Page 41 of Lake's Legacy

“Lake’s spouting his club business bullshit,” Toff says, not taking his eyes off his brother. “He said they shipped someone off to a farm but won’t say who or what this fucking farm is.”

I whip my head around to stare at Lake. “You caught them?”

Lake growls, but Zip chuckles. “You might as well tell them. They’ll work it out eventually. Besides, I’m sure they’d all like to know they don’t have to keep looking over their shoulders.”

Lake glances at Zip, then shrugs. “Fine. You’re right. Okay, yesterday, after we saw the three men who kidnapped Olivia and Annette take off from Running Bear’s cabin, I called Hex. They intercepted the men, took them somewhere, and locked them up. I’m not telling you anything more.”

“I take it this ‘farm’ is where your enemies disappear?” Annette asks.

“What part of my statement that I’m not telling you anything more did you not understand?” Lake demands.

Annette glances at me, then Toff, before returning to Lake. “Can you promise those assholes aren’t going to bother us or our people again? You don’t have to speak. A nod will do.”

Lake gives her a quick nod.

“Then, I’m fine with you keeping your secrets. Three assholes off the streets and out of our lives is payment enough.”

Lake shifts his eyes to Toff. The stubborn set of his jaw tells me he isn’t as agreeable as Annette, but he surprises me by shrugging. “I don’t like it. Those assholes should pay for what they did, but I doubt the cops will do more than smack them on the wrist. I have one more question, and then I’m done.”

Lake sighed but gestured for him to continue.

“Are you going to find out why they threatened our people and kidnapped the women?”

“We are, but I think Zip already figured out what they wanted with our land. Zip?”

Zip pushes the paper in front of him to the other side of the table so we can see it.

“This is amazing. Did you draw it?” Annette asks, eyeing the colored pencils.

“Zip’s hobby is cartography,” I explain. “You should see the map he created of New Orleans. It hangs up in his office. The detail is stunning.”

“The line here is our territory, right?” Toff asks, pointing to the red lines that dissect the map. The poorly drawn lines stand out against the carefully drawn map.

“As close as I could make them,” Lake says.

“Are they correct?” Zip asks.

“Close enough. The only change is here,” Toff says, pointing to the line that passes through the bayou. “These two islands are owned by two of our families.”

“Okay, let me adjust,” Zip says, pulling the map back and redrawing the lines. He turns the map back around and explains how ideal the setup is for smuggling.

“That makes sense,” Toff admits. “Most of our people make their living in the bayou. They harvest their products from the sea and transport them to buyers via the mainland. No one pays them any mind because they’ve been traveling the same route for decades. The Sheriff leaves us alone because we’ve never given him cause to think we’re doing anything illegal.”

“That would change if Coyote’s plan to gain recognition for our tribe. We’d have tribal police patrolling the area,” Annette adds.

“That was our thinking, too.”

“So, the person who attacked Coyote was trying to stop his progress for either the smuggling or the oil. What are we going to do to figure out who and why?” Toff asks.

“I’ll present everything we know and suspect to the elders today and then to the rest of our people,” Lake says. “I don’t know why Coyote kept it secret, but he put himself at risk by not sharing his plan.”

“You think by bringing it out into the open, Coyote’s attacker will expose himself?” I ask.

“I think by bringing it out into the open and announcing that I’m taking over the legal battle, whoever attacked Coyote will come after me.”

I jerk at his comment. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and draws me close. “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. Plus, knowing I’m a target makes me more dangerous to them than they are to me.”

I know he is right; someone with eyes in the back of their head would have the advantage in a fight. Whoever came after Lake wouldn’t find him as easy a target as Coyote. Knowing this eased some of the worry, but not all of it. “You’re staying to watch his back?” I ask Zip.

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