Bayou Treasure

by Georgia Tribell

  “Tell me everything.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “Is that one to your liking, sir?”

  The weight and size fit perfectly in his hands. “It is.”

  “You’ll be taking it with you?”

  “Yes. I also need a holster and some ammunition.”

  “Not a problem. I’ll get them from the back.”

  The woman disappeared into the back room of the old rundown building. Turning, he took aim and sighted on an old centerfold poster. He imagined the model’s beautiful face exploding like a watermelon as a bullet ripped through it.

  Things weren’t going as planned and for the last few days everyone had been overly tense. The fact LD was missing was stressful enough, but knowing Marie Bernard was with him only magnified the feeling of impending disaster.

  If their plan worked, he was on easy street. If not—well then it was every man for himself and he planned on being prepared either way.

  He tightened his grip on the gun and felt its strength and power flow into his body. The energy from the weapon fed his confidence, left him feeling larger than life—able to change fate if need be.

  No longer doubting the outcome of this game, he smiled for the first time in days. Armed, he was now indestructible.

  * * * * *

  Marie watched as Nate poled the boat away from the cabin. Wrapping her arms around herself, she shivered and knew the cause was nerves, not the chill of the nighttime air. She moved away from the window and crossed to the small sofa to curl at one end. Over an hour ago, she wiped the last tear from her face. The pity-party was over, she thought as she reviewed the sad state of her life. It was time to face her mistakes and move on.

  She did wonder where she would end up once everything was said and done. At one time she wanted nothing more than her old life back, for no other reason than the comfort zone it provided. Now she feared that’s exactly what she would have once this mess was cleaned up. She’d be right back where she started, living a comfortable life—without LD.

  As if conjured by her thoughts, LD walked into the house, closing the door behind him as he tossed his hat on the table. She would deal with the outcome of her decisions when the time came. Now was the time to deal with one very angry man.

  “You should have built a fire.” His words were clipped as he crossed the room, and she wondered if what she was about to say would make a difference. LD squatted in front of the fireplace and began stacking wood.

  She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. This was harder than she’d imagined. Her heart was racing and her palms were sweaty. There was only one way to do this—feet first, just like the first time you jumped from a high-dive. “I’m not working for Black.”

  Marie jumped when the wood LD held flew into the hearth with a resounding thud. Looking over his shoulder, he pinned her with a hard glare. “The whole truth, Marie, or don’t bother. I’ve had my fill of your half-stories.”

  Once again, he turned his back to her and continued building the fire. She picked up a throw pillow and hugged it to her stomach, hoping it would give her some protection from his much-deserved anger. “The full story from my point of view.”

  He lit the fire, and for several minutes, watched the flames. She was beginning to fear he wouldn’t even let her defend herself. When he turned to face her, fatigue etched his face and he let out a weary sigh. He looked as if his soul was being sucked right out of him. Marie hugged the pillow tighter. She knew she was the reason for his haggard appearance and she was about to make it worse.

  “I’ll listen, but understand I’m damned tired of your games. If I have any reason to think you’re not telling me the complete story, I’ll turn you over to my boss myself.”

  “That’s fair.”

  “Fair or not, that’s how it is. I’m waiting.”

  She could do this, Marie thought as she took a deep breath and plunged in. “For the last ten years, Black’s been using my store as a front to ship his merchandise around the world.”

  That got his attention, she could tell by the way he straightened and became more attentive. “How do you know this?”

  “Black told me the last time we met.”

  “When was that?”

  “The night I was attacked.” Marie reached up and touched her neck. She could still feel Black’s fingers tightening, cutting off her air supply as panic boiled inside of her.

  “He’ll never hurt you again, Marie, I promise you that. Right now though, I need you to tell me the complete story. When you’re done, then I’ll ask questions.”

  She focused her eyes on LD and noticed he’d moved closer to her, but stopped short of touching her. She wanted to be held so badly she ached, but she didn’t have the right to ask. Instead, she did what she should have done the night he’d come to her store and seen the diamonds.

  Forty-five minutes later, LD sat beside her and she handed him the cell phone Black gave her, along with the note that was attached to Timothy’s shirt. She was exhausted and drained beyond belief, yet at the same time, she felt strengthened.

  LD smoothed the note and read it several times before putting it in his shirt pocket. Picking up the phone, he switched it on and began pushing buttons. “There’s no memory recall on this.”

  “No. I tried using it to call Black back, but it wouldn’t work.”

  “It’s been programmed to only receive calls and not hold incoming numbers. It’s done to make calls harder to trace.”

  She watched as LD used his pocketknife to pry the cover off the phone. With the pointed end of the blade, he lifted a small flat disk out of the phone. “He’s been tracking your moves.”

  LD cut the wires to the disk then handed it to her. Marie held the object that was no bigger than a dime with two small wires. “What is it?”

  “It sends a signal that’s received by a special GPS tracking system. Most likely he’s using a small portable handheld model. It would allow Black the freedom to move around as needed.”

