Before Nelson could respond, Adele rushed across the room and pulled Narcisse into a huge hug.
“I’m so relieved you’re back,” she said. “I was so afraid something really bad was going to happen to you.”
“I’m sorry I took off without talking to you first. I’m sure you could have convinced me to stay.”
Adele pulled away, small tears in the corners of her eyes. “Just promise that if you ever feel that way again, you really will come to me.”
“Of course I will.”
“Good.” Adele gave Narcisse another squeeze and then retreated back into the kitchen crowd.
As Narcisse and her mates filled their plates and settled the table, they encountered smiles from everyone who made eye contact with them.
“Feelin’ okay this mornin’?” Armand asked.
“I do,” she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. “And I’m so sorry I caused so much trouble. I should have done a better job of talking about the problems I was having.”
“If you ever start feelin’ that way again, I’m sure Nelson and I can give you a reminder that you’re wanted here.”
Narcisse giggled. “I just might take you up on that.”
After breakfast, Narcisse walked through the boat to Serafine’s quarters. It was time for her to resume her shifting practice. This time, she wasn’t going to let anything stand in her way. She was ready to commit to her new life, as strange as it had become.
Even though the congregation had welcomed her back with smiles and applause, Narcisse was still nervous as she walked into Serafine’s rooms. She felt as though she still had to atone for the mess she had created by running away. She was relieved that Armand and Nelson had escorted her to Serafine’s home. She was a little intimidated about facing down the all-powerful voodoo queen alone.
“Before we begin, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry I ran away,” Narcisse said. “I should have talked to Armand and Nelson, or I should have talked to you. Adele would have been a good confidante, too. I should have listened to you when you said I couldn’t leave. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, and that I caused so much trouble.”
Serafine stroked Narcisse’s hair. “All is forgiven. You’re back, order has been restored, and everyone is healthy. I’m just glad they were able to get to you in time. Didn’t want another tragedy like we had last time. Especially because my replacement ain’t here yet.”
Narcisse raised her eyebrows. “Nelson and Armand said you said something like that. What does it mean?”
“It means that the next voodoo queen ain’t livin’ here right now. She needs to find her way to her place in the bayou. Just like you did.”
“How long will that be?”
“The spirits only tell me certain things. I don’t have that information. But it don’t matter right now. What matters is that you’re back.”
“And we’re gonna make sure you feel welcome here from now on,” Armand said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
Narcisse leaned her head against him and smiled. Nelson flashed a grin at her, and she couldn’t help but blush. Even with her minor embarrassment, she couldn’t help but glow at the warm reception the congregation gave her. She thought they’d shun her, but instead, they’d welcomed her as though she had come home.
This wasn’t home yet. But Narcisse decided to give it one more try to see if it could be.
* * * *
Armand looked over his shoulder and smiled at Narcisse as he powered his boat to life.
“Now obviously, there ain’t much to catch right now, so I hope you ain’t bored.”
Narcisse laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I just want to learn.”
Armand steered the boat out toward the area where the congregation had established pot traps. Normally, he and Nelson fished with nets, while another boat checked and maintained traps, but with so little fishing work to be done and plenty of time to kill, he and Nelson had sometimes done double duty.
When they approached the first trap, Armand killed the engine. “First, we’re gonna check for crawfish.” He grabbed the rope and looked at Narcisse. “You wanna pull it up?”
She gave him a small smile and tentatively circled her hands around the rope and gave a gentle tug.
“Naw, you’re gonna have to give it more than that, baby.” He wrapped his hands around hers and tightened the grip, then gave the rope a good, hard pull. The trap started to move up through the water, and Armand showed her how to keep pulling it up. The trap burst through the water, but there were only two crawfish sitting in it.
“Goddamn,” Nelson cursed. “I feel like we should be used to small catches by now, but it don’t ever get easier to see the traps like that.”
