Night Game

CHAPTER 8

The afternoon seemed entirely surreal to Flame. She kept forgetting to stay on her guard, relaxing and laughing with Nonny before she realized she was doing it. Nonny talked about the four Fontenot brothers, her voice spilling over with love. Both Wyatt and Gator talked in low, affectionate voices, and they leapt up to get Nonny whatever she asked for. Often they addressed her as ma’am. Flame found it very quaint and endearing.

She rose reluctantly to go. It was the first time she’d ever really felt at home and she was aware she probably would never get to have the feeling again. “I had a lovely time, Mrs. Fontenot,” she admitted. “Thank you for the tea and cookies. Your home is wonderful.”

“Come back soon,” Nonny urged.

Gator took her hand as she stood up. “I’m going with you,” he reminded.

Flame shot him a quelling glance as she made her way to the front door. “It’s quite all right, Raoul. I’m perfectly fine on my own.” She leaned close to him. “I’ve had enough of your company and you’ll only get in my way.”

He retaliated by kissing the nape of her neck. “I can run circles around you, babe. I’ll follow you with your bike and we’ll make the exchange at the houseboat,” Gator added as he escorted her out the door.

“It’s my bike. I’ll take it home.”

“You’ll take off like a bat out of hell and I’ll never see you again. The Jeep can’t possibly keep up with that bike and you know it. I’m coming home with you.”

Flame glared at him. “I hope Burrell has his shotgun out. He warned me about you. He said you were a lady’s man and a bunch of other not so nice things.”

He grinned at her. “Betcha you got all jealous and snarly on him.”

She tossed her head, hair spilling around her face. “Get over yourself.”

His grin widened. “You did, didn’t you? No worries, cher, I’ve sowed my wild oats and am ready to settle down to wedded bliss. You’re the one and only for me.”

“I ought to insist on marrying you. You’d run screaming for the hills. Wedded bliss, my ass. You couldn’t maintain your façade of charm and the image of an easy going nature full-time.”

He pressed his hand to his heart. “Honey, that plain hurts. Everyone in the bayou knows I’m easygoing and charmin’. I think you have the pre-wedding jitters. Don’t you worry your pretty little head…”

“You’re about to get kicked. Hard.”

He laughed aloud. “Talk like that turns me on.”

She turned away before he could see her answering smile. She wanted to think of him as an enemy, but it was becoming more difficult. She actually liked the lunatic. She especially liked how gentle he was with his grand mother. And, God help her, his warped sense of humor. It was one of her worst failings. She enjoyed people. She knew it was because she wanted to fit in somewhere. She wanted to belong.

Raoul Fontenot had the family Flame always wanted. They loved one another and teased and treated each other affectionately. She craved that, needed the feel of a home and family, and he had shared his with her. Flame walked away from him with a lump in her throat and tears burning behind her eyes, away from his smiling grandmother and his perfect home.

“Hey!” Gator came up behind her and slung his arm around her shoulders. “You all right? I thought we were joking around.”

She would not cry in front of him. She was going home to Burrell. Maybe it wasn’t the same thing, but the river captain needed her company almost as much as she needed his. Flame shrugged Gator off and picked up the pace, practically running to the Jeep. It was a cowardly thing to do and she was ashamed of herself, but what the hell? She didn’t owe him an explanation. And she damn well didn’t want him being nice to her. Because she felt like a fool, she leaned out of the Jeep to look back at him.

Raoul was watching her, rubbing his shadowed jaw with a perplexed look on his face. He looked sexy in his tight jeans with his shirt stretched across his broad shoulders. “Try to keep up,” she called to him and started the engine.

He flashed her a boyish, heart-stopping grin and made a run for the house. Flame tore out of the yard, raising a cloud of dust as she sped out the gate. She knew the capabilities of her motorcycle and even with a head start, Raoul was going to catch her, but she wasn’t going to make it easy for him.

