Jimmy snorted. “Hell, Evie, why you gotta play hard to get? Everybody in Rochambeau knows you aren’t.”
For half a second, she wanted to launch herself at him and slap his stupid face. But that wasn’t a good idea, so she stood her ground and let fury wash over her. “Do they, Jimmy? Do they really? First of all, we graduated nine years ago. Second, how many of the guys do you know who actually had sex with me?”
The second she asked, she knew it was the wrong question. It didn’t matter that Matt had been the only guy she’d slept with in high school. The others would say she had, even when she hadn’t. And Jimmy would have believed it. Hell, he’d probably told them she’d slept with him too.
“A few,” Jimmy said, proving her point.
“So just because they said it was true, that makes it so?”
Jimmy’s hand drifted to the knife at his side again, and her heart skipped a beat. He didn’t unstrap it, but his hand rested on the hilt. “You sure are a sassy bitch, you know that?”
Behind Jimmy, a black shape coalesced from the darkness. Evie couldn’t stop from gasping automatically. She’d been hoping someone would show up, but she still wasn’t prepared for a sudden movement out of nowhere. Jimmy whirled, the knife whipping out of the sheath.
“Watch out,” Evie cried. She didn’t know if it was Matt, but she damn sure hoped so.
Everything happened so fast then. The shape rushed at Jimmy and she heard a dull crunch she recognized: bone snapping.
Jimmy screamed, a sound that made the hair on her scalp crawl.
Matt stood behind Jimmy, who doubled over, cradling his arm. He was blubbering like a baby. “I fucking hate you, Girard! I’m gonna sue your ass!”
“Shut the fuck up, you piece of shit,” Matt growled. She heard the slide of a gun, and she rushed forward automatically. But Matt ejected the clip and winged it into the lake, and she realized he’d taken the gun from Jimmy.
“You okay?”
Her teeth were still chattering as adrenaline flooded her system. “Yes.”
Jimmy was crying and groaning, and she hated the sound of it. Hated everything that had happened. A rush of bile flooded her throat. Nausea followed on its heels. She’d had nothing more than a slice of Mama’s apple pie for dinner. It was currently mixing with the swallow of wine cooler and threatening to make a repeat appearance.
Evie pressed her hand to her lips and concentrated on breathing.
“I’m sorry, Evie,” Matt said.
She wanted to sock him. And throw her arms around his neck and hold on tight. “I told you it was a bad idea,” she said through her fingers.
Matt dragged her into his arms and held her tight. She could feel his mouth pressed against her hair. The gun dangled from his right hand and a shudder went through her. Jimmy hadn’t pulled the gun on her, but he’d had it and it had been loaded. And he’d shot it several times in an effort to scare people.
Bastard.
Matt’s fingers glided down her spine, up again. She no longer wanted to punch him. She just wanted to go home and crawl under the covers. Forget that any of this ever happened.
A siren sounded in the distance and was soon joined by two more. “They’ll be here in a minute, chère, and then we can go.” His mouth was against her temple as the Cajun French slipped into his voice like melted wax.
While Jimmy whined and cried, the sound crawled inside her and echoed in her head. She could still hear the dull crunch of bone in that moment when Matt had disarmed him. Her stomach heaved.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Evie choked out. She pushed away from Matt, stumbled blindly—but he was there, holding her up while she lost everything.
*
Sarah slipped on her tightest pair of jeans and a Juicy Girl tank top, then swiped cherry-red lipstick across her mouth. Then she grabbed her handbag and ran for the front door. Any minute, Kyle Jenkins would be out front in his old Chevy truck, honking the horn and getting impatient if she wasn’t ready to jump into the front seat and slide over next to him.
This time, she was ready. Every week when Mama went to bingo, Sarah sneaked out of the house and met Kyle. Her heart beat hard at the illicitness of what she was doing, but she couldn’t help it. Kyle was so handsome, so cool. He was twenty-one and worked for his daddy over at the garage, rebuilding transmissions and tuning up cars.
