His Reluctant Bodyguard (17 page)

The first thing Avery noticed once she adjusted to Midnight’s rolling gait, was that the road below the power plant was wider and in better repair. Soon, she also saw that the debris left by the storm had been cleared from the center of the roadway. They were able to ride two abreast, Luc and
Roussellot
in front with she and Rip behind them. But she was too busy trying to keep from falling off Midnight to voice any of the concerns crowding her mind.

Just when she thought she couldn’t take much more bouncing and jouncing, Luc and
Roussellot
slowed their horses. Craning her neck, Avery saw a pile of trees and branches blocking the road ahead. Luc called out, and a moment later, a golf cart came toward them. Luc dismounted, but
Roussellot
remained on his horse and Avery could see his hand hovering near his rifle. However, when one of the men in the cart answered, a grin spread rapidly over
Roussellot’s
young face.

 
"My brother, Henri," he explained as he leaped off his horse and dashed for the cart.

With a spat of patois, the two men embraced while Luc signaled for Rip and Avery to join them. She was grateful Rip had his hands on her waist because her aching legs almost buckled when her feet touched the ground.

Rip’s eyes narrowed with
concern."
You
all right?"

"Peachy," she lied, already dreading whatever might happen next.

"Good news!" Luc told them. "We’re taking a jeep the rest of the way."

Avery had never heard more beautiful words. "Thank all the blessed saints," she muttered as she and Rip led the horses and Midnight toward the others.

At the edge of the roadway, they were met by several other men dressed in
camo
. Much jovial laughter occurred as Luc introduced Rip. Avery could see that about a dozen men were hidden on this side of the roadblock, and Luc explained that another dozen were stationed on the other side of the road to stop anyone heading for the power plant.
 
Behind a wall of bushes and brush, she saw the jeep, and two men pulling an ice chest from the back of it.

To her horror, she also glimpsed a rocket launcher, and a metal box that probably held ammo. Not exactly what she associated with demanding an election. A spurt of panic made her heart pound hard against her ribs at the thought of being involved in a full-fledged war. Meanwhile, someone opened the ice chest and bottles of cold beer were passed around like they were at a sporting event. The whole scenario felt surreal to Avery.

When a man offered one to her and reached for Midnight’s halter, she stopped him. "Wait! This mule has to be returned to Jasper Parlier. We promised."

"Don’t worry, mademoiselle."
Roussellot
intervened, taking the mule’s rope from her. "My brother will make sure Jasper gets him back." He guided her toward a makeshift bench. "Sit here a moment and I’ll bring you something to eat."

As she watched Midnight being led away, Avery felt oddly bereft. Squeezing her eyes shut, she started deep breathing to pull herself back from a major freak out. She sensed someone standing over her and opened her eyes to
Rousellot
, who offered her a hard roll and a hunk of cheese. She took several bites without tasting anything or really focusing in the activity going on around her. As long as everything remained a blur, she could keep her anxiety under control.

"Avery." She jumped at the sound of Luc calling her name.
"Time to go."

Wobbling on her sore legs, she approached the idling jeep.
Roussellot
held the door and Rip, who was already in the back, offered his hand. An anxious glance confirmed that the rocket launcher and ammo had been removed, but as
Roussellot
got into the front passenger seat, he laid his rifle across his lap. She even glimpsed a pistol tucked into Rip’s waistband.

Deep breaths
, she told herself.
Deep breaths
.

"We’ll be there in less than an hour," Luc informed them as he ran through the gears, picking up speed.

She wasn’t sure if that was good news or not. At least riding in the jeep was a lot smoother than riding Midnight. The road was also a big improvement, much wider with fewer potholes and almost no junk from the storm cluttering it. They met no people either, even when they began to pass some small homesteads.

Was everyone in hiding?

Luc’s cell phone beeped and Avery jumped at the unexpected sound. They must be within range of that cell tower Rip had told her about. Luc fished the phone from his jacket pocket and passed it to
Roussellot
as he cast a quick glance at Rip in the rear view mirror.
"Thierry."

The guy who had rescued Williams
.

 
Roussellot
spoke patois in quiet tones that Avery couldn’t hear, much less understand. She bit her lower lip and waited anxiously for the conversation to end. But
Roussellot’s
tone grew more and more excited as he spoke.

"Bon.
Oui
!
Bon!"
He finished and flipped the phone closed before turning toward Luc. "Thierry wants us to meet him at the evacuation center at
Sacre
Coeur
school
."

"Not the rendezvous point?" Luc
questioned,
his voice tight with tension.

"Jean
Baptiste’s
troops have abandoned him!"
Roussellot’s
excitement got the better of him, and he babbled. "Thierry says no more than a hundred are holed up with him inside the fort. He says half the population of
Saturnina
is massing at the walls of the fort. Anyone not already there is marching through the streets!"

"B-but that’s over ten thousand people," Avery sputtered in disbelief.

"How will we get through?" Luc asked, still obviously concerned.

"Thierry has a troop transport truck."

Avery saw Rip shudder at
Roussellot’s
words, but he shook himself and asked, "What about my uncle Jean Jacques?"

Roussellot
looked back at them and his expression sobered. "No one has reported seeing him. He must be holed up in his quarters inside the fort along with Jean
Baptiste
."

"They must agree to our demands now." Luc concluded.

She started to remind the men about the artillery inside the fort, but decided this wasn’t the best time. Maybe Rip’s cousin and uncle would see how hopeless their situation was and surrender. However, after a sidelong glance at Rip’s stubbornly clenched jaw, she had to admit she was kidding herself.
Pollendenes
didn’t surrender.