Racing down the highway, she spotted the open field that would give her a huge advantage. The shortcut would take her along the edge of a marsh, and through a series of small wooded areas, but she’d shave off several miles. She took the narrow dirt road and sped the Jeep across the overgrown field, dodging a couple of trees. The vehicle slid through a bog, slinging up mud behind her as she cut through a narrow patch of the marsh at high speed.

Laughing out loud she spun a doughnut in the next patch of mud, just because it was exhilarating and she knew Gator was roaring down the highway on her bike. She felt him. The connection between them was strong, strong enough that she knew if she reached, whispered, called to him, he would hear her.

She was in the risky area now, the Jeep slipping around turns as she let up just a hair on the gas going into the curve and punching hard, sliding nearly sideways through the turns. The Jeep was decked out for all terrain and she used every bit of skill she possessed to drive at breakneck speed along the faint trail. The Jeep caught air and slammed down, the front end tipping to the left and throwing her forward, only to catch air a second time, this time tilting to the right. She braced herself using the steering wheel, but the seat hit her back several times as she was thrown back and forth. Mud sprayed the air be hind her, throwing up a dark trail and covering the Jeep in rich goo.

She didn’t dare let up on the gas; in the heavy mud she’d be stuck immediately, so she pushed the Jeep to its limits, powering through the spongy ground and bumping over the nearly invisible road. Twice she dared the lower creek beds. Wyatt had a snorkel on the Jeep, but she didn’t want to take a chance using it in deeper water because it would definitely slow her down so she only went for the shallower beds, crossing fast and driving hard up the bank before shooting onto the frontage road that would take her along the canal leading to Burrell’s island.

The Jeep was black with mud even with the speed she was going, the wind spraying the dirt behind her. She smirked and waved as a car tried to stay up with her only to back off when mud spattered it. A black town car was heading in the opposite direction, and she recognized it as Parsons’s private vehicle. There was a certain satisfaction in seeing mud spray up and over it as she blew past. As she sped along the frontage road, she glanced toward the highway and her heart slammed hard in her chest. Gator was low over the motorcycle, his shirt rippling in the wind as he raced toward the exit to the extensive waterway system.

Flame couldn’t believe how excited she got just spotting him. Her stomach did a series of little flips and her heart began to beat wildly. She hadn’t had so much fun in a long time. He was just as determined to win as she was, his jaw set, his mind focused. She knew it because he was a competitor through and through, just as she was. They were so alike in so many ways, yet so different where it counted.

She tore up the frontage road along the canal, glancing back to see the motorcycle already exiting. Raoul had to have seen her even with the dust flying. She bent low over the steering wheel, her foot hard on the gas, urging the vehicle to greater speeds. The engine screamed at her, but over the top of it, she could hear the purring of her beloved motorcycle. The bike flew past her, tearing into the small dirt parking lot just moments ahead of the Jeep.

She parked next to her bike, leaping out, laughing, because she couldn’t help it. He sat on the motorcycle, swinging one leg, looking lazy and cool despite the humid heat of the swamp.

He pulled off his dark glasses and winked at her, holding out the keys to her bike. “I do believe, Ms. Johnson, I kicked your pretty little ass.”

She took the key chain from him and dropped the Jeep keys in his palm. “I do believe there must be at least ten cop cars chasing after you.”

“I lost them somewhere near the bridge. If they’re coming after me, they’re mighty slow. What’s my prize?”

“You think you deserve a prize for speeding? You were breaking the law. That was cheating.”

“I’m a rule breaker, cher. You’ll have to get used to it.”

She quirked an eyebrow at him. There were flecks of mud on her clothes and some on her face, but all he could focus on was the laughter in her eyes. Everything male in him responded to her, but when she laughed because of him, he felt almost as if he could fly.

“I can’t imagine you as anything but a rule breaker. You were a little outlaw as a child and you’re still one as an adult. You get away with too much because you’re so charming. It isn’t good for you.”

His grin widened and he poked her with his finger. “A-ha! I knew you found me charmin’. Even the toughest ones fall eventually.”

“You’re not nearly as charming as you think.” She started back toward the Jeep.

