Rose, Charlotte - Bayou Famine [Shifters of Alligator Bend 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (11 page)

* * * *

Nelson’s stomach was in his shoes as he climbed into the main boat and walked into the kitchen.

Serafine’s face fell the moment she saw him. “You didn’t find her.”

Nelson sighed. “No, we didn’t. I even went to the Greyhound station, but couldn’t get a glimpse of her. I went to the police, but I made the mistake of telling them she left a note. They won’t take the case because a crime hasn’t been committed.”

“What are you talkin’ about in here?” Manuel asked, coming through the door.

“It’s kind of a long story. But we’re in trouble.”

Manuel raised an eyebrow. “What kind of trouble?”

“Narcisse left.”

“What do you mean?”

Nelson swallowed, and knew he had no choice but to tell the truth. “I mean that she ain’t really been happy here, and feels like she don’t belong with the congregation. She’s been real unhappy. This afternoon, when we came in for lunch, she tried to talk to Armand and me about it, but we didn’t do a very good job of makin’ her feel better. So she took off to start her life over back in Houston.”

Manuel paled. “What? Didn’t somebody explain to her that she’s bound to the congregation forever? That if she’s gone too long, she’ll die?”

“I gave her a fair warnin’, but either she forgot, or she thought I was lyin’ to her,” Serafine said. “Because she took off, and her note made it sound like she thought she could just keep on goin’ in Houston, like nothin’ bad was gonna happen to her.”

“How the hell did she get to land?”

“Stole Armand’s boat.”

“Goddamn.”

Nelson shook his head. “I know, I know. Armand and I really fucked up. We spent the entire afternoon searchin’ New Orleans. But there’s no trace of her. He went on ahead to Houston to try to track her down, but so far, I haven’t heard a word from him. I’m beginnin’ to think it’s hopeless.”

Manuel banged his fist on the table. “It ain’t hopeless, and you ain’t givin’ up, you hear? I just got my son back. I am not about to let him die. We’re gonna find her, and we’re gonna bring ’em back. You understand me?”

Nelson felt suddenly optimistic by Manuel’s anger. “Yes, sir. I understand you.”

“Good. Let’s start makin’ a plan.”

Manuel hurried away from the table and began to collect other gators in the congregation who would be able to help with the search. Oscar and Xavier were tasked with leading a group of shifters to search New Orleans and inquire with anyone who might have seen her. A small group was sent out to explore the swamps, just in case Narcisse was there. Adele went to work trying to track down Narcisse’s contact information. They couldn’t afford to leave any possibility to chance.

But despite two days of active work, Narcisse was nowhere to be found. Nearly forty-eight hours after Armand had discovered the note, Nelson felt his hands start to tremble while he, Manuel, and Andre were sitting on the dock, trying to come up with a new strategy to find her.

“Whoa,” Andre said, helping Nelson to his feet. “You okay?”

Nelson pressed his shaking hands to his temples. “Don’t know what came over me,” he said.

Manuel’s face went ashen. “Don’t pretend to be stoic right now. You know exactly what’s happenin’. It’s the curse startin’ to take hold of you.”

Just then, Serafine entered the room, moving slowly, as though she was ill. Her fingers were pressed into her temples.

“You feeling okay, Serafine?” Nelson asked, afraid of what her answer would be. He was already feeling the effects of Narcisse’s separation, and he could only imagine that Armand wasn’t doing so well, either.

“Bit of a headache. And it’s gonna get worse. How long has Narcisse been gone?”

Nelson swallowed hard. “Two days now. I don’t know what to do, Serafine. She don’t want to be found. We been searchin’ the city, we’ve gone out on the highways, we’ve even scoured the waters of the bayou. But she ain’t anywhere.”

“And Armand ain’t found her?”

“Nope.”

Nelson suddenly felt his legs go weak. He tried to stay upright, but after flailing for support, he collapsed on the floor.

Serafine muttered an obscenity. “The curse is startin’ to take hold of us. We gotta find her.”

“How?” Nelson asked, fighting the tidal wave of a headache that rolled through his skull. “We’ve tried everything. Maybe we should hire a private investigator.”

“We’ve already ruled that out because it’s so risky,” Xavier said. “We really don’t need people who make a living getting information getting involved with us. Plus, if the curse is starting to take hold, we really don’t have any good way to explain that to an investigator. If they find her in bad shape, they’re not going to call us. They’re going to take her to the hospital. Besides, at this point, they probably won’t find her in time. It would take a few days, at least.”

Adele came running in and skidded to a halt when she saw Nelson crumpled into a ball.

“Am I too late?” she whispered.

“No,” Serafine said. “He’s still got life left in him. Just not as much as I’d like. You find somethin’?”

Adele nodded. “I managed to take down Narcisse’s address. I didn’t have it in my records, unfortunately, because she and I didn’t keep in touch after she graduated. But I called in a favor with a friend over at the records department. The office keeps up-to-date contact information for alumni so they can send class news and ask for donation money.”

“Why didn’t we think of that two days ago?” Nelson asked, massaging his temples.

