Bayou Justice (23 page)

Justin pushed Luc to his knees at the water's edge. He pressed the end of the rifle at the base of Luc's skull.

The sob rose from her chest without warning. She would not watch someone she loved be taken away from her. CoCo jumped from the boat and crept toward the men.

“Justin! Luc!” Bubba's voice drew nearer.

From the corner of her eye, she caught the sheriff's movement around the side of the house.

Justin mumbled curses, lifting the butt of the rifle and brought it down on Luc's head. The cracking sounded just before Luc toppled face-first into the bayou.

Luc's uncle tossed the gun into the undergrowth beside the water and then turned and jogged up the incline. “Why, Sheriff Theriot, what're ya doin' here?” His voice didn't even hint at the horror of what he'd just done to his great-nephew.

Keeping in a crouched position, CoCo made her way toward Luc. She glanced over to the men at the side of the house before breaking out of her hiding behind the mounds of palms. The sheriff had a stern look on his face, but CoCo couldn't worry about him. Besides, the sheriff was younger and stronger than Justin, and Luc's uncle was now unarmed.

She tugged Luc's shoulders until she pulled him on dry land and held his head in her lap. Water rivulets covered his face, splats fell across her legs. “Luc, wake up,” she whispered and tapped his cheek. “Come on, please wake up.” She shot a look at the sheriff and Justin, still seeming in benign conversation. She gazed at Luc.

His eyes were open, focused on her. “CoCo? What—”

“Shh.” She laid a finger against his lips. “I need to get you back to my boat before the sheriff and Justin get finished talking.”

Luc sat up and rubbed the back of his head. “No. CoCo, Uncle Justin is the one who killed Grandfather. He told me so—”

“I know,” she hissed. “Keep your voice down. The sheriff knows, too. He's just distracting him because he doesn't know where you are. Now hush and follow me.” She crouched and made her way to the mound of palms, then motioned him to follow.

Out in the open, he froze. His gaze locked on his great-uncle.

“Luc,” she whispered.

He turned and looked at her.

“Please. Come on.”

He stared back at the men.

“Please, Luc. I love you.”

Luc jerked his stare to hers. He blinked several times.

Then a gunshot shattered the tranquility of the bayou.

C
oCo screamed. Luc rushed to her, gathering her into his arms. Together, they both turned.

Sheriff Theriot holstered his sidearm, before slapping cuff ties on Justin's wrists and tightened them. “Luc,” he hollered. Justin laid on the ground moaning in pain from the shot to his foot. “Shouldn't have charged me, Mr. Trahan.”

“Luc's okay,” CoCo yelled. Her entire body quivered.

Luc tightened his hold on her and approached the men. “Bubba, he confessed. He killed my grandfather.”

“I know. I figured that out.” He gave a nod toward her. “Because your lady told me what else y'all had discovered.”

Luc tightened his hold around her shoulders. She snuggled against him. “He needs to have his head checked out, Sheriff. I saw Justin hit him with the butt of the rifle.”

“I'm fine.” Luc waved off the sheriff's offer to take him to the hospital. “At least, now I am,” he said, and leaned to kiss her.

“I'm just glad both of you are safe,” CoCo's grandmother announced.

A small group sat on the LeBlancs' veranda. Felicia and her mother would soon arrive, completing the group. Tara sat on the arm of her grandmother's rocker. CoCo perched against the porch railing, Dwayne sat in the other rocker, and Luc leaned against the wall.

“I still can't believe Justin killed Beau.” Marie LeBlanc made a clucking noise.

“It's all unbelievable,” Dwayne said as he rubbed his head.

“God watched over us.” CoCo's eyes met Luc's as she spoke.

Pride rose in his chest. He watched everyone's reactions. Tara dropped her gaze to the floor. Her grandmother stared with sharp eyes. Dwayne smiled, understanding. And something else hit against Luc's spirit. He glanced over and saw the question in CoCo's eyes. He gave a slight nod.

CoCo went into the house, then came out within seconds. She held a picture in her hand, which she offered to Dwayne. “Do you recognize the man in the middle?”

The lawyer took the picture and stared. His chest heaved and tears lined his eyes as he looked back to CoCo. “This was my grandfather, Jimmy Jones.”

CoCo wrapped an arm around the big man's shoulders. “I'm so sorry, Dwayne. So sorry for my grandfather's actions. I don't know what else to say. I'm so ashamed.”

“Me, too,” Luc said as he moved to grip Dwayne's shoulder. “I can't say how sorry I am.”

Dwayne looked from Luc to CoCo. “You just did. You solved the mystery of what happened to my grandfather.” He glanced at the picture again. “And my sister,” he mumbled under his breath. “Sheriff said Justin admitted to injecting her with an overdose of drugs.”

“I'm sorry,” CoCo whispered.

“May I have a copy of this?” Dwayne held up the picture. “I'd like to let my mother know. He was a civil rights attorney, did you know that?”

“I know.” CoCo's voice was soft and even.

“You know what, I don't want a copy,” Dwayne said. “I'd rather Mom not ever see this.”

CoCo took the picture and shoved it into her shorts pocket. “I understand. I'll take this to the sheriff this afternoon.”

Luc couldn't stand it any longer. He took CoCo's hand. “Can I talk to you a minute?” They'd barely had a second alone before they had to rehash the story over and over again. He excused them, then led her down to the bayou beside her airboat.

“What's wrong?”

“Uncle Justin told me something before he went ballistic.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Luc smiled. “Told me that I was his sole heir.”

“That impresses you?” She cocked her head.

He bit back the smile. “Not really. But see, if he's in jail for murder, chances are pretty good that he'll never get around to evicting you.”

She grinned, sending his heart racing. “Is that a fact?”

“I think I can arrange for that to fall through the cracks.” He stared at her, love burning in his chest. “Back there, did you mean what you said?”

Her face turned a delightful shade of red. “That I love you?”

His heart thundered. “Yes.”

“Yes.
Je t' aime
.”

His heart exploded with love and joy. He tugged her to him, planting kisses along her face before settling on her mouth. She murmured against him, then broke away from the kiss.

“I love you, too,” he whispered.

“I know.” She smiled. There she went again, reading his mind. Only this time, she read his heart.