“Dallas, I’m sorry I took so long,” Emil said. Bob didn’t let go of Dallas. “Why don’t you go inside and wait for me?”
“Dallas doesn’t want you here. Tell him.” Bob squeezed her arm harder and pressed up behind her. “Go back to wherever you came from.”
“Dallas,” Emil said gently as he wrapped his fingers around Bob’s wrist. It didn’t take much to break his hold, but when Dallas took a couple of steps back, Emil still didn’t let go. “Go on inside,” he repeated. “Bob and I need to have some time alone.”
“Don’t tell me you forgot what we were just talking about?” Bob said. His tight mouth showed Dallas he was trying to break Emil’s hold. “There’s only one way to keep me quiet, so think before you throw everything away. And that’s what it’ll be, Dallas, you throwing it away. When Johnny gets back what you stole from him, it’ll be your fault, but I’m sure he’ll take his time with Kristen.”
Every word was like a nail pinning Dallas’s feet to the ground. She couldn’t move but she wasn’t completely still. Bob’s threats were making her shake like she did as a child and saw her father in the doorway of her room. Back then she didn’t make a sound either, not wanting to wake Kristen in case her father turned his attention her way.
“It’s going to be all right.” Emil cocked his head toward the door.
Dallas took a deep breath and let her head fall back. Taking the step Emil was asking of her would free her of Bob, but he would savor taking her freedom away again.
“No, it’s not going to be all right, and you know that,” Bob said, his voice close to a hiss.
“Let me make it easy for both of you then,” Emil said. He smashed his fist into the side of Bob’s head. He fell like pins being hit by a bowling ball. “Sorry you had to see that.”
“I would’ve been more sorry not to see it,” Dallas said, her attention on the rise and fall of Bob’s chest. He appeared to be in a deep, peaceful sleep.
Emil laughed at her observation. “Go ahead and join Remi, and I’ll take care of this.”
Upstairs, Remi pressed her hand to her chest and sat up, pausing when the pain made her light-headed. The phone Dallas had just used was next to the bed and she figured it wasn’t tapped, but she’d keep the call brief on the off chance it was.
“I need something.”
“Name it,” Cain said.
“I’ve got a package I need delivered, and I’ve got a chance to go shopping.”
“I’ll send my best delivery guy. Wrap it up the best you can.”
It took Cain an hour but she got Lou’s nephew, Nick, to the alley behind Dallas’s place. He sat for half an hour after that to make sure Lou didn’t spot anyone watching. Emil brought out the rug from the guest bedroom rolled up on his shoulder and dumped it in the back of the van. Nick then left to follow Emil’s directions, confident that unless he was caught speeding no one would stop the produce van from one of the local markets.
The way Bob was taken out of her house didn’t worry Dallas as much as watching Remi try to make it down the stairs. From the way she moved, Dallas could tell she was in pain, but what had happened had to be finished. She knew that without any explanation from Remi or Emil.
“Do you have to leave right now?” Dallas asked. She took a seat on the sofa, so Remi would have plenty of room if she needed to join her. “Before you go through all this trouble, I want to tell you a few things about myself.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to be honest with you.”
“Katie Lynn, we’ve all made mistakes. They’re what make us smarter and stronger in the end. If you want my help, all you have to do is ask, but if you want me to condemn you, I can’t.”
“You know?” Dallas started crying again.
“Probably not everything.”
“If you know, I’ll understand why you can’t stay. I’m so ashamed.” Dallas couldn’t help but let out all her insecurities.
“I’d be willing to bet your sins don’t come close to mine. Your past is exactly that—your past. You had to invent Dallas Montgomery for a reason, and as soon as I get back we can start on that story.”
“Why go through all this trouble for me?”
Remi couldn’t lift her arms very high so she placed her hand on Dallas’s knee. “If you don’t know, then I want plenty of time to explain it to you. For now I’ll give you the short version. I feel strongly about you. Last night wasn’t about filling some base need, but more like filling one in my heart.”
“Will you come back when you’re done?”
“If it’s okay with you, Emil and I will be your guests for a couple of days, or until Cain and my father find the guy who used me for target practice.”
“That’s good to hear.” Dallas kissed her and helped her stand. By the time Remi and Emil walked out, Remi felt less stiff.
Emil opened the back door for Remi. As they left, Simon went in to stay with Dallas, but her eyes lingered on Remi like she was making sure she was okay. They drove out of the city, and Remi rested her head back and closed her eyes. She’d been to where they were going on a few occasions to help Emil during harvest. The location was remote, making any tail on them stick out like a naked whore at Sunday services.
The marina looked so dilapidated it appeared to be abandoned, but in the middle slip sat a new airboat with an alligator-skin driver’s seat. Emil helped Remi board, and she nodded to Cain and Lou, who were already seated.
“Thank God we’re doing this while it’s still cool,” Lou said.
“What’s the matter? You don’t like mosquitoes?” Emil asked. His laughter as well as that of the others was drowned out when he started the powerful engine.
The fan blade behind the cage at the back started spinning slowly as he backed out but cranked up when he closed his hand around the accelerator control. Two minutes into the trip they were in the blackness of the swamp, but Emil had made this trip thousands of times and swerved around the ancient cypress trees as if gifted with some sort of night vision.
Halfway there they started to see orange orbs glowing at the top of the water, quickly disappearing as the roar of the airboat neared. Remi had learned from Emil that the orange lights were the female gators floating at the top of the water waiting for a late-night meal. According to Cajun lore, only the female eyes glowed because they were the more cunning of the species, so God gave anyone who wanted to mess with them fair warning.
“Thanks for helping me out with this,” Remi said as Emil brought them in slowly to the camp that appeared to be floating above the murky water. The small structure made of cypress wood from the trees surrounding it was built on stilts that raised it fifteen feet into the air.
Cain walked next to Remi as they ascended the ramp to the front porch. They were all dressed in black and blended in well with the worn wood. The two friends sat in rockers outside, and Cain dropped a bag between them.
“I know you don’t especially like getting your hands dirty,” Remi said.
“There’s always an exception to every rule,” Cain said, setting her rocker in motion. “I asked Muriel to put together the papers that would fix this. All we have to do is talk him into signing them. But talking to Bob is probably like that old expression about trying to teach a pig to sing. It’s a waste of time all the way around.”
“I want him out of her life.”
“That’s the wisest thing, but he still won’t answer all your questions unless he’s in a talkative mood. I think you and I should be the ones to get whatever we can out of Bob tonight. I know you trust Emil like I trust Lou, but this is the kind of guy who’s going to talk just to watch you squirm. They won’t forget what he might say, and you don’t need to do that to Dallas,” Cain said. She pointed to the bag. “What’s in there goes with you after we’re done, and to my grave with me.”
“Then I owe you a debt.”