks.”
“Only if you know where it’s going to dock,” Aurelia said.
“We’re tracking it now.” Beau held up Remy’s cell phone, displaying the blue dot and the blue path it had taken.
“They could veer off at the last minute and dock somewhere else. It takes a lot longer to change courses on land if you have to drive along a jagged shoreline.” She caught Beau’s hand. “They baited those alligators and left me to die. We can’t let them get away. Slash, Lansky and Marceaux are the ones who were ready to murder me. Marceaux is the one who orchestrated the attacks and forced my father to withdraw from the race so he could put his puppet, Jason Gousman, in place. Patrick Holzhauer was also there.”
“That would be an impressive haul to indict all of them for kidnapping and attempted murder,” Remy said, yet still hesitated.
“At the very least, follow them. If they get away, they’ll claim some bullshit alibi and say I made it all up. Who would believe a senatorial candidate and a bigshot CEO would be hanging out with the Cajun mafia?”
Remy met Beau’s gaze. “She’s right. We can’t let them walk away from this. Marceaux and his hitmen have called the shots for too long. This might be the chance to put them away for good.”
Beau nodded. “Just don’t get within range of that rifle. Follow. Don’t engage.”
Remy pushed the throttle all the way forward. The airboat leaped forward, racing through the bayou, weaving through the channels and gradually gaining on the slower bass boat.
Extreme speed wasn’t an option with all the twists and turns they had to make. The airboat had an advantage over the bass boat when it came to marshes. It could skim through the tall grasses without fouling propellers.
They emerged into just such a marsh. Starlight lit the marsh well enough that they could see the bass boat weaving through the open channels.
Suddenly, the bass boat leaped forward, speeding away.
“We’ve been spotted,” Remy called out over the fan's roar.
“Don’t lose them,” Aurelie yelled.
Remy kicked up the speed, racing through the marsh grasses, still gaining ground.
The bass boat aimed for the darker shadows of the bayou with the overhanging trees, probably thinking they’d have a better chance of disappearing into the low-hanging trees where the airboat would be too tall to enter.
Beau held onto his seat with one hand and Aurelie with the other as they bounced across the marsh field. Remy ran parallel with the bass boat, gaining ground until he passed the boat and cut them off from entering the trees.
The bass boat spun to the left and raced for a different entrance.
Before they reached it, another boat appeared out of nowhere and cut off the bass boat, barring it from entering the heavily wooded area of the bayou.
The bass boat spun in a circle and then headed straight for the airboat.
Remy turned and let it chase them until it almost caught up.
Beau saw a stump ahead and shouted, “Watch out!”
With the bass boat so close on their tail, they were headed for disaster.
Beau wrapped his arms tightly around Aurelie and Lady and braced himself.
Seconds away from impact, Remy turned the airboat and hit the throttle, missing the stump by a mere foot.
The bass boat wasn’t so lucky. The driver didn’t see the stump until too late.
The bass boat hit the huge cypress stump, and the stump split the boat in half, catapulting its occupants. Some slammed into the stump. Others crashed into the debris, sinking beneath the bayou’s surface.
Remy circled back and approached the wreckage at the same time as the other boat arrived.
Remy cut the engine on the airboat and glanced across at what turned out to be a sheriff’s boat. “About time you got here,” he called out.
Remy’s fiancé, Deputy Shelby Taylor, eased her boat closer to what was left of the bass boat. “Took a minute for Swede to push the tracking app to my cell phone.” The deputy with her shined a spotlight into the water.
Gerard held another spotlight, searching for the passengers.
Beau stood and scanned the dark water. A movement caught his eye at the base of the stump. “There!”
Shelby grabbed a long pole with a shepherd’s hook at the end from the side of her boat and positioned it close to the man holding onto the roots of the stump. “Grab the hook,” she yelled.
The man batted at the hook until his hand closed around it.
Shelby dragged him through the water to the platform on the back of the boat. The other deputy pulled his gun and aimed it at the man.
“It’s Jason Gousman,” Aurelie said. “He’s unarmed.”
The deputy laid down his gun and hauled the man aboard, helping him into a seat.
“Got a live one over here!” Lucas shouted from the front of the airboat.
With the engine off, the airboat wasn’t going to get any closer. Beau kicked off his shoes, slid over the side and dropped into the water. He swam toward a man holding onto a piece of the wreckage with one arm. From behind and mostly submerged in the water, he wasn’t identifiable.
Beau approached cautiously.
As he came close, the man spun around, bringing the AR-15 rifle around with him.
Beau dove down.
The muffled sound of a shot being fired reached him. He surfaced next to the man, realizing it was Slash, the man who’d thrown Aurelie into the bayou. His eyes were wide open, staring into space. The rifle was gone now.
Beau felt the man’s neck for a pulse.
“I shot him. He’s dead,” Shelby said as she drove her boat up close to where Beau treaded water. “We’ll still need to load him into the boat.”
After searching for another twenty minutes, they found the other passengers.
“That’s all of them,” Aurelie said.
All the bodies were loaded onto the sheriff’s boat. Jason Gousman sat quietly, shaking and in shock.
They headed for the Bayou Mambaloa marina, where they were met by ambulances and the State Police.
Aurelie used Remy’s cell phone to call her father and let him know she was all right. The senator was so relieved he cried. Aurelie cried. Beau’s eyes became suspiciously moist as he held her in his arms throughout the call.
News had spread fast that Manny Marceaux was dead. The press arrived, and the marina became a circus.
Beau and Aurelie gave their statements and contact information and caught a ride with a deputy to the cottage where the night had begun.
Lady entered the house, went straight for her food dish, ate two bites, and lay on the floor beside it.
Beau checked the doggy door she’d managed to open and pushed the trash can in front of it in case she tried to leave in the middle of the night.
When he returned to the living room, Aurelie took his hand, led him into the bathroom and turned on the shower. They peeled off their damp clothing and stepped beneath the spray.
Beau wrapped his arms around Aurelie.
She wrapped her arms around his waist.
They stood in each other’s arms for a long time.
“Thank you,” Beau whispered.
She shook her head without looking up. “For what?”
“For not dying,” he said. “For being the badass you are.”
“Thank you for saving me again and for saving Lady.”
“There was no other option,” he said. “You saved me and gave me a reason to live. Hope for a future. One I want to spend with you.”
Her arms tightened around his waist. “Is it possible to fall in love in such a short time?” she whispered. “Because this feels like it.”
“I feel like we’ve been together for a lifetime with all that’s happened,” he said. “For so long, I didn’t know what I wanted. Now, I do. I want you. I want a family. I want to tear out that wall and make this an open-concept living space.” He leaned back and tipped her chin up. “Am I scaring you?”
Aurelie laughed. “No, you’re making me so happy I can’t form words sufficient to express myself.” She smiled up at him. “But who needs words when there’s always body language?”
Beau claimed her lips and then her body, finally having found his way home.