His gaze had switched from her face to the water, as the boat chugged very slowly around the “bony knees” that were broken roots of cypress trees left in the shallow water. He took them down a channel that cut between two long strips of land before taking them out to the main flowing river.
Gedeon could make her laugh no matter if he was seriousor not. That arrogant assurance of his had always appealed to her from the moment she’d first encountered him.
“Why haven’t you insisted on me moving in with you?” She blurted the question that had been bothering her the most since they’d returned to New Orleans.
Gedeon had made every effort to ensure that all details in their lives were back to normal. They took their walk to the Café Du Monde together in the morning and at night. They worked the three open cases together during the day. He didn’t go to the club at night, but he did send Rene to gather information. That was when she realized how vital the nightclub was to their business. It hadn’t been just a place for him to acquire women. It was also the place where he attained vast amounts of information. The one thing he didn’t do was invite her to his bedroom.
She knew remodeling was going on because the workmen were there continually. She could smell paint. He came to her room at night, but he always asked. Always. He had the ability to get in. He had the code to her suite, but he didn’t use it. He asked if he could come to her room, and she couldn’t help herself—she said yes.
Gedeon would lie on the bed with her just as he had done in his room, talking about nothing and everything. Making her laugh when she was tense. She would find herself relaxing, her fingers massaging his scalp just as she did when they were in his room. Whisper would remain quiet, and they would drift off to sleep together. Slayer seemed satisfied, leaving Gedeon in peace.
“You have moved in with me, Meiling.”
Gedeon’s voice was gentle. When he spoke in that tone, he melted her heart. She couldn’t look away from him, even when he was dividing his attention, maneuvering the shallow channel and avoiding the hazards in their way.
“I want you to be happy and to feel safe in your own home. More than anything, I want you to know you’realways safe with me. Whisper will rise when she has no choice. Slayer is going to warn me when she’s making serious progress. The little stops and starts she’s making now are just her hormones waking her up and telling her she’s coming into her own. You made a commitment to me, and you honor your commitments so there’s no need to push you, Lotus. We know we have chemistry together. When you’re ready emotionally, and you trust that your heart and soul are safe with me, we can move in together. Or if Whisper rises before we have the chance to cement our relationship fully, we’ll continue as we are after her heat.”
Meiling was grateful the boat swept around the tip of the strip of land and into open river water so Gedeon could accelerate. It was much harder to hear with the boat going faster, bumping over the choppy surface heading for the rendezvous point.
She was in love with Gedeon, and every time she thought she couldn’t love him more, he would say something she found intensely beautiful and she fell even harder. He was the toughest man to understand. He really was. She’d spent an entire year with him. Technically, she did live with him. She witnessed him with others. Had she simply observed him, an outsider watching him, she would have thought he was a psychopath, incapable of caring for anyone. He never showed his emotions to others. His eyes, so alive with tenderness or laughter for her, were cold and hard, devoid of all emotion around others.
Meiling looked around her at the swamp as the night was closing in. The trees gave refuge to so many birds. Colors changed with the sinking of the sun. The bright crimson shooting through the trees had already given way to orange. The purple and lavender effects were gone, leaving the color spectrum quite different in just a short time. That was the swamp, ever-changing and yet the same.
The incessant drone of insects could be heard above theengine. Looking up, she could see bats wheeling and dipping in a dance as they dove to catch flying bugs. Some skimmed the water close to the shore. She spotted nests high in the branches of a cypress tree. A raccoon family stopped moving to stare at them as they skimmed past.
Gedeon cut the lights on the boat just before choosing the left fork in the river. Once again, he slowed their speed significantly. She gave a little jump.
“We’re okay, Lotus.” His voice was steady.
He always knew when she was nervous. They were that connected. She pressed her palm over her heart.
“I’m good,” she assured him. “Are we close?”
“We should be. The strip of land is right around the next bend. There should be a pier we can tie up to.”
He turned the lights on again as they rounded the next strip of land, and there was the pier. A boat was already tied up there. Two men waited. Meiling recognized both. Drake Donovan owned the most well-known international security company in the world. He had a reputation for getting the job done. His people were well trained, the best at what they did. They worked in every country, entering stealthily when necessary, striking hard and getting out fast with whomever they had gone in after. Donovan was a shifter and head of one of the local lairs. She’d heard he’d had to clean up a huge mess when he’d taken over. The lair appeared to be thriving now.
The second man was Remy Boudreaux, the homicide detective and Drake Donovan’s brother-in-law. Married to Bijou Breaux, a famous singer and owner of Blue’s Club in New Orleans, Remy was an extremely intelligent man. He had an eye for details and an ear for lies. It would be difficult to get anything over on him.
Donovan had chosen the meeting location. Gedeon had been careful to explain that it was imperative they not be seen together. By giving Donovan the choice of where to meet, Gedeon had given him a huge advantage. There wasno doubt in Meiling’s mind there was a shooter concealed somewhere watching them just in case they wanted to harm Donovan. In some circles Drake Donovan had a price on his head. Gedeon was known to be a man who might collect that hefty price tag.
Meiling had excellent night vision and she took her time carefully studying their surroundings. The pier looked new, as did the landing leading up to the land jutting out to meet the water lapping at it. Fragrant smells mixed with the more natural scents of the swamp. Even the strange and intriguing aromas couldn’t distract her from locating Donovan’s sniper.
The swamp had been cut back, baring more land on the east side and giving those coming from the river to the Mercier property room to walk easily over to the west side, where there was a large section set up for picnics amid fields of wildflowers.
Meiling studied the trees in the swamp where the Spanish moss hung like long lacy bluish-gray veils. The shooter would need a clear view not only to the pier, but also to the picnic area, where they would have their discussion with Donovan. The sniper couldn’t risk changing locations. That meant there were only so many trees he could be in.
Gedeon guided their boat in slowly.
I need a couple of minutes, she advised, not risking talking aloud. Both Gedeon and she could read lips. There was always the possibility the sniper could as well.
Gedeon bent down and began fiddling with something on the floor of the boat as she sat waiting, seemingly patiently. It was natural for her to look around at her surroundings. Mostly she appeared to be looking at the field of gorgeous flowers, but she’d already narrowed her suspect trees down to three. One of the three, the only real sturdy branch that would hold a sniper, would make the angle awkward—not impossible, just awkward. She dismissed it.
The second tree was dead center between the other twoand seemed the likeliest choice. She flicked it another quick glance, storing the details quickly before switching her gaze back to the field of wildflowers. In her mind, she went over the specifics of the trees, every little aspect. The tree seemed so perfect, the branches offering up the perfect crotch for a sniper to lie in and set up his weapon. Lacy moss hung down to give him plenty of cover. It would be difficult for anyone to spot him. At the same time, he had a good field of vision for the picnic area and part of the pier. What he didn’t have was vision on the river itself or where the boats would be tying up, at least not that Meiling could see.
Best guess, sniper is in the tree to the left of the extremely tall cypress, second row back. A gum tree, behind the row of cypress trees.
Gedeon climbed out of the boat onto the pier and took a deliberate look around before tying up and then holding out his hand to her.I spotted him. He’s good. Looks like part of the tree. I wouldn’t have seen him if you hadn’t told me he was there. You wear that vest like I told you?
