Flame pulled on thin leather gloves and glanced at her self in the mirror. She looked pale, her eyes too big. She hated the sunken look she sometimes got when she didn’t get enough sleep. She’d lain awake most of the night thinking about Raoul. Wanting him. Despising him. It was the dumbest thing she could imagine and she felt like an idiot for being so pulled in two directions. He worked for Whitney, her worst enemy, and she just kept fantasizing all kinds of erotic and shocking things about him. She liked being in his company. She liked his idiotic sense of humor. She liked the feel of his hands on her skin and his mouth on hers.
She closed her eyes and gave a small groan. She would never go back. Not to Whitney, and not to Whitney’s daughter. She didn’t trust any of them. She’d spent her entire life being an experiment and she damned well was going to make her own choices for the rest of her life- even if that meant she had to keep moving forever. Raoul, for all his charm and sexy smile and hot mouth and bod, was not going to persuade her, capture her, or otherwise entice her into returning.
“You goin’ somewhere,
She blew him a kiss. “You always cheer me up. I was just thinking I looked pale and uninteresting or worse, pale and zombielike.”
He paused. “Flame, did you meet someone last night?” His grin was teasing, but his gaze was worried. “I know all the boys in these parts. Who’d you meet?”
Her heart contracted. He sounded like a worried father. She’d never had a worried father and for a moment, tears were close. “I asked you about him last night. His name is Raoul Fontenot.” She couldn’t help it. She knew it was part of the fantasy she was acting out, a home, someone who cared, people she could call friends and neighbors, but she wanted his concern,
“I heard he was home visitin’ his grandmother. He’s a good boy. Rough. He don’ be a man you mess around with.”
Flame burst out laughing. “What does that mean exactly? Is that some kind of warning that he’s a lady’s man and he’ll break my heart? Or does it mean he’s a fighter and likes a good brawl?”
He frowned at her, trying to look severe. “It means Raoul Fontenot is a man who will never turn away from trouble. Don’ be rilin’ him up, cuz he won’t stop comin’ after you.”
Flash grinned at him. “Should I be scared of him, do you think? Because he seemed sweet and cuddly to me.”
He snapped a towel at her. “That’s it, girl. You be teasin’ me one time too many.”
Flame allowed him to chase her around the houseboat, the two of them laughing together. She liked the captain. Burrell had never married; he’d been too much of a river rat, a man who needed to run the perils of the river as often as possible. Now, retired and living alone on his houseboat, he enjoyed Flame and her antics as much as she enjoyed his company and stories. She finally ripped the towel out of his hand and turned the tables on him. He sat in the tiny kitchen catching his breath as she leaned against the sink, her eyes bright with shared amusement.
“You went to the bank this morning, right,
“Yes, ma’am. I called Saunders and offered to mail the payment. He’s always asked for payments in person, but I thought he might want me to save him the trouble. He told me to meet him late, so I’m going to visit Vivienne Chiasson for a couple of hours this afternoon, then I’ll meet with Saunders and maybe go see the widow tonight.”
Flame sighed. “I’m sorry I’m no closer to finding out what happened to Joy than anyone else. I still don’t believe she ran away, Burrell. Don’t say anything to the family. but I’ll keep looking into it.”
“I don’ want anything to happen to you,
Her slight frown turned into a small mischievous grin. “I’m going to meet Raoul’s grandmother this afternoon. That ought to be very safe, don’t you think?”
His eyebrow shot up. “Why are you going to see Nonny?”
“Apparently she asked her grandson to invite me and he was rather adamant that I go. He claims she has a heart condition.”
“I heard that a while back. All the Fontenot boys be very protective of her.” He tilted his head and studied her face. “That’s a big thing, having her ask you to visit, Flame She don’ just ask anyone, you know.”
“No, I didn’t know that. I met her a couple of days ago briefly and I guess she wanted to finish our conversation.”
“Nonny Fontenot is a friend of mine.”
“Now you’re being protective. I’m not stealing from her.”
“Don’ go trying to break that boy’s heart, Flame, You’re a nomad, you said so yourself. Raoul don’ know it, but he’s a family man.”
She turned away, unexpectedly hurt although she knew he spoke the truth. “Maybe he’ll be breaking my heart, Burrell.”
“I have a shotgun. If he messes with your heart you just tell me and I’ll pay him a visit.”
In spite of herself, she laughed again at the idea of the captain trying to threaten Raoul Fontenot. “I think I can take care of myself. I’ll see you this evening.” She blew him a kiss and watched him leave before going back to the mirror and her makeup. She didn’t like dark circles under her eyes. Raoul would notice and he’d make some comment. And it would hurt.
Flame scowled at her reflection. “He has no power over you. None. He can’t hurt you even if he says you look like a zombie.” She felt like a zombie lately. Chasing Burrell around the small houseboat had worn her out. “Too many late nights,” she scolded and tidied up the houseboat. She waited to he certain Burrell was gone before she began to take care of her other business.
She’d already removed the contents of the four slim briefcases she’d stolen from Saunders. Most held cash, but one held a couple of discs hidden inside a large manila envelope. Everything had been dumped into a plastic bag the night before, and she’d stuffed the water proof bag inside her duffel bag. The four briefcases had been filled with rocks and dropped deep underwater in the middle of one of the canals. Other than the money she’d given to Burrell, there was nothing to connect her to the break-in once she hid the duffel bag.
Sound penetrated the thin walls of the houseboat. A squish followed by a sucking noise as if something was pulled from the mud. The sudden silence of insects. Birds rising fast from tree branches. She had company and it definitely wasn’t Burrell returning.
Without haste she went through the houseboat, making certain there was no incriminating evidence and nothing to reveal her real identity. Sliding open a window, Flame emitted a sound pitched far too high for the human ear to hear. The response was immediate. The buzz in the marsh grew loud fast as thousands of mosquitoes blackened the early afternoon sky. The moment she heard the sound of palms slapping at flesh, she slid out a window on the opposite side, landing lightly on the deck, duffel bag in hand. Using the furniture as cover, she made her way to the edge and stepped onto the small is and Burrell called his “yard.”
Flame slipped into the trees, staving low to keep from being seen as she sped through the marsh away from the sound of mosquitoes and curses. Using the trail leading around the outside edges of the marsh along the water way, heading back in the direction of the houseboat, Flame stayed close to the foliage in case she needed cover.
Several cars, including the Fontenot Jeep she’d commandeered, were parked near a rotting pier on the small strip of land that connected the bridge to the frontage road. Her airboat was tied up there along with two small fishing boats. She was relieved to see Burrell’s boat gone. Flame shoved the duffel bag in the back of the Jeep beneath a dirty tarp and a box of tools.
She drew a cap over her hair and emitted a second high-pitched sound to drive the mosquitoes away as she made her way back to the edge of the marsh. She needed to know who was after her. Raoul had admitted he’d slipped a homing device somewhere on her airboat and, although he’d sounded as if he’d been teasing her, she believed him. She certainly would have done it.
Flame skirted the edge of the cypress trees until she could hear the men shuffling back and forth, talking in whispers, crunching cans and muttering curses as insects bit and stung. One man scanned the canal continually
