Bayou Treasure

by Georgia Tribell

  “Imagine Tammie being sold on the black market as a sex toy to some South American drug lord into S&M and don’t be foolish enough to think it doesn’t happen. Your brother is quite the handsome young man. I could keep him for myself to replace the lover LD took from me.”

  He shoved her toward the car. “Go, before I change my mind, but remember what will happen to your family if you don’t do as you’re told. If you don’t want to spend your days wondering what has happened to them, then you’d better keep that cell phone turned on and charged.”

  Black released her and walked calmly back up the stairs, and into the cottage as if nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred. Marie stood staring after him, then with shaking hands, hurriedly opened the car door and crawled in.

  As she started the engine, she heard a muffled shot and knew Black had made good on his word to put down the injured man. There was no doubt in her mind as to what she needed to do as soon as she reached New Orleans.

  It was time to confess all to LD.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The sound of keys hitting the porch accompanied by a short sob, assured LD Marie was home. The microwave clock showed two-thirty and he forced himself to remain seated at the kitchen table. He’d been sitting at this table stewing for the last hour and a half. The one thing he hated most in life was being manipulated. He left New Orleans because of the controlling influence of his family, determined not to let anyone or anything direct his life—other than him. And he hadn’t.

  Correction, he hadn’t until Marie. For a few short hours yesterday, he thought maybe, just maybe, letting someone in, giving them some personal importance in his life wouldn’t be bad. Sometimes he was such a fool.

  The back door opened and Marie hurried in, tossing her purse on the counter before deactivating the alarm system. Slamming the door, she locked it, then jabbed the button to turn the security monitor back on. Without turning on a light, she crossed the room to the fridge and pulled out a beer.

  “Did you enjoy your evening?”

  Marie spun around as the beer bottle slipped from her hand and clattered to the floor. It rolled under the edge of the kitchen cabinet, leaving a trail of foaming liquid. “What are you doing here?”

  “Waiting. After spending almost six hours unproductively searching the city for you, I decided that eventually you would show up here.” He wanted to yell, but instead, kept his words sharp, cold and extremely controlled.

  Marie started toward the wall where the light switch was.

  “Do not turn the lights on.”

  Her back was straight and head high when she turned back to face him, but her hands shook slightly, giving away her nervousness. She clinched her fist to steady them. “You’re an uninvited guest in my home and now you’re going to give me orders?”

  Damn straight he was giving the orders. Because if those glimmers on her cheeks were actually tear streaks, reflecting the moonlight, he didn’t want to know. “Yeah, I’m giving the orders. Does that bother you? It shouldn’t considering you seem to take orders from Black so well.”

  Even in the dimness, he could see her stiffen. His words were cruel and he knew it, but he hurt and that made him even angrier. LD pushed his chair back and stood. The urge to go to her and pull her into his arms was overwhelming, so he kept the table between them.

  “How did you get into my house?” Her voice came out strained and forced.

  “I parked two streets over and then walked from there. I came straight to your drive and around back. Once I was inside the fence, I loosened the bulbs in your security lights to turn them off. Then I picked the lock.”

  “You did all that and no one stopped you?”

  “It’s the middle of the night. The type of person who would call the cops is sound asleep. The few people I encountered wanted nothing to do with me or the law.”

  “What about my alarm? I know it was on.”

  “I memorized the code last night when I brought you home.”

  “You what? Is-is-is this what last night was all about? A chance to get into my house, build my trust so you could spy on me?”

  “Don’t you dare say that. I could easily say the same about you.”

  Marie gasped, “You think I did what I did last night to gain information? You think I’d sell my body like the women on the street corners?”

  “I never said you would.”

  The bottle cap she was still holding in her hand flew across the small space and hit him in the chest.

  “It doesn’t matter does it? Even after last night, you still think I work for Black. Don’t you?”

  “The first time we met, Black showed up within hours and yet you claim not to know why. When I get back here, I see a large pile of diamonds at your store, which you claim are used to fix antique jewelry. I asked a friend who owns a jewelry store and he said you must be repairing a hundred pieces a month to keep a stash like that on hand.”

  When she would have interrupted, he barged ahead, not giving her time to defend herself. “More than once, you’ve purposely left when you knew I wanted to be with you, and when you returned, you refused to tell me where you went or what you did.

  “The icing on this cake came yesterday afternoon when you lost the tail of one highly trained agent. I find it extremely hard to believe a novice is capable of losing Rob. I’m trained to look at the facts, not run on my feelings. Despite that, yesterday morning I left here telling myself to ignore the facts and run with my feelings. Now, look what it got me.”

  He needed out. He needed room to breathe, but most of all he needed time to lick his wounds. Marie stood rooted to the floor, unmoving and silent. As he walked past her, he saw fresh tears flowing down her face. He paused. “You expect me to have unwavering faith in you, yet you don’t trust me enough to tell me what’s happening. You can’t have one without the other, Marie. It’s either a two-way street or it’s nothing. The decision is yours.”