Gator trailed after her. “Yes I am,” he teased. “You’re trying to escape me now, but I’m going to say hello to Burrell and declare my honest intentions so he won’t be comin’ after me with that shotgun of his.”

She stopped so abruptly he ran into her and had to catch her shoulders to keep both of them from landing on the ground. “Your only intention toward me is to get me back to Whitney’s little laboratory,” she reminded.

“Well now, I wouldn’t say that was true,” he denied, heat gathering in his eyes.

“Hello, you idiot. I’m not pregnant. We haven’t slept together. We’re not engaged to be married. You’re here to drag my ass back to Whitney.”

He tilted his head to inspect the curve of her bottom. “And a nice ass it is too. You’ve got me wondering again about those pretty little panties of yours.”

“Stay on track here, Raoul. I think you have ADD.”

His hand slipped from her shoulder to slide the length of her arm, trailed to the curve of her hip. She glared at him. “And keep your wandering hands to yourself.”

“You like my hands.”

“Not that much.” She faced him squarely. “You’re making this hard.”

“Well, that’s fair. You make me hard.”

She threw her hands into the air in sheer exasperation. “Go home, Raoul.”

“Not a chance, cher. I introduced you to Grand-mere. Why don’t you want to introduce me to Burrell?”

“You already know Burrell. And don’t give me your puppy-dog look. It isn’t going to work. I’m not taking you home to him. If you give him your ridiculous story about pregnancy and engagements I’ll never hear the end of it.”

He grinned at her. “Of course he’s going to hear about it, Flame. This is the bayou. We have our own newscasters. Grand-mere has announced to all her friends and they’ve called all their friends. The news has traveled throughout all the parishes by now.”

“Great. Just great.” Her eyes met his. Sober. Penetrating. “Why did you insist on me going to see your grand mother? She’s a lovely woman and I really enjoyed meeting her, but why would you do that?”

“I told you why.”

“That wasn’t the reason. I saw you with her. You’re very protective of her, of your entire family. Why would you give me ammunition like that?”

There was a small silence. She held his gaze. Gator sighed and shoved a hand through his thick wavy hair. “I wanted you to know who I really am.”

She inhaled sharply, lips parting as if to speak. She shook her head. “I have no idea who you are, Raoul. You…” Her voice trailed off and she swung around to face in the direction of the swamp. She went very still as if frozen and stiff.

In spite of the distance, he heard it too, the sound of someone running, crashing through reeds and branches. The impact of a bullet, so distinct even with a silencer. The thud of a heavy body falling. The soft cry of pain was muffled, but the reverberation of a second bullet cut off the sound abruptly.

“Burrell.” She looked stricken, her eyes wide with shock. “Raoul, that was Burrell.” They stared at each other for one heartbeat of time-for an eternity. Her expression changed, became a mask of determination. She sprinted away from him, heading toward the island Burrell owned.

Gator caught up with her, signaling for silence and caution. She held up four fingers indicating four assailants as she ran across the narrow strip connecting the mainland to the island. He split his fingers and made a circle. She nodded and veered off, breaking away from him so they could approach from two directions. Gator increased his speed.

Burrell was probably dead and he didn’t want Flame to find the body. The ground turned spongy and dangerous. He had lived in the bayou most of his life, even taking a boat to school, and he knew better than to run haphazardly through a swampy area but he did it anyway. He dodged low-hanging branches and jumped over fallen logs, landing up to his ankles in mud. Cursing, he continued, batting aside the low-hanging moss, slowing enough to stay quiet and watch out for deeper bogs.

He found where Burrell had tied up his boat and walked to the site where he was planning to build. The cabin was laid out with string and Gator could see where Burrell had worked on adding fill to a small area around where he planned to put the house. He had walked over toward a cove where he must have done most of his digging. A wheelbarrow was overturned in the muck and a shovel lay a few yards from it as if it had been flung aside.

Gator knelt beside the wheelbarrow, looking for tracks. In the fresh dirt Burrell had dumped around the area, he could see several footprints of various sizes.

