by Gerald Lopez
“There are also the bones of Brigitte’s ancestors there, I read about the place in the diaries,” I said. “We need to get ready and head for the pass. It’ll be harder to trek through an unfamiliar area at night. Do you think we’ll have a chance to hide out in one of the crypts?”
“Maybe,” Anjelica said, “there’s room to hide, but it all depends on how many people are there and where they’ll be holding the children—right now we have no idea.”
“We’ll have to manage that part when we get there—wait for an opportunity to present itself,” I said. “I’m sure one will.”
“What do you want all of us to do, Layton?” Noelle said.
“I need you here with Mother Watkins. They may send people here to the house. This place needs to be kept secure, so we have somewhere to come back to—talk to Anjelica while Alex and I get ready.”
“What about us?” Hans said. “Do you want us with you or helping guard this place?”
“Stay here,” I said. We may need you to come get us out of a tight spot. Alex, get Hans and Noelle’s cell numbers and put them in your cell.”
“There’s a huge flaw in your plan, Layton,” Noelle said. “The sisters and their fellow cult members have known where you’ve been all day. That means you’re being watched. How do you plan to leave here and get anywhere unseen?”
“I can get us to the island unseen, but Noelle’s right,” Anjelica said, “How do we get out of here without being seen?”
“Let me think on that while we get ready. I have an idea that just might work,” I said.
“Keep in mind that we’ll be walking through swamp and whatever we wear will get soaked and heavy,” Anjelica said.
* * * *
Alex and I had our duffel bags in Esther’s pink bedroom and were looking through them.
“Any suggestions on what I should wear, Layton?” Alex said.
I could tell he was still nervous, so I hugged him and kissed his cheek.
“How do you manage to stay so calm?” he asked me.
“It doesn’t pay to let my nerves get the better of me, but that doesn’t mean I’m not nervous. I just don’t dwell on anything but the task that needs to be accomplished.” I pulled his shirt off over his head, reached into my bag and threw him a black T-shirt, then pulled my shirt off.
Alex, still bare chested, hugged me. “I feel so safe in your arms, Layton.”
I kissed him, then pushed him away smiling. “You are such a tease. There’s no time for any hanky or panky right now.”
Alex laughed. “You really are crazy, but you made me laugh and I needed that. And I’m no tease, just wait until all this is over and you’ll see.”
“Now, that’s motivation. Strip down to your drawers.”
“I thought you said there wasn’t time for that right now,” Alex said grinning.
I held up a can of bug spray and he laughed again before dropping his pants.
“Get out of those flip-flops too, so I can spray your feet.”
He did as I said and spread his arms out so I could spray his front then he turned so I could get his backside. When done, I pulled his underwear down and gave his ass a quick kiss.
“My turn,” I said, handing him the bug spray and slipping out of my shoes, pants, and underwear so that I was nude.”
“What a sight! You really do have one hell of a body, Layton. But I don’t think it’d be wise for me to spray your privates.”
I put my hand over my cock and balls. “I’m changing into my bathing suit, so I don’t need drawers. Go ahead and spray.”
When he was done, I put on my short, dark blue nylon bathing suit and a dark blue tank top.
“Alex, if you packed a bathing suit, put that on; it’ll be the best thing with all that water. I’m also gonna wear some sturdy sandals with straps. The mud and water will just slosh right out, and the straps will keep ‘em securely on my feet. We need to be light on our feet, so we can move quickly. Boots or shoes will hold water.”
“All I brought are flip-flops and my slip-on Vans sneakers, but at least they’re black.”
Reaching back into my bag, I pulled out two baseball style caps, one of which I handed to Alex. “That’s to keep your hair from getting caught in any branches. Hand me your sneakers a second.”
He handed me his sneakers and I got my back-up pocketknife out of my bag—I was sorry to have lost my other pocketknife to Monique, but this one would do the job. I cut the fabric out across the front of one of the sneakers and handed it back to Alex.
“That’ll let the water run out of them, make sure they’re still comfortable,” I said.
He tried the one sneaker on and nodded his head. “It’s fine, do the other one.”
I did, then bent down and put his sneaker on him. “It fits, Cinderella, I guess I have to marry you now.” I stood and kissed his lips. “I promise to buy you a new pair when we’re out of here and settled.”
He grabbed me and kissed me hard—I was bad and indulged myself by kissing him back.
* * * *
It wasn’t long, maybe five or six minutes at most, before we were all back in Mother Watkins’s living room and I was holding the can of bug spray in case anyone needed it. Anjelica had changed into black shorts, sturdy sandals with straps, and a black Spandex half-top—the kind that female joggers often wore.
“Do you need bug spray?” I said.
When she nodded her head, I tossed her the can of spray.
“Have you come up with a plan, Layton?” Jerhome said.
“As a matter of fact, I have.”
I had come up with it while getting ready. When kissing Alex, I was concerned he might taste Ross. That’s when I had an idea which I began to tell the others.
“I think we should use an old acquaintance of ours, Anjelica. We call Ross, whose number I just happen to have on me,” I pulled his card out of my pocket. “Then I tell him I need his help and ask him to meet Alex and me in the library parking lot, but it’ll actually be Hans and Jerhome waiting there for him.”