Mama would never let her date a guy like Kyle, which was why she had to sneak out.
Sarah laughed then. God, her best friend Mindy would be so jealous when Sarah showed up tonight with Kyle. Mindy might have the hots for Craig Landry, but he was just a senior.
Kyle could buy beer and daiquiris from the drive-up window. And he was way handsomer than Craig, with dark hair, the kind of muscles a guy got from working hard, and a wicked smile that curled her toes whenever he turned it on her.
A minute later, as if thinking conjured him, Kyle’s red truck pulled into the drive. Sarah popped the door and slid inside, right over next to Kyle, who looked her up and down appreciatively before kissing her quickly.
“You sure do look good, baby doll.” His breath was minty from the candies he sucked between cigarettes.
“Thanks.” Her heart skipped a beat at the look in his eyes. Oh, he made her all tingly inside—but they hadn’t gone all the way yet. Maybe tonight, she thought. Maybe.
“Cigarette?” He held out the pack.
“Oh yeah.” She took it from him and slid a cylinder from the paper, then put it in her mouth and fired up the lighter. Sucking smoke deep into her lungs, she felt the calming rush of nicotine fill her. Yeah, baby. Yeah.
Kyle reversed out of the drive and then they were flying down the road, the radio cranked on high as Alice in Chains belted from the stereo. They made a quick stop at the store for some ice, and then Kyle was turning the truck onto a side road they’d not been down before.
“Is this where the party is tonight?”
“Baby, the party is wherever we are.”
Sarah blew smoke into the air and fidgeted with her hair. She had no idea what Kyle had planned, but it was always fun, whatever it was. He’d been in jail a couple of times, but nothing serious. A marijuana charge that hadn’t stuck. Destruction of private property. He’d paid for that, however, and the jail time had been waived.
Such a badass. That’s why she loved him.
Eventually they pulled into a clearing that was empty of anyone else but them. A tiny feeling of apprehension unwound in Sarah’s stomach.
“Where is everyone?”
Kyle put the truck into park and turned to her. “It’s just us, baby.” His grin was turned up to high tonight. “I thought we could smoke a little weed, drink a little beer, and finally make love.”
Fear grabbed hold of her and wouldn’t let go. “I’m not sure, Kyle.” She wanted to be with him, but she’d had some vague idea it would be way more romantic than this. Not a pickup truck in a field, but a bed, with candles and wine, and maybe even some flowers.
“Why aren’t you sure, baby?” Kyle lifted a hand and cupped one of her breasts. Her heart rate shot higher. “We’ve been together for nearly a month now. Surely that’s enough time for you.”
“It’s a big step. I need more time.”
She would do this, she really would, but it had to be right first. She wanted to feel special, not like every other girl Kyle had ever driven out to the woods.
Kyle dropped his hand away. “I’ve waited longer for you than for any other girl. I’m tired of waiting.”
“Just a little more time.” She knew she was begging. “I want it to be right.”
She tried to kiss him, but Kyle pushed her away. “I’m tired of going home with blue balls every night.” He shook his head as he started the truck. “Damn, I knew I shouldn’t have dated a virgin. So fucking uptight.”
“Then let’s go to a motel.” It terrified her to say it.
He looked at her in disbelief. “You think I’m made of money?”
�
��Your house then.”
“My mother’s home.”
Sarah folded her arms over her chest. “I want my first time to be special, Kyle.”
Kyle swore. “You think this ain’t special? I buy you beer and weed, and I drive your ass all over town. But apparently that’s not good enough for you. I’m beginning to think you’re using me for the freebies, Sarah.”
“That’s not true.”
He gunned the truck. Sarah didn’t know what else to say as he flew back toward the highway. Her heart was hammering in her chest, her throat. She hated fighting, but it seemed like they fought more and more often of late. And usually about this.
Kyle didn’t say anything as he pulled into a gas station on the edge of the town limits. He got out to fill the tank—though why he hadn’t filled it when they’d stopped for ice she didn’t know—slamming the door hard, and Sarah decided to go inside and buy some potato chips before she said something she shouldn’t.