  Marie didn’t turn around, but she heard the beeping of the alarm pad followed by the door softly closing behind LD. The back porch security light blinked on, then the bottom porch step squeaked and she knew he was gone. Tears blurred her vision as she made her way through the dark house and up the stairs. Once in her room, she threw herself on the bed and the tears flowed in earnest.

  She hurt inside and out. When Black knocked her to the ground, she was left feeling bruised and sore, but the physical attack was nothing compared to the emotional battering LD inflicted. Now, she felt empty and so alone. The only thing she’d wanted on the drive home was to find LD, grab hold and not let go. His cold words hurt so much that instead of reaching out to him, she’d drawn away.

  All along, she kept telling herself she could handle this single-handedly, just like she’d done everything else for the last ten years. Tonight though, she realized she was in way over her head and totally out of her league. More startling than that was discovering she didn’t want to handle it alone anymore. She wanted to share her burden with someone, specifically LD. So why did she push him away?

  Memories of past relationships flooded her tired mind as she remembered former boyfriends breaking up with her, telling her that despite her warm smile and friendly manner, she kept them at arm’s length. Her last boyfriend’s words echoed through her head.

  You want the white picket fence with the perfect family—the husband, wife, two-point-five kids and you want it all without giving away your heart.

  He was right. She wanted a family, but the thought terrified her. If her heart wasn’t so determined to marry for love, she would have settled on someone years ago.

  LD was right, too. She expected him to simply believe in her, to take her word for granted. To turn a blind eye to the facts, when he was trained to observe details and draw conclusions from them. Each time he offered his assistance, his trust, she tossed it back in his face and didn’t even say thank you.

  She was such a witch, yet he kept coming back. Which must be a good sign. If she asked,
he would probably turn the car around and come back. Grabbing the portable phone from beside the bed, she dialed LD’s cell phone.

  “Hello.”

  The single word was cold and harsh. Marie wondered if she should have waited until morning to call. “LD, I need to talk to you.”

  Her heart sank deeper and deeper into the pit of her stomach as the silence stretched out. “I’m an FBI agent Marie, so be careful what you say to me, it may be used against you. I plan on contacting my superior later this morning, filling him in on what I’ve found out. Now, what did you want to tell me?”

  Tears streamed faster down her face, her throat tightened and her heart constricted until it hurt. “Nothing.”

  “Then, goodbye, Marie.”

  The phone line went silent with a finality that stung like a slap to the face. Switching the phone off, she dropped it on the bed.

  Goodbye.

  The word echoed through her head, heart and soul. She curled into the fetal position on the bed.

  Goodbye.

  Sobs shook her body as she realized what a fool she was. There was no doubt in her mind she was handed a chance at true love and happiness. All she needed to do was open her heart. Instead, she let her fear of losing another person she loved get in the way.

  Goodbye.

  She never wanted to hear that word again.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Marie rubbed one hand over her face and tried to drift back to sleep. She didn’t want to remember the cold words LD had said to her. Her head hurt, her eyes felt swollen, but most of all, her heart ached.

  Keeping her eyes closed, she willed herself to sleep, back to the dream world where everything was perfect and LD cared for her and there wasn’t a monster called Black.

  She started when a cool hard object hit her face and slid down her cheek. She was not in the mood to deal with leaky pipes.

  Rolling onto her back, she opened her eyes in time to see a shower of sparkling stars raining down on her. As the objects pelted her, she covered her face with her hands. When the onslaught stopped, she spread her fingers and peeked through them to see what was going on. She started to push herself up, but stopped when her hands connected with cool objects.

  Sitting up, she scooped up a handful of the items and squinted to see what she held. It became hard to breathe as the realization of what she held settled in her mind.

  “Did you really think you could double-cross me?”

  Her head snapped up as she looked in the direction of the voice. It took a few seconds, but her eyes finally distinguished the outline of Black standing in the darkness. Her racing heart went into triple time. For a moment, she shut her eyes and thought she would pass out. Instead, she closed her hand over the diamonds she held and gathered her strength.

  “I…” She stopped to swallow because her mouth was dry with fear. “I don’t understand.”

  Black closed the distance between them to stand towering over her. “Fakes.”

  The slap caught her off guard and sent her sprawling back across the bed. Tears blinded her vision as she attempted to scramble off the opposite side.

  “No!” Marie yelled as Black grabbed her ankle and pulled her back to the bed’s center. Kicking out with the other foot, she felt it connect. Black cursed as he flipped her onto her back. Straddling her, with a knee on each side of a thigh, he gripped both wrists in one hand and pinned them above her head.

  Breathing hard, Black glared down at her. “You substituted fakes for my diamonds.”

  Terror clawed at her insides and her voice shook. “I gave you what I found.”

  “Liar, you thought you could pull a fast one on me.”

  “No, I swear I didn’t.”

  “If you didn’t, then who?”

  Marie’s mind swirled in a hundred different directions. None of this made sense. How was she to know who changed the diamonds? “Whoever stashed them in the furniture?”

  “Impossible, I was there.”

  “Someone must have swapped them when you weren’t looking.”

  Black drew back and slapped her again. “Wrong. No one who wants to live crosses me.”

