Relentless River: Men of Mercy, Book 10

by Lindsay Cross

  “I’m tired,” she said, yawning.

  Bo pressed a tender kiss to her temple, inhaling her scent. “Go to sleep. I’ve got you.”

  And he did. He had her in his arms and he was never letting go.

  It was after midnight when his phone rang again. Cheri didn’t even twitch as Bo eased from the bed and answered it. “What?”

  Bart’s even voice filled his ear. “We’ve got another body. John Redman called it in.”

  Bo dropped his head into his hand. Maybe they did have a serial killer. “Any I.D.?”

  “No. It’s another male. Description sounds a lot like the one we pulled out of the bayou, only this one’s at Party Cove.”

  Bo looked over his shoulder. Cheri hadn’t moved. If this body was in any way related to the first, Bo had to be there. But he couldn’t leave Cheri alone, not with Dupree on the loose and gunning for them both. “Give me ten minutes. I’ll meet you there.”

  Bo hung up and dialed the one other man he could trust to protect Cheri with his life. “Riser?”

  “Who is this?” Riser’s voice was rough with sleep.

  Bo clamped down on his jaw and forced the jealous rage to stay at bay. Cheri was his. She loved him. Riser had feelings for her and he was a trained operative. He would make sure she was safe. “I need you come to my house and watch Cheri.”

  27

  Cheri woke from a deep sleep to the sound of her phone vibrating on the bed stand beside her. Forgetting for a moment where she was and whose bed she was in, she mindlessly grabbed it and answered, “Hello?”

  “You still got my money, bitch.”

  Cheri shot straight up in bed, flinging her arm out to catch herself from falling sideways. “Dupree.”

  “That’s right. You went back on your promise. I told you to come alone.”

  Cheri started to shake. “I – I didn’t tell anyone. He followed me.”

  She was in Bo’s bed. Cheri glanced around frantically searching for him, but the room was empty.

  “I told you what would happen if you crossed me, didn’t I?” Dupree’s smooth, confident voice was gone and in its place, was the voice of a cold-blooded killer.

  “I swear I didn’t tell him. I would never do that to you.” Where the hell was Bo? She had to find him, let him know Dupree was on the phone. Maybe he could trace him or something. Clutching the phone to her ear, Cheri stumbled out of bed and pulling a t-shirt on, silently padded across the bedroom and down the hall. There was a dim glow coming from the living room.

  “It doesn’t matter. I left you a present in the river, something to remind you of what happens to people who betray me.”

  Cheri took off running down the rest of the hall and turned blindly into the living room, nearly tripping over a small table when she saw Riser, not Bo, lying on the couch.

  Riser sat up, immediately awake. Cheri held a finger to her lips indicating he should keep quiet. “What present?”

  What could he possibly be talking about?

  “Let’s just say one less Boudreaux is walking around this planet.”

  Cheri reached out and grabbed onto the back of the chair closest to her. “Who?”

  Please don’t let it be Lamont.

  Riser rose to his feet, concern evident on his face.

  Dupree continued, “I’ll let your boyfriend tell you. You’ve got one hour to meet me behind the car wash on Main Street. And you better come alone and with my money, otherwise the next dead body the Sheriff finds will be yours.”

  Dupree disconnected the call. The phone fell from Cheri’s numb fingers. Riser was there in the next second, moving her to the couch and sitting her down before she collapsed. Her lungs locked and she tried to suck in oxygen, bending forward with the effort.

  “Cheri, who was it?” Riser knelt at her feet.

  “Dupree. We have to find Bo, now.”

  “I’m not letting you out of this house. Bo told me about Dupree, and if he’s coming after you, I can protect you better here.”

  “No! I have to find Bo, have to tell him. Dupree wants me to meet him with the cash. He said he killed someone.”

  Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. Please not Lamont.

  “You’re not going anywhere. Just sit still and let me call him.” Riser got to his feet, pulling his cell phone from his back pocket in one movement. Before he could lift his phone to dial a number, Cheri grabbed his wrist digging her nails into his skin so he would pay attention.