"Call Gaston or
whomever
has a phone." Luc instructed
Roussellot
. "Tell him things have changed. Bring the St.
Namadie
contingent to
Sacre
Coeur
school
."

With a nod, the young
man flipped open
the phone and dialed.

"Do you think there are women and children in the crowd at the fort?" She blurted out the thought in the forefront of her mind.

"I hope not." Luc’s sober admission gave her no reassurance.

Rip’s expression told her he shared her concern.

In the front seat,
Roussellot
made another call, and Luc made a couple of quick turns. Avery could see the bell tower of a church looming not far ahead and figured it must be
Sacre
Coeur. Houses now lined both sides of the street, but she didn’t see any signs of life. That changed in the next block. A group of children and two women trudged along going in the same direction. Avery wished they could offer them a ride, but the jeep wouldn’t hold all of them, so she bit her lip and looked at her feet.

Though Luc slowed the jeep considerably, they reached the school within a few minutes. Directly across the street from the church, the school’s parking lot was clogged with vehicles and teeming with people. Everyone craned their necks and stared as the jeep rolled slowly by. Luc parked right in front of the main doors.

Two nuns came out to meet them. Avery thought she heard
Roussellot
mutter something about the principal as they all got out of the vehicle.

"I’m Sister Bernadette. I’m in charge of the school." The older of the two women spoke with a French accent almost as thick as the spectacles perched on her nose. "And this is my assistant, Sister Agnes."

Luc made introductions all around and when he got to Rip, the younger nun gasped, then immediately covered her mouth in embarrassment. Sister
Bernadette’s only reaction was a slight lift
her left eyebrow.

"Will you be staying for dinner?" she asked. "We have a generator that we’re using to keep our refrigerators going." She gave Luc a meaningful glare. "But others in
Saturnina
are not so lucky. Soon we’ll have too many people to feed."

"We won’t be staying long," Luc answered, ducking his head in deference to the nun. "But some cool water would be most welcome."

Sister Bernadette nodded at her assistant and the younger nun disappeared inside. From the corner of her eye, Avery saw several young boys inching their way toward the jeep. But a stern look from Sister Bernadette sent them shuffling backward, looking everywhere but at her. Then Avery noticed one of the boys had his arm in a sling.

"Have you seen many injuries here at your shelter, Sister?" she asked, and immediately regretted speaking up when the nun’s pale eyes made a thorough appraisal of her.

"A few," Sister Bernadette’s voice grew chillier by the word as her gaze swept over all of them. "Mostly from the storm, and I want to keep it that way."

"So do we," Rip quickly reassured, nervously clenching and unclenching his fists.

The older woman’s severe expression didn’t soften. In fact, Avery wouldn’t have been surprised if the nun pulled out a ruler and rapped all their knuckles. "I understand the hospital is at capacity."

The reappearance of Sister Agnes saved all of them from further uncomfortable conversation. The younger woman gave them two bottles of water and two paper cups. Rip opened one of the bottles and poured half in the cup for Avery, while Luc split his with
Roussellot
. As she sipped her water, all three men gulped theirs down in less than a minute. She also noticed Sister Agnes’s eyes were riveted on Rip, and she wasn’t the only one.

However, before Sister Bernadette could speak, a series of loud booms split the air. Avery choked on her mouthful of water, while Sister Agnes jumped and clapped her hands over her ears. All three men jerked with startled reactions. Luc and Rip cringed, and
Roussellot’s
dark eyes went completely round with fright.

Then Luc gave voice to Avery’s worst fear.
"Cannon fire."

Chapter 10

"Get everyone to take cover, Sister," Rip ordered the nun, while Luc and
Roussellot
both started dialing on their phones.

"Quickly, Sister Agnes, gather the other teachers!" As the young nun ran inside, Sister Bernadette clapped her hands and called out, "Attention,
s'il
vous
plait, everyone please, come inside! I need everyone indoors now."

Luc clicked his phone off and motioned for Avery and Rip to get in the jeep. "We’ll be sending more people to your shelter, Sister Bernadette. Every woman and child we find."

The older nun nodded as she held the door and ushered people through. "We will find room for all of them. Good luck, Mr.
DuBois
, Mr.
Pollendene
."

Avery had no time to say anything as Rip practically shoved her into the jeep, and piled in after her.

"Gaston and the others are only three blocks away."
Roussellot
scarcely got his door closed before Luc thrust the vehicle into gear.

Another volley of booms split the air, and Avery heard a chorus of screams as their jeep tore out of the school parking lot.

"I can’t believe JB is firing on our own people," Luc muttered.

"He’s truly a madman,"
Roussellot
agreed, clicking his seat belt. "We must stop him by any means, Luc. Surely you can see that now."

Avery wasn’t exactly sure what he meant, but Luc gave a slight nod.
Roussellot
made another phone
call,
said about three words she couldn’t understand and hung up. Before she could ask what the heck was going on, the jeep rounded a corner and a huge crowd blocked the roadway. She figured there were at least two thousand, some mounted, but most on foot. Almost all were men and armed.

"Holy
moly
!" she exclaimed as the jeep screeched to a halt.

A pair of men on horses detached from the group and charged toward them. Waving his arms,
Roussellot
stood
 
and
practically tumbled out of the vehicle.
"Gaston!"

"Claude!" One of the horsemen did a fast dismount and ran up to the jeep. Rapid babbling in patois commenced, while loud murmurs ran through the crowd behind them.

"Are they all from St.
Namadie
?" Avery asked, but before Rip could answer, more noises came from the direction of the waterfront – the sounds of people crying out and running. And far in the distance, she heard the thin wail of a siren. "This is bad, isn’t it?"