Showdown in Mudbug (12 page)

Helena slipped the phone in her pocket. “Are you ready to do this?”

Maryse took a deep breath and blew it out. “As ready as I’m getting.” Helena walked out of the drugstore ahead of her. Maryse said a silent prayer and followed the ghost onto the sidewalk.

The black Cadillac was parked ten feet or so behind Maryse’s car just as Helena had reported. It looked like the car that had been in Mudbug that morning, but Maryse had no way of knowing for sure. She tried to appear nonchalant as she walked to her car, clutching the photos in her hand. No use making them harder to steal, or she’d likely show more bruises for her effort than necessary.

She pulled her keys from her pocket and unlocked the car door, then stepped to the driver’s side and reached for the door handle. So far, there was no movement from the black car, and Maryse was beginning to think they’d made a mistake. After all, Sonny and his men couldn’t be the only drivers of black Cadillacs, or there wouldn’t be a reason to manufacture them.

She peered into the car to make sure it was empty, but she only saw Helena inside, clutching the cell phone with one finger poised on top, ready to dial at any moment. Letting out a sigh of relief, she pulled up on the door handle, and that’s when she felt a hand on her shoulder and something cold and hard press into her back. Serious miscalculation. The man must have been hiding in the alley next to the cars.

“Give me the photos,” the man whispered, “and you can drive off with all your body parts intact.”

Maryse felt a rush of fear like a tidal wave, and then
did what she always did at the wrong time—she got sarcastic. “Well, when you put it that way. I’m hungry and could really use my stomach.” She lifted the envelope of photos above her shoulder. “I’ll probably need my colon later.”

The man removed his hand from her shoulder and grabbed the photos. “Smart-ass bitch,” he said, and clocked her in the back of the head with his gun. Maryse remembered yelling once before she fell against the side of the car and slumped down on the sidewalk.

Maryse had no idea how long she’d been sitting on the sidewalk next to her car, but when she opened her eyes, she saw three people hovering above her.

An older lady bent over and peered down at her. “Are you all right, dear? Do you need us to call an ambulance?”

Maryse struggled to rise, feeling a bit dizzy. “No, I think I’m okay. Just a little woozy.”

“Did that man steal your purse?”

“No. Just the things I bought at the drugstore. I wasn’t even carrying a purse.”

“A smart idea, with all the tomfoolery that’s going on these days. Shall I call the police, then?”

“No, don’t bother. They’re busy with much worse things than this, and it seems there’s never enough of them to go around.”

“That is so true. You should still go downtown when you’re feeling better and file a report. Likely they won’t be able to do anything about your purchases, but they do keep a record of problem areas and try to patrol more often.”

“I’ll do that,” Maryse said. “Thank you for stopping. I think I’ll drive home now and soak in a hot bath.”

The lady nodded. “Excellent plan. Lord only knows
what kind of grime is on that sidewalk. Are you okay to drive, dear? Can I call someone to come get you?”

“No. I think I’ll be fine. I’ll just sit here for a minute, then drive. If I have any problems, I’ll call my friend to come get me.”

“Well, okay. You be careful, now.” The lady gave her a nod walked down the sidewalk, the other pedestrians trailing behind her now that the show was over.

Maryse slid into the car and clutched the steering wheel, trying to steady herself. The dizziness was mostly gone, but the fear still raged. “Holy shit!”

“Are you okay?” Helena leaned over, peering anxiously at her. “I didn’t know what to do. It all happened so fast.”

“I’ll be fine as long as I don’t have a heart attack.” She ran her fingers lightly over the bump that was already forming on the back of her head. “Did you call Raissa?”

Helena nodded. “As soon as I saw him put a gun in your back. She could hear me fine. She and Zach are on the way, but we should get outta here, just in case that guy’s still around.”

“Good idea.” Maryse started the car. “There’s a restaurant a couple of blocks over, Wally’s Seafood Place. It’s well lit and probably crowded. Text Raissa to meet us there.”

“I grew up with manual typewriters. What in the world makes you think I know how to send a text message? I was doing good to make the phone call.”

“Never mind,” Maryse said, and took her phone from Helena’s hand. She sent the text, then pulled away from the curb.

“I wonder how Raissa’s explaining my call to Zach,” Helena mused.

