Page 30 of Louisiana Protector

He smiled at her and once again reached up to stroke a strand of her hair but dropped his hand to his side when she took a step back from him. “I know it’s getting late,” he said, “and you have to work tomorrow, so I’ll just say good night.”

He opened the door and was about to step out, but then he turned back to her. “Mimi, please be careful when you’re walking home alone. You might not trust me right now, but you definitely shouldn’t trust any of those other men, either.”

“I know,” she replied and fought against an icy chill that threatened to consume her. “Good night, Johnny.”

“Good night, Mimi.” He turned and headed down the bridge, and she closed and locked the door behind him.

She checked on Danny, who was peacefully sleeping and then went into her own bedroom and changed into her nightshirt. Even though she was tired, once in bed her mind refused to allow her to sleep.

That kiss. That damned kiss. Even now her lips still burned with the fiery imprint of his mouth against hers. It had reminded her not only of the sweet, hot desire they had once shared, but had also stirred a new desire for him inside her.

However, she still didn’t trust him not to leave her again. He had done it so easily before.

Right now, he was working here in town on the gazebo. But what if after that another big job came calling? What was to prevent him from leaving her again?

And then there were thoughts of the man in the swamp. Who had it been? Which one of her friends thought it was okay to grab her and scare her? Which one of the men she had always considered a good friend had now proven himself not to be a friend at all?

She couldn’t imagine it being just some random person. Why would anyone else care whether she was seeing Johnny or not?

Sleep finally overtook her, and she fell into dreams of kissing Johnny and then being chased through the swamp by a dark figure.

THEIR KISS TORCHED a blinding rage inside him. He remained crouched down behind a tall stand of bushes just off to the side of her shanty’s bridge, his breath coming in short, angry pants.

He’d watched as the two of them stepped out on the porch. He’d assumed she would just tell him goodbye, then she would go back inside the shanty and Johnny would be on his way.

But that wasn’t what happened. He’d been shocked when Johnny had pulled her into the tight embrace. He’d been even more stunned when she had leaned into the embrace as if eager to feel his body close to hers.

Then they had kissed. He’d watched in horror as the kiss had gone on for what felt like hours. What in the hell was she doing? Why hadn’t she pulled away from him and immediately stopped the kiss? Why had she leaned so tightly against him? What in the hell was she thinking? Why was she kissing the bastard who had broken her heart so badly? She’d obviously lost her mind.

He had tried to warn her when he grabbed her and told her to stop seeing Johnny. Besides, she belonged to him, not the lowlife who had broken her heart years ago.

He’d been exceedingly patient over the past five years. He’d brought seafood to feed her and Gramps, and he’d changed a couple of Danny’s diapers when he had been a baby. Dammit, she belonged to him. He’d been there for her over the years. Had she forgotten all that? Had she forgotten everything he had done for her?

Johnny wasn’t good enough for her, and deep in her heart she had to know that. For God’s sake, he was trying to save her from herself. Still the fact that she had kissed him reignited a rage in the very depths of his soul.

Maybe it was time he remind her again that she needed to stay away from Johnny. He’d be firmer this time. He’d make sure she understood that continuing to see Johnny could be dangerous for her.

“WHAT THE HELL, Mimi?” River said the next evening when he walked through her front door. He had shown up early, so early he was the only one there. “Surely you can’t really think I would ever grab you in the swamp and scare you. Why the hell would you even think it would be me?”

“Sit down, boy,” Gramps said sternly. “And watch your language,” he added with a pointed look at Danny who was playing with his hero figurines on the floor.

“Sorry,” River replied with a frown as together he and Mimi sat on the sofa.

“I’m assuming Chief Breaux spoke with you today,” she said.

“Yes, he did.” River’s dark eyes looked at her intently. “You know me, Mimi. You should know I would never do anything to harm or frighten you.”

“River, Chief Breaux asked me what men were in my life, and I had to give him your name, along with the other men. I have to admit, I can’t imagine any of you doing that to me, but somebody did.”

“I’ll tell you straight up, I don’t like you hanging around Johnny. He was a mistake in your life once before, and I would hate to see you make that mistake all over again. But I’m not in charge of your life, and I definitely didn’t grab you in the swamp. I would never think of doing such a thing.” He looked so earnest it was hard for her not to believe him.

Johnny was the next to arrive. He was obviously surprised that River was already there, and it wasn’t long after that when Jean-Luc and Gus showed up.

They both came in much like River had, appalled that she would think one of them was guilty of grabbing and scaring her. Both of them vehemently denied doing it, and once again she didn’t know what to believe or who to trust.

However, somebody was guilty, and she had to keep that in mind. It had to be one of them, there was nobody else who would care if she was seeing Johnny or not. One of these men she had been friends with for years was lying to her. She just didn’t know which one was the liar.

Meanwhile, Johnny sat quietly, gazing at each of the men as they spoke. She knew he was trying to discern the guilty party as she was doing.