Page 28 of Louisiana Protector

“I think I could manage that,” Johnny replied with a big grin. “Besides, don’t I always play with you when I come to visit?”

“Danny, let him sit and visit with us first,” Gramps said to the excited little boy.

“Okay, but I’ll go get my blocks out so I can be ready,” Danny said and disappeared into his bedroom.

“That boy loves his building blocks,” Gramps said.

“He’s probably going to be an architect someday,” Johnny replied with a laugh. “So, how is everyone doing this evening?” he asked and gazed at Mimi, who sat next to him on the sofa.

“We’re doing okay,” she replied after a moment of hesitation.

“Tell him,” Gramps said to her.

Johnny looked at Gramps and then back at Mimi, who now wore a frown. He could swear that fear darkened the very depths of her green eyes. “Tell me what?” he asked, tension coiling tight in his gut.

Mimi released a deep sigh and then looked away from him. “Last night as I was walking home after our dinner, somebody grabbed me from behind and held me so tightly I couldn’t fight or get away.”

Johnny leaned forward. “Dammit, I knew I should have walked you all the way in.” As he thought of the Deer Slayer, his blood ran cold. He reached out and took her hand in his, needing to assure himself that she was really okay. Her hand was cold and small in his. “So, what happened next?” he asked.

She finally met his gaze. “He leaned close to my ear and told me to stop seeing you. Then he shoved me down and ran off.”

He tightened his grip on her hand. “My God, Mimi, you must have been terrified.” Horror, along with a touch of anger, rose up inside him.

“I was very scared,” she agreed. She gently pulled her hand away from his.

“Mimi, if I’m putting you in danger by coming here to see you, then I’ll stop coming over,” he said, even though the very thought of not seeing her anymore killed him. “The very last thing I want is to be the reason you get hurt.”

“Nonsense,” she replied fervently. “I wasn’t hurt, I was only frightened. Besides, I’ll see who I want when I want, and no masked man in the swamp is going to tell me what to do.”

“Still, I don’t want to be the reason you get hurt,” Johnny repeated, appalled and angered by what had happened to her.

“And I told you, he didn’t hurt me in any way. The whole situation just scared me badly.”

“I’m so sorry, Mimi. Do you have any idea who it was?” he asked. Who the hell was responsible for this? Who would want to warn her from seeing him?

“He was just a dark figure running away. However, I told Chief Breaux that the only person who might do something like that is one of the other three men who come to visit me,” she replied.

“So, you did report it…good. It’s too bad all three of them are about the same height and weight. That makes it more difficult to figure out which one it might have been.” He turned and looked at Gramps. “What do you think about all of this?”

“I think if I was younger, I’d like to kick somebody’s ass for scaring my girl so badly,” he said gruffly. “But it’s obvious somebody sees you as big competition for Mimi’s affection.”

“Did the three of them show up here last night?” Johnny asked.

“No, I called them all in the afternoon to tell them I wouldn’t be available for company,” Mimi replied. “I didn’t want them to make the trip here for nothing.”

She stopped talking as Danny returned to the room, dragging his big box of foam blocks behind him. “Can Johnny play with me now?” Danny asked Mimi.

Mimi laughed. “You’ll have to ask Johnny if he’s ready to play.”

Before Danny could ask, Johnny slid off the sofa and down to the floor. “I can play now,” he said.

He and Johnny were in the middle of building a tower when River and Gus arrived. Soon after that, Jean-Luc also showed up. The three men sat on kitchen chairs and small-talked with Mimi and Gramps. It was obvious Chief Breaux hadn’t spoken to any of them yet about the attack. She nervously wondered how they would react once he did.

Johnny stayed quiet, listening and looking at each of the men in an effort to see something that would reveal the guilty party. It had to be one of these three men. It ticked him off that probably one of them had waylaid Mimi and frightened her. One of these men was afraid of Johnny spending time with Mimi…but which one?

“Know what we’re building, Johnny?” Danny asked.

“A tall tower,” Johnny replied.