“That’s Burrell’s track,” Flame said softly as she came up beside him and touched one boot mark. “He comes here every day to build up this area because it was too low and flooded every year.”

“Did you see anyone?”

Flame shook her head as she examined the ground. They shot him here and he fell over the wheelbarrow. He tried to crawl away from them.” She pointed to the twin furrows in the dirt and one handprint. Blood stained the tracks. “That’s where they shot him the second time.” There was a much larger pool of blood seeping into the dark water oozing up from just below the surface. “This is the one.” She indicated a boot print. “The big guy in charge. He shot him. The others dragged him by his ankles off that way.” She didn’t look at Gator. Her voice was tight, but rock steady.

They followed the drag marks in the mud. Water was already filling the crevices, but it was impossible to hide the bright splashes of blood on the leaves and vegetation. The trail led around the side of the island to a natural basin. The mud bank had a distinct slide indicating an alligator used the area. Judging by his tracks, the reptile was large and had been there for some time. The four men hadn’t tried to hide the evidence, dragging the body through the mud and water to the edge of an alligator hole. There were knee marks where two of the men had dropped down beside the body wrapping a cord around it.

Flame picked her way through the fortress of exposed roots, while Gator circled the dark waters of the basin. He slipped twice on the muddy bank. “Over here, Flame. They must have used something to weigh him down.”

“Can you get him out?” She stepped into the murky water, sinking up to her knees. “Can you see him?”

“I can’t see anything including the damn alligator. Get the hell out of there. You know damn well he isn’t alive. You can’t save him, Flame.” He waded toward her, gut churning with a mixture of rage and fear for her safety.

“This is my fault. I should have seen this coming. I thought they were after me, and then I just dismissed them. This is my fault.” She continued to wade out into the black water, feeling for the body.

Gator went after her, his fingers settling around her arm like a vise, yanking her with him toward the shore. “That’s bullshit and you know it. Get the hell out of the water. You think dying is going to help him now?”

Her face remained a stiff mask. She didn’t even wince at his harsh question. She’d seen the massive amount of blood. She knew Burrell was dead. It was the thought of Burrell being fed to the alligator that made her crazy enough to try to get his body out of the basin. An acrid scent drifted to them through the trees.

Flame used a low-hanging branch to pull herself onto the shore. She felt sick to her stomach. “Can you find him? Can you get him out of there? Use a branch and see if you can feel him.”

“Who were they, Flame?”

“Do you smell smoke?” She turned suddenly toward the canal. “Damn them. They’re burning his houseboat.” She took off running, more to get away from the reality of Burrell’s body in the water with the alligator than to save Burrell’s home. There was no way to save anything. Once again the bad guys triumphed and a good man lay dead.

She heard Raoul shout, but his voice was far away, competing with a strange roaring in her head. Her lungs burned for air and her stomach gave a sickening lurch. She stumbled, her vision blurring as the roaring in her head grew to a long wailing scream. For a moment, she thought she’d actually screamed out loud, but the sound only reverberated over and over in her head, so much sorrow, so much rage wanting to get out.

Flame fought it back, held it in, all too aware of Raoul’s close proximity. She could inadvertently hurt him-kill him. She fought for control, the effort making her head pound and her stomach chum.

She emerged from the trees to stare in horror at the black smoke and orange and red flames leaping into the air. The houseboat was completely engulfed by the fire. Birds rose, shrieking alarm, fleeing the area. In spite of the roar of the conflagration and the noise of the retreating wildlife, she caught the sound of a Jeep and, above that, a triumphant yell.

“Wait, Flame!” Gator commanded.

She glanced back and saw him pulling at his boot where he had stepped through the thin layer of earth and sunk into the mud. Celebratory laughter blended with the noise of the vehicle drawing her attention. She caught a glimpse of an open Jeep, four men bouncing on the seats as they tore down the road.

Without hesitation, Flame switched directions, using every ounce of speed she possessed, hurtling her body through vegetation, splashing through muck and water recklessly. Branches slapped at her, needles caught at her clothing, but she felt nothing as she sprinted back to the parking lot where her motorcycle waited. It fired up immediately, roaring to life as she kicked it over and spun, racing down the road after the killers.

