Page 25 of Louisiana Protector

Before he could reply, she opened the car door, got out and slammed the door behind her. She didn’t look back as she ran onto the junglelike path that would take her home.

She immediately slowed down once she was out of Johnny’s sight. She kept her knife clutched tightly in her hand as myriad thoughts whirled around in her head. She finally knew why he had left her, but did the reason really matter? Old emotions clashed with new ones, half dizzying her senses.

Twilight shadows clung to the base of the trees as the last gasping light of day faded. Even though it was relatively early, she was ready to go to bed just to quiet the thoughts racing through her mind.

Because her mind was telling her a terrible truth. And the truth was she was still in love with Johnny.

But how could she ever trust him again? What happened when the next big job appeared? Would he disappear on her again? It didn’t matter how much she loved him, as long as she couldn’t trust him, they would never have a relationship again.

Strong arms suddenly wrapped around her from behind. Shock momentarily kept her in place, her heart racing so fast it made her half sick.

The arms squeezed her tight…so tightly they whooshed all the breath right out of her lungs. Was it the Deer Slayer? Oh God, was she about to be killed and hung from a tree? Sheer terror sent icy chills up her spine. She tried to scream, but all that came out was a soft mewl.

She struggled to get free, but his grasp made it impossible. She had no breath to really scream. She was trapped, her arms pinned at her sides and her knife ineffective. Was she going to be hung from a tree with her throat slashed and her life blood draining from her? Oh God, please no. She needed to live for her son. She wanted to live!

She should have been paying more attention to her surroundings, but she’d been distracted by her racing mind and thoughts of Johnny.

Hot breath blew into her ear. “Stay away from him,” a deep voice growled. “You hear me, bitch? Stay away from Johnny.” He squeezed her tight against his body for a long moment and then shoved her forward so hard she nearly fell to the ground.

She turned in time to see a dark-clad figure running away. He quickly disappeared into the darkness of the swamp. With gasping sobs, she ran toward her shanty.

Who on earth had it been? Fear still bubbled up inside her. She hadn’t even heard the man sneaking up on her from behind. That frightened her as much as anything.

When she reached the foot of her bridge, she paused and quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks. Danny would still be awake, and the very last thing she wanted to do was frighten him with her tears. She put her knife back in her purse and then ran up the bridge to the front door.

“Mommy,” Danny greeted her as she opened the door and walked in.

“Danny.” She scooped the little boy up in her arms and kissed him on his cheek. “Did you miss me?” She squeezed him a little more tightly than usual and then set him back on the floor.

“A little bit,” he replied. “Gramps and I played, and we had fun.”

She looked at Gramps, who was eyeing her closely. “Did you have fun?” she asked.

“I always have fun with my boy,” Gramps replied with a grin.

“Danny, it’s bedtime for you,” she said.

Twenty minutes later, Danny was tucked into bed. She returned to the living room and sank down on the sofa.

“Talk to me, girl,” Gramps said, his eyes narrowed on her. “Is it Johnny? Did things go sideways at dinner?”

She smiled at the man who had raised her. “You always know when something is wrong.” Her smile faltered and then fell away, and hot tears burned at her eyes. “I was…uh…accosted on my way home tonight.”

Gramps sat up straighter in his chair and frowned. “What, exactly, does that mean?”

She explained to him what had happened, tears trekking down her cheeks. “I was so afraid, Gramps. At first, I thought it was the Deer Slayer. I… I thought I was about to be killed.”

“You’re lucky it wasn’t the murderer. So, he warned you to stay away from Johnny?”

“That’s what he said, and then he released me and shoved me forward while he ran away.”

“And you didn’t recognize his voice at all?”

She shook her head. “No, it was just a deep kind of growl.”

“We need to call Chief Breaux, and you need to report this to him,” Gramps said.

“What’s the point? All I can tell him is that it was a figure dressed all in black and wearing a ski mask.”