Bayou Baby (7 page)

“I will not rush things. This time it will be right between us.” He brushed a tender kiss along her jaw before lowering his head to her breasts.

She winced as his lips passed over the welts from the night before.

“I suppose for tonight we could simply talk.”

His words shocked Rowan. She opened her eyes. “What will you tell Rosaline?”

Henri picked up her dress and tore it in half. Then he took a small pocketknife out and pricked his finger. He smeared the blood across the sheets making it look as though a version of the torture of the night before had occurred.

He took her hand and led her to the bed, then motioned for her to sit. “I will tell her I had a good time, that you resisted a little, but I was able to handle it. It is what she expects. They left so many bruises, they’d never know if I left more or not.”

“Someone will come. They’ll figure it out.”

“I paid for the entire night. They’ll leave us alone. Unlike Lucien, I enjoy privacy and she knows that.”

“Why are you doing this? You don’t love me. You don’t give a damn about me. I’m not stupid or naïve enough to believe I’m so beautiful that you’d betray someone as powerful as my father in order to have me.”

“Your what?” His eyes widened.

She cursed herself. He didn’t know and now he’d believe she was a liar and take his deal back.

“Never mind.”

“Who told you that? Rosaline?”

”My mother told me, and it’s not a lie.” Rowan’s eyes dared him to disagree with her.

“Interesting. Does he know?”

“Mama told him, but he says it’s a story she told to try to get his money. After what he did to me last night, I hope he truly believes what he says. If he knows I’m his child, then he’s more than just evil. He is sick.”

Henri sat next to her and took her hand. “We may be able to use this, Rowan. Is there any proof?”

“Of course not. If there was he’d have gotten rid of us long ago.” She lowered her gaze to his hand. He traced her palm with his index finger and thumb, sending a tickling sensation down her arm, warming her belly. The feeling wasn’t unpleasant, but it was new to her.

“Let me speak to him.”

Rowan pulled her hand away and shook her head. “It won’t do me any good to tell him again. He doesn’t believe it. When he first attacked me, I begged him to stop and I told him what Mama said to me. He laughed, called Mama a liar and then did horrible things. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“All right, I don’t want to know anyway. Just promise me you’ll hold to our deal; that you won’t run from me.”

Rowan smiled and looked him in the eye. “If you get me out of here, I’ll do whatever you want.”

Henri stayed with Rowan the entire night, leaving when someone discreetly knocked on the door.

“Not a word about Lucien or what we didn’t do last night,” Henri warned. “You keep to your end of the deal and I’ll keep to mine. Cross me,
mademoiselle,
and you will regret it.”

“I told you already, I’ll give you what you want. I don’t know why you want someone who detests you, but it’s your decision. I don’t pretend to understand men.”

He kissed her cheek and left.

Rowan lay down and stared at the ceiling. Had she just committed herself to a worse fate? Would there ever be a day when she wasn’t someone’s slave?

The door burst open and Lucien stormed in, his face red, and his eyes narrowed. Slamming the door behind him, he advanced toward the bed. “So,
ma petite,
you try to pull one over on me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Henri is what I am talking about. You fooled him into believing I would set you free.”

“I did no such thing.” Rowan tried to keep her gaze direct, but a blush warmed her cheeks.

“Let me tell you so that you never find yourself hopeful and so you might stop wasting your energies plotting with my friends against me. You are not going anywhere unless it is in a wooden box. Now you know who has the power here. It is not Rosaline. I own her as well. I own this whole town. Get used to that idea. There is nothing you can do; nowhere you can go where I won’t find you. You will not be free of me until I say so.”

Rowan stared. How far did his reach extend? If he owned Rosaline, what was she to do against him? “I don’t see Rosaline bowing to anyone,
Monsieur.
Forgive me, but she seems rather independent.”

“She does as I tell her to do. Don’t doubt that. I own this house and everyone in it. Henri is nothing but a boy, and he will not buy you for any price. No one will.”

“I don’t care about Henri. I don’t know what he told you. I hate him and everything he stands for. I hate all of you.”

“Oh, you break my heart. After all we’ve shared; still you feel nothing for me?” His voice mocked.

Lucien leaned over the bed, drawing his face close to brush his lips against her cheek.

She pulled away as shivers coursed down her spine.

He leaned closer, his mouth curving into a grin against her ear. “You will never be free, Rowan. I will never allow it. You are a whore, and you will die a whore.”

He moved away.

She turned to look him in the eye. Empty pools. Within his gaze lay an impenetrable darkness that chilled her. Gazing into those eyes Rowan knew with absolute certainty that she would have to kill him to be free. No matter what Henri said, she would not escape this life while Lucien breathed.

“I will be free
Papa,
although you won’t see it.”