She stood in the aisle, deciding between regular and barbecue, then took her choice to the counter and pulled out her money. When she paid and stepped outside, however, Kyle’s truck wasn’t there. It took her a moment to realize that he’d really left, that he wasn’t sitting nearby waiting for her.
Fuck. Now how was she getting home? It was a good three miles, and she couldn’t call Mama for a ride. Evie was out at the lake, but that was even farther. She glanced back at the guy sitting behind the counter, arms folded, watching something on a television mounted high above his head. She could ask him to use the phone, but who would she call?
If she had a cell phone of her own, she’d text Mindy. But Mama wouldn’t let her have a phone, no matter how she begged. Still, she could ask this guy if she could use his. Then she’d call Mindy and pray she reached her.
Sarah went back inside and asked if she could use the phone. The guy grunted something and shoved an old landline phone at her. Sarah punched in Mindy’s number—which, thank God, she knew because she dialed it a lot.
“Come on, Mindy,” she muttered. But it went to voice mail. Sarah tried again, just to be sure, but Mindy still didn’t answer. She hung up without leaving a message and tried to think of who else she could call. Not Mama. No way in hell.
She would call Evie, because she was pretty sure Evie wouldn’t rat her out since she seemed so eager to get Sarah to be nice to her, but she didn’t know Evie’s number. Sarah frowned.
God, she was so using this to talk Mama into a cell phone of her own. Not that she could say who it had happened to, but she could use it as an example of why she should have her own phone.
If she didn’t want to get caught, her only choice was to walk. She briefly thought about staying at the store and hoping someone she knew would stop, but time was not her friend tonight.
Kyle was just angry. Tomorrow, he’d be calling her up again. She might forgive him, but she might not.
Damn it.
Sarah left the store and started walking down the darkened road. Town was a good mile away, but she wasn’t scared. She’d lived here her whole life, and she knew the terrain well. It was dark, with old oaks dripping Spanish moss over the roadway, but the gators were out in the swamp.
Not only that, but it was entirely possible someone she knew would drive by on the way to town. Not Mama, thank God, because the Moose Lodge was the other way.
Sarah swatted a mosquito, cursing and grumbling at the heat and humidity. Oh yes, Mama wouldn’t be able to resist this story once she was done with it. Sarah could already see that shiny new phone in her hand. A car rolled up behind her and slowed.
“Hey, you need a ride?”
She didn’t look at the guy. “No, thanks.”
“It’s kinda lonely out here.”
“I’m fine.” Her heart kicked up, slamming into her chest. How far had she walked? She looked back. The road curved away and the gas station was lost around the bend.
“Maybe you can tell me where I can find someone then.”
Sarah kept her arms tight to her body and didn’t answer. Damn Kyle for leaving her.
“I’m looking for Evie Baker. Do you know her?”
Sarah ground to a halt. The guy in the Taurus was huge, the arm hanging out the window as big around as her thigh. From inside the car, a woman with a ponytail watched her. Movement from the backseat revealed another man, not as big as this one. The man in the backseat raised his hand to his face. A cigarette glowed red as he sucked on it.
“Why do you want her?”
“She’s a friend of mine.” It was the woman. Her voice was raspy, like she smoked a lot. “I used to work with her in Florida, at her restaurant.”
“What was the name of it?”
“Evangeline’s.”
Sarah considered that. “So why didn’t you call her before you showed up?”
“Tried. She’s not answering her cell phone. I’m just passing through and wanted to see her before we go on our way.”
Sarah rolled her shoulders. Her cheek throbbed where she’d slapped at the mosquito. Another one buzzed by her ear, a big mother this time. “I might know where she lives.”
The woman smiled. “So get in.”
“I shouldn’t.”
“Suit yourself. But if you could just give me her address, I’d appreciate it.”
Sarah looked down the road. It was a long way to walk. The car was inviting. If it was just men, no way would she go with them. But there was a woman. A woman who knew her sister.
