Chapter 15
By the time Remy gave everyone a direction and a grid to search, Xavier was itching to get the hell back out on the bayou and find Madame Gautier.
He looked around for Lissette. She’d said she was going to help out in the kitchen, and he hadn’t seen her since. As Xavier hurried toward the kitchen, Danny came out, carrying a large tray of burgers and fries.
“Danny, is Lissette in the kitchen?”
The redhead’s brow twisted. “Why would she be in the kitchen?”
“She wasn’t helping out?”
Danny shook her head. “No, but if she wants to, I could use the help.” She moved on to serve the plates to a table of hungry bikers.
Xavier glanced around the room, a knot of dread sinking into the pit of his belly.
Remy stepped up beside him. “Something wrong?”
“I don’t know,” Xavier said. “Do you see Lissette?”
Remy looked around the room, his forehead creasing in a frown. “No. Could she be in the bathroom?”
“I’ll have Danny check,” Xavier said.
When Danny came back from the table with a load of empty mugs, Xavier waylaid her. “Could you check in the ladies’ room for Lissette?”
“Sure,” she said. “Let me set this down first.” She backed into the swing kitchen door. A moment later, she was out and headed toward the back of the building, where the bathrooms were.
Xavier followed and waited in the hallway.
Danny was in and out in seconds. “Empty.”
The wailing wind rattled the roof.
“Jesus. What’s it doing out there?” Danny walked to the end of the hall where the rear exit was and opened the door a crack. It was nearly yanked out of her hand. “Wow, the wind’s getting stronger.”
Xavier worried they were heading into danger going out into the bayou to look for Madame Gautier. The sooner they got out there, the sooner they could find her and get back.
“Son of a bitch,” Danny yelled. “My Jeep.” She walked out into the rain.
Xavier followed to the back door. “What?”
“My Jeep’s gone.” She marched back into the building, passed Xavier, and went into the barroom.
He followed, a bad feeling pressing against his chest.
Danny pulled a purse from beneath the counter and dumped the contents on the counter. “They’re gone. Someone took my keys and stole my Jeep.”
The members of the Brotherhood Protectors and Bayou Reapers gathered around.
Xavier hated saying it, but he had to. “Has anyone seen Lissette?”
They all looked around.
“You think she took Danny’s Jeep?” Remy asked.
“She’s not here,” Xavier said. “Danny’s Jeep is missing. It’s possible. She was really upset about her grandmother and might’ve decided to get out and look for her while we were standing around talking about it.”
“In my Jeep?” Danny frowned.
The front door blasted open.
Xavier spun, hope surging.
Shelby entered, carrying Jean-Luc. She marched across the floor. “Danny.”
The waitress glanced up. “Ma’am.”
“Catch.” Shelby tossed a set of keys.
Danny’s hand shot out and caught them. “My keys.” She frowned in confusion. “Why do you have them?”
“Lissette asked me to bring your Jeep back. She asked me to tell you she was sorry.” Shelby turned to Xavier. “She told me to tell you that she had to go alone and that she hopes you have a good life wherever you go.”
“Alone?” Xavier stepped forward. “Where?”
“She didn’t say.” Shelby shook her head. “She also said she was trouble and you’re better off without her.” She tipped her head, her glance assessing Xavier. “I’m not so sure. You know she loves you, don’t you?”
Xavier shook his head. “Damn it. Alone? She had to go alone? What the hell does that mean?”
Shelby’s lips twisted. “You love her, too. Have you told her?”
“I’m not in love,” Xavier said. Then it hit him like a punch in the gut. He loved Lissette. Holy hell, when had that happened? “Where’d she go? She can’t go out in the bayou alone. It’s too dangerous.”
Remy crossed to his wife and took Jean-Luc into his arms. “You were supposed to be here half an hour ago. What happened?”
“I hit a low-water crossing and crashed my cruiser. Jean-Luc and I would’ve drowned if Lissette hadn’t borrowed Danny’s Jeep and found us on her way to the marina. She got Jean-Luc out and then came back for me.”
Remy shifted his son on one arm and pulled Shelby in for a hug. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
“Thankfully, Lissette was,” she said, leaning her cheek into his chest. Then she leaned back. “So, what are you guys going to do to find her and her grandmother?”
“We had split up the bayou into sections and were about to start our search for her grandmother,” Remy said.
“She said she had to go alone,” Shelby said. “That sounds like someone insisted on it.”
Xavier’s fists clenched. “étienne Benoit.”
“He must’ve told her where she could find her grandmother,” Shelby said. “Follow Lissette. You’ll find her and her grandmother.”
Xavier pulled out his cell phone. “I set up her phone so that I could find her should we be separated. I should’ve remembered.
