Authors: Debby Grahl
“Hold on, Ray,” Remi said.
“I can handle this, Remi,” Caterine said. She placed her hand on Ray’s arm. “I appreciate your concern, and I have to say you’ve taken me totally by surprise. I didn’t think that other than Bobby and Grandmère anyone else in the family cared enough to worry about me. Ray, Remi, and I have been discreet. In fact, other than you and Grandmère, no one else in the family need know I’m back or where I’m staying. Besides, your list of Doucette scandals should be enough to keep the press in a feeding frenzy for weeks. I truly believe my living arrangements will be of little interest to anyone.”
It was Ray’s turn to look speechless.
Paul cleared his throat. “Perhaps we should get back to the matter at hand.”
“In a minute, Paul,” Ray said. “I want to finish this with Caterine. God knows, Cat, you’ve got every reason to believe no one in the family gives a shit about you, but it isn’t true. I care, my father cares, Uncle Markus cares, and we sure as hell know Bobby cares.” He gave her a grin. “You deserve Ma Chérie and everyone knows it, including Charlotte, Paulette, my mother, and Aunt Hyacinth, even though they’d never admit it. Cat, I not only want you to stay safe, I want you to stay away from any backlash that’s going to come from this.”
Caterine blinked back tears while giving Ray a hug. “I’ll be okay. Really, don’t worry about me.” She stepped back and gazed into his troubled face. “I know it had to be awfully difficult for you to tell us about Randal and Uncle Markus. I’m sorry I had to put you in that position, but I truly thank you for helping me.”
Ray cupped her under the chin. “I said I cared about you. I didn’t say you weren’t a pain in the ass. And whether you like it or not, I’m still planning on having a long talk with your boyfriend over there.”
Caterine rolled her eyes and smiled. “Go right ahead. I’m sure he’s up to it.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Shit
. Remi cursed under his breath. Dealing with Miss Dauphine was one thing. Being challenged by an irate and overprotective Doucette male was a different matter altogether. “Ray, I can assure you my number one priority is keeping Caterine safe.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“And what about Caterine after this is done?”
“For now, keeping her safe is all I can offer.”
Ray narrowed his eyes. “What if that’s not enough?”
Remi shrugged. “It will have to be. Instead of worrying about my relationship with Caterine, you should be more concerned about persuading her not to use herself as bait to draw out her attacker. Trust me, I’ve been around Caterine long enough to know that idea is still floating around in that pretty little head of hers.”
Ray turned back to Caterine. “Is he right? If so, you can just forget it.”
Caterine’s mouth opened in astonishment. “What’s going on? A minute ago you two seemed ready to attack each other. Now you’re taking sides against me?”
Remi smiled with satisfaction. “If that’s what it’s going to take for you to see reason, Princess. Perhaps you’ll actually listen if there’re two of us, and then do as you’re told.”
Caterine’s face flamed with anger. “Do what I’m told? I’ve been doing as I’ve been told and where has that gotten us? Remi, how can we ever flush this person out if they don’t get the chance to try again?”
The smug
I told you so
smile Remi gave Ray made Caterine even more furious. She folded her arms across her chest. “And just what brilliant idea do you all-knowing superior males have for catching this person?”
“You know, I’ve been sitting here going over what we’ve been discussing, and I’m beginning to wonder if we were right that Rivette is somehow involved in this,” Paul said. All eyes turned his way. “We’ve already concluded that the person who set up the hit on Caterine would need to have moved quickly to have her attacked that soon after Miss Dauphine’s announcement. If they are involved, the only way I can see Randal or Charlotte being able to make this happen is through Rivette. Honestly, what are the chances of either of them knowing how to go about lining up a hit man that quickly?”
There were a few moments of silence while they all digested Paul’s theory. Then Remi asked, “Is there any way we could have been looking at this all wrong and the attack had nothing to do with Ma Chérie?”
“What do you mean?” Caterine asked.