Still, she was wary. “It’s on Fourth Street. One-ten.”
“Thanks. You sure you don’t want a ride?”
Sarah looked both ways down the road. There was no traffic tonight. If she kept walking, someone might come along. But they might not, and she was tired of getting bitten by mosquitos.
Besides, this woman knew Evie. Why else would she come to a rinky-dink town like Rochambeau?
“All right,” Sarah said. Then she crossed to the car and slipped inside.
CHAPTER FIVE
EVIE SAT IN MATT’S BMW and watched the steady parade of cars roll away from the scene. In spite of the heat, she was cold. She hadn’t stopped shaking since Matt had materialized from the darkness and broken Jimmy’s arm. Adrenaline still coursed through her system, wreaking havoc on her nerves. Matt had told her it was normal, but she felt so out of control. She felt like she should be able to stop it, but she couldn’t.
She flipped down the visor and checked her reflection. She had dark smudges of mascara under her eyes, her hair needed combing, and there were grass and dirt stains on her dress where Matt had dragged her down to the ground. She picked up a napkin from the stack Matt had brought her and poured some bottled water on it. Then she tried to scrub out some of the stains while she waited for him to return.
She’d probably have to buy Julie another dress. Knowing her cousin, this wasn’t a Gap dress either. It’d probably cost her a week’s worth of tips.
She watched as Matt shook hands with the patrolmen he was talking to. The driver’s door swung open, and he sank down beside her. “You okay?” His gray eyes were sharp as he studied her.
She shrugged, too embarrassed to admit she was still shaking. As if he couldn’t see. “I’ll be fine. Did you find Julie? Is anyone hurt?”
“Steve took her home already. And yeah, there were some minor injuries. No one got shot, though.”
“Bastard,” Evie spat. “Stupid bastard.”
“Jimmy’s always been a bully. Tonight, he took it too far.”
“I heard he pulled a knife on Ginny Temple. I should have been more careful.”
Matt gripped her chin and forced her to look at him. “It’s not your fault. Jimmy’s an asshole. And now he’s an asshole with a broken arm and a few criminal charges. If it’s anybody’s fault, it’s his.”
“He seemed pretty pissed at you.”
Matt ran a hand over his face. He’d tried to rinse the dirt away, but there were still streaks of it across his skin. Not that
it made him look any less appealing, unfortunately.
“Yeah. He wanted to join the military but he couldn’t pass the physical. It drives him crazy that I’m in and he’s not. Last time I was here, he picked a fight with me out at Dean’s Bar. It’s like he’s got something to prove.”
“Did you break his arm that time too?”
His eyes glittered. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
Evie wrapped her arms around her body. Where had that come from? He’d pretty much just saved her from God only knows what.
“It’s okay. I’m not typically squeamish. It’s just a combination of a lot of things in my life right now. And I know you broke his arm because you had to, not because you wanted to.”
He laughed low in his throat, a sound that curled through her and made her shiver again. “Believe me, I wanted to.”
Matt started the car and reversed out of the parking lot, and Evie turned away from his hard profile to look out the window. It was dark and she couldn’t see anything, but she had a sudden need to breathe without him taking up all the air. Of all the places she thought she might be tonight, alone in a car with Matt Girard hadn’t been one of them.
“What’s a Ranger?” she asked after they’d turned onto the main road. She had no idea what all that military jargon was, but Jimmy had seemed impressed with it.
Matt glanced at her. “A Ranger is a special operations soldier. They parachute behind enemy lines, take the difficult targets, smooth the way for the rest of the Army to follow.”
“Jimmy said your daddy bought you in.”
Matt laughed. “If only it was that easy. Believe me, I’ve got the scars to prove I did it on my own.”
Evie watched his profile. She hated to think of him with scars. He was beautiful.
And she was ridiculous. She shook her head as if that simple movement would clear him out of it. He’d never really left her thoughts. He’d just been hidden behind a curtain. Now that he was here, the curtain had been peeled back, and she was grappling with his presence in her life all over again.
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