“No, it don’t,” Armand said. He handed Narcisse a pair of gloves. “Here, baby. Wanna take them out?”
She paled slightly. “Oh, I don’t know.”
He chuckled. “They ain’t dangerous, and you have gloves. Don’t you worry.”
Narcisse put the gloves on, and when Armand popped open the trap, she made a tentative grab for the crawfish. She got one, but the second crawfish escaped her and darted on the trap, landing on the floor of the boat.
Narcisse squealed and almost lost control of the crawfish she had. Nelson acted fast and passed her a bucket they used to store their catch. Narcisse dropped it in and continued to try to stay away from the crawfish.
“Careful, baby, or you’ll tip the boat,” Armand said. He grabbed the crustacean with his bare hands and popped it in the bucket.
“I can’t believe you touched that thing with your bare hands,” she said.
Armand shrugged. “It’s just a fish. Ain’t no thing. C’mon, let’s go check the rest of the traps.”
They only yielded a total of ten crawfish that day, but by the time they were done with the traps, Narcisse was able to haul them out of the water with ease, and was less skittish around the catch.
“Okay,” he said when they had checked the last trap. “Now it’s time to cast a few nets and see if anythin’ happens.” He steered the boat out toward deeper water while Nelson readied the nets.
Suddenly, Narcisse gripped Armand’s arm. “Is that what I think it is?”
Armand looked in the direction where she was pointing. One of Pomet’s boats was floating in the water, its giant cathode sticking out to lure what fish there were left to their doom.
“Aw, shit.”
“You sound surprised,” Nelson said. “Ain’t like we haven’t seen ’em every single day we’ve been out here.”
“I still wake up every mornin’ hopin’ that won’t be the case.”
Suddenly, someone walked out on the deck and began checking the cathode.
“Narcisse, baby, you lie down in the bottom of the boat, okay?”
“Why?”
“I don’t know how this guy is gonna react if he sees us. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Narcisse curled up in a ball on the floor, and Armand adjusted their course slightly to move them out of sight. The last thing he wanted was for Pomet’s lackey to freak out if he got caught. He wanted to take the whole operation down, but not in a way that was going to endanger his mate.
Armand glanced over his shoulder again and caught Pomet’s employee looking in their direction. He quickly averted his gaze, pretending as though he didn’t notice what was going on.
Finally, Nelson said, “We’re all clear.”
Armand didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until he heard those words. “He saw us,” he said after a deep exhale.
“I know. But he didn’t do anythin’. I think we’re okay.”
“Can I get up now?” Narcisse asked.
“All clear, baby.”
“Why didn’t you confront them?”
“First, I wasn’t about to risk you gettin’ hurt. Second, even if it had just been Nelson and me, we’d still have been outnumbered. It don’t make sense to get ourselves killed.”
Narcisse laid her hand on
his shoulder. “Please don’t. I like having both of you in my life.”
Armand couldn’t help but grin as he continued to pilot to deeper water.
When they stopped the boat, Armand handed her the net’s landline. “You cast it from this, kinda like how you’d cast a regular fishin’ line.”
“I’ve, uh, I’ve never cast a regular fishing line.”
“In that case, I’ll demonstrate this time, and you can try it next.”
Armand cast the net with ease, using the same fluid motions he’d been practicing since childhood. When it was time to pull the net back up, Armand began to tug on it, and winced at how light it was. Then he realized that they might not have many fish , but the lighter weight would allow Narcisse to practice with it more.
“Now, when these nets are full of fish, you they’re gonna be too heavy for you to pull by yourself, but why don’t you give it a shot now?”
He handed her the landline, and Narcisse looked nervous for a moment, but then formed a determined expression and began to pull the net up. There were maybe two dozen fish in the bottom, which was a pathetic catch, but in that moment, Armand didn’t care. The look of pride on Narcisse’s face was enough for him.
“You want more help castin’ the net, or do you wanna try it yourself this time?”