He frowned.

She smiled, pushing him further than she felt wise with her taunts. But she no longer cared. She would rather be dead than endure this house for the rest of her life.

“No one will cross me. If I say you’re to remain my slave forever, you will.”

“And if I kill you, then you won’t be able to say anything. How great will the Dumas name be when a whore inherits? I am your child after all, your only ‘living’ kin. With you gone, it would all be mine.
Non?”

His fist smashed into her jaw.

Pain exploded in her face and her teeth sank into her tongue, filling her mouth with blood. She spit on the floor and grinned. It hurt like hell, but she refused to give anybody the satisfaction of cowering before them.

Lucien straightened his shirt and glared. “You have much to learn. I see our little lesson hasn’t taught you respect, perhaps you need another.”

“I don’t respect vermin,
Monsieur.
You are vile and disgusting and I meant what I said. If I die trying, I will be the one to see you breathe your last breath.”

“I doubt that very much. What could a swamp rat, a little girl, do to me? Nothing. I’m not afraid of your voodoo either. It’s child’s play. Anyone can call a ghost, even I know that.”

She smiled and wiped her mouth. It flamed, the fire spreading through her jaw. “I didn’t call a ghost. You will see; I don’t need magic to destroy you. You are only a man after all, and men die every day.”

A muscle in his jaw twitched.

She knew he wasn’t going to let her display of contempt go unchecked. She would pay for this, and she welcomed it. As long as they continued to abuse her, her desire for revenge would flourish. Rowan didn’t want to lose the hate in her heart, she wanted to nurture it and make it so strong that there would be no denying it. She didn’t want to back down at the crucial moment when each met their deaths.

The old Rowan would never have contemplated murder; she was far too sweet and kind. The Rowan they had created was different. She barely recognized herself anymore. Where her heart and her conscience had once been, she felt darkness so vast it frightened her. She would be fine once they had all paid for their sins against her.

Could she ever go back to the girl she was before? As Rowan watched Lucien close the door and turn the lock she wasn’t sure. When he began to remove his clothes, the shadows that shielded her mind from the sickness he was about to commit crept back. If she didn’t break free soon, the old Rowan would be lost forever.

Henri paced the worn floor of the little shack. The anger rising off his body made Jolene’s head ache. She did not have the energy to deal with him. She didn’t have the energy for anyone.

“Please, Henri. Tell me what it is and then go. I am tired.” She sat up against the pillows and smoothed her blanket.

“Rowan is in trouble. She has been used terribly; you must know what is happening.”

“What am I going to do, Henri? I am sick, I can’t even go outside without becoming so tired I pass out. How am I going to change anything?”

“Lucien has bought her. He owns her, and he is making sure he takes his money’s worth.”

“Lucien will tire of her.”

“Perhaps, but what will happen to her then? I tried to take her from him but he will not let her go. He said the only way she’d escape is through death.”

“So she’ll have to remain a whore. It’s not the best fate, but he’ll provide her with a home and food.”

“Do you know what they are doing to her, Jolene? Do you know how they are abusing her? She is not the girl that left here. She won’t ever be that girl again.”

“You were all for this only days ago. Now she has to do something she finds distasteful and you regret your decision. Did she cry to you? You always did have a soft spot for her tears. She will grow accustomed to it in time. Don’t worry.”

“I can’t believe you are saying these things. Does your illness make you daft? How can you just ignore what I’m saying? I am not blinded by her tears, she did not cry at all. Don’t you see? She isn’t asking for anything.”

Henri ran one hand through his hair and sighed. He was such an attractive young man. Jolene had been flattered the first time he came. Inexperienced and bold he had bragged how he would teach her a thing or two.

Then he began to notice Rowan, and things changed. Ten years her senior, he tried to be the adult. He tried to leave her alone. Jolene watched as he kept his distance, watching the girl, memorizing her, but not once did he touch her. Unlike the others, he didn’t even ask. Jolene could see his desire in the way his cheeks flushed and how his smooth words faltered around Rowan, and she encouraged him to court her daughter. In time, he paid to visit Jolene to be near Rowan. He’d been unable to perform with her while Rowan was near.

Jolene stepped in after realizing Rowan returned his feelings. The child believed Henri would marry her; a fairy tale they couldn’t afford. She’d given Henri permission to lay with Rowan, but told him to make it clear he was not offering marriage. The aftermath had been bitter, and it pained Jolene to see her daughter’s anger, but it was a valuable lesson for Rowan.

Frankly, Rowan’s resistance the second time, when Henri paid for the privilege of bedding someone who’d given it away before, surprised Jolene. If only Rowan realized what she could do, simply because she was a woman, she’d make the best out of what she’d been given rather than crying to idiots like Henri.

