Page 75 of Xavier

“If there’s any chance she knows where my grandmother is, you have to try,” Lissette insisted, staring up into Xavier’s eyes.

He brushed his hand across her cheek. “They’ve tried to grab you twice.” He shook his head. “As chaotic as it’s getting out there...”

“Anything could happen,” Remy finished. “Tomorrow, I’ll have Beau and Landry get out there early.”

“Can you rig the guys with cameras?” Xavier asked. “We’d like to know what she says as soon as she says it.”

“We have the comms for that. I’ll set them out. You and Lissette can watch from headquarters.”

“In the meantime, is there anything we can do to help?”

“Hang tight,” Remy said. “We’ll need all the help tomorrow. It’s going to get rough. I’d like to evacuate as many of the team as we can.”

Lissette shook her head.

Xavier’s nodded. “Lissette won’t leave if we don’t find her grandmother first, and I’m not leaving without her.”

“Mimi’s diner was boarded up today. The Crawdad Hole is on high ground. They plan on staying open as long as possible. Get some food and rest,” Remy said. “We’ll get an early start in the morning. If I hear anything tonight, I’ll let you know. Out here.”

Xavier slipped his cell phone into his pocket and turned around.

Lissette’s heart skipped several beats. “Where are you going?”

“To get your grandmother’s things. She’ll need them when we find her.”

“And Napoleon.” Her heart swelled at how considerate he was to remember her grandmother’s things. She hurried to follow him back to the skiff.

Between the two of them, they carried the suitcases and the bird cage to his truck. He could have placed Napoleon in the bed of the pickup. Instead, he laid the cage on the floorboard of the backseat.

Napoleon squawked at first but settled down in the dark.

Lissette called in an order for shrimp po’ boys at the Crawdad Hole. By the time they arrived, the food was ready.

“Do you want to eat here or take it back to the boarding house?” Xavier asked.

“The boarding house,” Lissette said, not wanting to wade through a bar full of people who would stare at her and mutter things about how she didn’t belong in their town. She didn’t have the energy to pretend it didn’t hurt.

Xavier drove to the boarding house, parked the truck and walked inside with Lissette, carrying the cage with Napoleon inside. “He can stay in the downstairs living room for the night.”

“Good. He wakes before dawn, crowing before it even gets light outside,” Lissette said. “Won’t it bother the other guys who live here?”

“Right now, it’s only me, Jacques and Anton. They have rooms on opposite ends of the building, away from the common living area.” He kicked the welcome mat away from the door and set the cage on it. Then he walked up the stairs with Lissette, opened the door to his room and held it for her. “You can be first in the shower while I unload the truck.”

She looked up at him. “You don’t want to join me?”

“Sweetheart, I want it more than you can imagine, but I have the feeling we’re going to need rest. Once the rain and wind start, tomorrow’s going to be physically and mentally challenging.”

Lissette nodded. “You’re right.” She forced a smile past the disappointment that tugged at her gut. He didn’t want her. Maybe the sex the night before hadn’t been great for him. He’d be glad to leave by the end of the week.

Her heart ached with the thought as she entered the bathroom and shed the clothes he’d let her borrow the day before. She’d been in her grandmother’s house and hadn’t thought to collect her own clothes. That’s how caught up in Xavier she was. What was wrong with her?

As she stood beneath the spray, she couldn’t help reliving the joy of making love with him in the bed and in the shower that morning.

Had it only been that morning? So much had happened that it felt like more time had passed. Now he was pulling away. She’d lost her grandmother to the people who’d tried to take her. What did that leave her?

She lifted her face to the spray and let the water mix with her tears. A sob rose in her throat and escaped before she could swallow it back.

Strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close. “I’m sorry,” Xavier said against her ear. “Your grandmother would be with us tonight if I hadn’t lost focus. I’m so very sorry.”