“Probably the same way she explained my taking pictures of the man to begin with.”

Helena’s eyes widened. “I hadn’t even thought about that. So what are you going to say if he asks?”

“Damned good question.”

Zach looked across the restaurant table at Maryse and wondered what she was hiding. Ever since Raissa told him there “might” be photos, he’d wondered how on earth someone had managed to take a picture of the guy without him noticing. Obviously, the answer was she hadn’t gotten away with it, or she wouldn’t have been attacked. But how she’d gotten all the way to New Orleans to have them developed was another mystery. It seemed to Zach that the guy could have run her over in the street right there in Mudbug and saved himself the trouble.

Which meant something wasn’t exactly right about her story. The only thing Zach could come up with that made sense is that it wasn’t Maryse who had taken the pictures. But whom was she protecting? Obviously someone close to her, or no one would have followed her to New Orleans to begin with. And someone with a death wish, assuming they’d walked up to the car of a potential killer and snapped a photo. Whoever it was, it appeared to him that Raissa was also in on the secret. She’d maintained a fairly straight face, but Zach got the feeling Raissa was reading information between the lines in Maryse’s story.

“And then I came to on the sidewalk,” Maryse finished up her story, “with some lady looking down at me. I couldn’t have been out for long, but the guy was long gone.”

“With the pictures,” Zach finished.

Maryse nodded. “And the negatives, but I had a contingency plan.” She pulled a set of photos out of the front of her shirt. “I had duplicate copies made and hid one on my body.”

Zach narrowed his eyes at her. “Why would you even think to do that?”

Maryse took a sip of her beer. “I peeked outside and saw a black car at the corner. I was afraid they’d followed me.”

“So you hid a set of photos in your bra and went strolling outside, knowing full well you were probably going to be mugged.”

Maryse frowned. “When you put it that way, it doesn’t sound so smart, does it?”

“Ignore him,” Raissa said and took the photos from Maryse. “It was very smart and very brave. Besides, you called me and put the phone in your pocket on the way out of the store so I could hear what was going on, so you were sorta covered.”

“Yeah…I guess that was pretty smart.” Maryse took another drink of her beer.

“By the way, if you do something like that again, I’ll kill you myself.”

Maryse rubbed the back of her head. “Don’t worry. From now on, I’m leaving all the Jane Bond stuff up to you.”

Zach smiled. It was hard not to like a spunky woman, even if she had electrocuted him. And was lying.

“You did a great job,” Raissa said as she flipped through the photos.

“Do you recognize him?” Zach asked, leaning over to view the photographs with Raissa.

“I think so, but I’m not certain. He looks sorta like the son of one of Sonny’s guys. But the last time I saw him, he was a teenager, so I can’t be sure.”

Zach pulled out one of the photos that offered a clean view of the man’s face. “I’ll take this one and run it through the database.”

“Don’t you need a reason to do that?”

“I’ll make something up.” He tucked the photo in his shirt pocket. “I’m more concerned about getting you two back to Mudbug. There’s a lot of long stretches of road between here and there.” He nodded at Raissa. “If your car has a tracking bug on it, Maryse’s may, too. Anything can happen on your way there.”

“Don’t worry,” Maryse said. “I’ve got that part covered.”

Zach looked at Maryse, trying to hide his amusement. “Do you, Ms. Bond? And just what do you have in mind?”

“I talked to Carolyn, the lady who owns the seafood restaurant in Mudbug, before you got here. She’s expecting a delivery of seafood this evening. Fred, the seafood-truck driver, always makes Mudbug his last stop because he lives there. He’s agreed to park behind this restaurant and give us a lift.”

“You trust these people?” Zach asked.

“With my life,” Maryse said, “or I would never have asked.” She looked a bit guilty, then looked at Raissa. “There is one little catch, though.”

“Uh-oh,” Raissa said. “I don’t like that look.”

“The cab of the truck was modified for Fred’s paperwork. There’s only room for the driver, so we’ll have to ride in the back.”

Raissa’s eyes widened. “With the fish?”

Zach chuckled, unable to hold it in. “Well, it’s the safest form of sleeping with the fishes that you two could have. You probably shouldn’t complain.”

