Bayou Heat

by Georgia Tribell

  “This place is a two-story box with an open atrium area in the middle that holds a large dance floor and stage. Those curtains are the doors to private boxes that customers rent for the evening.”

  “Sounds like you’ve been here before.”

  Rob slowed his pace as they approached a closed door at the far end of the building. “Once, princess, and that was only because I was babysitting Marie for LD before they got together.”

  Rob put his hand on the doorknob and pushed the door open. She could see a well-dressed man seated behind a desk, tapping on a computer keyboard.

  The man glanced at Rob and the other two men before his gaze landed on her. He stood slowly and she realized the man was as intimidating as Rob in his own manner. He rounded the desk and held out his hand as he approached them. “Come in and close the door, Rob. I’m Nic Langtry and you must be Eris DuBose.”

  She accepted his hand as she looked into eyes that gave nothing away. “How did you know my name?”

  “I have my ways, Ms. DuBose,” Nic answered as he released her hand and turned toward Rob. “What brings you here?”

  “I need to know who shot up and torched the FullMoon House of Voodoo last night.”

  Nic glanced over at her before turning back to Rob. “You don’t want to go there, man. Those people make you look like an altar boy.”

  “I don’t give a damn about that. Which gang was it?”

  “I’m telling you—”

  Rob moved so fast, Nic never finished his sentence. There was a loud thump as Rob’s body slammed Nic into the wall. She saw Nic reach for his gun but stop when Rob held his to the man’s head. Eris looked over to see if they were about to have visitors coming through the door, but it didn’t budge. Rob said something to Nic and the man looked over at her then back to Rob. Nic said something back to Rob that caused him to back off and lower his gun.

  Nic straightened his clothes. “It’s a death sentence if you go after those people.” Rob stared at Nic for several seconds until the club owner gave in. “Shit, you’re looking for the 9W gang.”

  Eris finally found her voice. “9W?”

  Nic moved behind his desk as he spoke. “It stands for Ninth Ward, which is where the gang originated. Nowadays they recruit from all over.”

  “Why did they do it?” Rob asked as he moved forward.

  “Rumor has it they were hired to kill the two of you. Guess they figured between the bullets and the flames, neither of you would walk away.”

  “How do I find them?”

  “You don’t. Give me a few hours and I’ll have someone for you to talk with.”

  “I want a name and address.” Rob’s voice was hard and cold and she wondered if he was about to shoot Nic.

  Nic didn’t even flinch at Rob’s tone as he met his eyes. “They’ll kill you. Her, they’ll keep alive. Picture that and tell me if you still want to do it your way.”

  Rob glanced over at her then turned back to Nic. She heard the click of the safety on his gun and watched as he replaced it. “You have my number. I’ll be waiting for your call.”

  She waited for Rob beside the door. When he reached her, she stopped him. “These 9W people, they’re going to try finishing the job, aren’t they?”

  “Not if I find who hired them first. I take him out and the hit on us will disappear.”

  She was horrified and turned back to Nic. “Is that true?”

  “Yes. Rob understands enough about street gangs to know what needs to be done.”

  “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you alive and safe, princess, even if it means killing to do it.” Rob pulled her into his arms for a second before letting go. “We need to get going.”

  Rob put his arm around her as they walked back through the club. “Let’s go home for the night. We’ve had a hell of a couple of days.”

  * * * * *

  Eris sat straight up in bed. Her heart was pounding like a runaway freight train. Her dream had been unnervingly real, with her and Rob and the blood. Deep red blood covering her, Rob and the floor of some strange house. This dream hadn’t been one of those that reminded her of a cartoon, nor was it in black and white. It was terrifyingly real, to the point she’d tried to wake herself up but couldn’t. Thankfully the phone ringing pulled her from the nightmare. She looked over at Rob as he closed his phone and waited for him to speak.

  “That was Nic, he has a meeting set up for two.”

