"That's what I think," Drake said.
"You find someone stupid enough to be tryin' to kill my sister and your fiancee, what do you suppose we should do about it?"
"I guess we'd have no choice, Remy. They'd have to disappear." Drake stared at the two brothers with no expression. "So which one of you is Beau and which is Gilbert?"
"I'm Beau," the man on the left identified himself.
"So you're the mastermind behind all of this," Drake said. "The drugs, the killings, the attempt to kill off my team--and my woman." He made it a statement. His voice was pitched very low, d very lsoft, and his stare was all leopard--all predator.
Remy shot him a quick look, no doubt wondering about the drugs, but Drake never broke eye contact with Beau. Either he was the greatest actor in the world, or something Drake had said shocked him. His mouth fell open, his face turned red and he shook his head violently, his gaze shifting to his brother, who looked equally as shocked.
"Killin's? I don't know what you're talkin' about. I never killed anyone. Never. And I wouldn't. If I was gonna kill someone, it would have been the old man," Beau denied. "I don't know anything about any killin'."
Gilbert shook his head. "Remy, you know us. We never killed anyone."
"What the hell were you doing here if you didn't intend to kill us?" Drake demanded. "You think intending to kill but not finishing the job is going to get you off the hook?"
"You got it all wrong," Beau said. "I knew this was goin' to happen. I told you, Gilbert. I knew we should have just laid low."
"You knew what was going to happen?" Remy asked.
Gilbert sighed. "We were set up to take the fall. We were set up, Remy."
Drake toed the man's boot. "How many times have you heard that, Remy?"
Remy smirked. "Oh, that one's new to me, cuz I'm wet behind the ears." He glared at the Tregre brothers. "Is that what you think? I'm wet behind the ears? You think you're smarter than me?" He bared his teeth in a semblance of a smile. "You hear that, Drake. Gilbert thinks he's smarter than I am."
"You're twistin' my meanin', Remy," Gilbert said. "We came to talk to the boy--Renard's boy. We figured he was blood kin and might help us."
"Help you kill off his team? His friends? The only family he's ever known?" Drake scoffed. "If you think that, you don't know the meaning of loyalty and you sure don't know Joshua."
Both men shook their heads. "We didn't come here to kill anyone," Gilbert insisted. "We knew you'd been out in the swamp last night. You were at the Merciers and also our property, lookin' around. The scent was everywhere."
Beau looked at Drake with something close to respect. "You cut through the swamps followin' our boat, didn't you? I didn't think anyone could do somethin' like that and I've lived in the swamp my whole life."
Remy held up one finger. "You cut through the swamp followin' a boat?"
"All of them," Beau said. "All his men, and Saria led the way. They must have run."
"And waded through the reeds in a couple of spots," Gilbert contributed. "There was no other way."
"My sister was runnin' the swamp at night? Wadin' through the reeds with gators?"
Remy's voice had gone very quiet. Drake had hoped he wouldn't go all commando on him, but now that he knew how insane he'd been to even try it, let alone have Saria with him, he couldn't really blame the man.
"We knew they were running do, Remy," he said. "Although we're familiar with the rain forests and the danger in them, we had no idea how truly dangerous what we asked Saria to do last night really was. She was amazing and we were damned stupid to risk it."
That was as much as he was conceding to Remy. The man could take it or leave it.
"So you were runnin' dope, Beau? Right under my nose?"
"There's a big difference between takin' a boat out to deliver soap to a buyer and killin' someone, Remy," Beau pointed out. "We didn't kill anyone."
"So how did you get into the drug business, Beau?" Drake asked.
"Delivery," Gilbert emphasized. "That's what we were comin' to talk to the boy about."
"First of all, let's get something straight," Drake said in disgust. "Joshua is a man. He does a man's work and he takes a man's responsibility."
Beau sighed and looked at his brother, shaking his head. He looked down at the ground, defeated. Gilbert scowled. "You don't want to hear the truth."
"Sure we do, Gil," Remy said. "Spit it out and don't try sugarcoatin' it, because I think our leader has an itchy trigger finger right about now."