  “So that’s how he always found me, even in the parking garage.”

  “Yeah.” LD rubbed his face.

  Her heart skipped a beat as guilt flooded her mind. “He can track us here. He knows where we are.”

  “The signal wouldn’t work out here, it’s not strong enough. The only GPS tracking systems that I know works out here are military. That’s not military issue, so don’t worry.”

  She wrapped her fist around the object. “I’m such a fool.”

  LD stared at her for a few seconds, making her feel even more foolish. “How so?”

  “This,” she opened her hand. “I never thought about stuff like this. In my mind, it was so simple. Find what Black wanted and return it. Then my life would return to normal.”

  “Is that why you wouldn’t accept my help?” His voice was rough.

  She looked across the small space separating them and wished she could see the emotions running through his mind. She tightened her tenuous hold on her gift, resisting the urge to reach out to him, afraid of what she might learn. “Yes. I was arrogant enough to think I could do this alone. By the time I realized it wasn’t going to work, I was in way over my head.”

  “You were in over your head before Boston, you just didn’t know it.”

  Marie sat a little straighter and considered telling him how unkind that comment was, then sagged back against the couch. “I know.”

  Silence filled the air for several long seconds while she built up the courage to ask her next question. “How badly have I screwed up?”

  Enough to possibly spend time in jail, LD thought, as he watched one lone tear slide down her face. Clinching his teeth, he resisted the urge to pull her into his arms and comfort her in a way that would make them both forget. “When we get back to town in the morning, you have to make a formal statement.”

  She visibly paled. “Tomorrow?”

  “You’re a smart woman and you know its time to go back and deal with this. We’re going bac
k in the morning. I won’t let my father jeopardize his career, any more than he already has, by covering for you.”

  She arched one dark eyebrow at him.

  “Okay. For us and for me,” he admitted. “I can’t let him lose his career because of me. I’ve done stupid things but they’ve always impacted my life, not my family’s. Enough about me, this is about you, too. Do you have a good criminal lawyer?”

  Marie clutched the pillow she held tight to her chest like a shield. “No. Mine is good at business contracts and minor traffic violations.”

  “No problem, I know several. We’ll call and find one to meet us at the federal building on our way back into town.”

  “Federal building. You’re turning me over to the FBI.”

  “Alan Conrad has already claimed this case as his. It wouldn’t matter if you went to the local sheriff, you would still end up in FBI custody.”

  He watched as she thought over his words. He admired her spine of steel, even though it was obvious she didn’t see herself that way. She might not have handled the situation the way he would have, but he knew better than to judge her based on that. One never really knew how they would manage a situation until they were faced with it.

  Having made her decision, she turned to him with her chin held high. “I’ll go back and clear my brother and sister and then whatever happens, I’ll manage. But first I have to know Tammie and Timothy are safe.”

  “They’ll be fine, Marie, I promise.”

  “Like Laura?”

  The breath left his lungs in a rush, leaving him unable to talk. That was okay because he had no intention of talking about Laura.

  “Was she your lover?”

  He clinched his fists so tight his short nails bit into his palms. He did not want to talk about this. “No.”

  “Your friend?”

  “Yes.” Why weren’t his feet moving? All he needed to do was stand and walk out the door, and the conversation would be over.

  “Did you work with her?”

  “No, I learned from her. We were assigned as partners, but she was more like my mentor. I was so green. Two years out of the academy and thought I knew it all. Then I met Laura McAllen and realized I knew nothing.” He smiled then, remembering how Laura allowed him to follow a dead lead until he discovered his mistake, and then she’d guide him back to what he missed.

  “So, she taught you a lot?”

  “She was remarkable.” He sat at the other end of the couch and continued. “Not just as an agent, but as a person. She taught me some of my most important life lessons. When I first met her, she was forty-six.”

  “Ancient.” Marie said with a small smile.

  LD smiled back. “Remember, I was only twenty-four and still thought if you were over thirty, you had to be drawing Medicare.”

  “I really don’t have a problem picturing you that way, you know.”

  LD frowned at her. “I think I’ve been insulted.”

  She smiled and he felt it all the way to his toes. Then her face sobered. “What happened?”

  LD turned toward the fire, but instead of seeing the flames, images that would haunt him forever drifted through his mind. Cold sweat broke out across his forehead as his stomach rolled. He couldn’t do this; the words wouldn’t get past the lump in his throat. He shivered even though it was far from cold in the room.

  Slender fingers laced with his and gripped his hand tightly. He hadn’t realized she’d moved. “You don’t have to talk about it.”

  “Yeah, I do.” He released her hand and pulled her onto his lap. He pulled a blanket around them both, and then his arms circled her. He needed an anchor and she was it. “We were on assignment and Laura was leading her team of agents to find Black and bring him in. I was second in charge and took my team down to Alabama to raid a halfway house. Black was using young teen mothers and their babies to smuggle goods in and out of the country.”

  “How horrid.”

