Page 367 of Romeo

I could tell it hadn’t been there yesterday.

I knew because I’d stood in almost this exact spot looking across the channel while Fiona sat on the porch behind me.

That was enough.

I backed toward the cabin.

A twig cracked somewhere beyond the trees.

Not close.

Not far enough.

Then another sound came from farther to my left.

Not the same location.

Multiple people.

My pulse slowed.

Funny how that happened.

Fear sped most people up. Training did the opposite. Everything narrowed. Distances became easier to judge. Sounds separated instead of blending together.

I reached the porch and pulled the burner from my pocket without taking my eyes off the trees.

Fiona appeared behind the screen door.

I lifted one finger.

Stay.

She stopped.

Good girl.

I dialed Gator.

He answered on the second ring. “What you need?”

“I need you.”

The humor vanished from his voice. “Talk to me.”

“The swamp went dead. I got fresh prints around the property. More than one set. Boat tucked across the channel that wasn’t there yesterday.”

Gator didn’t say anything for half a second. He’d grown up in the same bayou I had. I didn’t need to explain what the silence meant.

“You seen anybody?”

“No.”

“You hear ’em?”

“Movement in two directions.”

“Then get your ass inside with your wife.”