“I think I’ll try it myself,” Narcisse said with a grin. Her motions were clunky and fumbling, but she managed to get it into the water. With a few more throws, she was starting to look elegant and composed.
After an hour, Armand decided they had probably done the best they could for the day. “Looks like we ain’t gonna catch much more,” he said. “Might as well turn around and head back.”
“Normally we’d be out here all afternoon,” Nelson said. “Hopefully this’ll all get fixed soon.”
“I hope so, too. I like doing this. It’s definitely more fun than shucking or doing the recordkeeping.”
Armand laughed. “You bet it is.”
“Maybe I could start coming out here more often?”
“You bet,” he said, giving her a quick kiss before he started the boat back up.
As Armand steered back toward the congregation, he felt an odd nervousness settle in the back of his mind. Narcisse seemed happy that afternoon, but she could still decide to be banished. He wasn’t sure one good day would be enough to keep her there.
Chapter Eight
Nearly two weeks had passed since Adele had filed her report, but Nelson and Armand had done surveillance every day and determined that Pomet’s boats were still active.
Andre slammed his hand onto the table one night while people were filling up bowls with fresh gumbo. “How much longer is this gonna take?”
“Hard to say,” Adele said. “The government can be slow about things. Especially if the company has been able to pay them off. This might never get resolved.”
“Unacceptable,” Manuel said. “We’re just gonna have to take matters into our own hands.”
“Now wait a minute,” Nelson said. “Ain’t that dangerous? We try to avoid interactin’ with the rest of the world for a reason. Us tryin’ to take Pomet’s operation by ourselves? That seems like a recipe for trouble.”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m desperate,” Andre said. “Things are startin’ to get bad for us. We might have to shut down operation soon if the population don’t bring itself back up.”
“Then it’s settled,” Manuel said. “We’re gonna go take those boats down ourselves.”
Serafine snorted. “You know there’s other ways to get what you want. Easier ways, too.”
“Serafine, there ain’t no way a voodoo spell is gonna be easier than what I’m thinkin’ about doin’.”
Nelson raised his eyebrows. “What, you plan to just walk onto those ships and expect they’ll shut down when we explain that they’re ruinin’ our business?”
Andre snorted. “Don’t be a fool. We know where they dock their boats. We gonna sneak down there at night and dismantle the mechanism.”
Narcisse jumped in. “I don’t think that’s the best idea. Their shipyard is probably full of security guards. That’s not cheap equipment, after all. And if we get caught, we’re the ones who are going to be in trouble, not Pomet’s people. And Adele told me all about what happened the last time you had a run-in with security guards.”
“What do you suggest then?” Manuel asked, his tone laced with ice. “We tried doin’ it Adele’s way, and it don’t seem to be workin’ out too well, now does it? Time to take a more direct approach.”
“What—what about what Serafine just suggested?”
“I think I know how to handle my business than you do.”
Nelson reached out and placed his hand on Narcisse’s leg, hoping to take the sting off of Manuel’s attack. He knew Manuel didn’t mean any harm, and was acting out of frustration, but the last thing he wanted was to make Narcisse feel as though she didn’t belong.
“What if we just confronted Pomet?” Armand interjected. “It might move things along faster, and then we ain’t doin’ anything illegal.”
Manuel laughed. “You serious? What good do you think that will do? No, we’re goin’ in, and we’re gonna destroy some boats. It’s the only way.”
“Look, I know some of you don’t think this is right,” Andre said. “But think of the bayou. Think of the fish and the water. It ain’t just our business we’re protectin’. It’s this entire space. Our home. Our world. The bayou is just as much a part of me as my teeth or my heart. It’s as important to me as any member of this congregation. And I’ll do whatever it takes to protect it, no matter what kind of risk that entails.”
Nelson looked at Armand and sighed. Armand rolled his eyes but then nodded. Nelson knew that no matter how much they disagreed, Manuel and Andre had made up their minds, and there was no sense in trying to fight them.