Raissa looked over at him and raised one eyebrow. “I’m so glad our predicament amuses you. Keep in
mind, if you were planning any more midnight visits to the hotel, that the back of that truck is refrigerated. It could take days for
me
to thaw out.”

Zach ceased chuckling, but Maryse took over for him.

“If you could see the look on your face,” Maryse teased. “Don’t worry. I’ll put her in a hot shower as soon as we get to the hotel. Trust me, Mildred will insist on it, or the whole place will smell like the shrimp house.”

A vision of Raissa in the shower flashed through Zach’s mind, and suddenly the restaurant felt overwhelmingly hot. He was really going to have to do something about his feelings for Raissa, but the one thing that came to mind was probably the worst thing, given their situation. Then, on the other hand, he was already lying to his boss and harboring a fugitive. Having sex with her wasn’t exactly a stretch.

Zach looked over at Maryse. “So, if I happen to show up for a midnight visit, you’re not planning on electrocuting me again, are you?”

Maryse gave him a sly wink. “Not unless you want me to.”

Zach laughed. “I have to ask, what does your husband do for a living?”

“He’s an investigator with the DEQ.”

“The Department of Environmental Quality, no shit? That’s great. And an investigator. He must love your side activities. They’re somewhat unusual for a scientist.”

Maryse reached over and patted Zach on the arm. “When all this is over, I’ll tell you the story of how Luc and I met. Or you could run me through the police system when you run that photo. A little light reading
while you’re waiting.” She grinned at Raissa, who smiled.

Lord help him, now his curiosity was in overdrive. On the other hand, if Maryse had a police record, it might give him an idea of what she and Raissa were hiding. If not, he planned on getting it out of Raissa later that night. Through whatever means he deemed necessary.

It was close to midnight before Zach managed to get away from the police station. The captain had been understandably unhappy over his take on Susannah Franco, and Zach hadn’t even told him about the conversation with Dr. Spencer. He couldn’t figure out a way to get around to it without revealing his contact with Raissa.

The captain had considered everything Zach had given him, and they’d tossed around a couple of outlandish thoughts, but neither of them had been willing to commit to anything more than checking into the mayor’s past and keeping a closer watch on the movements of all the immediate family members. Zach was tasked with doing the digging. The captain would tap some other discreet detectives for the closer-watch detail.

Zach turned onto the highway and headed toward Mudbug. He’d been relieved when he wasn’t placed on watch detail. There was no way he could have continued his investigating with Raissa if he’d been parked in a fake cable installer’s van outside the mayor’s house. He also needed to be extraordinarily careful about being seen with Raissa from this point forward. Questioning Jennifer yesterday had been a big risk, and he wasn’t certain what they’d gotten from the girl had
been worth it, except for the help Raissa had managed to provide her.

The stark fear in Jennifer’s expression when she had recalled her dream still bothered him. That someone’s life could be so derailed by another was beyond unfair and made him even more determined to catch the kidnapper and see to it that he could never hurt another girl again. Always looking over your shoulder, not knowing when an enemy might strike, was enough to render even the strongest person immobile.

He shook his head, amazed that Raissa had not only managed to live that way for nine years but had done so right under the nose of the very men she was hiding from. Unfortunately, all indicators pointed to the end of her charade. There were far too many black Cadillacs around Raissa and her friends. He smiled for a moment, thinking about Maryse.

He’d called her bluff and pulled her file. He had to admit that it wasn’t at all what he’d been expecting, and it made him rethink his position on her lying about how she took the photo. For all he knew, she may have strolled down the street and asked the guy to pose. Maryse’s escape from death was a story that belonged in a Hollywood movie, if they could even get an audience to buy it, which he doubted. If there was one thing Zach had learned long ago, it was that truth is definitely stranger than fiction. Still, he couldn’t help admiring the way Maryse had handled a seemingly impossible situation, and he said a silent prayer for the man brave enough to marry her. Her husband, Luc, must have nine lives.

It was almost one
A.M.
when he parked his car behind the hotel. Maryse had been kind enough to provide him with a key to the back door so he could slip in unnoticed. He unlocked the back door and slipped
inside. Raissa’s room was on the third floor, so he hurried up the stairs and down the hall, hoping she was still awake.