  Eris looked over at the clock. “Like in the next fifty minutes?”

  “Yeah. I want you to stay here. Nic made it perfectly clear that if anyone other than you or I show up, the meeting is off. That means only one car.”

  “You’ll have no backup, it could be a setup.”

  “Better I get ambushed alone than the both of us.” Rob got out of bed and started getting dressed.

  “Maybe in your world that would be better, but it sure as hell isn’t in mine.” She was so angry that her teeth chattered as she crawled across the bed to go stand in front of him.

  “You’re not going.” His words were hard and cold.

  She ripped the shirt he was about to put on out of his hands. “Don’t ever tell me what I can and cannot do. If you don’t take me, I’ll follow you alone if I have to.”

  Rob took the shirt back and pulled it on. “Don’t ask me to take you. I can’t put you in that kind of risk.”

  “But you can put yourself in danger without any concern about how I feel? Do you think what I said last night isn’t true? I mean, professing my love in a morgue wasn’t exactly romantic, I know, but I meant every word I said.”

  Rob stopped what he was doing and moved toward her one slow step at a time. “I don’t ever remember having those words said to me before and I could care less where we were when you said them.”

  Eris retreated until she was trapped between the wall and his body.

  “What you don’t understand is that I feel the same way about you and it terrifies me to the deepest, darkest depths of my soul that I won’t be able to protect you.”

  “And there’s no guarantee I’ll be safe if you leave me here.” Eris wrapped her arms around Rob’s neck and kissed him as if there were no tomorrow. When she finally broke the kiss, he was breathing as hard as she was and his erection was pressing into her.

  Rob stepped back but kept his eyes on hers. “I couldn’t save my mother from herself, so don’t make me regret this decision, princess. Now get dressed, we don’t have much time.”

  Eris smiled as she darted past him. “I need a gun.”

  * * * * *

  Rob waited until the door to Nic’s office was closed before speaking. “Where’s the informant?”

  “I’m going to be calling him here in a couple of minutes.” Nic glanced at his watch.

  “I thought this would be a face-to-face.”

  “My person changed his mind at the last minute and decided not to show. He’s scared and I don’t blame him. I did manage to get him to agree to talk with you…or I think I did. We won’t know if I succeeded until he answers the phone.”

  Rob walked Eris to a chair and stood behind her, the need to protect her so powerful it almost blocked his ability to function. He was scared in a way he’d never experienced before and that left him very unsettled. It took a concentrated effort on his part to push his feelings aside and focus on the job at hand.

  “How can I trust this person, or you?”

  Nic gave him a dark look. “You can’t.”

  Rob took a deep breath and knew he was most likely screwed either way he went on this deal. “If I find out you’re jacking with us, I’ll be back.”

  Nic gave a short bark of laughter as he dialed. “Now wouldn’t that be fun.”

  There was a short, one-sided conversation between Nic and the other party before the call was put on speaker.

  “I don’t have much time.” The voice was deep and male, not that of a young kid.

  Rob listened closely, hoping to identify the owner. �
��Who contracted the torch job on the FullMoon House of Voodoo?”

  “I don’t know, but the person you need to ask that question is Victor Castillo. He coordinates all the contracts for 9W.”

  “The lawyer with offices over on Ibenville?”

  “Yes, he’s a long-standing member and works solely for 9W. He’s going to be your easiest target. Every morning at four thirty prompt he jogs alone along the south bank of Lake Pontchartrain.”

  “Why not go after Adel Rodriquez and skip the middle man, he’s their current leader?” Rob asked.

  “If you want to be buried six feet under, then go for Adel, but if you want to live, then Castillo is your man. Gotta go, I’ve already taken too long.”

  There was a moment of silence while Nic disconnected the call.

  “Call back, I still have a few questions.” Rob clenched his fists.

  “By now he’s destroyed the phone he was using. He wouldn’t chance having the call traced.”