“Could you have an enemy that hasn’t any interest in whether or not you own Ma Chérie?”
Ray laughed. “You don’t know Caterine as well as you think you do, Remi, to have even considered that possibility. Outside of my family’s ill-founded envy of Caterine, everyone else who knows her loves her.”
Caterine dismissed Ray’s statement with a wave of her hand. “You’re exaggerating, Ray. There’re plenty of people who think I’m a spoiled, prudish snob and would like nothing better than to see me take a fall. But I don’t think any of them dislike me enough to try and have me kidnapped or killed.”
Ray smirked. “Perhaps there’re some women who feel that way about you. But if you had let any of the males who showed an interest in you over the years get close to you, you’d have had them falling at your feet. I’d be willing to bet your lack of response has broken more than one male heart.”
Caterine rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, the theory that I may have some love-struck rejected suitor is too farfetched.”
Remi frowned. “Caterine, you didn’t steal the affection of one of these men away from another woman did you?”
Caterine threw up her arms in exasperation. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, this conversation is becoming ridiculous. Instead of trying to conjure up some mysterious jilted suitor of mine, or a phantom jealous girlfriend, we should be putting our energy into figuring out how to expose the real person behind my attack. Today is Thursday, and Mardi Gras is next Tuesday. Perhaps if we can flush this person out, and it turns out to actually be Rivette, we may be able to save the casino boat for Randal.”
“How do you see that?” Remi asked.
“If Rivette is arrested for attempted murder, wouldn’t he go to jail? Then he’d lose his hold over Randal.”
Remi smiled. “Reasonable assumption, but this is Rivette we’re dealing with. He’s the epitome of the ‘Teflon man’. Nothing ever sticks. Plus, it wouldn’t have been Rivette who tried to kill you. He would have contracted that out so his hands would be clean.”
“How likely is it that if the hired attacker were caught, he’d implicate Rivette?” Ray asked.
Remi shrugged. “It all depends on whether he’s offered a deal. If he’s deep in Rivette’s organization, he may go down before giving up his boss. On the other hand, if he’s someone from out of town that Rivette brought in, he might spill his guts to save his own ass.”
Caterine knitted her brows. “Then wouldn’t it make sense to have me visible to lure this person out?”
“Damn it, Caterine. No,” Remi exclaimed.
“What if she were in an environment where we could guarantee her safety?” Ray asked.
Before Remi could reply, Paul spoke up. “Such as?”
“First, I no more want Caterine hurt than you do,” Ray began, “But I think she may have a point. How can we catch this person if they don’t come into the open? Every Mardi Gras the Doucettes throw a ball at the Audubon Place mansion. What if it’s known that Caterine is back in town and will be attending the party? It’s somewhere she knows well, and you could have your own people placed throughout the house. As she moves around, we could make sure someone has her in sight at all times.”
Caterine smiled. “Oh, Ray, that’s a great idea. Remi, what do you think?”
Paul held up his hand to forestall Remi’s objection. “That might be something worth considering. Let’s think it through.”
Remi shook his head. “You know as well as I, we could have fifty men stationed around the house and still not guarantee Caterine’s safety. No, it’s too risky.”
“There could be one other potential problem,” Ray added. “The party is a costumed affair, so our man wouldn’t know which was Caterine.”
“But if I were to wear the same princess gown I wore to Paul and Elaine’s party, everyone in my family would know it was me. The gown is a Ma Chérie. None of them could miss that.”
“The problem is that not only will you be in costume, so will our assassin. How would we know it’s the right person if he approaches you?” Paul asked.
Caterine tapped her lower lip in thought. “How about if we have some kind of signal for me to give if someone approaches me that I don’t recognize?”
“And you could just as easily mistake some innocent party guest you’re not familiar with for a would-be assassin.” Remi shook his head. “This plan has the potential for major disaster.”
“On the other hand, being a costume party, it would be easy to place you and me and Vince and Andre, and whoever else we could find to help, close to Caterine, and no one would be the wiser,” Paul said.
