Page 25 of Landry (Bayou Brotherhood Protectors #7)

“What time were you supposed to meet this guy?” Landry looked up from his watch. He stood near the entrance of the fairgrounds, a few feet from Camille, so as not to be too obvious that he was there to protect her.

In Landry’s mind, the man should have been early and waiting for Camille to show up, not the other way around.

Camille’s cell phone chirped. She frowned down at the screen.

“Is it him?”

“I don’t know. I don’t have his number. There’s no number.

” She held up the phone. On the screen was the word UNKNOWN.

“It could be a call forwarded from my phone at Sweet Temptations. I usually let it roll over to voicemail.” She stared at the phone for several seconds longer.

“Do you think it could be him?” She glanced up and met Landry’s gaze.

“You won’t know unless you answer,” he said.

She touched the button to receive the call and muttered an expletive beneath her breath. “Missed it. Maybe whoever it was will leave a message.”

After a few seconds more, the phone chirped.

“Voicemail.” Camille clicked the button to play the message and raised the phone to her ear.

Landry moved closer but couldn’t hear.

Camille’s brow dipped. “He had something come up and was delayed. He’ll be here in an hour.”

Landry cocked an eyebrow. “You’re not going to wait for him, are you?”

“Well, he did leave a message.” Camille chewed on her bottom lip. “But I don’t see hanging out here for an hour.” She smiled up at him. “Do you like hot dogs?”

He couldn’t resist her smile. “Only if it’s loaded with mustard and relish.”

“If you’re up for it, we can do as Gisele said and ride a few rides, eat a funnel cake—after the hot dog, of course—and listen to the zydeco band.”

“I’m up for it.” Landry waved toward the festivities. “Beats hanging out here for an hour.”

She sighed. “I wish I’d gotten his number. I could’ve broken the date and skipped all this angst.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it. If the guy really wanted to be here, he would’ve been here by now.” He held out his hand. “Let’s ride a spinning ride before we indulge in hot dogs and funnel cakes.”

“Right. And, since I’m not driving, I want a Hurricane in one of those tall tube thingies.”

Landry chuckled. “This is a whole other side to you I haven’t seen.”

“I don’t get too many nights to be just me.

Not a businesswoman. Not a mother.” She stopped for a moment and stared up at him, wide-eyed.

“Don’t get me wrong. I love Ava more than life itself.

She’s the center of my universe, and I’d do anything for her.

It’s just that I don’t get to do adult things when she’s with me. ”

Landry touched a finger to her lips. “It’s okay.

I’ve seen Mama Camille in action with Ava.

I believe you. You’re a good mother. You don’t mind spending time with her.

You don’t ditch her with a nanny and fly off to France for weeks at a time.

You don’t resent her presence at your work.

You’re patient with her and love her unconditionally. ”

“I believe in spoiling a child with experiences, not things. I’d take Ava with me to France. What an experience it would be for her.” Camille frowned. “Besides, I can barely stand to be away from her for a night. What mother ditches her child with a nanny to fly off to France?”

“Mothers who never wanted children.” Landry stared straight ahead rather than meet her gaze.

“You sound as if you speak from experience,” she said softly. “Was that what your mother did with you?”

“She wasn’t the maternal type.” He gave her a twisted smile. “I think if she could’ve outsourced her pregnancy, she would have.”

“I’m sorry.” Camille squeezed his hand.

“No need to be,” he said, regretting telling her that little bit of his pathetic childhood as the only child of wealthy parents. Some people would have loved to live in luxury, despite having parents who didn’t give a damn about him except when it came time for him to take over the family business.

“Look, they have a Ferris wheel. Let’s ride it.” Camille tugged him toward the giant miracle of engineering, operated by people who probably hadn’t made it past sixth grade.

Landry dragged his feet. “I don’t know.”

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of heights,” Camille said.

“I’m not afraid of heights. I’m afraid of dying. You don’t know when this thing was last maintained or inspected, if ever.”

“Come on, Landry. You only live once.” She released his hand and hurried to a ticket booth.

He followed, a smile playing on his lips at Camille’s excitement over a carnival ride. She seemed younger, less stressed and happy.

He couldn’t say no when she handed him a ticket and led him to the line for the Ferris wheel.

“We’ll be okay.” Camille hooked her arm through his and leaned into him.

Having her so close reminded him of the night before, holding her in his arms, skin to skin, making love. She’d only committed to one night of making love, no strings attached.