  Rob ran a hand down his face. More information would have been a plus, but he’d been given enough to work with. “At least I have a name and place to start asking questions. How’s your work going?”

  Nic shrugged. “Slow and frustrating. I’m not a patient person.”

  Rob laughed. “You never have been.”

  Eris turned and looked up at Rob. “You two know each other?”

  “We went to school together,” Nic answered quickly. “Then I moved out of the country for a few years, before moving back a couple of years ago.”

  Rob added, “Last year, Nic helped LD clear up some stuff involving Marie.”

  Eris looked over at Nic. “Really? I’d like to hear about that.”

  “That’s a long story. It’ll have to wait until we have the time.” Rob cut the conversation off before Nic could continue. “I appreciate the help, Nic. Let me know if you ever need anything.”

  “Just put the information to good use and watch your back. 9W won’t stop until you’re either dead or you’ve taken care of the problem.”

  Rob held out his hand to Nic. “Don’t worry, we’ll be careful.”

  * * * * *

  “Everyone good with his assignment?” Rob asked the small but select group of men in his living room.

  The men all agreed.

  “Good, I’ll meet you there. We don’t have much time.”

  Rob stood as the group left the apartment. There wasn’t a lot of time for them to get into position. In a little over two hours he’d pulled together a team to abduct and question Victor Castillo.

  “You got everything handled?”

  Rob turned his attention to LD. “The easy stuff is taken care of. You and Nate have everything covered here?”

  “Eris will be safe with us, don’t worry about her,” LD said.

  Rob looked over to where Nate and Eris stood talking on the other side of the room. “I’m leaving her with the two of you for that very reason. Now I need to make her understand why I’m doing this.”

  LD gave him a pat on the back. “Good luck with that one. Hey, Nate, let’s make one more pass through the building before locking down the fort.”

  The door closed behind the two men, leaving him alone with one very angry and scared woman. Rob crossed the room to where she stood. “I know you don’t agree with my decision but I’m not changing my mind this time.”

  She turned to him and he could see the shimmer of tears in her eyes. “This is a stupid, reckless plan. At least wait until tomorrow morning when you have more time to organize your people.”

  “Waiting until tomorrow sounds good, but we need to hit fast and hard before 9W can be warned. Surprise is our best weapon at the moment and if we wait, we could lose it.”

  She looked at him with fear-filled eyes. “Those guys of yours scare me.”

  “Those men are some of the best around and will pull off this little party without a hitch.”

  “These gang members aren’t your everyday criminals, Rob. If they find out you were behind this they won’t stop until you’re dead.”

  “I’m dead anyway, remember? We both are. But this will solve our problem, and when I come back, we’ll have years of unfinished business ahead of us.”

  Eris threw her arms around his neck. “You better, because if you don’t I’m going to kick your butt.”

  He captured her mouth with his and wished he could stay there forever. He broke the kiss and stepped back. “I’ve got to go.”

  He walked away, and with every step he took it felt as if his guts were being ripped out. The odds were stacked against him and he knew he very well might not be coming back, which made leaving the one person he’d given his heart to even harder.

  * * * * *

  The morning sun was starting to rise as the boat Rob was riding in cut through the still waters of the bayou. Off to his left he could now make out the second boat and the group of men riding in it. Looking back over his shoulder, he motioned toward a small, muddy patch of land. The driver changed direction and the other boat followed. A few minutes later, the motor was killed as the boat slid to an easy stop.

  Rob stepped out of the boat he was riding in, dragging Victor Castillo with him. The humidity hugged them like a damp blanket. Sweat drenched his shirt as he and another man carried Victor across the soft swampland. Victor’s mouth and eyes were covered with duct tape. His arms were securely bound behind him and zip ties held his ankles together. They propped the man against a cypress tree. Reaching down, Rob pulled the tape from the man’s mouth, putting the strip of tape in his pocket before stepping back.

  He and his men remained silent as Victor ranted and raged about what was going to happen to them. Then finally the silence got to the man and he stopped talking.