"You may have heard the rumors about our father," Gilbert muttered. "Every one of them was true. He raped women and beat them. He beat our mother, beat us. He killed Renard. We couldn't prove it, but he did. And he gambled. Mostly he lost."
Drake raised his eyebrow.
Gilbert flushed. "I'm not whinin' about my life. I'm tellin' you the truth. He began workin' for the Merciers, runnin' their gardens for them. Mostly, he told everyone what to do. And he made deliveries to special customers. Eventually we took over makin' the deliveries. The money was good and we didn't think much about it until we started makin' those deliveries in the middle of the night to boats comin' in from all over."
"So you're saying you didn't know about the opium when you first started working for the Merciers?"
Gilbert shook his head. "When the old man got sick, he told us to take over the night deliveries. That was when we knew. So about three years ago, we get a call and we go. We should have stopped as soon as we figured it out, but the money was good and we didn't want to keep huntin' gators."
"And there was Evangeline," Beau added. "We both felt we had to protect her."
"Did someone threaten her?" Remy asked.
Beau looked at his brother. "Not outright. One night we came home and Evangeline's room was wrecked. There was a knife stuck in the middle of her mattress. We'd hesitated about makin' the delivery, hedgin' a little when the call came in. We didn't do that anymore. We figured whoever made those calls was tellin' us we play ball with them or Evangeline dies."
"Who made the calls?"
The two men looked at one another. Gilbert shrugged. "I don't know. They used something, a device, to change their voice to a mechanical sound."
"So after all this time working for the Merciers, you want us to believe you don't have a clue who gives the orders?" Drake demanded.
Beau shook his head. "We didn't want to know. We thought it was safer that way. They have a master gardener and crew tending the flowers. We just make the deliveries. To the dock, to the local shops and the special ones."
"So what were you coming here to tell Joshua?" Drake asked. They were telling the truth. They'd closed their eyes to everything but the money for a lot of reasons, but their voices resonated with the truth.
"We thought if we told him what was goin' on he'd think of a way to get us out without puttin' Evangeline in danger," Gilbert admitted. "We argued about it. Beau didn't think you'd believe us. In the end we didn't really have a choice. We knew you had to have seen us. That girl--Saria--she's good in the swamp. She got you to the point in time to see the boat dockin'. She just doesn't know how to quit."
"She got us there," Drake said. "In plenty of time to identify both of you."
"Well, we finally quit arguin' and came up through the canal and swamp in our boat. It's docked down there at the lake. When we got close to the inn, we could see smoke. We tried the doors downstairs, but they were all locked," Gilbert explained.
"Gilbert was goin' to break in, but then we heard glass shatter on the second-story balcony. We ran, afraid if you saw us, you'd think we started the fire. But when we got down to the lake, both of us couldn't just leave, knowin' there were people maybe burnin' in the inn, so we ran back."
Again, there was that ring of truth in Beau's voice that Drake couldn't ignore. He glanced at Remy, who nodded. He thought they were telling the truth as well. They were guilty of taking drug money, but neither man was a killer--certainly not a serial
killer. And Drake doubted if either possessed the brains to mastermind placing opiates in perfumed soaps.
"Your old man never told you who came up with the idea to put opium bricks in the soaps?" Drake asked, already knowing the answer.
"I didn't even know that was what was in the boxes," Beau said. "I didn't want to know."
"Where do they manufacture the soaps, lotions and perfumes?" Drake asked.
Beau frowned and looked at his brother. "The factory is in town, not out in the swamp. The laboratory where Charisse works is on their property, but everything is made in town. We pick up our deliveries there."
"And your special ones?" Remy prompted.
"They're waitin' at the Mercier dock for us, already loaded in the boat."
"Beau, how dumb can you be," Remy burst out in disgust. "Runnin' drugs, for God's sake. What the hell's wrong with you?"
Beau hung his head. "We were losin' everythin', Remy. The house, the boat, everythin' and we've always done what pa told us to do. We got good money for makin' the deliveries and workin' for the Merciers gave us great benefits. They're fair employers."
