Page 24 of The Unseen

C LASSES WERE OVER, THE BOYS PREPARING TO DEPART FOR THE WEEKEND . Lucas had informed Sean that he would be giving him a ride to Belle Reve after school.

Lucas had been considering how to handle the situation with Nicole and the beating she had suffered because of her brother, and had to clamp down on the anger that stretched the limits of his control.

It was unusual for him, a man who had once been a priest. He had learned years ago how to discipline himself, to keep his feelings in check.

The rage he felt now was a measure of how much he had come to care for Nicole.

A knock on the door drew his attention. He checked his watch and figured it was Sean. “Come on in.”

Sean opened the door and walked into the office, a wide smile on his face. “My first day at work was great. Thanks, Coach.” Classes ended at three, followed by two hours of athletics, or in this case an after-school job.

Lucas had meant to hold off on this conversation, but the smile on Sean’s face changed his plans.

“Sit down, Sean.”

Reading the tension in Lucas’s body, the boy’s smile slid away. He sat down hard in the chair on the opposite side of the desk. “What’s going on?”

“Why don’t you tell me? By the way, Bruno says hello.”

Sean’s eyes widened and he reeled in his seat.

“Your sister’s lucky she isn’t in the hospital. As it is, she took a beating. It was a warning, Sean. From your good friend Bruno.”

Sean’s breathing quickened, the air moving too fast in and out of his lungs. “Is she all right?”

“She’s been better. I want the truth, Sean. Tell me what’s going on.”

Sean’s eyes squeezed closed for an instant.

He took a shaky breath and slowly released it.

“Bruno … is one of the guys who paid me to steal cars. I don’t know his last name.

They call him the boss, but I’m pretty sure he works for someone else.

But one of his men, a guy named Mickey Dugan, showed up in my dorm room last week.

Mick says … he says I still owe them two more cars. ”

“Go on.”

“Mick threatened to hurt Nicole if I didn’t agree to steal them. He said Bruno would go after her.” Sean looked at him, his eyes full of worry. “Bruno’s a really bad dude, Coach. He likes to hurt people, especially women. I didn’t want Nicole getting hurt, so I said I’d do it.”

Sean’s eyes glistened with unshed tears.

“I didn’t want to. I thought if I got a job, I could pay back the money and we would be even.

After you got me the job at the hardware store, I called Mick and told him I wasn’t going to steal anything.

I said I’d pay the boss back; I just needed a little time.

Mick didn’t argue. I guess they just went after Nicole. ”

“What happened to the money you were paid?”

“Some of it’s still buried in the yard behind my old house, but that was for the first cars. I never got paid for the next ones. Artie took the money and ran. I haven’t seen him since.”

“Artie was the guy who brought you in?”

“Yeah. It was after my parents died, right after I moved in with Nicole. I wasn’t sure things would work out, you know? And I was … It seemed like I was just mad at the world.”

It was a story Lucas had heard before. Loss and pain pushing a kid into trouble. “And now?”

Sean sat up straighter in his chair. “Nicole took me in when no one else wanted me. I’d never do anything to hurt her. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe—no matter what happens to me.”

Lucas read the sincerity in Sean’s eyes and relief filtered through him. “Then I guess we better figure out what to do to protect your sister and keep you out of jail.”

Nicole wiped her hands on the apron Sean had given her for her birthday: MAY THE FORKS BE WITH YOU.

She smiled at the memory as she continued preparing supper for Lucas and Sean.

Lucas had driven her home this morning. He hadn’t wanted to leave her alone, but he said he was taking care of it, whatever that meant.

After school, he would be driving Sean home for the weekend.

Knowing she would still be sore from the attack last night, Lucas had offered to pick up takeout.

Nicole had declined. She had never imagined herself the domestic type.

She was too career driven, too immersed in her painting, and she had long ago accepted being single for the rest of her life.

Then Sean had come along, and she had discovered the nurturing side of her nature.