Gator swore as he extracted his boot. Damn the woman. Damn the situation. There was no way he could catch her in his Jeep. And she’d definitely catch the murderers with her rocket of a motorcycle. He stood in silence, listening to the sound of the engine until he was certain of the direction. They weren’t heading for the highway; they were going across country, not wanting to be seen, taking one of the old hunting trails. He could hear the whining of the engine and the whooping of the men as they raced inland right into the preserve.

He dragged his satellite phone from his belt and punched in a number. “I’ve got trouble here, Ian. I’ll need a clean-up crew fast so make the call. This one is going to be bad. No time to explain, but track me. Get here like yesterday and bring Wyatt.” He slammed the phone back into his belt and took off running through the swamp, heading for the interior. He had to get back on the frontage road, off the island and head across the canal to cut them off inland. He knew exactly what Flame was going to do because he would do the same thing.

He cursed as he ran, setting a punishing pace that was double what a normal man could do. He didn’t care if he was spotted, he had to intercept and the only chance he had was racing through swampland cross-country. In any case the only people likely to spot him were hunters and fishermen, people of the bayou who would mind their own business. He was Raoul Fontenot, one of their own and they would never volunteer information about him.

He was well aware of the dangers, the snakes and poisonous plants not to mention the sinkholes, but this was no time to be careful, he couldn’t afford the delay. The best he could do was to try to stay on animal trails whenever possible. Moss, branches, vines, and leaves hit him in the face. Brambles tore at his clothing, raked his arms and face until he could feel blood dripping as he ran. Startled birds flew up, raising a ruckus. He didn’t bother to try to control them, not wanting to waste his energy.

He barely avoided a snapping turtle sunning itself and had to virtually leap over a small alligator as he skirted the edge of a waterway before heading inland again through bald cypress and tupelo gum trees. As he ran, leaves and petals and twigs settled in his hair and clothing and fell down his back. Sweat coated his body and drew insects to him.

Nothing mattered but that he get to her. The faint animal trail intersected with the Jeep trail at one point and he had to make it to that spot before, or at least at the same time, as the murderers and Flame. They had no chance of making it past that point without her catching them. His pounding footsteps began to slap a harder surface, carrying him deeper into the interior away from the faint whine of the engines. He hadn’t realized he’d been unconsciously keeping track of the two separate sounds until he was running alone in the interior of the preserve.

He focused his mind on the beat of his feet. His heart and lungs easily handled the punishment of his increased speed and the long leaps over debris. There was no question of enhancement. No normal human could maintain a sustained run at his current pace, and he was barely winded. He became aware of a heavy weight on his mind. Grief beat at him. Guilt and horror ate at the edges of his thoughts. His connection to Flame was growing and he could feel her ferocious struggle to maintain control when she wanted- even needed-to rage at the universe.

Flame muted the sound of the motorcycle as she trailed the Jeep over the dirt road at breakneck speed. She was closing in on them; following in the wake of the clouds of dust rising behind them. They were so drunk on the success of their mission, not even the driver checked the rearview mirror once they had turned onto the dirt road leading through the preserve. She could hear them whooping it up and laughing as they retold the story of Burrell’s death over and over, making fun of him trying to run from them. One of them even went so far as recreating the drama of shooting him.

They were coming up on a small junction where the road widened considerably. The trail through the preserve was one of the many escape routes she’d planned before she’d moved in with Burrell in case she had to leave the area fast. She’d made this particular run three times, liking it the best. It had the least number of people and offered the most cover. As she raced along the dirt track, she tried to recall the exact details of the junction. She needed enough room to maneuver.

She pulled out her throwing knife and slipped it between her teeth as she came up alongside the driver just as the Jeep approached the junction. The driver glanced at her as she appeared out of the dirt, his eyes widening in shock. One of the men in the back lifted his gun but she’d seen the movement out of the corner of her eye. Flame threw the knife hard, burying it to the hilt in his throat. He went over backward with a ghastly gurgling sound, landing in the dirt and muck to lie still.