They sat around the table until late into the night making plans. It was decided that they would split into two teams. Nelson and Armand would go with Manuel and Andre. Oscar and Xavier would go with Xavier’s fathers, Simon and Robert. They’d also be joined by Gabriel and Virgil, two younger gators who had recently come under control of their power and were looking to expand their role in the congregation. Armand looked more and more frustrated as the conversation went on, but Nelson knew he wasn’t about to contradict his fathers, and he certainly didn’t blame him.
“What about me?” Narcisse asked. “I could be the lookout.”
Nelson caught his breath as he watched the other gators around the table carefully eye each other.
Manuel shook his head. “Sorry, darlin’. I know you wanna help, but you gotta understand, it’s dangerous. This ain’t the place for you.”
Nelson saw the hurt immediately beginning to form on Narcisse’s face and jumped in, hoping to ameliorate the situation before any major damage was done.
“I know you want to help us out, but you don’t have enough control over your power yet. This is gonna be dangerous enough for the rest of us. But you’re still new to this. It’s hard to control your body when you’re first startin’ out, and it’s made even more difficult if you’re scared or stressed out. This ain’t the mission for you.”
“I know you wanna be more included in the things we do ’round here,” Armand said, “but it’s up to Nelson and me to protect you. We wouldn’t be doin’ right if we put you in danger.”
Narcisse opened her mouth to protest but then closed it, looking completely dejected. Nelson squeezed her hand and smiled, but she didn’t perk up.
“It’s settled, then,” Andre said as he and Manuel stood up from the table. “We do this tomorrow night. We’ll head out around eleven. It’ll be plenty dark by then, and everyone but the security guards will have gone home for the night.”
“I still don’t understand how you’re going to escape them,” Narcisse whispered to Nelson, sounding slightly bitter.
“We’ll be okay. Manuel and Andre know what they’r
e doin’. But that’s part of why you can’t come along. It’s just too risky when you’re not in control of your shift yet, especially when we’ll have guards to contend with.”
She sighed. “I understand. You’re trying to protect me. But who’s going to protect you?”
Armand came up from behind them and embraced Narcisse. “Baby, I know you’re worried about us. But there are some things you should know about bein’ a shifter that we haven’t told you yet. Maybe explainin’ ’em to you will make you feel better.”
“Things I should know? Like what?” She eased herself onto the bed, and both men settled next to her.
“For one thing,” Nelson said, taking her hand, “our skins our bulletproof when we’re in gator form.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Bulletproof?”
He nodded. “Bein’ in gator form has a few disadvantages. You can’t move quite as fast, and you’re low to the ground. But our jaws are powerful weapons, and if we get shot or stabbed, there ain’t a blade or a gun that can do us a lick of damage.”
Armand stroked her hair. “On top of that, even if we do get hurt when we’re in human form, we can heal faster than we would if we weren’t shifters.”
“It’s almost instantaneous,” Nelson added.
“So you can’t be killed?”
Armand shook his head. “We ain’t immortal. But it’s gonna be damn hard for Pomet, or anyone else, to take us down.”
“You don’t need to worry about us, baby. We can take care of ourselves.”
Narcisse’s eyes sparkled. “I think there are some things you need a woman for, though.”
“Oh?” Armand asked, a mischievous expression on his face. “And what would those be?”
She slipped her shirt off and started hurrying out of her jeans. “I know damn well that masturbation isn’t nearly as satisfying as real sex.”
Nelson’s cock started to go hard as he imagined what he could do with her body. He hurried out of his own clothes and then bounded over to where Narcisse lay on the bed, striking a seductive pose. He immediately pulled off her panties as Armand reached his arms around to unhook her bra. Nelson eased a fingertip up and down her pussy lips, barely delving into the slit.
Rose, Charlotte - Bayou Famine [Shifters of Alligator Bend 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 10