"Other than you have to run drugs for them," Drake said.onet>
Beau didn't reply.
"What are you goin' to do with us?" Gilbert asked.
"I haven't decided yet," Drake said. "For now, go home and keep your mouths shut. If you get another call, you'd better let us know immediately. And then take Evangeline to the Boudreaux home. You understand me? Don't make me come looking for you."
Remy bent down and unlocked the cuffs on both men. "You were damned stupid to get into this mess," he repeated. "And you're lucky Drake is leader."
"Oh, they'll be punished," Drake said. "I have to give it some thought."
"Tell the boy . . ." At Drake's scowl, Beau cleared his throat, "Renard's son, we'd still like to talk with him. If he'd like."
"I'll tell him." Drake pinned him with his predator's stare. "Don't make the mistake of running away or going to the Merciers. I'd hunt you down and I'd never stop until I found you and I killed you. You don't want me for an enemy."
Beau nodded. "This is my home. I was born here and I'll die here. I got nowhere else to go. Gilbert's the same. And we've got Evangeline and the boys to see to. We're not goin' to be lookin' over our shoulders the rest of our lives."
Drake watched the two men walk heavily toward the boat before he turned to Remy. "We didn't get much on our killer."
"Drugs? You didn't think maybe that might be important to tell me?" Remy demanded.
"Sorry. We were going to talk to you first thing after we rested. Someone drugged us and tried to kill us all with smoke. I have to talk to Pauline. She set the security alarm and someone turned it off and disabled the smoke alarms. They blocked all the balcony doors from the outside."
"And you think it was the killer?"
"It has to be someone familiar with the inn's security system. The Merciers were here and all of them heard Pauline say she was leaving for the day. Any of them could have done it."
"Charisse or Armande. Damn it all, Drake, it always comes back to them. Mahieu is taken with that girl."
"So is Saria." Drake shook his head. "But she's got the brains, knows chemistry and certainly is always around when something goes wrong."
"Just damn it," Remy said.
18
"HURRY, Drake, hurry," Saria chanted i
n a whisper. She repeated his name over and over, a mantra to save her.
The bathroom was quite small, much smaller than her room, but it was at the farthest point of the house away from the sitting room where Elijah and Joshua and her brothers were gathered. She bit down hard on her thumbnail as she paced the few feet across the tiled floor.
"You have to get here fast."
She'd promised him she wouldn't leave tine. fety of her brothers or his men, and she knew she couldn't, but she was fast losing control of the situation and she needed him. Right. Now.
Her back arched and she muffled a cry as she dropped to the cool tiles on her hands and knees, dragging air into her lungs, to breathe away the burning fire consuming her. Her breasts felt swollen and achy. Her skin was hot. Molten lava seemed to be in her veins. Something alive raced under her skin, so that she itched, and if she looked, she could see it moving. The pushing up of her skin made her feel slightly sick to her stomach. Between her legs, she was on fire. There was no other word for it, a fierce conflagration burning out of control.
"This can't be happening. Not now. Not in front of my brothers." Her face flamed bright red. She had to stifle a sob.
Deep inside, her female leopard stretched and preened, pushing her rump into the air, until Saria found herself sliding sensuously across the floor. Her jaw ached, her teeth felt too full for her mouth. She could hear the conversation in the front of the house, although the men spoke in low murmurs. There was no way to concentrate on what they were saying, even when she tried to distract herself. Her joints ached and popped with every movement and she couldn't stay still, her body undulating nearly out of control.
For a time she breathed deep, in and out, a form of meditation, trying to relieve the burning need that built and built, coiling tighter and tighter inside of her until she was afraid she'd go insane. Her fingers curled into claws and the tips of her fingers hurt, pinpoints of pain that only were relieved when she dug them into the cool tiles. The scratch marks horrified her. She had to get out of the house before she destroyed it.