  “Here’s the deal.”

  “Fuck you! I’m not making no deal.”

  Rob turned to the others. “Let’s go.”

  They all turned and started back toward the boat.

  “You can’t leave me here like this!”

  Rob stopped and turned back to the man. “Yes I can, and I won’t lose a single night’s sleep over it.”

  Another round of profanity escaped Victor and Rob waited for this bout of anger to pass. Victor might buy expensive suits for work and two-hundred-dollar running shoes to help keep him in shape, but even those items didn’t wash away the years of growing up on the street.

  Victor finally ran out of steam. “What’s the deal?”

  “I’ve already got people back in New Orleans spreading the rumor that you rolled over and are talking. You tell me who hired 9W to take out Eris DuBose and my men will retrieve your passport and drive you to Miami, where you can catch a plane leaving the country. Otherwise, I’m going to leave your sorry ass here.”

  “You’ve signed my death certificate, you know. It doesn’t matter how far I run, I’ll spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder.”

  “I don’t give a fuck. You have five seconds to make up your mind or we’re leaving and this time we won’t turn back.”

  “Some woman came into my office the other day, laid down a shitload of money and said she wanted Eris DuBose dead.”

  Rob closed the distance so he was standing next to the man. “Then what?”

  “I asked her when and where. She said she didn’t care where but the sooner the better.”

  “How long ago was this?”

  “This evening will make forty-eight hours.”

  “9W put together a hit that fast?”

  “We can take anyone out, anyplace, anytime, in less than seventy-two hours.”

  “Describe the woman to me.”

  “You’ve got enough information.”

  Rob stepped forward and swung his leg. Victor screamed as Rob’s foot connected with his crotch. “I’ll decide when the questioning is over.”

  Victor fell over as he curled into a ball of pain. When he found his voice, it was rough and hoarse. “She was about six feet tall, fine body with long, strawberry bl
onde hair. Green eyes, but I’m almost certain they were colored contacts.”

  “How was she dressed?”

  “Tight, short and green, like her eyes.”

  “Did you see a car?”

  “The bitch’s car was as hot as she was.”

  “What was it?”

  “Black, sleek, imported sports car. I didn’t get the make, but you don’t see many of them cruising the Quarter.”

  “Voice, was it deep or high?”

  “Man, that bitch talked like she’d been suckin’ cigs all her life.”

  “That’s a lot of detail to remember.”

  “In my line of work, it pays to be observant, Jackson.”

  Rob raised an eyebrow but didn’t respond. Victor was on a fishing expedition and he wasn’t about to take the bait. “Last question, could the woman have been wearing a wig?”

  Victor cocked his head to the side as he considered the question. “Her hair was perfect, almost too perfect if you know what I mean. I guess it could have been, but if it was, it wasn’t a cheap one like the local hookers wear.”

  Without another word, Rob turned back toward his boat where his driver waited. He was sure Victor told him what he knew and there wasn’t anything left to gain here. The remainder of the men moved to Victor and took hold of him, dragging the man to his feet.

  “Damn you, Jackson, you sonofabitch! I’m not the only one who needs to be watching over his shoulder. You mother fu—”

  Victor’s words were drowned out as the motor roared to life and the boat pulled away. Looking back over his shoulder, he watched as Victor’s mouth was covered with tape and then he was tossed into the other boat. Rob faced forward and pushed the man’s idle threats to the back of his mind. The odds of Victor living past the next seventy-two hours were extremely low and that didn’t bother Rob one bit because the man had negotiated a contract to kill Eris. If by some chance Victor did live, Rob would deal with that later. Right now there was a more serious threat at hand.

  * * * * *

  Eris stood with her arms crossed and watched the forensic experts who Rob and LD brought in turn Victor Castillo’s office upside down. It was extremely interesting and nothing like the television shows. “Shouldn’t you have called Olson or Tarrington?”