” He tapped the locator app. “There she is.” He expanded the map and frowned.
“She’s out in the bayou, and her cell phone battery is almost dead.
” Xavier started for the door. “We don’t need to search the entire bayou, but we need to get out there before we lose her signal. ”
“Come on, everyone. Benoit might have an army of mafia out there.” Remy handed Jean-Luc off to Shelby and hurried to catch up with Xavier. “We might not need to locate her cell phone.”
Xavier paused briefly at the door. “What do you mean?”
“Swede tapped into her ankle monitor. He thinks Benoit was tracking her through it. We can have Swede tap in and guide us if her cell phone battery dies.”
“Great. We still need to get out there before all hell breaks loose with the hurricane.”
“I have a satellite phone in my truck,” Remy said. “We can maintain communication with Swede even out in the bayou.”
“Remy!” Shelby called out.
Remy glanced over his shoulder. “Yes?”
“Go the back way. The water’s too deep over the road we usually take. I’m heading for the boat factory bunker to ride out the storm with Jean-Luc.”
“Good.” Remy ran back and kissed her and Jean-Luc. “Hopefully, we’ll be back to weather the storm with you.”
“Be careful,” Shelby said.
Xavier prayed he had a chance to kiss the women he loved again before the hurricane unleashed its fury.
He loved her.
He loved Lissette, the most hated woman in Bayou Mambaloa.
Mr. Romig and Grady Martin stopped on their way out.
“We’re on our way to Baton Rouge,” Mr. Martin said. “We hope you find the Gautier ladies and bring them back to Bayou Mambaloa.”
Mr. Romig, leaning heavily on his walker, nodded. “We haven’t given them enough credit for all they do for us. Good luck out there.”
The two older gentlemen stepped out into the rain.
Maybe Lissette wasn’t the most hated woman in Bayou Mambaloa, after all.
Either way, he didn’t care. He knew the real Lissette, the one most people didn’t look deep enough to see, and he loved her.
Half a dozen trucks sped out of the parking lot, taking the back road into Bayou Mambaloa and racing toward the marina.
They loaded the available boats with fuel, weapons, comms and men, and then set off into the storm.
Anton, being the most experienced at navigating the bayou, drove the boat Xavier and Remy rode in.
Xavier kept his focus on the blue dot marking Lissette’s location until it blinked out.
Swede was ready. He pushed the ankle monitor readings to Xavier’s cell phone, picking up where his finder app had left off.
The wind and rain made it difficult to navigate the channels. Several times, they had to turn around and take a different tributary.
“She’s stopped,” Xavier shouted over the engine noise, rain and wind.
“Let us know when we’re close,” Anton said.
They’d have to slow their speed and find a way to sneak up on étienne’s camp.
Xavier wanted to charge in, kick ass and get them out in one glorious sweep.
However, he’d been impatient when he’d sent his team in that fateful day.
He wouldn’t make that mistake again. Now, like then, people’s lives were at stake.
People he loved. He couldn’t let this situation end like the last.
Two big men in combat gear escorted Lissette into the building and across the expanse, passing open crates filled with cardboard boxes and plastic bags, each marked with a name and a location.
The stolen reliquaries.
Some still had the ornate boxes.
At that point, Lissette couldn't care less about them. She’d begun to realize these items weren’t good luck charms that protected families. Oh, they might give families comfort to think they did, but the truth was, losing them hadn’t caused anyone to be cursed.
The incidents that had happened had been nothing more than a string of unfortunate events. Bad luck, not magic.
At the far end of the building, a dais had been erected, and a large, velvet-padded, gilded throne-like chair stood. A man sat in the chair with his hands on the gilded arms like a king, ready to meet his subjects.
“Ah, my dear Lissette, so good of you to join us.”
“Like I had a choice?” she muttered beneath her breath.
étienne Benoit rose as she neared. “I thought you’d never arrive.” He clapped his hands and waved her closer. “Come. Come. We don’t have a great deal of time.”
She remained where she was and demanded, “Where’s my grandmother?”
“If you come with me, I’ll show you,” he said. “Please. We need to hurry.”
Anxious to see her grand-mère, Lissette followed the mafia boss.
In the closest corner, a daybed had been brought in and fitted with sheets, a blanket and a pillow.
Her grandmother sat on the bed, her wrists zip-tied, a gag tied over her mouth.
“You see? We’ve taken good care of your dearly beloved grandmother.”
“Grand-mère.” Lissette stepped toward her.
The two men who’d escorted her through the building gripped her arms, keeping her from going to her grandmother.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
Her grandmother nodded.
“Now, Ms. Gautier, you need to perform your end of the bargain. Once you have, you can have all the reliquaries from Bayou Mambaloa and your grandmother.”