Page 28 of Landry (Bayou Brotherhood Protectors #7)

“Yeah, and he wants it back,” Scarface said. “Enough of the reunion, give us the necklace or we start killing you one at a time, starting with the boy.”

“Wait!” Camille said. “You can’t kill him. He had nothing to do with taking the necklace. He’s innocent.”

Scarface sneered. “Yeah, but he’s leverage.”

A siren’s wail pierced the darkness.

“Get us out of here,” Scarface called out to the man at the helm.

The captain started the engine. The big fan on the back of the airboat roared to life.

As the craft backed out into the bayou, Camille sat down hard on the deck next to Billy Ray and reached for his hand.

The boy pushed to a sitting position.

“As soon as we get a little way out, toss the kid,” Scarface shouted to one of the big men standing over them.

“No!” Camille said. “You can’t toss him.” She squeezed Billy Ray’s hand.

“We have you to tell us where to find this bear your husband hid the necklace in. We don’t need the kid.”

One of the men bent, grabbed Billy Ray by the arm and dragged him to the edge of the craft.

“No!” Camille shouted over the deafening roar of the fan. She held onto the boy’s hand. “He’s the only one who knows where the bear is.”

The man dragging Billy Ray stopped and shot a glance toward the man with the scar on his face. His boss did a quick shake of his head and turned to Billy Ray. “Tell us where to find the bear, and we might spare your life.”

Billy Ray’s gaze met Camille’s, then shifted to Scarface. “I can’t tell you.”

“Toss him,” Scarface said.

The big guy lifted Billy Ray off his feet, pulling Camille up with the boy clinging to her hand, a look of desperation in his eyes.

Camille held on. “Billy Ray, tell him where the bear is. Please.”

“I can’t,” he reiterated. “They’ll never find it.”

“Toss him,” Scarface repeated.

As the big guy reared back to throw, Billy Ray shouted. “I can’t tell you where it is, but I can show you!”

Too late.

“No!” Camille’s breath caught in her lungs as Billy Ray flew through the air, landing in the inky water. “He’s the only one who can show you where to find the bear,” Camille shouted, a sob rising up her throat. “Please. You have to go back and get him.”

“Stop the boat!” Scarface shouted.

The man at the helm killed the engine, thus cutting power to the huge fan.

“Go back,” Scarface waved his hand in a circle above his head. “Find the boy.”

The engine revved, the boat spun and headed back. A spotlight blinked on, casting a bright beam at the water ahead.

Camille held her breath, following the beam of light as it panned across the black surface of the bayou until it stopped on a head rising above the water. “Billy Ray,” she breathed, tears slipping down her cheeks.

The beam of light also picked up twin reddish-orange dots just beyond the boy.

“Gator!” the boat captain called out and hit the throttle to increase the speed, heading straight for Billy Ray.

“Sweet pralines and cream,” Camille murmured. If the alligator didn’t get Billy Ray first, the boat would run him over.

At the last possible moment, the captain turned and cut the engine. The airboat skidded across the water’s surface sideways toward the boy, slowing as it did.

Camille couldn’t close her eyes to what would surely be a disaster.

Without the propulsion of the fan, the boat slowed quickly, coming to a halt within a yard of the boy.

Billy Ray turned and swam away from the boat. Unfortunately, he headed straight for the alligator.

“No! Billy Ray!” Camille cried out. “Alligator!”

Billy Ray stopped and tread water for a moment. The beam of light shining across the water reflected off the creature’s eyes. Billy Ray must have seen the reddish-orange glow because he turned and swam back toward the boat.

As he came close, the same man who’d thrown him overboard reached down, grabbed his arm and plucked him out of water, dropping him on the deck.

Billy Ray lay for a moment, breathing hard, his clothing soaked, shoes gone, but alive.

Camille dropped down beside him, pulled him into a hug and held him for a long moment.

“Camille,” Richard said. “Get the boy to show them where the bear is. We don’t have much time.”

Camille leaned back and stared into the boy’s face. “Can you show them where you hid the bear Ava gave you?”

He stared into her eyes and nodded. “For Ava,” he whispered.

“For Ava,” she murmured and added in a whisper, “I promise I’ll help get us out of this.”

Billy Ray struggled to stand and pointed to the rear of the boat. “It’s deep in the bayou.”

Scarface grabbed Billy Ray by the front of his shirt and half-lifted him off his feet. “Look, kid, if you’re leading us on a wild goose chase, I’ll hurt your mother.”

“She’s not—” Billy Ray’s gaze met Camille’s. Then he turned back to the man with the scarred face. “I swear it’s in a shack in the bayou. It takes about ten minutes to get there.”

“Ten minutes, huh?” Scarface snorted. “For every minute past ten, I’ll cut off one of her fingers until I run out of them. Then I’ll kill her and start on your fingers.”

“Hey,” Richard said, “you didn’t say anything about hurting her.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Scarface backhanded Richard, sending him flying across the boat’s deck.

“Richard!” Camille pushed to her feet. She’d hated Richard for putting her and Ava through losing their home and the struggles she’d had to go through to rebuild her life, but she didn’t hate him enough to see him die.

Before she could go to him, her ex-husband teetered on the edge, got his balance and rolled back toward the center, rising to a sitting position. He touched his hand to the blood on his lips and glared at the man who’d hit him.

“The only reason you’re alive is because Tony wants me to bring you back to him. He has special ways of handling people who disrespect him and his family.”

“Look, Dion, we’ll get the necklace back, and we’ll be square. I wouldn’t have taken it if I’d known that was his girlfriend. And I couldn’t get it back to him sooner because I spent the last five years in jail.”

“Cry me a river,” Dion said. “Save your sob story for Tony.” He waved his hand in the air and called out, “Go where the boy sends you.” He stared down at his watch and then toward Billy Ray. “One finger for every minute past ten.”

Her gut told her that as soon as they had Fuzzy Bear, they’d have no more use for her and Billy Ray. These men wouldn’t leave any loose strings...or witnesses.

She’d have to look for any opportunity for them to get away, or Billy Ray wouldn’t live to be eleven or to find a home where he would be loved by people who cared.

Camille couldn’t understand foster parents who didn’t show their foster kids the love they needed so desperately.

If she had Billy Ray, she’d make certain he felt the love and knew he was part of her family, not just a temporary inconvenience.

Camille’s heart pinched hard in her chest. She wanted to see Ava again. And she really wanted to hold her little girl in her arms and tell her how much she loved her.

As much as she’d sworn off relationships, she really liked Landry. Maybe more than liked, bordering, if not already full-on, L.O.V.E . She wanted more time to see if like could grow into love for him as well.

One thing was certain, she had a heart full of love worth fighting for. She had to find a way out of this.

Camille balled her hands into fists.