by Terri Reed
Refocusing on the current situation, he turned his attention to the job at hand. He picked up a marker and circled the area where Earl Farley was murdered.
“I want to check out the pawnshop and your apartment,” he stated. “The police have already combed through both premises and there probably won’t be any clues left behind, but taking you there might trigger some flashbacks.”
“How will we get in?” she asked, looking up from the list on the notepad.
He shrugged. “I’ll pick the lock.”
“Did they teach you that in bounty-hunter school?”
He grinned. “Naw, I learned that when I was still a kid.”
She grinned back. “Sounds like you were wild. Did you grow up around here?”
He met her curious gaze. “Yes. I was in your brother’s class in high school.”
“That’s right, you said you were friends with my brother.” She made a face. “I can’t remember his name.”
“Clint. Clint Herald.”
“And my name was Leah Herald and I grew up in Loomis. I have one brother named Clint, and I read that my parents died when I was a teen.” She tapped the pen against the pad. “I wonder if I went to college. Is that where I met Earl?”
“Could be.”
“How come we don’t call Clint and ask him?”
“I’d rather not let anyone know I’ve found you yet. None of these articles go very deep into your background. But if you went to college, that is something we can check from here.” He dragged the computer closer. “Let’s see. What colleges are close that you might have attended?”
She watched his blunt, strong fingers traipse over the keyboard with speed that could only be acquired from frequent use.
“Loomis College,” he said. “I’ll hack into their system and see if you were ever a student there.”
“Another trick you learned when you were young?” she quipped, marveling at the way he made the computer jump at his commands.
“No, this I learned from a computer expert on the Baton Rouge police force.”
“You were a police officer?” Somehow if he had been it wouldn’t have surprised her. He had an air of authority that screamed law enforcement.
“Yep. For a whopping ten years. Didn’t like all the red tape tying my hands. Left the force to start my own business.”
Hoping to learn more about this man who’d come charging into her life, she asked, “Where are you based?”
“I have an office in Baton Rouge.”
“Are your parents still in Loomis?”
He kept his gaze on the screen, but his shoulders visibly tensed. Leaving her question unanswered, he said, “It says here you completed two years of general education.”
Forcing back the curiosity that begged to pry into his personal life, she said, “Which means I didn’t graduate.”
He clicked off the Web page. “No, but one of the articles mentioned that you worked at Renault Corporation. I’ll check their human resources files and see what I can find.”
Leaning back against the cushions, she closed her eyes. She prayed he’d find some useful information that would drive them closer to finding the truth.
But she couldn’t stop the anxious little flutter in her gut, because the truth could either set her free or send her to prison.
Roman easily hacked into the Renault Corporation’s employee files and found Leah’s work record. Her bosses had very complimentary words about her. She appeared to be a hard worker, caring, efficient and loyal. She’d moved up the ranks of the secretarial pool to the administrative offices within a relatively short time. Before she’d given notice, she’d been assigned to work on a project with Dylan Renault as his administrative assistant.
So there was a personal connection. A fact to be considered, but not proof of any wrongdoing.
According to her records she was unmarried at the time she’d left Renault Corp.
Was she married by the time she began working for the mayor’s office? Where had she met Farley?
Hacking into the city of Loomis’s employee records proved a tad more difficult. Obviously someone had integrated some sophisticated protection software into their computer system. But it was nothing that Roman hadn’t seen or managed to circumvent in the past.
He’d just found Leah’s file when she moaned. His gaze whipped to her. She was asleep, but from the twisted expression on her lovely face and the way she twitched, he assumed she was in the throes of a nightmare.
The need to relieve her of her bad dream and the need to have her remember more warred within him.
“No, no, please,” she whimpered.
Roman couldn’t take seeing her distraught any longer. He touched her shoulder. She flinched as if he’d hit her. He frowned, hating the thought that she’d ever been abused.
“Leah, wake up, honey,” he said, keeping his voice gentle. Remembering how difficult it had been to bring her out of her dream state last night, he gathered her in his arms and rocked her. “Shhh. It’s okay, you’re safe. No one’s going to hurt you.”
She whimpered again and snuggled deeper into his embrace. He swallowed hard. Maybe holding her had been a mistake; he didn’t know if he’d ever want to let her go. It had been too long since he’d felt any kind of human connection.
She sighed and he could feel awareness come over her. At first she tensed, then softened. Her head lifted and her eyes searched his face. The terror in her eyes receded and trust filled her gaze and warmed his soul.
“You were having another nightmare,” he stated. He knew he really should have let her go, but he held on, unwilling to break the physical connection yet.
“It was awful, Roman. Earl, my husband, was so angry. The images were all garbled, but there was so much rage.”
“You’re remembering?” His chest squeezed. When her memory returned, who would she be? “Can you remember any words he said? Where you were?”
She shook her head and eased away from him, breaking the connection between them and leaving a cold void despite the sizzling summer air.
“No.” Disappointment laced the word.
It wasn’t just the truth they were after, but also getting her life back.
