Page 67 of Landry

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.

Chapter 13

With Harlan Mark Sanders lying dead at Landry’s feet, he wondered who could have killed him and how many people were involved in finding whatever it was they thought Camille had.

Camille.

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