The Isle Of Sin And Shadows - Keri Lake Page 0,162

my neck and collar. Irritated, I growl, wiping it off with my hand, while I turn the car into the lot. Coming to a stop alongside the truck, I peer over at Luc, who has a phone pressed to his ear.

As I throw the car in park, he glances over, not once but twice, his eyes wide with surprise. It’s then I notice Luc’s face is bruised and bloodied, eye black and swollen. The sight of him sends alarms blaring through me, more so when leaning forward shows no sign of Céleste beside him.

Muscles vibrating with rage, I do my best to keep the inner turmoil in check, to keep from tipping off Verónica, even in her drunken stupor. I climb out of the rental car, and as I stride up to his truck, I try to settle the sharp spike of blood pressure that has my fists burning with the urge to punch something. “Where the fuck is Céleste?”

“She’s wit’ Brie. Okay? She’s wit’ Brie.” He holds his phone up for me to see. “I been tryin’a call, to see where dey are. Was supposed to meet dem up here. I walked t’rough da crowd, but didn’ see any sign of dem.”

The rage simmers and churns, boiling inside of me, as I do my best to keep my composure. “Why is she out of your sight?”

“Got a call from da shop earlier. Was told ol’ Theriot stole from me, but on da way to his house, I got pulled over. T’ought it was a cop. Guy asked about Céleste, and when I didn’ tell him nothin’, he beat my face wit’ da butt of his gun. I passed out, and when I woke up, I was lyin’ in da middle of da road. Guy took off.”

Cop was probably Aric, making me relieved he didn’t have Céleste with him. How the hell he would’ve known Céleste was staying with Luc is a big fucking question mark beating inside my skull right now. “She’s with Brie?”

“Yeah. I tol’ Brie to bring her to me, up here at dis festival. Somebody broke into Brie’s house earlier. But dey got out all right. Don’t worry.”

The more he talks, the more urgently I want to slam my fist through something. The intruder was undoubtedly Aric, though the path from Luc to Brie in his quest for Céleste isn’t clear. As much as Luc loves to fight, I doubt he’d have given that information so freely.

Although, I want to ask him why the hell he chose a festival over a quiet, low-key location, but I have neither the time, nor the care, to listen to his insouciant view of life, and how he thought she’d be safe here. Luc is the ignorance is bliss poster child. “They’re here. At this festival, now?”

“I think so. I can’t get ahold of Brie, but I tol’ her to meet me here. She’s safe. I promise. I just talked to dem about an hour ago.”

“I need you to do me another favor.” Poking my finger over my shoulder, I point to Verónica. “I need you to look after her for me. Can you do that?” Whether, or not, it’s a good idea to have him babysit the woman I’m charged to protect doesn’t matter to me. The woman I want to protect is in danger, and I need to get this one off my hands. Now.

“Yessir. I promise I won’t leave dis one alone. I promise you dat, Cous’.” It’s then that his eyes narrow on what I’m guessing is the lipstick on my collar.

Without wasting another second on his curiosity, I glance back toward the passenger window of the Lincoln, where Verónica is passed out in the backseat. “I also need your truck, Luc.”

42

Céleste

Swallowing back a gulp of panic, I bang a right at the end of the strip, rounding a bank, and book it down the canal’s boardwalk. A bridge just ahead crosses over the canal to a trail that disappears into a stretch of trees. A state park, where picnic benches are scattered about, adjacent to an empty lot.

Boots clopping over the old, wooden planks of the bridge, I dare a glance back, relieved to see no one has followed me here. The sky turns darker under the canopy of trees, and I take cover behind one of them. Peering around the trunk of it, there’s still no sign of the dirty fed. Maybe it wasn’t him. Still, not taking a chance, I remove my blade