Page 8 of Kidnapped in Dark Waters
“Let’s hope so,” Luke replied. If Angelique couldn’t turn her sister around, then Luke would be spending his vacation time babysitting a headstrong woman…albeit a beautiful one.
“I’ll speak with Angelique as soon as I get back to my office and we should know how the wind blows soon after that,” Daniel said.
“What do you really think about all this?” Clay asked him the minute Daniel had left the room.
Luke released a deep sigh. “I’m not sure what to think. On the one hand, I just want to do my normal job with the normal hours, but on the other hand, I don’t want to even think aboutDominique being out there in the dark all alone spying on a potential killer.”
“Sounds to me like the Santori sisters are definitely a headstrong trio of women,” Clay observed.
“I don’t know about Monique and Angelique, but I can definitely say that Dominique is willful. I tried and tried to talk some sense into her last night, but she was having nothing to do with it.”
Luke couldn’t help but think about how beautiful she had looked the night before, with her dark brown eyes flashing and her chin thrust upward in stubborn defiance.
“At least her idea isn’t a bad one,” Clay said. “If we can tie that missing book to Pierre then that would be enough evidence for us to make an arrest and get him prosecuted for the crime.”
“It might not be such a bad idea, but she definitely shouldn’t be the one out there in the dark with a potential killer,” Luke said.
Daniel returned to the room and sank down. “Okay, so I spoke to Angelique, who was positively appalled by her sister’s plan. She was going to call Dominique the minute we hung up.”
It was twenty minutes later when Angelique called back to tell Daniel that she’d been unable to make any headway with her sister.
When Daniel hung up from that call, he looked at Luke once again. “I would suggest you take off now and get some sleep before your bodyguard duties begin.”
It was definitely a duty Luke didn’t particularly want, but he would do it to the best of his ability, knowing that a woman’s life could be at risk.
He got up from the table. “Then how about I officially take my vacation time starting now?”
“You know you don’t have to do that,” Daniel protested.
“I know, but it will actually make things a little easier on me,” Luke replied. This way he wouldn’t have to worry about working sporadic hours during the day. Hopefully, he would still be able to keep a routine of sorts. After the chaos of his childhood, routines were very important to him.
Minutes later, Luke left the police station and headed back home. Once there, he sank down in his recliner with the intention of catching a nap, but sleep was the furthest thing from his mind.
Instead, it was Dominique who took up residence in his thoughts. The woman was not only beautiful, but she’d smelled amazing, too. Her scent was one of mysterious spices and hints of florals. He had found it extremely attractive. He’d always thought she was gorgeous but he’d never asked her out on a date. He’d instinctively known she wasn’t the type of woman he would want as a wife, so what would be the point in dating her?
He must have nodded off, for he awakened just before four. He stripped off his uniform, took a shower and then changed into a pair of jeans and a navy-blue T-shirt.
At six he fixed himself a sandwich with a handful of chips for dinner, and by six-thirty he was ready to leave the house and head to Dominique’s shanty. It was plenty early enough that he knew she wouldn’t have left for her spying duties yet.
Maybe it was possible he’d be able to distract her with conversation long enough that it would be too late to shadow Pierre. That might work for one night, but it certainly wouldn’t work every night.
Perhaps she’d tire of this. After all, surely an attractive woman like her had better things to do with her time in the evenings. He had no idea if she was dating anyone, but if she was, undoubtably that person wouldn’t want her out there putting her life at risk.
It didn’t take him long to get to the area where the people living in the swamp kept their cars. He parked and got out. The swamp entrance itself was like a giant maw of dark greenery and tangled brush. It did not look inviting, but rather appeared forbidding.
Luke headed in. He carried with him a flashlight, although at this time of the evening it was unnecessary. He wore his shoulder holster and gun but he hoped he wouldn’t have to shoot anyone before the night was over.
He walked quickly on the narrow path, dodging low-hanging tree limbs and Spanish moss. The air grew slightly cooler as he went deeper in where the sun couldn’t shine through the thick leaves overhead.
Finally, Dominique’s shanty came into view. He went across the bridge and then knocked on the front door. She answered the door and gazed at him in obvious surprise.
“Luke…what are you doing here?” she asked.
He forced a smile to his lips. He suddenly had a very bad feeling about all this. “You asked for a partner, so here I am.”
Chapter Three
Dominique stared at him in surprise. He was the very last person on earth she’d expected to see this evening. “Are you going to let me in?” he asked.