  “Then I don’t know.”

  Black leaned down so his breath hissed in her ear with each vile word. “If you don’t tell me where those diamonds are, I will send for Timothy and have you watch what he’ll endure each day for the rest of his life.”

  Black pulled back, but even in the darkness she didn’t need to see his eyes to know he was serious. “Those diamonds came from the Broussards, the McLeans, Kit Mathews’ business and…”

  Marie stopped at the next name. No, no way. It was too much to comprehend. The thought alone caused her to start hyperventilating.

  “Who were you about to say?”

  “No one.”

  “You’re lying. Nelson.” Black called over his shoulder.

  She cut her eyes toward the door and saw the second man from earlier that night appear in the doorway.

  “Bring me Timothy Bernard.”

  “Governor Carmouche’s private residence.” She watched as Nelson turned and left the room. “That was the house where I got the last diamonds.”

  “Did LD see the stones?”

  Marie hesitated, but Timothy’s picture crossed her mind. “He found the diamonds, I got them from him.”

  Black cursed. “He wasn’t supposed to find out about those. Now he’ll start investigating your store, your furniture shipments, and the trucking line you use. Damn.”

  Black’s free hand moved to her neck and ever so gently caressed it, sending shivers down her spine. Marie looked up. He appeared lost in his own little world. “That’s okay, though. Carmouche is not smart enough to figure out the big picture—not even when he’s living in the same house with it.”

  “You said you wouldn’t hurt Timothy if I told you. Call Nelson back.” Marie’s heart beat so hard she thought it would pound its way out of her chest.

  Black called his man but it did nothing to relieve her fear. He turned to her and blinked, almost as if he’d forgotten her existence. Then he smiled and she knew he was going to kill her. The hand tracing her neck suddenly seized it in a death grip.

  Panic filled her as his hand tightened. The desire to live gave her the strength to fight, but as her lungs started to burn, she knew it was too little, too late. Spots floated in front her eyes and she watched an evil grin spread across Black’s face. Closing her eyes, she focused on the one person she wished she could see again.

  The picture formed.

  LD.

  She tried to reach him, but the image faded as her world became an endless dark void.

  * * * * *

  He could see her waiting for him on the other side of the field of bluebonnets. She was a heart-stopping vision in a flowing pink dress. The dress and her long hair waved behind her in the soft wind as she bent and picked a handful of flowers. When she stood, she noticed him watching, smiled and then waved him over.

  She was his and he felt like the luckiest man in the world, LD thought as he started forward through the knee-high flowers.

  Out of nowhere, a masked man cloaked in black appeared behind her. LD yelled for her to run, but fear clogged his throat. She turned and terror etched its way across her features.

  He began to run, but vines wrapped around his legs and slowed him. He felt as if he were running through knee-deep water.

  The man enclosed her throat in his long vice-like fingers. Slowly, he tightened his grip, lifting her off the ground. She clawed at the man’s hands, trying to free herself.

  Sweat broke out across LD’s body as he pushed himself harder and faster toward Marie. The vines around his feet grew stronger and thicker the closer he got.

  He was one step away when she stopped her struggling. In a flash, the man and vines were gone. Marie floated downward like a fallen angel as LD stumbled forward.

  Pain ripped through him as he cradled the lifeless form in his arms.

  “M
arie!”

  LD bolted upright in bed as nausea washed over him like a hot ocean wave. Drenched in sweat, he struggled to untangle his legs from the bed covers. Panic threatened to immobilize him as he reached for the phone and speed-dialed Marie’s number.

  He climbed out of bed and with one hand, started pulling on his jeans even as he counted the rings.

  Three.

  Four.

  The answering machine picked up. LD swore as he turned the phone off and pushed it into his pocket. Grabbing his discarded shirt from the floor, he pulled it over his head and told himself not to worry. She probably fell asleep late, after their encounter, and the phone ringing wasn’t enough to wake her. Shoving his bare feet into his running shoes, he started for the door.

  He was almost to the bedroom door when he stopped. It was stupid and impulsive to run from the house without verifying the facts. After all, it was only a dream; none of it was real. Retrieving his cell phone, he dialed Rob’s number. Rob was watching her for the night and there was no one he trusted more than his friend.

  As the phone rang, LD tied his shoes. The bedroom door opened without even a cursory knock. Straightening, he saw his father standing in the doorway. By his hastily dressed, bleary-eyed appearance, it was obvious he woke the man.

  “What’s wrong?”

  When Rob’s voice mail picked up, LD disconnected and returned the phone to his pocket. “I’m not sure. Marie isn’t answering her phone and Rob didn’t answer his.”

  LD rubbed his forehead and, for the first time in years, wasn’t sure what to do.

  His father’s brow furrowed. “So, are Rob and Marie together?”

  “Together?”

  “An item. A couple?” LD’s mother appeared beside his father, her robe tightly knotted at the waist.

  That statement snapped LD right out of his stupor and back to the present, not to mention it tweaked his temper more than a little. “If Rob touches Marie in any form that isn’t purely platonic, I’ll pulverize him.”