“And why would Ross help you,” Anjelica said.
“Because he probably doesn’t realize that I know the truth about him. More importantly, he’ll be looking to save face with his people. You and I were able to walk right past him and out the front door of the library. His people must’ve given him flack about that. He’ll have to chance it that I’m telling him the truth. If he believes me, then he’ll call his people and tell them to be on the lookout for us.”
“But we’ll be in the opposite direction to a secret way I know,” Anjelica said. “They’ll be watching anyone going down the main road but instead when we leave here, we’ll be going my way.”
“Right?” Alex said. “But how will that work?”
“Don’t worry about it, you’ll see,” Anjelica said.
“So, if anyone’s watching this house, they’ll presumably follow Jerhome and Hans in the Jaguar,” Noelle said. “Only Hans and Jerhome don’t exactly resemble you and Alex.”
“No, and that’s why I’ll tell Ross that we’ll be in disguise, wearing a couple of Mother Watkins’s mumus and head wraps or scarves,” I said. “If you don’t mind, we’ll take your rental car, Noelle.”
“I don’t mind,” Noelle said. “It sounds like a plan.”
“We’ll need to drive your Jag, so why don’t you take our truck instead, it’ll probably come in handier,” Hans said.
“No, you guys take Noelle’s rental car. It wouldn’t make sense that we’d take the Jag if we tell Ross we’re gonna be in disguise.” I said.
“Will do,” Jerhome said.
“I’ll go see Mother Watkins about getting some of her old mumus and stuff,” Noelle said, “She’ll expect them back so don’t you two boys get used to them.” She smiled.
“No, Ma’am,” Hans said.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Jerhome said.
“Once you two are ready, I’ll call Ross from back in Esther’s room,” I said.
>
* * * *
Jerhome and Hans got ready quickly and I was in Esther’s bedroom dialing Ross. Alex had followed me and was sitting on the bed when Ross answered my call.
“Ross speaking, how may I help you?”
“Hey, Ross, it’s Layton. Listen, buddy, I’m so sorry about that mess we left behind, I hope you didn’t get too much shit about it. I hated running out of there without even telling you good-bye.”
“No problem. Where are you now, Layton?”
“It doesn’t matter, I’ll be near you soon. I need a safe place for myself and Alex Kennedy to hide out. I’m just not sure who to trust and you and I seemed to have hit it off so well. If nothing else, maybe the three of us could have some fun till I find a way out of this town. Nobody would think to look for us with you. We can meet you in the library parking lot.”
“I don’t know,” Ross said.
“Oh c’mon, big guy,” I said. “You can’t deny how hot we were together, and I’ve got nowhere else to go. Alex and I will be wearing mumus and head wraps so the bad guys don’t recognize us. We’ll be in a friend’s gray rental car, and nobody will be able to trace us to you. Say you’ll help us, Ross. I’m getting hot just thinking about kissing you again and doing even more stuff.”
“And what about Alex?”
“We can both have some fun with him. I doubt he’d mind being our boy toy.”
“Sounds good,” Ross said. “When can I expect you?”
“We’ll be leaving here any minute and be there in less than ten.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Ross said before hanging up.
Alex shot me a dirty look and I walked over and kissed his pouting mouth. “I told you earlier that Ross had forced that kiss on me.
“That’s not what my look is about,” he said. “I’d be you and Ross’s boy toy, huh.”
“I’ve got no need for boy toys, Alex. You’re my man and mine alone, understood? I don’t like sharing.”
“I was just messing with you,” Alex said, “but… understood.”
“Time to get this show on the road.” I took a small bag I had on top of the bed and put my flashlight and a small mirror Anjelica had given me in it. Taking out another sharper knife, I put that and my cell phone in a button-down pocket in my swimsuit. “Do you have a flashlight, Alex?”
“I’ll borrow one from Mother Watkins, then I’ll be as ready as I’m ever gonna be.”
* * * *
Jerhome and Hans were in disguise and waiting in the living room. We watched them leave in Noelle’s car, and almost immediately two cars followed them.
“I’ve got the keys to Hans’s truck, let’s go,” Anjelica said.
Anjelica, Alex, and I had caps on and Anjelica was carrying a small bag, similar to mine, that I’d given her to use for carrying a mirror and whatever else she deemed necessary. As we headed out the door I shouted back toward the prayer room, “Say a prayer for us, Mother Watkins.” Closing the door behind me I heard her shout a reply.
“I will—you’re gonna need it!”
Chapter 29
Trying Terrain
Anjelica got in the driver’s seat of Hans’s truck, I sat on the passenger side, and Alex sat in the roomy extended cab.
“Do you see any cars around that might try to follow us?” Anjelica said.
“We’re clear,” I said.
She backed the truck up, then turned left before taking the next left turn. I kept a mental note of where we were going in case I had to drive back. Anjelica took the next right and then a left down a dead-end street. I could see the bayou at the end of the street.
“How do you know all these back ways to the old mansion?” Alex said.
