Page 60 of Landry

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?”

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