She gestured toward the computer. “Did you find out anything?”
“You were an exemplary employee at Renault Corporation. You worked your way up to administrative assistant for Dylan Renault.”
She gasped softly. “So I knew him well.”
“Apparently. You weren’t married when you worked there, and I was just starting to look at your employee file at city hall when you started having your nightmare.”
“Well, we’re getting a better time line on my life than we had before,” she said in a wry tone.
Yes, one step closer to figuring her out and moving on. Roman moved his hands back to the keyboard.
A frail scream from the other room jolted through the parlor. In a flash, Roman was up and racing to find Colleen, Leah on his heels.
As they skidded into the room, Colleen pointed at the window. “There was a man. There was a man!” she cried.
“Stay here,” Roman ordered, and turned to leave, intent on finding the prowler, when an explosion rocked the house.
Leah and Colleen screamed.
Blood pounded in Roman’s head. Where had the explosion come from?
The acrid smell of smoke billowed in. The bedrooms were on fire. “Hurry,” he urged as he scooped Colleen from the recliner.
Holding Colleen like a child, he carried her toward the back door with Leah right behind him. As he entered the kitchen, he came to an abrupt halt. If they went out that door, they’d be picked off like ducks in a shooting gallery.
“What’s wrong? How come you’re stopping?” Leah asked. “We have to get out of here.”
“Not this way.” He led her back to the parlor and halted near the window. Setting Colleen on her feet, he said, “Turn away.”
Using his foot, he smashed through the window,
glass spraying both inside and out. He continued to kick at the sharp, jagged pieces sticking to the frame until none remained. He climbed out and whipped around, ready to take on any attackers. The area was clear.
“Come, Colleen.” He encouraged the older woman to climb out.
Colleen hiked her legs over the window ledge, then fell out into Roman’s arms more than climbed. He set her feet on the ground. She hung on to his shirt for support.
Panic swirled in Roman’s head when Leah didn’t immediately follow Colleen. He was about to climb back inside when she appeared at the ledge, carrying the laptop. She handed the computer to him and then deftly made it out through the window.
“Good thinking,” he said, appreciating her resourcefulness. “This way,” Roman instructed as he once again swooped Colleen up into his arms and ran as fast as his burden would allow toward the shelter of the ancient cypress trees.
Behind them the roar of red-gold flames engulfed the house, lighting up the night sky and destroying all that was left of his family.
As Roman led the women deeper into the murky swamp, one question pounded into his brain:
How on earth were they going to survive?
FOUR
The blaze lit the night sky and threatened exposure. Using the dense grove of cypress and sycamores for cover, the trio forged a trail deep into the bayou. The ground beneath Roman’s feet turned mushy with the still waters of the swamp. Colleen shivered in his arms. He could hear Leah’s labored breath beside him. He had to get them to safety.
Because the one who was after Leah had just tried to kill them all. And no doubt wouldn’t stop until they were all dead.
They’d burned down Roman’s house. His safe place. The only place that held any memories of his family. Sorrow tried to seep in, but the anger seething in his veins wouldn’t relent. How had they been found?
He’d been careful to be sure he hadn’t been followed from town. Which meant someone had discovered his family home the good old-fashioned way, by researching Roman’s background.
Thankfully, he’d had his business partner, Mort Jenkins, secure lodgings in Loomis while Mort did some legwork talking to folks, following up on the leads Dennis and Clint had supplied. In fact, Roman had been following a clue when he’d found Leah. Clint had taken a drive north and had thought he caught sight of her one day. Roman had driven the same route and stopped at the local mini-mart and charmed information from the cashier. Apparently, Ms. Lang had a guest staying with her. The checker had given directions to Colleen’s house. Roman had hit pay dirt.
Now his prize was in danger. He had to get the ladies to safety.
“There’s a pirogue up ahead,” Roman stated, indicating with his chin the direction of the small rowboat. “We’ll go downstream.”
Leah glanced over her shoulder into the darkness behind them. “Do you think they’ll follow us?”
“Probably, but we have other things to worry about, as well.” Roman couldn’t keep the grim edge from his voice. He kept his gaze sharp for any sign of the gators that lived in the water.
The sounds of bushes being thrashed broke the stillness of the bayou. Their pursuers were right behind them.
“I see the boat,” Leah cried, and rushed forward, the swamp mud rising to her knees.
“Hurry.” Roman carried Colleen to the small wooden boat and set her down on the bench that ran crosswise. While he steadied the small craft for Leah, he kept his gaze trained on the trees they’d just waded through. Any moment he expected to see men racing to finish them off.
Once Leah was settled next to Colleen, Roman pushed the boat from the shore and jumped in. The small vessel rocked unsteadily. Not waiting for the craft to balance on the water, Roman took up the oars and began to row them farther downstream as fast as his arms could go.
Several hundred yards later when he felt a bit safer, he took out his handheld phone. The words No service were highlighted across the screen. Frustration thudded at his temples as he picked the oars back up and continued to row away from their attackers.
“What now?” Leah asked, her soft voice echoing through the stillness of the bayou.