“I was always curious about what my sister was doing when she’d go there to spend time with your sisters but my mother would always catch me trying to sneak after her. That was until I found a way to get there that Mom would never suspect.”
“Why wouldn’t she suspect?” I asked.
“My mother would never set foot on this side of town,” Anjelica said, slowing down and pulling into the driveway of an abandoned house on the left.
The house was small and almost identical to Mother Watkins’s home, except the porch was collapsing and the roof had a large hole in it. Anjelica drove around to the back of the house and parked behind a bunch of overgrown bushes and small trees.
“So what’s the plan when we get there,” Anjelica said.
“Well, as mentioned earlier,” I said. “We don’t know how many of them will be there or where exactly they’ll be on the island. The only thing I know for sure is that they have the kids. When a chance comes up for us to get them out of there safely, we need to be quick and jump on it.”
Anjelica got out of the truck and so did Alex and I.
“It’s not gonna be an easy route and we’ll probably have to carry the kids back,” Anjelica said, once we were all out of the car.
“We can handle it,” I said, looking at Alex, who nodded in agreement.
“Another thing,” Anjelica said, as she started walking toward the back of the property, “I know we brought flashlights, but if we use them and we’re being followed, the bad guys’ll be able to track us. So make sure to remember the way we go; it’ll be better if we can use moonlight instead of flashlights.”
Alex and I followed Anjelica. The grass was about knee high with bushes and trees on either side of us.
“The ground is firm and dry here, but that’ll soon change,” Anjelica said, stopping to point out a large dead tree that had fallen over. “This is our first landmark, be careful not to trip over it coming back. We turn left after this dead tree. If we kept going straight, we’d be right up next to the water where we can be easily spotted.”
“How the hell am I supposed to remember this tree in the dark,” Alex said.
“She told you that you’ll have moonlight to see by, and on the way back you make sure to follow close behind her,” I said.
Anjelica stood on a lower branch of the downed tree and used it to give herself a foot up and over the large trunk. Then Alex and I did the same. There was nothing but trees and wild overgrown bushes ahead of us and all we could do was follow Anjelica and keep walking. Small branches on the trees and shrubs scratched my exposed legs and arms.
“Sorry about all the branches, you two can have fun tending to each other’s scratches later,” Anjelica said.
I laughed and thought about my hands on Alex’s hot naked body—but snapped out of it quickly… now wasn’t the time to drift off. The elevation was getting lower and I knew what that meant—we’d be getting wet soon. To the left, I could see nothing but large bushes and grasses.
“Try to walk on top of bushes, grass, and stumps, or you’ll get your feet wet,” Anjelica said.
“What about snakes?” Alex said.
“You really haven’t spent much time around here, have you?” She said. “The snakes will feel the vibrations from our footsteps and get out of our way.
“You’re not exactly a native,” Alex said.
“Maybe not, but as an outcast I learned to find my way around quick. I wasn’t as privileged as my sister or the Kennedy—”
Alex interrupted her, “I may be a Kennedy, but I wasn’t exactly kept in the loop about things either.”
“I was going to say ‘as my sister or the Kennedy girls’. Believe it or not, Alex, I think in a way you’re probably as much an outcast as I am. It’s not like they ever let either one of us in on what was really going on. If you’re not a part of something, whether it’s good or bad, that makes you an outcast.”
“I didn’t realize a crown prince or king could also be an outcast,” I said.
“Well, at any rate, they kept Alex out of the loop, which I suppose turned out good for him, and me too actually. I’ve no desire to be a bad guy or gal,” Anjelica said.
She made her way deftly across the wet area, finding clumps of grass or roots of trees to stand on. Alex slipped,
but I managed to get a hold of his arm and keep him upright. It was tough, but somehow we were doing well and making good time. My guess was that we must be close to or nearing the Shelby motel.
“You do move well around here,” I said. “You must be a nature girl or hiker, Anjelica.”
Anjelica didn’t stop moving as she replied. “I had incentive to learn my way around here. Curiosity and jealousy are powerful motivators. At the time, I was extremely jealous of my sister and determined to see what she was doing at the mansion. You’d be surprised at how much jealousy can really motivate a sister.”
“I’m more surprised at you admitting it.” I said.
“At this point, it seems like a small thing to admit,” she said. “Who knows, maybe I want to cleanse my soul before our mission. I hope the kids are okay.”
“They’re tough li’l kids and they have faith,” I said. “You know what they say about the faith of children, it’s a powerful thing. I’m sure it’ll keep them safe.”
My own words echoed in my head, there was an ancient truth in them, in the faith of children. A little way ahead of us the land was rising and there were trees and more thick bushes. We stopped when we heard the loud sound of motors.
“What was that?” I said.
“Airboats… we need to get to cover,” Anjelica said, starting to rush through the water toward higher ground.
Alex was having a hard time moving, so I picked him up, flung him over my shoulder and ran through the water. Once we got to the higher ground, Anjelica lay down on her stomach behind a clump of bushes. I laid Alex next to her and then settled down next to him. Through the branches of the bushes I got a quick glimpse of the gray-green boats flying by us on the bayou.
“They’re not looking for us,” Anjelica said. “Nobody knows about this back way,”