Her work would always be a priority, but she enjoyed cooking for Sean and other people she cared about, especially if the meal was appreciated. She glanced at the clock above the oven, caught her reflection in the glass door, and winced at her black eye and the bruise on her cheek.

She wondered what Sean would say when he saw her.

Lucas had phoned earlier to tell her he had talked to her brother before they left Baton Rouge.

Apparently, the men that Sean had been involved with in the car theft ring had reappeared.

They were demanding her brother continue to steal for them.

Sean had refused. Hurting her was a way to force him to comply.

Lucas was going to help Sean deal with the situation.

Nicole silently thanked God for the man who had come into their lives when they needed him so badly. In a way she wished she hadn’t slept with him. When they parted, she would lose a man who had become a very good friend to both of them.

She tried not to think of the night they had spent together, a memory that sent desire pulsing through her. She tried and failed to convince herself she didn’t want it to happen again.

Nicole sighed.

Finished seasoning the pork roast, she shoved it into the oven.

The apples were peeled and cooking, sending the spicy aroma of cinnamon into the air.

At the sound of a car approaching along the gravel drive, she walked over to the window above the sink.

Her stomach knotted at the sight of the white sheriff’s SUV rolling down the lane toward the house.

Tall, black-haired Sheriff Loewen sat behind the wheel, the only person in the vehicle.

Untying her apron, she tossed it over a chair at the breakfast table and hurried to the front door. She walked out just as Lucas’s Jeep pulled in behind the sheriff’s vehicle.

Relief filtered through her. As Lucas and Sean climbed out of the vehicle, Sean spotted her black eye, beginning to turn several shades of yellowish purple, and the blood leached out of his face.

“I’m so sorry, sis. This is all my fault.”

Nicole leaned down and hugged him, careful not to hurt her ribs. “It isn’t your fault.” But Sean clearly didn’t believe her. Nicole was grateful when Lucas sent him off to his man/boy cave.

Lucas stood at her side as the sheriff walked toward her. “Sheriff Loewen. Nice to see you.” She plastered a smile on her face. “Sheriff, this is Lucas Devereaux. He runs the Baton Rouge Youth Center.”

Beneath a black bill cap with the sheriff’s department logo on the front, Loewen’s gaze went from Lucas to Nicole’s battered face, and his jaw hardened.

“I can see what you’re thinking, Sheriff,” Nicole said. “But Lucas isn’t responsible for the way I look. In fact, if he hadn’t shown up when he did, I’d probably look a whole lot worse.”

The sheriff’s gaze caught the scabs crusted on Lucas’s knuckles, and he apparently understood what they meant. He extended his hand. “Nice to meet you.” Lucas accepted the handshake. “Did you file a report after the assault?”

“It happened in Baton Rouge,” Lucas answered. Not the sheriff’s jurisdiction. “There were two men involved. Attempted robbery, I figure. We exchanged a few punches. Nothing serious. Nicole was my priority. When they took off running, I let them go.”

The sheriff focused on Nicole. “Keeping the police in the loop might still be a good idea.”

She just nodded. “I’ll think about it.” But there was no way she was filing a report. Neither she nor Lucas wanted Sean’s name brought up.

“What can we do for you, Sheriff?” Lucas asked, resting a protective hand at her waist.

“I brought news about the bones we found.”

“You found out who it is?”

“Not yet, but the case has gotten more interesting. Turns out there was a hole in the back of the skull. The forensic experts believe it was caused by a club or tool of some kind. They’re listing blunt force trauma as the cause of death. They’ve concluded whoever is in the box was murdered.”

Silence fell.

It made sense. If, as Aunt Rachel believed, the bones belonged to Francois Villard, the assumption at the time of his disappearance was that criminals around the docks had murdered him. This was just more evidence that her aunt was right. It was past time they dug up Francois’s grave.

“Forensics also found it interesting that the box was made of cedar, a long-lasting wood. The dead man wasn’t just tossed into a pit and left to rot, he was treated with what appears to be respect.”

“Interesting,” Lucas said.

“It’s just another piece of the puzzle.”

“Thank you for letting us know,” Nicole said.