“We’ll keep going until I can get a signal,” he replied, his arms moving the paddles in a steady rhythm. He was careful not to let the oars drop into the water. He didn’t want a splash to alert any would-be predators, human or otherwise, to their presence.
“Do you want me to keep checking your phone?” Leah whispered, her hand extended.
He handed over his BlackBerry. Leah moved the rolling ball that acted as a mouse on the tiny screen and activated the light, which illuminated her face in an eerie bluish glow, making her appear ethereal. “Still no signal.”
Roman kept rowing, his biceps beginning to feel the strain.
A soft splash sounded from somewhere off to their right. The moon’s glow showed the ripples along the surface of the murky waters.
Colleen started and pointed an arthritic finger next to the boat. “There’s something in the water.”
Colleen’s frantic whisper stirred the fine hairs on the back of Roman’s neck. He kept rowing, praying whatever she’d seen would not take an interest. “Stay calm. As long as we don’t bother nature, nature shouldn’t bother us,” he said, hoping his words would hold true.
Leah wrapped her arms around Colleen. “How much longer?”
Wishing he had the answer, Roman increased his effort. Every protective instinct urged him to move faster. “Try the phone again,” Roman instructed.
“Got a signal,” she said. “Who will you call?”
From the troubled look on her pretty face, he figured she thought he intended to call the police. Life certainly would be simpler letting the authorities have Leah, letting them sort out the mystery surrounding her disappearance and the attempts on her life. But the police would see Leah only as a suspect, not an intended victim. No justice in that. No justice at all.
“I’m calling my business partner, Mort. He should be in Loomis by now and have rented a place to stay,” he said to reassure her.
Until Roman discovered who was after Leah and why, it was up to him to keep her safe and out of sight. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself otherwise.
And he prayed he was making the right decision.
The soft pings of the phone dialing seemed like a loud gong in the hushed bayou. Leah’s gaze drifted to the dark waters and the trees beyond the shoreline where danger lurked, watching, waiting for an opportunity. She shivered.
“Mort, Roman here. Call me asap. I need your help,” Roman said into the phone. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his ruggedly handsome face.
That he asked for help spoke volumes of the danger they were in. Leah didn’t figure Roman was a man who sought help from others often, unless the need was great. Obviously their circumstances qualified.
Fear tapped at her. How long would they have to wait here in the swamp? Would they be found before help arrived?
Roman clipped his phone onto his belt, took up the oars again and smoothly rowed, his strong arms bunching with effort. She sent up a silent prayer that he possessed enough strength to protect them.
The boat glided along for what seemed an eternity. Colleen’s head lulled until she finally rested heavily on Leah’s shoulder and her quiet breathing indicated she’d fallen asleep. Leah felt the need to rest, too, but she couldn’t allow herself. What if she had another nightmare? Not a good idea while sitting in a small boat in the middle of dangerous waters.
“I’m sorry about your house,” she said to Roman. Guilt that he’d lost his safe place gnawed at her like the mosquitoes constantly landing on her bare arms.
“Yeah, me, too,” he replied, his voice full of regret and anger. “I should have known better than to take you there.”
The self-recrimination in his tone made her frown. “How could you have known? It not like you’re clairvoyant or anything, are you?”
He gave a short laugh. “No. But I sho
uld have thought it through better. Whoever is after you has resources at their disposal. They knew I was looking for you. They followed the rabbit trail by digging into my background and it led them here. To you.”
She hated hearing his self-blame. “You were operating under the impression that I’d murdered my husband and run away. You had no way of knowing there was someone else at work here. And you took us to the only place you could at the time. I don’t blame you for this. I blame myself. I should have come forward when I first read the news articles.”
He met her gaze and held it, the intensity bright in his eyes despite the faint light of the moon bouncing off the water. “You were afraid,” he stated.
“Yes, I was.” I still am. But she had to get over the fear and face the truth when she found it. For her daughter’s sake.
A sharp, jarring noise exploded from the BlackBerry phone clipped to Roman’s belt. Birds screeched out of their nests in the trees. Leah’s breath halted. A splash from off to the right echoed across the water.
“Sorry. Can’t believe I didn’t put it on vibrate.” Roman hastily lifted the oars from the water to answer the phone.
Colleen started awake. “What’s that?”
“The phone,” Leah said, soothing the older woman’s nerves.
“Mort,” Roman spoke in hushed tones. “I need you to come get us.”
He listened for a moment. “That’s good. Let me see where we are. Hold on a sec while I bring up the GPS.”
He pushed some buttons on the small keypad and stared at the screen before clicking back on with Mort. “We’re about two miles from a service road.” He gave Mort the coordinates. “Be careful that you’re not followed. Someone just tried to burn us alive in my family’s home,” Roman warned before hanging up. “Not long now,” he said, and resumed rowing.
Leah rubbed her itching arms as Roman once again got the boat moving toward their goal. If only her memory would glide as effortlessly toward remembering.
Beside her, Colleen shivered. The night air grew cooler.