Page 77 of Home Again

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Even though Sebastian had asked to rent only two-manned airboats, Neil and his boys had gotten ahold of a four-manned airboat, which would work out much better. Sebastian and Red were on the two-manned boat following Neil, Gunther, and Berle. In Neil’s boat was the tarp that held Leroy Fontenot.

Sebastian hadn’t piloted an airboat since he was seventeen, but it had all come back to him in minutes. Neil had set out at a slow and steady clip, so as not to draw suspicion, which Sebastian appreciated, but now that they’d been out on the swamp for a half-hour, Neil was steering them through thickets of trees, where not much could be seen. As Sebastian looked closer, he grinned. He saw the alligators up on the shore. Yep, Neil knew his shit.

They turned off their engines, and Sebastian threw over his rope to Berle so their boats could butt up against one another. Red took the first bucket of fresh meat and scattered it into the water. The alligators started to slither off the banks into the murky depths of the swamp.

“This is your show, boy.” Neil nodded to Sebastian. Berle and Sebastian switched boats, then Neil started unwrapping Leroy.

“Were you trying to kill me?” he screamed as soon as Sebastian pulled the duct tape off his mouth. “I could hardly breathe!”

“Not hardly. That isn’t how I want you to die,” Sebastian said flatly. “I have other plans for you.”

“Shit. I know who you are. You don’t scare me. You’re going into politics like your granddaddy, you’re not going to get your hands dirty.” Leroy struggled to sit up now that he was no longer tied up in the tarp.

“Well, I guess you’ve heard part of my story. You know I grew up in the bayou, right?” Sebastian asked softly.

“Are you trying to scare me into thinking you’re some kind of real Cajun? That you have balls?”

Sebastian smiled. “And I’ve been serving my country as a Navy SEAL, going in and out of countries you’ve never heard of, carrying out missions that nobody else could.”

Leroy spit over the side of the boat. “So?”

“I have some questions for you.”

Leroy grabbed his crotch. “Here’s your answers. Suck my dick.”

Sebastian pulled a large knife out of his boot, then looked over Leroy’s shoulder and smiled. “Do you know what it means to chum the water?”

“Huh?”

“Look behind you, Leroy, we’ve got company.”

Leroy jerked backward, trying to crabwalk when he saw two sets of eyes above the water.

Red laughed. “Those gators look big.”

Sebastian didn’t waste any time. He bent over and ran his knife down Leroy’s thigh to his knee. No blood spurted, but it started to ooze.

“What the fuck?”

“You’re going to be nothing more than chum to those gators. Here’s how the questions will start. I ask you one. If you don’t answer, I put your leg in the water and give the gators a chance to get ahold of it. If we can, we’ll try to pull you back onto the boat so I can ask you the question one more time. If you fail to answer the second time, I’ll cut your belly, then throw you overboard.” Sebastian looked up at Neil. “Does that sound fair to you?”

“Yep.” Neil’s eyes glinted with anger. Yeah, he had a real fondness for Gianna too.

“You’re Bastian right?” Leroy asked, his eyes wide as he tried to stem the flow of blood on his leg. “Bastian Durand. I’ll tell you anything you want. Anything. Just ask me,” he begged.

“Do you believe he’ll tell me the truth?” Sebastian asked Neil.

“No, I don’t.”

“I will.” Leroy pushed up and grabbed at Sebastian’s pant leg. “I will. Whatever you want to know,” he choked out. “Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you.” His words ended with a sob.

“Okay, where is your son hiding the girl?”

Leroy coughed. He wiped his eyes then looked back up at Sebastian. “It’s hard to explain where.”

He either didn’t know, or he’d decided not to cooperate. He nodded to Neil and Red. Sebastian grabbed Leroy around his upper chest, Red grabbed one arm, and Neil grabbed the other. They lifted him up and Leroy started to kick.