Remi ran his fingers through his hair. “Christ, Paul, we already know the attacker carries a gun. He could easily shoot Caterine before anyone knows what happened.”
“Hundreds of people attend the Doucette Mardi Gras party. I can’t see the assassin taking a chance on not getting a clear shot. If it were me, I’d try and get her away from the ballroom and alone.”
“Okay, with that many people, he could easily stab her, then lose himself in the crowd,” Remi countered.
Paul rubbed his chin. “I’ll give you that one.”
“Excuse me,” Caterine interrupted. “I’d hardly stand there and not make a sound if someone came at me with a knife.”
“They could take you from behind,” Remi said. “You’d be down before you knew what happened.”
“Not if I kept my back to the wall. Or if you made sure someone was behind me at all times.”
“We’d need to know what costumes the Doucettes were wearing,” Paul said. “And someone would have to call Audubon Place security with a list of the names of those who will be helping us.”
“I could take care of both of those,” Ray replied. “And you could count on me to help keep an eye on Caterine.”
Remi began to pace, clenching and unclenching his fists. “I still don’t like it. Too many things could go wrong. I promised Miss Dauphine I’d keep Caterine safe. What do I tell her if this plan goes all to hell?”
“We’ll explain everything to her ahead of time,” Caterine said. “I’ll make sure she knows I want to do this and you’re not responsible if something goes wrong.”
Remi snorted. “Oh, that really makes me feel better.”
Caterine gave Remi an annoyed scowl. “Being sarcastic isn’t going to help. This is my life we’re talking about, and if I want to take this chance, it’s my decision to make, not yours.”
Remi stopped pacing in front of her chair and leaned down so his face was inches from hers. “Since it will be my job to save your sweet little ass, Princess, I sure as hell have a say in whether or not you put yourself in that kind of danger.”
“Fine,” she said through gritted teeth. “Then I suggest instead of wasting time telling me everything that could go wrong, you come up with a plan that will work, because with you or without you, I’m going to be at that party Tuesday night.”
“No, you won’t, Caterine,” Ray said. “And you can get that stubborn look off your face. If Paul or Remi think there’s a chance this plan will place you too much at risk, it’s not happening.”
“Good. Then that takes care of that because I say no.”
Furious, Caterine rose to her feet and pointed her finger in Remi’s chest. “Hear me and hear me well, Remi Michaud.” She emphasized each word with a jab of her finger. “Just because you and I are in a relationship doesn’t give you the right to control my life. I will do as I wish, when I wish, and you and your domineering arrogance had better damn well get used to it.”
Remi narrowed his eyes, his voice low. “Stop poking me with your finger, Caterine.”
Ray sighed. “Sit down, Caterine, and don’t take your anger out on Remi. I’m the one who suggested the party idea.”
“Yes, and what I said to Remi goes for you as well. Neither of you is going to dictate my life.”
“Cat, perhaps Remi and Ray are right and exposing you at the party really is a bad idea,” Paul said.
Caterine’s eyes filled with angry tears. “Paul, I thought at least you were on my side in this. You know what? The three of you can just go to hell.” She turned on her heel and ran out of the office.
Chapter Thirty
“Damn it to hell, Caterine, get back here!” Remi yelled.
Caterine heard footsteps behind her, increased her pace, and ran down the stairs. As she reached the front door, a strong male arm went around her waist, lifting her off her feet, pressing her back against a very hard chest.
“Damn it, Caterine, where the hell do you think you’re going?”
Caterine fought to break his hold. “Remi, let me go. I’ve had enough of your male arrogance.”
“And you know what, Princess? I’m tired of your temper tantrums.”
Angrier than she’d ever been, Caterine pounded his arms with her fists. “Remi, let me go . . .”
“All right, you asked for this.” Remi flipped her facedown over his shoulder and smacked her butt. “Now stop it.”
Caterine screamed, pounding his back. “How dare you, Remi. If you don’t put me down this second I’ll—”