  “If you don’t take me to Bo right now, you’re gonna have to tie me to the chair to keep me here.” Cheri crossed her arms and glared, daring him to say no again.

  Riser lifted his hands in surrender and backpedaled. “Fine. We’re taking my truck, and you’re lying down in the backseat the whole time. I’m not taking the risk of him firing at you through the window.”

  Cheri nodded eagerly, anything to get him moving. Bo could be in danger. She had to warn him, and they had to set up a plan to catch Dupree. “Fine, let me get dressed.”

  Riser looked her up and down once and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Your boyfriend is going to owe me for this big time.”

  *

  A set of headlights arced over the sandbar, painting the river a golden-tan for a second before plunging it back into darkness. Bo heard two doors open and slam shut, followed by the sound of footsteps shuffling through the tall weeds at the top of the hill.

  Bart glanced up at Bo. “Caldwell made record time.”

  Bo nodded back at his deputy. “Go see if he needs help.”

  Bart stood and clapped a hand on Bo’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, boss. I know this is going to hurt her.”

  Bo clenched his teeth and strove for control. “Thanks.”

  He didn’t have the energy to tell Bart not to call him boss. He was too busy fighting the crushing current of guilt threatening to swallow him whole. What was he going to tell Cheri? How could he tell Cheri?

  Thank God, he’d had Riser stay with her. At least he’d have some time before he had to break her heart.

  “I’ve already put Ginger in the cruiser, want me to go on and take her to the hospital?” Bart asked.

  They’d found her nearly incoherent in the tall grass bordering Party Cove a few minutes ago, shaking and muttering to herself about her baby. “Yeah, go on ahead and have Doc check her out. But make sure you don’t let her out of your sight.”

  “Roger,” Bart said.

  “Bo? Are you down there?”

  Bo froze. “Cheri?”

  “I tried to stop her,” Riser called out. And then they were at the top of the hill, and Cheri ran down to him. He was barely aware of standing and going to meet her, of her slinging her arms around his neck.

  He stared over her shoulder as Riser approached, his hands shoved regretfully in his pockets.

  Fucking hell.

  “Dupree called me. He said I had to meet him in an hour and bring him the money. He said he would hurt…” Her voice trailed off when she got a glimpse of his face.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” Bo bit out.

  Panic flared in her green eyes and then her gaze shifted just past his shoulder. Her gasp carried all the way across the river. “No.”

  “Cheri, you need to sit down.” He tried to move her toward the circle of chairs around the small fire off to the left.

  She didn’t hear him; he knew it from the way her face took on a gray tint, and her lips went slack.

  “Cheri—”

  “No!” She shoved both men to the side and ran to the body a few feet behind him, dropping to the ground.

  She was a strong woman. He knew it. Bart knew it. Everyone out here knew it. Strong like bulletproof glass, she’d taken hits in her life and withstood the blows she’d been dealt. But even bulletproof glass would shatter when hit with a grenade.

  And that’s exactly what Cheri did when she saw Lamont’s body.

  She shattered.

  He’d failed her. He failed her just like he’d failed his unit i
n Afghanistan all those years ago when he’d broken the rules. Only this time, they weren’t in a war zone, and Cheri wasn’t a trained Marine, she was a bystander, innocent and beautiful, and he’d destroyed her.

  “Sheriff, don’t you think you need to go to her?” Bart said, just as shaken as Bo.

  “She doesn’t want me. It’s my fault Lamont’s dead.” And he’d been so close to finally bending and accepting life wasn’t about rules and order; a little chaos was good. Cheri was good.

  Only it wasn’t good. Chaos killed people. As Sheriff, he should have prevented that kind of devastation from happening, even more so to the people he loved.

  He took the realization like he’d take a metal pole through his stomach, with grinding pain shooting up into his chest and down into his calves. For a second, Bo thought his knees might buckle, but his training won out, and he locked his knees, even as he watched his chance for love slip away.

  Cheri sobbed openly, on her knees in the dry sand halfway up the beach, bent over Lamont. Every sound escaping her lips wrenched another piece of his heart.