With the motorcycle parallel to the driver, Flame balanced for a split second before kicking the man in the head as hard as she was able. Her boot connected with a sickening crack, but the force drove her off the bike and into the soft dirt. She landed hard, the breath knocked out of her lungs, every bone feeling as if it had shattered in the fall. She kept rolling away from the sound of the Jeep, coming up on her knees, pulling the knife from her boot.

The Jeep careered off a rotted log, scattering bark and wood in all directions as it mowed down a patch of saw-weed before slamming into a large cypress and coming to an abrupt halt, spilling passengers in all directions. The tires continued spinning, throwing more dirt into the air, obscuring all vision. Simultaneously the motorcycle veered the opposite way, away from the trees into the muddy bog where it fell over onto its side into the mud.

Flame caught a glimpse of movement in the cloud of dust, saw the flash of a muzzle and threw herself forward into the dirt. She scooted back toward the trees, staying on her stomach, using her elbows to move fast into the deeper cover of the vegetation. She stayed still, listening for the sounds of the others to tell her where they were. One man groaned over by the Jeep. That had to be the driver. Her right leg and ankle throbbed painfully. She hoped the driver’s head hurt as badly.

A second man rattled bushes to her left. He wiggled backward into a nettle bush and yelped. The third man was totally silent and that told her everything she needed to know about him. Flame began to work her way through the foliage toward the driver. His groans were loud and long. He interspersed the noise with inventive curses and pleas for help that were more growling and spitting than actual words.

“Shut up, Don,” the man to Flame’s left burst out. “I can’t see anything and you’re making so much noise I can’t hear anything either.”

The driver spat out more curses before managing to get a couple of distinct phrases out. “My jaw. She broke my jaw.”

“Who the hell is she?”

“Don’ know,” Don returned, the words slurred and accompanied by more groaning.

Flame shifted position again, worming her way through sedge and marsh grasses. Water soaked into her clothes as she eased through the marshy land, and carefully muted the sound of her movements as she displaced the water.

The driver of the Jeep crawled to the nearest tree, an ancient oak with wide sweeping branches. He sat with his back propped against it, holding his jaw and rocking back and forth. He nearly went right over the top of Flame, his hands and knees inches from her body as she slithered toward him. He began to move and she froze, lying prone in the muck, holding her breath as he shuffled past her. She remained motionless while he jerked out a knife and began stabbing at the dirt and tree roots around him.

For a moment she feared he saw her lying among the reeds and grass, and her hand tightened on the hilt of her knife. The driver continued to stab at the same ground over and over making strange animal noises as he hacked up the plants and sent mud into the air.

Flame eased her body over the plants and muck to get within a few feet of Burrell’s killer. The branches of the oak tree hung low to the ground, moss and ivy weighing them down. Catching movement, the driver tuned his head to stare at a snake hanging eye level to him. The long thick body curled along the limb of the tree. The snake was olive-brown, close to five feet in length with a tapering tail and a broad head much wider than the neck. There were no dark cross bands on the stout body, but there was a distinctive band extending from the eye to the rear of the jaw. The snake had a drooping mouth and protective eve shields making it look particularly glowering.

Mesmerized, the man stared at the snake, going suddenly silent as it drew its body into a loose coil, tilted its head upward and opened its mouth wide to reveal the whitish interior lining. His scream reverberated through the bayou as he threw himself sideways in an effort to get away from the snake. The driver’s cries stopped abruptly as his legs jerked and kicked, his body thrashing in the reeds before going still.

Silence settled over the swamp. Flame lay stretched out, the top of her head nearly brushing that of the driver, her gloved hands tight on the garrote around his neck. She breathed slowly and evenly, making certain not a ripple of grass betrayed her presence to the other two men who had guns trained on the exact spot. She waited, listening to her heartbeat, listening to the hum of insects. After a time, above her head, the snake slowly retracted its head to settle once more on the branch.