“You have nothing to say?” Henri prompted. “Do you not care at all for her? She’s your only child.”

“You had a hand in this as well, Henri. Not only did you take her innocence, you eagerly stomped any dreams she might have had into dust just the other night.”

“It wasn’t supposed to go that way.”

“Oh, I know what you intended, but she rejected you and that made you angry.”

“I tried to be gentle.”

“No you didn’t. My point is you were eager to help me get her into this situation. Why give into regret now? She cannot be anything else.” Jolene turned from him. She didn’t have the strength to argue. He was wearing her out; her chest ached with the effort.

“At least five men took her the first night. One after the other, they beat her and raped her in ways I’d never imagined before. Is that what she is meant to be? She is bruised and bloodied from what they did.”

“If she resisted, I’m not surprised it was painful. She must let go of her pride.”

“It wasn’t about pride. They humiliated her and the first one to do it was Lucien. Her own father. Is that her destiny? They had more lined up the next night, but when I came in, I paid for the entire night just to give her body time to heal. She is broken, inside and out.”

Jolene turned her back to him, tears soaking her cheeks. No, it couldn’t be true. She couldn’t have been that blind. Rosaline would never allow such a thing. “Please go. You are regretting your actions and that is fine. I know you care for her. If you had been willing to marry her then she wouldn’t be there now.”

“If you had just given her to me, she would be safe. I did nothing wrong. You, on the other hand, have betrayed your only child and for what? Money? I only regret I wasn’t willing to pay you as much as Rosaline.”

“Get out,” Jolene whispered.

“You will go straight to Hell if you stand by and do nothing.”

“I’ve already done what I can. Rowan will survive. She is a Dumas after all. They know how to get things done.”

“I will get her out of there.” He stomped to the door. Jolene closed her eyes and tried to draw a breath. She turned her face into the damp pillow, trying to forget him, but Henri was not finished, and his final words echoed in her mind. “When I do, she won’t ever be back here again. You will die alone, Jolene. I hope you’re happy.”

He left, slamming the door hard enough to rattle the walls of the shack. Jolene shook with the force of her grief, but had no tears left. He was right. She would go to Hell. Still, even Hell would be far better than the life she’d endured so far.

Jolene lay on the bed, gathering Rowan’s pillow to her face to smell her daughter’s sweet scent, when Lucien intruded again in her mind. She shivered. How could she have believed she loved that man? Worse, she believed he cared for her as well.

If Pascal was perverse and twisted, Lucien is capable of far worse. His heart and his soul were as black as his eyes. She believed he’d gone for good, and figured she only had his father to worry about. Jolene had taken care of Pascal. She hadn’t intended to kill him, but he deserved what happened, and Lucien deserved far worse.

She stared at the wall and the brown stains from the water that leaked through the roof, revisiting the moment she burned her bridges with Lucien. Pascal had been eyeing Rowan more each time he visited, and Jolene worried he wouldn’t be satisfied with looking for long. She had visited the old woman, Mama Gator. It was rumored the old woman killed Lucien’s family and thought she’d found a friend or at least an ally. She told Mama Gator about Rowan and her desire to protect the girl and the woman told her to give Pascal a potion.

“Put it in his drink, he’ll be unable to force any attention on any woman.”

What Mama Gator hadn’t told Jolene was that the potion would cause the old man’s heart to stop beating. For three nights, Jolene had put the potion in his drink. She could have investigated it more, learned what was in it, but a part of her wanted him to die, and hoped it was poison. That part knew Mama Gator didn’t mess around.

When she learned of his passing, Jolene felt relief first, then a fear so intense she could barely function. She couldn’t focus, her mind riddled with questions. Who would keep Lucien away now? How would she keep Rowan safe? The answer came, once more, in the form of the crazy old woman who claimed to be a voodoo queen.

Jolene didn’t like that Rowan learned the dark magic, but the old woman seemed to love Rowan like her own, and cursed any who would harm her. The bottom line was, Mama Gator managed to keep Lucien from her daughter, and Jolene didn’t care how she did it.

Now that Mama Gator was dead, no one could help them. Lucien could get rid of Rowan any time he wished. And Jolene could do nothing to stop him. Henri’s words haunted her, but Rowan would survive. Of that, she had little doubt. She might suffer, but she would fight. Jolene knew her daughter was stronger than most.

But what Rowan would do to get through it? Who would suffer? Jolene had seen a darkness within Rowan early on; a secret power that terrified Jolene. If the old woman had managed to teach her anything, Lucien would regret crossing her path.

The thought brought a smile to Jolene’s tired face. How ironic the same devil that lived within him would be his undoing. All of his money could not save him from himself.