  “Believe me the details are more than horrid. Anyway, we raided the house and it got nasty. Black’s lover, a man who we only knew as Racer, was there. He took a mother and her baby hostage, said he was going to kill them if he didn’t get a ride out of there. We weren’t about to let him go, so I didn’t give him the chance to hurt them.”

  She sat sideways in his lap with her legs on the couch seat, leaning against his chest. Her head was tucked under his chin and he couldn’t see her eyes, but he felt her arms move to encircle his waist. “You did your job, what you were trained to do.”

  That was little comfort, LD thought then continued. “Two weeks later, it was the Fourth of July and the team was starting to fall apart. Most of us had been working nonstop for months. Laura demanded we take a break, spend time with our families. She left a skeleton crew working and sent the rest of us home.

  “We got a tip from an informant that Black was hiding out at a ranch in West Virginia. Laura pulled together a group and went after Black, but it was the holiday weekend and most agents were out of town and local law enforcement couldn’t spare many people. The group was small, hastily assembled and not used to working together.”

  LD held Marie tighter. He’d never told anyone this story, not from beginning to end. He could stop and she wouldn’t say a word, but he needed to talk about it. “I was uncomfortable leaving that weekend, but I came home anyway. When I received a call to come back immediately, I asked a friend who owned a private plane to fly me. I arrived at the scene in time to see the carnage. The team was led into an ambush, like cattle to the slaughter. I watched as they bagged and carted off Laura’s body and those of other agents I knew. Some were my friends, coworkers, and people I’d gone through training with. Others were law enforcement officers just doing their jobs.”

  She held him for several long minutes without speaking. “You blame yourself, why?”

  “I blame myself for not being there, not being able to help.”

  “You’d be dead if you were there.”

  “I know.”

  “I’m very glad you weren’t.”

  So was he. For the first time in years, he didn’t feel guilty for being alive. In fact, he was thankful to be alive and here.

  “Laura would want you to live a full life, not waste the one you have. In fact, she’d kick your butt if she could and tell you to stop wasting your life before it passes you by.”

  He went perfectly still at those words. “How do you know that?”

  A small rise and drop in her shoulders let him know she’d heard him. “I opened myself to your feelings. I could feel the hurt and anger.”

  He couldn’t count the number of times Laura told him the exact same thing. How he needed to start living his own life. When he’d tell her he was, she’d shake her head and tell him he was running from life—not living it.

  “You’d better live your life today, LD,” Laura’s words whispered through his mind. “There might not be a tomorrow.”

  Silently, he promised Laura he would start living his life, now that he’d found someone worth living it with. The restlessness that dogged him for years melted away and contentment filled the void. He no longer felt the need to keep one step ahead of his guilty conscience.

  Instead, he thought he could stay here for the rest of his life and be perfectly happy. He closed his eyes and kissed the top of Marie’s head, knowing the world wouldn’t let them stay hidden forever.

  As if sensing his thoughts, Marie shifted in his lap and sighed. “I wish I didn’t feel so helpless.”

  Her words took him by surprise and he moved so he could see her face. “Explain.”

  “I feel so inadequate to deal with a person like Black. You, on the other hand, know exactly what to do.”

  He smiled down at her. “You know the government has spent a lot of money training me to know how to deal with the Blacks of this world.”

  “I know.” Her statement was a whisper as she sagged against him.

  It bothered him seeing her like this. “You fou
ght back yourself in Boston.”

  “With rusty self-defense skills which, if you remember, did me no good.”

  He could feel her self-confidence dipping lower and lower. There was only one thing to do about that. Gripping her around the waist, he lifted her to a standing position. “Then there’s no time like the present to refresh those skills.”

  She stumbled once before gaining her footing. “What are you talking about?”

  LD pushed the couch out of the way then shoved the coffee table across the room. “I’m going to teach you to SING.”

  Marie laughed and a nervous little sound came out. “Hate to burst your bubble, but I can’t carry a tune even in the shower.”

  He knew, but this had nothing to do with vocal skills. “Did you ever see the movie Miss Congeniality?”

  “Yes, but I’m no gun-toting Sandra Bullock.”

  LD chuckled. “I’m not expecting you to be, but learning the basics behind SING—Shins, Instep, Nose, Groin could make all the difference next time someone tries to attack you.”

  “I can’t fight a grown man.”

  “No, you can’t, but if you SING correctly, you won’t have to. You just make them lose concentration for a split second and while their guard is down, you run like hell.”

  He took her by the arm and pulled her to him. Turning her around, he brought her back flush to his front. Heat radiated where their bodies touched. Gritting his teeth, he refused to let his body respond to her nearness. There would be time for that later. He wrapped his left arm around her neck in a chokehold and whispered, “Lesson number one.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  LD made a startled grunting sound as his back hit the floor. Marie wasn’t sure who was more surprised, him or her, but the look on his face was priceless. She performed a little victory dance as she hooted with delight. Twirling around, she squealed as a hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her down. She landed with a thud on his chest.

  “You’d never have knocked me down if I hadn’t been in my socks.”