“I did, but she left on the weekend. Nobody was in the office, and I couldn’t very well call in the favor then without arousing some major suspicion. As it was, it took the better part of today to even convince her to relinquish the information. They’re supposed to keep it completely private, and she could have gotten fired if anyone found out.”

“How did you manage to get it out of her?”

Serafine reached into her pocket and, with a trembling hand, pulled out a small voodoo doll.

“Adele called me this afternoon with her predicament. I figured a little magic wouldn’t be out of line in an emergency like this one. I didn’t do much. Just set up a spell that would make her easier to persuade for this occasion.”

“It didn’t take much work to get the information out of her after that,” Adele said. “I have her new address. You can call Armand and tell him to get her. They can drive back out to the bayou right away.”

Just then, Nelson collapsed again, falling out of the chair he’d been sitting in. Pain ripped through his muscles, and he could tell he was developing a fever.

“I don’t—I don’t know,” he gasped. “If Armand and Narcisse are in as bad of shape as I am, they ain’t gonna be able to drive back here.”

“Shit,” Oscar muttered.

“We just have to go get them,” Adele said. “We’ll go into New Orleans, rent a car, drive as fast as we can. If they’re incapacitated, it’s about the only way to do it without involving outsiders.”

“I’m comin’ with you,” Nelson said, trying to control the waves of pain coursing through his body.

Xavier shook his head. “You should stay here and rest, man. Ain’t nothin’ you can do with the shape you’re in.”

“I don’t care. She’s my mate. I want to be there when you get her. I want to hold her in my arms the entire way back to the bayou.”

“Okay, then,” Adele said. “Come on, let’s get going. We don’t have much time.”

* * * *

After getting lost in the swamps for three hours, a two-hour wait at the Greyhound station, and a grueling, eight-hour bus ride, Narcisse pulled into Houston with nothing but the clothes on her back. All of her cash had been spent on her bus ticket, and she hadn’t eaten since breakfast. She had no idea what she was going to do or how she was going to survive, but she knew it was better than being where she didn’t belong.

It was a five-mile walk from the bus station to her apartment, but she didn’t have money for bus fare. And after eight hours of sitting, she was grateful for the chance to move around. Narcisse felt a little weak from hunger, but she knew that if she could make it home, there would be something to tide her over. Any of the fresh food in her fridge would be completely rotten, but she knew there would at least be a bag of chips in the pantry she could eat to tide her over until she figured out how to get some money. She anticipated a night spent sorting through her jewelry and a morning dealing with the pawn shop. After making herself a meager dinner, however, she realized she was too exhausted to try to accomplish anything. She crawled into her bed and passed out.

As Narcisse woke up the next morning, her first thought was of how she missed her mates.

No. I don’t miss them. I have no reason to miss them. I was unhappy there. And they’re not my mates, either. There’s no such thing. I can’t believe I let myself get talked into that.

Rousing herself from bed, she eased under the hot spray of the shower and sighed with pleasure as the dirt and discomfort left from hours of travel eased off of her body. After her shower, she went and pulled together a meager breakfast. As she ate, she caught herself compulsively daydreaming about Armand and Nelson. She thought about how it felt to be sandwiched between them in the throes of passion, and how safe she felt afterward as they curled their bodies around her before falling asleep. She thought about how amazing it always felt to wake up between them after a night of sex. Even that first night, when she was so nervous, Armand and Nelson had made sure to take care of her, to make her feel satisfied and happy. Her memories briefly turned to regret and confusion.

They weren’t perfect, but then again, neither was I. The entire situation was a mess. Maybe they were doing the best they could.

She didn’t want to think about them, though. The time for that was over. She had returned to Houston to start her life over, and there was no room for distraction. She had a lot of work to do, starting with finishing her breakfast so she’d have energy to get through the day. But as she picked at her food, she couldn’t help turning her actions over and over in her mind.

Maybe I made the wrong decision to leave. Maybe I should have tried to stick it out a little while longer and see if things got better
.

Narcisse shook her head and stood up from the table. Realizing she wasn’t really hungry, she hurried to clean up the small mess she’d made, hoping that if she kept busy, she’d be able to take her mind off of them.

There’s no time to second-guess myself. I was completely miserable, and I needed to get out. I made the right choice. I never belonged there. I was never meant to be their mate, whatever that means.

Refusing to dwell on thoughts of her so-called mates any longer, Narcisse went to her room and spent the better part of the day sorting through clothes, jewelry, and other possessions that she could sell to hold her over until she found work. She didn’t hold any illusions of getting her old job back. She was willing to take anything that would keep a roof over her head and food in her fridge.

After several hours of work, Narcisse was amazed to realize how many of her possessions she didn’t actually need. There were far more things stacked on the floor that she could even begin to carry, so she decided to sell the jewelry first. Haggling with someone over the cost of the nicer pieces would be enough for one day, and would probably keep her fed for the rest of the week, if she was careful.

But as she approached the front door, Narcisse suddenly stopped. Physically, she felt fine, but it was as though she’d lost all will to leave her apartment. A deep sadness had been settling in her heart and mind all day, and now it was making its presence known. She couldn’t deny it any longer: she missed Nelson and Armand. She wanted to be back in the bayou with them.