Light shone underneath her room door. A good sign. He lifted his hand to knock and stepped back in surprise when the door swung open before he had even touched it. It took him only a split second to remember the security cameras. Raissa had probably been tracking his movements since he’d first driven down Main Street.

She was wearing a black silk negligee with a plunging neckline and a sexy smile. “About time you got here.” She reached out with one hand and pulled him inside.

As he followed her into the room, he checked out her backside and realized the nightie ended just below the curve of her rear. He felt his pulse quicken.
Get a grip. You can’t jump the woman as soon as you walk in the room, regardless of how she’s dressed.
He laid his keys on one of the tables and turned to face her.

She was standing close to him, and when he turned, she ran her hands up his backside and bit him playfully on his neck. “Fun business now. Boring business later.”

Zach felt a rush of heat throughout his body and he grew hard immediately. “You get no argument from me.” He lowered his lips to hers in a crushing kiss, their mouths mixed in a frenzy of pure animal attraction. He ran a hand across her breast, feeling the engorged nipple through the thin fabric, and she groaned.

“I know this is going to sound really bad,” Raissa said, “but I’m not really interested in foreplay.”

Zach hardened even more and was certain he’d split the zipper on his jeans. “My God, you’re perfect.”

He pushed the nightie’s thin straps over her
shoulders and the silk slid to the floor. There was nothing else in the way. He ran his hands down her body and stopped at a scar in the center of her chest, just below her breasts. It was perfectly round, a shape he’d seen before. He looked up to ask, but she shook her head, unzipped his jeans, and pushed them down.

He almost lost control when she wrapped her hand around the hard length of him. Never had he wanted something so badly, knowing with every ounce of his being that it was a stupid thing to do. But damned if he was going to worry about that now. He slid his hand down and felt wet heat. He touched her with light, feathery strokes. She gasped and stroked him faster until he was on the edge.

“No foreplay,” he reminded her. He pulled his jeans off his feet and retrieved a condom from his pocket. A couple of seconds later, he was ready for action. He pushed a pile of paper off the table with one arm and lifted Raissa onto it.

She pulled him to her and he entered her fast and hard. She ran her hands down his back, and he could feel her nails pressing into his skin. He lowered his lips to hers, kissing her deep and long while he thrust. She wrapped her legs around him and he felt himself being absorbed completely by this woman. Mind, body, and soul.

He felt the rise coming and he could tell she was on the verge, just like him. He thrust once, twice more, then one final thrust that sent them both over the edge.

He thought his mind would explode. Heat rushed over his body, but the last thing he wanted to do was cool off. He didn’t want to let her go, but he wasn’t sure how much longer he could stand without collapsing from sheer pleasure. The bed was at least ten steps away, so he yanked a spare blanket off the dresser with
one hand, lifted Raissa off the table, and laid her down on the floor beside him, directly under the cool air of the ceiling fan. She leaned over to kiss him lightly on the lips, wearing a satisfied smile, then nestled her head in the crook of his arm.

Zach had been right earlier. Raissa was perfect.

When he’d gotten his breath back a bit, he rolled on his side and traced a finger down her chest and to the scar. “Nine-millimeter?”

“Yeah.”

“Was it Sonny who shot you?”

“No. Spider.”

“Spider? I thought you said he was a pansy.”

“He is a pansy, which is why he shot me instead of bringing me in so Sonny could do it himself. Lucky for me he ran after the first shot.”

“And you lured him into a booth in a seedy bar and shoved a gun in his crotch.” Zach laughed. “You’re my kind of woman.”

“And you didn’t arrest me for doing it.” Raissa lifted one hand and placed it on the side of his face. “You’re my kind of man.”

Pounding on the room’s door brought Raissa out of her satisfied haze. “Raissa,” Maryse said in a loud whisper. “There’s somebody out back. I’m opening the door.” Raissa heard the key turning in the lock and looked at Zach, who was frozen, staring at the door as if he were headed for the chopping block. It was far too late to do anything about clothes, or blankets, since the only one within reach was the one they were laying on. So Raissa did what any other woman would do in that situation. She smiled.

Maryse opened the door and slipped inside. She looked toward the bed, but when she found it empty
she looked the other direction and gasped. “Holy shit.” She put her hands over her eyes. “I am sooooooo sorry. I had no idea you two were…um…working? On the floor? In the nude?”