“Me too.”
Already the moment was over and he was looking at his precious stones, sinking another one inside his bag with almost loving care and turning his attention to his next choice.
Bijou shook her head. Arnaud was trying, but clearly she wasn’t really there. He was totally absorbed in what he was doing. She watched quietly for a few minutes, admiring his dedication and somewhat fascinated by his complete concentration. He was wholly focused on what he was doing, prying two more rocks free and dropping them carefully in the bag hanging from his tool belt. She had the feeling if an alligator did get curious and rushed at them from the water he wouldn’t notice.
Without warning a shiver went down her spine. That strange wave beneath her skin rose like an itch that couldn’t be scratched. More, something wild and feral deep inside unfurled, leapt and pushed against her in alarm. She turned toward the water, half expecting a huge alligator to be attacking. Only then was she aware of the silence. The bayous and swamps were never really silent. As a rule, insects droned incessantly and they had suddenly ceased making any noise above their heads.
Glancing down at her vibrating rope attached to her harness, she touched it lightly, feeling the sudden tension. Instinctively she stepped around Arnaud, her body shielding his, her head down, hands gripping a root overhead. Both ropes slithered down, dropping over the top of them along with a landslide of debris and rock. Small rocks hit her shoulders and back. She dropped one hand onto Arnaud’s shoulder. The ropes slid off the narrow ledge and dropped into the muddy waters, the weight jerking at both of them. She kept herself braced, trying to stay as small as possible while protecting Arnaud.
The mini landslide subsided and silence reigned once more. Bijou remained still, a little worried that whoever had cut their lines and thrown them over the edge was still above them, prepared to knock more dirt on them. Or worse, had a gun and was going to shoot them. Arnaud stirred and tilted his head to look up at her a bit quizzically. Trust Arnaud to remain calm.
She pointed above them and laid a finger over her lips, counting in her head while she listened for movement. A few minutes later a trickle of dirt rained down as if someone stood on the edge looking over. Her mouth went dry, her heart pounding. Was the killer above them? He couldn’t get down to them if he was.
Arnaud wrapped his hand around her ankle and that small gesture of camaraderie steadied her. They were safe. They might be trapped on the small ledge, but whoever was above them couldn’t get to them, even if they couldn’t get back up. Eventually someone would come along and see the cars and think they might be in trouble.
Another avalanche of rocks and stones came down. She heard muttering, but couldn’t identify whether it was a man or a woman above them. A branch snapped. Silence. The SUV started up. Her heart jerked hard. It was definitely Arnaud’s vehicle. Her fingers dug deep into his shoulder. She knew what was coming. Hurriedly she bent down and placed her mouth close against his ear.
“Stand up and flatten yourself against the bank. He’s goin’ to push the car over the edge down onto us.”
Arnaud didn’t hesitate. As she stepped back to give him room to stand, he was up instantly with that same unemotional, calm expression. Both pressed themselves tightly against the bank as the motor roared, bursting the silence like a bomb. Arnaud reached out and put his hand over Bijou’s as they both made themselves as small and as thin as possible.
The earth above them shook. Rocks and debris rained down. A tree crashed into the water, the root structure tearing a hole in the bank. The SUV leapt from the cliff above them to drop front end first straight down into the bayou. The back tires missed them by a breath, seeming to skim down their backs, although neither was actually touched.
Bijou closed her eyes and tried not to shake. Arnaud didn’t so much as tremble, his nerves like steel. She hadn’t expected that of him. He was so creative, and she associated creativity with emotion—maybe because she was so emotional. Most of her problems over the years in the business she was in had been due to being too emotional. She couldn’t handle the fame. She never liked being in the spotlight, and yet she’d been born into the glare of one and had pursued a career that kept her there.
Footsteps overhead kept them still. Bijou pressed her lips together tightly and waited, sending up a prayer that whoever was above them didn’t have a gun. There was still her car, and she’d left the keys in the ignition, just as Arnaud had. Whoever the madman was, he swore again and spit into the water as the SUV tilted and slowly began to sink beneath the murky water. He kicked more dirt down onto them, although clearly he couldn’t see them.
Silence descended. A few minutes later the insects began to buzz, filling the silence with normalcy. Bijou stirred, but Arnaud tightened his fingers around her hand warning her to wait a few more moments. The insects grew louder. He relaxed and allowed himself to push away from the wall, casually dusting off his suit. The gesture made Bijou smile, stealing some of the tension from her. No matter what, Arnaud was aware of his appearance.
“Do you think he’s gone?” she whispered.
“I don’t hear him starting up your car, but stay as close to the bank as you can,” Arnaud cautioned.
She found it took a minute to make her body move away from the protection of the embankment. She looked up. “It’s a long climb back up there and it looks unstable.”
“We’ll be fine,” Arnaud assured. He looked at her for a long time, a puzzled look on his face. “Why did you do that?” Arnaud asked, his voice expressionless.
Bijou frowned at him. “Do what?”
“Protect me. When you first knew he was there, you covered my body with yours.”
She shrugged. “You’re my friend.”
He shook his head. “That’s not the reason, Bijou. Do you remember how we met?”
“Of course.” She flashed a smile in spite of the situation. “It was very dramatic.”
“I had been at your concert. I sat in the front row and just watched you. I watched you more than heard you. When you came out, surrounded by bodyguards, you were still signing autographs. They didn’t want you to do it, but there were people outside who hadn’t been able to get to you and they mattered to you. You were a few feet away . . .”
“And you were starin’ at me.”
He nodded solemnly. No smile. Just remembering something that was obviously important to him. “I couldn’t help myself. You had the most perfect bone structure I’d ever seen. I kept thinking if I could sculpt you—somehow get that perfection in one of my creations. I didn’t realize until much later that I was making you uncomfortable. I was so focused on memorizing every detail of your face.”
“You weren’t paying any attention at all to traffic and you stepped backward.”
He nodded. “I was trying to see your face in a different light. No one moved but you. Not a single one of your bodyguards. Just you. I remember you rushing toward me, catching at me, and we both went tumbling. I felt the air as the car went by. It was so close. You saved my life, Bijou, and risked your own to do it. Not a single other person moved to help. Just you. You didn’t know me then, but you still did it.”
Bijou shrugged, a little embarrassed. She hadn’t thought before she moved, seeing the car bearing down on him. “I’m glad I did, Arnaud, whatever the reason. I’ve got three people in the world I count as friends and you’re one of them.”