He’d told himself once was enough.

But was it?

Hell no.

He followed her through the gate and sat on the swinging bench beside her, focusing on the way she leaned into him and how warm her hand was in his. Not on the creaking sounds the machinery made as the carnie set the wheel in motion, and they rose into the air.

He'd been in helicopters, airplanes and dropped out of the sky with nothing but a parachute to get him to the ground. It wasn’t actually his own life he was worried about. No one would miss him if he plummeted to the earth.

If anything happened to Camille, Ava would lose her mother. Did she have a backup plan for her child if the worst happened? Would Ava go back to her biological father once he was released from jail?

All those thoughts raced through his mind. He released her hand, laid his arm across the back of the seat and pulled Camille closer.

If he survived and Camille didn’t, would he miss her?

Damn straight.

Never had he felt this strongly about any woman he’d ever dated.

“I love it when I can be so high that I can look down at Bayou Mambaloa and see the houses, the businesses of people I know. I like the small-town life where we know everyone and look out for each other.”

“Do people get too nosey and in each other’s business?”

Camille shrugged. “I don’t think of it that way. I feel like we’re all family and have each other’s backs like your team of Brotherhood Protectors. Gisele says you have all been in battle together and helped each other through tough times. They’re family, right?”

Landry nodded. “They are my brothers.”

The Ferris wheel jerked to a stop with their seat at the very top.

Landry tensed, his arm tightening around Camille, his mind going through all the scenarios, looking for ways to get them down if the machine was permanently stuck.

Camille laid a hand on his thigh. “They’re just loading more people.” She pointed. “There’s the hot dog stand. Are you hungry?”

His stomach was knotted; eating was the furthest from his mind. Still, he said, “I could eat a dog.”

“Good,” she said with a smile. “We’re going there next.”

The Ferris wheel jerked into motion, bringing them back to earth, where they exited the seat.

Landry breathed a sigh and happily escorted Camille to the hot dog stand, where they indulged in hot dogs loaded with relish and mustard. Then they played the ring toss game, laughing when they couldn’t land a single ring on the neck of a bottle.

They moved to other games, coming away with a pint-sized stuffed unicorn Camille said she’d give to Ava in the morning. Landry couldn’t remember laughing so much or loving being with anyone as much as he did with Camille.

At the end of the hour, they returned to the entrance of the fairgrounds and waited for the mysterious Mark Sands to show.

They had only been there a few minutes when Landry’s phone chirped.

He glanced at the screen. “It’s Swede. Maybe he has some information on your date and Billy Ray.” He answered, “Landry here.”

“Hey, I have some info on the kid,” Swede said.

“Putting you on speaker,” Landry said. “I’m here with Camille.”

“Good. She’ll want to hear this as well,” Swede said. “There was a ten-year-old boy named William Ray Snow reported missing a couple of weeks ago out of Baton Rouge. He ran away from his foster home.”

“What’s his story? Where are his parents?”

“They died in a car crash. He was the only survivor. No grandparents, aunts or uncles to step up. He was placed into the foster system and has run away one other time. They caught him sleeping in an abandoned home in a not-so-great part of town.”

“Anything on the foster family?”

“They’ve had a number of children go through their home. Some stayed, others were moved. Not much more information than that.”

“Billy Ray Snow,” Camille said softly. “Poor kid is probably missing his parents.”

“I didn’t find a Mark Sands in your area, but I tried some variations on the name and came up with something interesting.”

Landry met Camille’s gaze over the cell phone between them. “Go ahead.”

“I found a guy matching your description and the images I was able to get from the video surveillance system next door to Sweet Temptations. The man’s name is Harlan Mark Sanders. He’s a prison guard.”

Camille’s eyes widened.

“He’s a guard at the same prison where Richard DeSalle is incarcerated. And get this...Richard DeSalle had a parole hearing today.”

Camille leaned toward the cell phone. “Please tell me they denied it.”

“I’m sorry to say he was granted parole,” Swede said. “He was released today.”

Landry watched the play of emotions on Camille’s face, his heart hurting for her. “Anything else?”

“Isn’t that enough?” Camille whispered.

“Nothing yet. I’m looking into the jewelry Richard DeSalle was accused of stealing—what was recovered and what wasn’t. I’ll let you know when I get a complete list.”

“Thanks, Swede.”

“I’ve passed this information to Remy,” Swede said. “For now, out here.”

“Out here,” Landry responded and ended the call.