  She didn’t deserve this; Lamont didn’t deserve this.

  He knew she would never look at him again, not with that bright burning light in her eyes. She might not ever talk to him. Touch him.

  He’d been around enough victims’ family members to know exactly what to expect. Dull, hollow gaze. A mouth turned down at the corners in a slack frown, like their lips just didn’t have enough energy to hold themselves up anymore. They walked at a slower rate because when your loved one was dead, picking up your feet was just too fucking hard.

  Bo balled his hands into fists at his sides. He couldn’t stand the thought of seeing her like that. A walking shadow.

  Jason Dupree was a dead man.

  Bo would be the one to take him down, even if he had to hunt him for the rest of his life, he would avenge Cheri. He would wipe the scum-bag from the face of the earth in her name. Then he would disappear from her life and pray she found the strength to move on.

  He would finally accept what he’d known all along. Relationships complicated his job. His feelings for Cheri had clouded his judgment. If he’d gone after Dupree, Lamont would still be alive.

  Bo closed his eyes and forced his fingers to relax, holding his body so still the only thing moving was his heart beating slower and slower as he methodically controlled every minute response. He forced Cheri’s sobs from his awareness and the memory of her touch from his mind. And he forced the last shred of warmth in his heart to freeze.

  He’d been trained to control his emotions and body’s reactions, becoming the most efficient soldier to carry out the mission. Then he’d gotten lazy and sloppy, and just like his drill sergeant had warned, got someone killed.

  Twice.

  He clenched and unclenched his legs and feet, working out the last bit of fury still fighting for a toehold in his emotions.

  When he opened his eyes, there was nothing in front of him except the quietly rushing river and the comforting feel of the sidearm in his holster.

  Riser approached him from the left, and Bo shifted, slightly pointing his foot toward his car. As soon as Bo told Riser what to do, Bo would be gone.

  “Shit man, I’m sorry. I tried to make her stay at home.”

  “I need you to take care of her.” Bo nodded in Cheri’s direction, but he kept his gaze locked on Riser Malone.

  “Me? You need to be over there with her right now. Go hold her and comfort her.”

  “She doesn’t want me,” Bo said with certainty. “But she needs someone, and that someone is you. Promise me you’ll watch after her and keep her safe and…”—Bo fought the bile rising in his throat as he forced the next words out, struggling to keep his face an expressionless mask—“and love her if that’s what she wants.”

  Riser jerked back, blinking rapidly for a second. “Whoa, man. She wants you. Hell, she spent the night with you. The woman’s made her choice. Why are you doing this?”

  “Because I just killed her love for me, and she doesn’t have Lamont to take care of her anymore. That leaves you.”

  Bo would do what was right; he’d take out Dupree and move on. Somewhere Cheri would never go, somewhere she’d never have to hear his name and feel the gut punch of pain.

  “Don’t do this, man. I know what you’re doing, and you’re wrong. She doesn’t blame you for this, you’re going to break her heart if you leave.”

  Bo shook his head. Riser had been through some pretty heavy shit in Special Forces, but he’d never destroyed a woman’s heart the way Bo had. “I’ve already broken her heart, and I won’t stick around to see the hate on her face the next time she looks at me. Tell her I’ll take care of Dupree. I’ll avenge Lamont for her, and then she doesn’t have to worry about ever seeing me again.”

  Riser opened his mouth to try and argue, but Bo didn’t give him a chance. He turned and walked away without a backward glance, leaving his heart behind in the sand at Cheri’s feet where it belonged.

  28

  Bo set up shop in the old abandoned restaurant across from the carwash downtown where Dupree had told Cheri to meet him with the money. There was a broken slab of wood on the side of the building facing the carwash, the perfect size for Bo to slip his rifle through and zero in on his target. He only needed one shot to wipe the bastard off the face of this planet.

  That’s how shit got done—with focused precision and no emotions involved. All he had to do was wait, which was something he was good at. He could sit still for hours and hours without moving, he’d done it in the military often enough, and as sheriff more than once. The end result justified the process.