“Don? You snakebit?” The hoarse whisper came from several yards away. “Rudy? You think the snake bit him?” A slight shifting of the foliage straight ahead of Flame accompanied the voice.

Rudy didn’t reply. Flame waited. Rudy was the dangerous one, obviously highly trained and skilled in combat situations. He knew better than to give away his position and he obviously had been using Don as bait. He would have done better to spray the entire area around the driver with bullets and then move quickly to a new position. Flame would have taken the chance, but Rudy was more concerned with his safety. Most likely trying to puzzle out who was attacking them, he was lying low, waiting a clear shot while he let the third man, the talker, become the unwitting bait.

With her ear pressed to the ground and her hearing acute, Flame became aware of Gator’s approach. He was coming in from the east, through the interior of the preserve and fast approaching the marsh, sprinting at top speed. She couldn’t let him run into the waiting Rudy.

Flame slowly relaxed her grip on the thin piece of wire wrapped so tightly around Don’s neck. Keeping every movement snail slow and deliberate, so as not to disturb the vegetation around her, she used her elbows to push herself backward away from the body and into deeper cover.

Once she was screened by the root systems and twisted, knobby knees of several larger cypress trees, she emitted a sound pitched just above the level humans could hear. Using directional sound, she sent Gator as much information as possible, confident that he would hear her warning. She’d never used directional sound with a partner before, certainly not under such extreme conditions, but she had every confidence he, and he alone, would hear her. She waited, crouched in the small circle of trees, lying in the heavy cover of reeds and grasses.

She could no longer feel or hear the faint vibrations through the earth, signaling Gator was stationary or had, like her, begun a stealthy approach to the enemy. The third man, the talker, lit a cigarette, the smell drifting upward. The scratch of the match gave his position away. Flame skirted around a rotting log, making a face as several species of beetles and stink bugs scurried close to her. A snapping turtle was sunning himself on the log and she was especially careful not to disturb him. Concentrating her attention on him, she wiggled at right angles to the log. Immediately several Peeps lifted into the air.

Flame rolled instantly and kept moving fast, water soaking her clothes and hair. She felt crawfish against her skin as she rolled in the shallow water. They hurried to get out of her way, but she kept on the move, heading toward the only real shelter, a small depression in the midst of the taller reeds. Bullets smacked into the mud and water inches from her body. Two guns, not one. Two directions. She immediately identified the smoker. She had a clear idea of his location, but not Rudy.

That made no sense. Echolocation should have revealed his hiding place immediately. She couldn’t even hear his heartbeat and she could hear Gator’s. Adrenaline raced through her system, a rush of fear and sudden recognition. This man wasn’t like the others.

She rolled into the depression and sank into soft mud. It oozed around her neck and into her hair. The smell made her want to gag but she controlled the urge waiting until the barrage of fire ceased. Timing it for when Rudy stopped firing, she reared up on her knees and threw the knife blindly at the smoker. The perfectly balanced blade cut through the air with the force of her enhanced muscles and the pure adrenaline rushing through her system fully behind it.

The knife connected hard, the sound loud in the still ness after the gunfire. The smoker toppled over backward, crashing heavily into the brush, breaking small branches as he went down. His rifle clattered to one side, hitting a chunk of rock. Birds shrieked as they rose into the air, fleeing the scene of violence.

“That’s three, you son of bitch,” Flame called. Rudy knew exactly where she was. He just wasn’t in a position yet to get a clear shot. If he wanted to kill her, he would have to move. And if he moved, he would be every bit as vulnerable as she was.

Sound reached her, a blast of command, the same pitch she used when talking to Gator, but he was telling her to shut the hell up. The man had a mouth on him when he was angry. He had a good idea where the last killer was hiding and was working his way around to get in place behind him. He wanted her to stay put, not provoke the man and let him do his thing.

She responded by offering to draw fire and keep attention fixed on her. The barrage of distinct commands coming back at her made her wince and dig down deeper into the mud. Gator was really, really angry.