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“You’re not going back to work for a couple of weeks,” he reminded her.
Shelby frowned. “I feel better.”
When Remy opened his mouth, Shelby held up her hand. “I know. I’d be a danger to the community. But that’s fine. I’ll be free to investigate on the down low.”
Remy shook his head. “Too obvious. You need a cover, and so do I.”
“Remy can be your former boyfriend back in town looking to rekindle an old flame,” Gerard said.
Remy and Shelby both looked at Gerard in the rearview mirror.
“That would work,” Remy said with a grin. “Since you’ll be on sick leave, you could show me around town. I need to find a building where I can set up our regional office. We also need to find lodging for my team.”
Shelby’s frown dipped deeper.
“I can’t have your back twenty-four-seven if I’m not with you twenty-four-seven,” Remy pointed out. “And since I’m just moving back to town, I don’t have a place to stay…”
Her frown lifted. “Whether you’re pretending to be an old flame or an old friend, it makes sense for you to stay with me while you’re looking for a place of your own. I have a spare bedroom in my house.” She drew in a deep breath and let it out. “I don’t like that my town is potentially under siege by a Colombian drug cartel. This is America, not some third-world country. Things like this don’t happen.” She looked from Gerard’s reflection back to Remy. “Do they?”
Remy’s lips pressed together. He’d like to tell her they didn’t happen, but they did, more than most people would believe. “Let’s hope we’re wrong and we’re overreacting.”
Shelby shook her head. “I’d rather overreact and be prepared than do nothing. I won’t stand by and let people I love die because I couldn’t believe it would happen to us.” She squared her shoulders. “I’ll work with Chrissy and Alan to ‘hire’ Gerard. Since he’s a friend of yours and new in town, they can put him up at their house.”
Remy raised his eyebrows. “Your sister has five kids. Do they have room for a guest?”
“They live in the old Cranston House.”
“We used to throw rocks through the windows of that house.” Remy shook his head. “I thought they would have torn that place down years ago.”
Shelby laughed. “In a shrewd business deal, Alan bought it for the money owed in back taxes. They’ve spent the last fifteen years restoring it a little at a time. Their latest room restoration was the bonus room over their garage. Gerard can stay there until he can find a place of his own. The bonus room has its own outside staircase entrance but is also accessible from the main part of the house, so he can keep an eye on the family.”
Gerard nodded. “I’m okay with that as long as your sister and her family are in agreement.”
Shelby frowned. “The only thing is that I’m not sure my sister and her husband can pay you much. Certainly not what a bodyguard would make.”
Gerard exchanged a smile with Remy. “They don’t have to worry about that. Hank’s philosophy is to help people whether they can pay or not.”
Shelby cocked an eyebrow. “What kind of business does that? How can you make a living doing that?”
“Hank Patterson and his wife, Sadie McClain, have enough,” Remy said. “And many of their clients who can afford the cost of a bodyguard pay extra to help others who can’t.”
Shelby’s fingers tightened around Remy’s. “Remind me to thank Hank and his wife.”
“I will.” Remy leaned back against the seat. With a plan in place, they’d have a shot at snooping around town and the bayou without being too obvious that they were looking for the local cartel connection and possible drug drop locations. All under the pretext of looking for a place to set up a business and a place to live. All the while, he’d be performing his number one mission…protecting Shelby.
He turned to the woman beside him.
She’d leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes.
For a long time, he studied her face, memorizing the curve of those lips he’d kissed so thoroughly and the way her dark lashes lay against her cheeks. She was beautiful. What he wouldn’t give to kiss her now.
One of her eyelids rose. “You’re staring at me.”
“You really don’t remember me?” he asked with a crooked smile.
Her other eye opened as well. “It’s like that thought you were thinking a moment ago and now can’t remember. It’s there at the back of your mind, but it won’t come forward. I know you. I just can’t place you. How long were you away from Bayou Mambaloa?”
“Twenty years until almost a month ago. I came back on vacation after separating from the Navy.”