“We’re still trying to identify the remains. We’d appreciate a call if you run across anything that might be useful.”

“We’ll do that, Sheriff,” Lucas said.

Loewen touched the bill of his cap and returned to his SUV.

“Let’s go inside.” As the sheriff drove away, Lucas urged her back into the house, toward the delicious smells coming from the kitchen. He explained the conversation he’d had with Sean before they had set off for Belle Reve.

“Your brother was trying to do the right thing. They wanted him to steal more cars, but he refused. He wanted a job so he could pay them the money they told him he still owed. He thought he had the situation under control. He was devastated when he found out they had hurt you.”

“He’s a good boy,” she said, her eyes filling with tears.

Lucas eased her into his arms. “Yes, he is. That’s the reason we’re going to help him.”

Nicole swallowed. She rested her head on Lucas’s shoulder. It felt so good just to have him hold her. It’s only for a moment, she told herself.

Lucas kissed the top of her head the instant before she pulled away.

“Thank you for being here,” she said. “For helping Sean.” And me, she silently added. She had no idea how to deal with the kind of thugs who had brutally assaulted her in the parking lot, the kind who were threatening Sean.

Lucas tipped her chin up. “We’re going to figure it out.” He wiped tears from her cheeks. “Okay?”

She nodded. She was sure he would have kissed her if Sean hadn’t opened the front door just then and walked into the house.

Her brother’s lanky gait propelled him into the kitchen. He took another look at her black eye and the bruise on her cheek, and his face blanched once more.

“Jeez, sis. I’m so sorry those bastards did that to you.” He walked over for a closer look. Nicole winced as he reached up and gently touched her cheek. “I thought I could work things out without getting you involved. I thought I had it handled. Instead, you wound up getting hurt instead of me.”

Nicole could read the regret and pain in the green eyes much like her own. “It wasn’t your fault. You did what you thought was right.”

He carefully hugged her, then flicked a glance at Lucas. “Coach is going to help me.”

Nicole managed to smile. “I know.”

“I need a couple of days,” Lucas said. “I have some friends I want to talk to.”

Sean’s gaze shifted between Nicole and Lucas. “What if they come to Belle Reve?”

“I’m glad you asked,” Lucas said. “The answer is, if they show up here, they’re going to have to deal with me.”

Nicole wasn’t sure whose eyes widened more, hers or Sean’s.

“You’re staying here?” Sean asked.

“Unless that’s a problem for you.”

“No!” her brother said quickly. “You can have my room. I can sleep out in my studio. I do that sometimes. I’ve got it fixed up so it’s comfortable.”

Lucas turned to Nicole. “What about you? You all right with my staying?”

The bruise throbbed in her cheek. “It never occurred to me those men might show up here. I’d be grateful if you stayed.”

As Sean headed back out the door to his workshop, Lucas flashed Nicole a teasing smile. “Tonight might not be a good idea, but once you’re feeling better, I’m sure I can think of a way for you to show me your gratitude.”

The hint of a smile touched her lips. She ignored the faint color rising in her cheeks and went back to the subject they needed to be discussing. “You think Sean will be okay out there?”

“Those men want your brother’s help. If they hurt him, that isn’t going to happen.”

Relief trickled through her. And Lucas would be there if trouble arrived. She relaxed a little as she headed for the oven to check on the pork roast.

Aunt Rachel wouldn’t be joining them. She liked her privacy, and she was feeling tired tonight. Nicole planned to take a plate over to the house a little later, when she could tell her aunt about the sheriff’s visit.

News of the murder would not be welcome. As impossible as it sounded, her aunt had tender feelings for the man who had died so long ago. If Rachel agreed, tomorrow Sean and Lucas would dig up Francois Villard’s grave and discover the truth.

She cast a quick glance at the handsome man across from her, taking in his lean-muscled build, the combination of virile male strength and a surprising amount of tenderness. They needed to go into Baton Rouge and pick up her car. Then they would be back.

A thread of heat slipped into her core. Nicole tried not to think about where Lucas was planning to sleep that night.