Leopard's Prey

smelled his scent all over her car and even on the ropes he cut. He makes more sense. He has to blame her for his life. I called Angelina at the office and asked her to look up Carson and what happened to him during the years with his mother after they left Bodrie’s mansion. She was a major drug user and became a prostitute to feed her habit. Her son was dragged around from city to city, following Bodrie wherever he was, but they weren’t allowed to live in the mansion until after Bijou’s mother died.”
    “How did Bijou’s mother die?” Gage asked.
    “She died under suspicious circumstances, which only gained Bodrie more sympathy. She’d just had Bijou, and Bodrie went on a tour. Bijou’s mother left the baby at the mansion and supposedly went for a drive. Her car and body were found over in the next parish, the car wrapped around a tree. It didn’t make sense for her to leave the baby behind. And some of the officers put in their reports that they didn’t believe she was the driver.”
    “You don’ believe it now, either, do you?”
    “If Carson’s mother decided to kill Bodrie’s wife, and she had her son help her at such an impressionable age, he would be one mixed-up kid,” Remy said.
    “But if she was leopard . . .” Gage protested.
    “She had head injuries and the medical examiner couldn’t tell if she had some prior to the accident. The case remained open because he wouldn’t rule either way.”
    “Damn it, Remy, Bijou is in real trouble, isn’t she?”
    Remy nodded slowly. “I don’ believe her manager has her best interests at heart either. I don’ know what he has in mind, but clearly he’s here for a reason and it can’t be good. They’re comin’ at her from every direction.”
    Gage’s jaw tightened. “Are you certain she’s your mate?”
    “You keep askin’ me that, Gage, what do you think?”
    Gage swore under his breath. “Then it’s war, Remy. She’s one of ours, and if they come at one of us, they’re goin’ to have to take us all on. I’ll call the boys.”
    “Have one of them stay on her manager and that jackass who keeps starin’ at her. I don’ like his expression. It isn’t admiration,” Remy pointed out.
    Gage turned to observe Durang and Butterfield. They kept putting their heads together whispering, all the while watching Bijou perform. The crowd had gone wild with her last song and now was eerily silent, as she sang a weeping, bluesy ballad that was heartrending. There was something about her voice that crawled under the skin, sank deep into bones and stayed there, making anyone hearing her feel every emotion as she poured her heart out.
    Clearly her manager and Durang had heard her many times and weren’t quite as enamored with her as the rest of the crowd. Butterfield stared at her with an ugly expression on his face, one that had Remy’s leopard snarling and raking at him all over again.
    “I’m goin’ to have Angelina dig around a little into both of their backgrounds and see what she can uncover,” Remy said. “Butterfield doesn’t want Bijoux doing this, but he can’t exactly kill the golden goose.”
    “Do managers take out insurance policies on their big-name clients?” Gage asked.
    Remy turned his head slowly to look at his brother. Their eyes met. Remy swore and stepped out of the club to use his cell phone. He wanted the information fast. He needed it. Bijou’s life could very well depend on it. Angelina was very good at her job, and he had no doubt he’d know a lot more about Bijou’s manager and his shadowy friend within the hour.
    Remy stepped back into the club just as the band swang into a sultry, steamy number. Bijou’s voice seduced the crowd until they appeared almost mesmerized. He’d seen her do the same thing at a concert, a few years back when he couldn’t stop himself from going to see her perform. Curiosity, nothing more, he’d assured himself.
    She stood on the stage and looked ethereal, beautiful and so not of the world, Remy hadn’t believed it was actually Bijou. Her hair fell to her waist, thick and glossy, the kind of hair a man got lost in. She’d been far too seductive to equate her with the gawky teen he’d caught glimpses of when she hung out with his sister. She was even more beautiful now.
    Remy found he didn’t dare look at her, not if he was going to protect her. There was an undercurrent in the room his leopard sensed that kept the cat prowling close to the surface. It was an