Leopard's Prey

thought he’d dodged the bullet when he’d thrown her off with his assurances earlier.
    “Did you tell Drake that?” Remy asked. His sister had always been intelligent and she thought like a lawman.
    “I may have started the conversation,” Saria said, unrepentant.
    Bijou caught Remy’s hand beneath the table to still his fingers. He could feel the slight tremble, but when he looked at her, she had her chin up.
    “I told you, Blue, the chances are slim that they’re that stupid. These boys are locally bred. They know our reputations, and they aren’t goin’ to risk their lives and freedoms by getting anywhere near us.”
    She was leopard. There was no hiding anything from a leopard, not once they knew you, and Bijou was beginning to know him very well.
    “You think they’ll come for you,” she said. “You told me you’d never lie to me.”
    Remy shook his head. “No,
chere
, I
don’
think they’re that stupid. I’m not saying the thought didn’t cross my mind, and maybe I was a little wishful, but from everything I’ve seen of them, these are smart boys. They aren’t goin’ to mess with us.”
    She relaxed a little, letting out her breath. “Just be careful, Remy. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.”
    “What am I? Chopped liver?” Gage complained.
    Saria laughed. “Not exactly, brother. You’re the clever one who pegged the Rousseaus for the break-ins.”
    “No one beats up the elderly on my turf,” Gage snapped, the smile fading from his face.
    Remy looked away quickly. He was proud of Gage, more than proud of the man his brother had become. Gage carried the confidence of the people in his parish for a reason. “No, they don’t, brother,” he murmured and raised his coffee cup.
    The sound of a leopard roaring nearly shook the house, sending chills down Remy’s spine. He dove at Bijou, knocking her from her chair, taking her to the floor as Gage did the same to their sister. The bullet went straight through the dining room window, through the picture on the far wall so that glass splintered and sprayed down.
    “That was Dash callin’ out a warning,” Remy hissed. “Move, crawl to the kitchen. Stay low. Saria, there’s a safer room in your quarters. Take Bijou and go there, but both of you be ready to shift if you have to. You have guns stashed, Saria?”
    Saria nodded. “I prefer my knife.”
    “There’s the saying about don’t take a knife to a gunfight,” Gage pointed out. “We’ll leave Dash to watch over you. Hopefully Drake and the boys are on their way back.”
    Remy pushed Bijou’s bottom lower as she began to crawl after Saria. “Use your elbows and toes to propel yourself forward.”
    Gage pushed the dining room door open to allow them to pass through. Two more bullets hit the door.
    “Where are you going?” Bijou asked as they scuttled through.
    “Hunting,” Remy said grimly. “It’s what I do best.” He put his hand on her bottom and shoved. “Keep moving. Get into Saria’s main livin’ quarters.”
    “You can’t go after him as a leopard,” Saria protested. “He has a gun.”
    “A sniper rifle to be precise,” Remy said. “And don’ worry about me. Be worried about him. He could have shot you or Bijou. You don’ mess with a man’s family.”
    They crawled through the kitchen to Saria’s side of the Inn. She had a comfortable three-bedroom home attached to the Inn. On the wall nearest the kitchen, a small hutch was in the entry way. Gage and Remy got to their feet and quickly moved the hutch, opening the entrance to the passageway behind it. Saria scrambled in with Bijou close behind.
    Remy caught Bijou’s shirt with his fist and pulled her to him. “Please, this one time, for me, do as Saria says. She knows the swamp like the back of her hand. She can lead you safely out of here. Don’ try to help us. Gage and I will take care of the problem. Dash will have alerted the other leopards and they’ll come runnin’ to protect you and Saria. Just follow Saria’s lead.”
    Bijou nodded solemnly, her eyes enormous. She leaned in to brush a kiss over his mouth. There was no crying. No hysterics. No pleading. Just her quiet acceptance—and her trust in him. Faith and trust were priceless gifts. He wasn’t about to let her down.
    “Be safe,” she whispered against his mouth.
    Remy kissed her again and then moved away from her down the passage, all business. He stripped off his shirt as he went, removed his gun and zipped