  His finger caressed the trigger, deliberately sliding down the curve, the heat from his skin warming the metal. He kept his eye to the scope, scanning in a continuous steady motion. If one single thing moved in his surroundings, Bo would know it instantly. Dupree said he’d be there in fifteen minutes, which meant he was somewhere nearby watching and waiting. Men like that didn’t get as far up in the criminal world without intelligence. Now all Bo needed was for Dupree to move a single step, and Bo would take him out permanently.

  He’d left Bart to take care of the body; his deputy had been trained well, and although he was still fresh around the edges he’d lay down his life for this community.

  Bo could email his request for transfer tomorrow morning, maybe somewhere like Montana where he didn’t have to worry about beautiful redheads running around and making him question his logic. Bo could get back to his old self. The one that didn’t feel pain.

  And he could get about the business of forgetting Cheri Boudreaux ever existed.

  A pair of headlights came screeching around the corner, jumped the railroad tracks and skidded to a stop beside the carwash. Cheri shot from the car, running in a mad dash across the small concrete pad leading into the carwash.

  Bo’s heart rate slammed into overdrive. Why was she here? Where the fuck was Riser?

  Some instinct caused his gaze to shift right; he caught a small flash of gold reflecting from the single streetlamp overhead. Dupree stepped out of the bushes on the opposite side of the carwash, pistol raised. Cheri skidded to a stop, freezing on the spot just on the left of the building. Dupree had a clear shot of her straight through the opening in the middle. He lifted his gun and took aim.

  Bo pulled the trigger. His rifle recoiled into his shoulder. There was a loud pop, and Dupree staggered but remained upright. Bo fired off a second shot, nailing Dupree right between the eyes, and the man dropped to the ground, dead.

  Cheri screamed and dove behind her vehicle out of Bo’s line of sight.

  Bo dropped his head against his rifle stock, fighting against the urge to go to her. That was Riser’s job now. He would take her into his arms and carry her home. He would love her and comfort her, treat her like the princess she was.

  I should be comforting Cheri. I should be holding her and touching her and loving her.

  B
ut he couldn’t face her.

  He didn’t deserve to even be in the same town as her. And if he had a shred of honor left, he’d disappear.

  “Bo? Is that you?”

  Bo squeezed his eyes shut against the beautiful melody of her voice. Fight it. Ignore the emotion. You don’t deserve her.

  “I’m coming out!” Cheri said.

  Dammit, what did she want? Why couldn’t she just go? Did she have to torture him? She needed to make him face her loathing, to yell at him for his failure as Sheriff. He’d broken his promise to her. He hadn’t protected Lamont, the one person she’d called family.

  Sweat broke along his brow as he lifted his head and peered down the scope of his rifle. The parking lot was empty, the street deserted.

  Bo’s heart stopped.

  Had he missed Dupree somehow? No. His body was sprawled on the concrete unmoving.

  Where was Cheri?

  “Bo?”

  Bo’s heart kicked back into gear, nearly cracking a rib with the force. He rested his head on his rifle for a second, attempting to calm his breathing before climbing to his feet to face her. She deserved as much from him.

  She stood unmoving in the doorway, her body silhouetted in the light outside. He couldn’t make out her expression.

  “What do you want?” He asked harshly.

  “Why did you leave?” Her voice trembled.

  Because I was too much of a coward to face you. “I needed to finish this.”

  She took a hesitant step forward. “Are you coming home?”

  “No.” He grabbed his gun and slung it over his shoulder, the walls of the building closing in around him. He couldn’t stand in here and wait for her to rip him in two. He had to get out of this building and out of this town.

  Bo tried to walk past her, fighting with every fiber of his being to ignore the heat sizzling in his cells as he drew near. Cheri grabbed his arm, and electricity thundered through him.

  “Where are you going?”

  Bo clenched his teeth so tight he was surprised his jaw didn’t fracture. “Don’t worry, I’m leaving town tonight. You don’t have to see me ever again.”

  He expected her to yell. To hit him. To curse him. He steeled himself against her inevitable hate. He’d stand there and take it like a man. Someone as passionate as Cheri would need to get it out of her system.