Her clothes hurt her skin and her skin was too tight, stretched over her bones until it was thin and threatening to tear. A low sob escaped. She glanced at the window, her only escape. Her vision blurred, strange bands of color streaking across her vision. The scent of male leopards inundated her and she groaned in despair.
"Drake." She whispered his name again, aloud, to give her strength. She'd promised him she'd stay in the protection of her family and his men, but like this, she was a danger to everyone.
She staggered to her feet, her hands cupping her aching breasts. They felt too heavy for her frame. Inflamed. In need. She could barely breathe with such desperate need. Somehow she made it to the window. Her hands fumbled at the windowsill, nearly useless, her fingers bent and curved, so painful that anything she came into contact with only added to her misery. She wouldn't leave--not yet. She'd hold out to the last possible second, waiting for Drake to come back, but she had to have fresh air.
It was late afternoon. He must have waited to talk with Pauline and help arrange for cleaners to come in. That would be like him. He would take responsibility for everyone around him. She clenched her teeth and pain exploded in her mouth. Drake needed to get to her fast and help her figure out what to do, where to go, and how to get her leopard out.
She shoved the window open and stuck her head out, gulping in the fresh air. Her beloved swamp was only a few feet away. She could just crawl out the window and find her favorite tree and wait outside for Drake. If anything happened, she wouldn't be stripping in front of her brothers and trying to seduce one of Drake's friends.
The heavy fohifted. She inhaled again and her leopard went wild. A male leopard stood only a few feet from her, waiting silently in the trees. Joshua. Her leopard clawed at her, edgy, in a dangerously amorous mood. Her hands went to her shirt, opening the first button before she could stop herself.
"Are you all right, Saria?"
She'd never noticed what a sexy voice he had, what a hot male scent. Saria swallowed hard and closed her eyes, trying to understand when she was so consumed with Drake how another man might suddenly be so appealing to her. She'd never looked twice at Joshua. It had always been Drake from the moment she set eyes on him. She wanted him, wanted to live her life with him. She craved being in his arms. His kisses. Those mind-numbing, hot, sexy kisses that went on forever. She lost herself in those kisses.
"I need Drake right now. Can you get him for me?"
Her voice didn't sound like her own. Tears burned behind her eyes. S
he had no escape. She didn't dare go outside where Joshua stood guard. She didn't trust herself to be alone with another man, not while her leopard was in such a sexual frenzy. Concentrating on Drake, the taste of him, the way he looked at her with his golden stare, helped to steady her.
"He's on his way. Elijah called the inn and Miss Pauline said he left," Joshua said. He didn't come out of the trees, but stayed a good distance from her. It was clear he was trying to keep her scent away from his leopard, but he didn't abandon her. "Are you afraid?"
"A little. I don't know what to expect."
"The first time you shift is scary," Joshua admitted, his voice matter-of-fact.
Saria knew what it had to cost him to stay with her and keep talking as if nothing was wrong when his leopard had to be close to a thrall. His calm voice steadied her. Drake trusted Joshua to keep her safe. She would have to do the same.
"You feel like you might be losing yourself, because you have to let go to let your leopard emerge, but you're still there. It's hard to explain until you experience it, but once you're fully a shifter, you're both leopard and human. You draw on each other's strength. It's just that first letting go that is frightening."
"She feels out of control."
He laughed softly. "So does my leopard. Your leopard's chosen Drake's leopard. She wouldn't allow another one to come too close, that's why it's so dangerous. Once she's actually made up her mind, she'll entice every male in sight, but if they get out of hand, she'll tear them up."
"That's horrible." Saria hissed at her leopard. I knew you were a hussy. She pushed her forehead against the windowsill, wanting to weep. Her body wouldn't stay still and even the night breeze couldn't cool her rising temperature. "What if he doesn't come and I can't hold her back? She'll have to go into the swamp and I promised him . . ."
"Elijah and I will look after you. We're strong enough to control our leopards."
She didn't want Drake's men to witness her behavior. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. She had no idea what her leopard would do, how far she would go to entice a male to her, but the way her body felt, she was afraid. She needed Dake desperately.