Bayou Jeopardy

Praise for award-winning author Rita Herron

“Herron’s still top of the line when it comes to bizarrely twisting plots as she piles up the obstacles to keep the suspense high.”

—RT Book Reviews on Cowboy to the Max

“Herron gets it totally on target in this tale of family ties, insanity and death.”

—RT Book Reviews on Beneath the Badge (Top Pick!)

Award-winning author RITA HERRON wrote her first book when she was twelve, but didn’t think real people grew up to be writers. Now she writes so she doesn’t have to get a real job. A former kindergarten teacher and workshop leader, she traded her storytelling to kids for writing romance, and now she writes romance comedies and romance suspense. She lives in Georgia with her own romance hero and three kids. She loves to hear from readers, so please write her at PO Box 921225, Norcross, GA 30092-1225, USA, or visit her website, www.ritaherron.com.

Bayou Jeopardy

Rita Herron

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To my beautiful and sweet daughter Elizabeth who lives in New Orleans and loves it!

Chapter One

Eight years ago when Katrina hit New Orleans and turned the city inside out, Mack Rivet had lost everything. His job as a detective. The woman he loved.

And the little boy she had been carrying.

He slid onto his usual bar stool at the Gator Saloon, shaking rain off his jacket as he made himself at home. Outside, the monsoon continued.

Cars were flooding. The river rising. People frantically searching for backup generators in case they lost power.

The bartender, Cooter Willis, set a cold black-and-tan in front of him, and Mack nodded his thanks.

He sipped the beer, hoping the cold liquid would soothe his nerves. But that same soul-deep ache ate at him as the storm continued to rage. Every time it rained, the haunting memories returned. Half of New Orleans’s residents probably shared them.

Images of Lily and their little boy flashed in his mind.

If his son had survived, he would be eight. Mack would be carrying him to Saints games, teaching him how to shuck oysters, taking him gator watching in his pirogue in the bayou.

And Lily…beautiful, sweet Lily. She’d been too good for a man like him, but that hadn’t seemed to matter. If she’d lived, they’d be making love right now, maybe making a second baby.

He chugged the beer, then slammed the glass down on the bar.

Reading his mood, Cooter slid him another one.

He’d been nursing his wounds for so long he didn’t know how to do anything else. Hiding out in bayou country while the city rebuilt itself.

Grieving.

And waiting for the chance to clear his name.

Eight years later, and he was no closer to that than the day Lee Barnaby had him hauled to jail. But he had been doing his research, keeping an eye on all the players.

He turned his second beer up and drank, the stench of his conversation with Barnaby still eating at him.

He hated most that Lily had died believing he was on the take.

“You’re just like your old man,” Barnaby had said. “You’ll die in prison, too.”

Hell, his father might have been dirty. But Mack had worked hard to stay on the up-and-up.

It hadn’t mattered, though.

Sure, there had been corruption in the NOPD. The feds had known it and had enlisted him and his best friend, Remy Comeaux, into helping Special Agent Ray Storm with the investigation. The task force had been close to breaking that corruption wide open when Katrina hit.

Then all their lives had gone to hell.

He and Remy had been arrested. Ray transferred to God knew where.

The bar grew noisy as Friday night patrons filed in, and Cooter flipped on the TV.

A special news report suddenly interrupted the commercial, and a photograph of the very man he hated flashed on the screen. Lee Barnaby.

In handcuffs.

What the hell?

“In a shocking twist tonight, our city’s chief of police, Lee Barnaby, has been arrested on charges of corruption as well as assault and attempted murder.” The camera flashed onto Barnaby, who ducked his head, obviously trying to avoid being seen on camera.

“Private detective Remy Comeaux, who was once part of the NOPD himself, not only found evidence of drug trafficking, but apparently he saved Carlotta Worthington’s life when Mr. Barnaby allegedly assaulted her.” The reporter took a breath, then continued, “NOPD officer Doyle Shriver was killed when he became suspicious, leading to Lee Barnaby’s arrest on corruption, tampering with evidence and the far more heinous crimes of the attempted murder of Carlotta Worthington. At this point, detectives believe they are just beginning to uncover the truth as to Mr. Barnaby’s criminal activity. A full investigation is now under way.”

Mack’s pulse hammered. Remy had phoned him a couple of times this past week, but he hadn’t taken the call. He hadn’t known why Remy was back.

Did he wonder if Remy and Ray believed he was dirty?

Suddenly the beer burned like acid in his belly. He motioned to Cooter to get him a shrimp po’boy so he could sober up.

If Remy proved Barnaby was dirty, maybe Mack could prove Barnaby had set him up. It wouldn’t bring back his wife and son, but clearing his name would be something.

LILY LANDRY RIVET LEANED over to kiss her son good-night, her heart swelling with love. He might have been born on the worst night in the history of New Orleans, but he was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

And every time she looked at him, she saw Mack Rivet, his father.

They shared the same coal-black hair, the same soul-deep brown eyes and the same bad-boy attitude.

It was a damn shame Mack hadn’t gotten to know him.

Winston gave her a surly look as if he knew it was bedtime but he wasn’t ready, and she almost laughed.

Maybe it was better he hadn’t known his father. Especially after what she’d learned the night of Katrina…

“Do you have to go tonight, Mom?” Winston asked.

Lily ruffled his hair. “I told Grandpa I would, honey. But if you need anything, Anita will be here.”

“I’m too old for a babysitter,” Winston said with a pout.

“Anita is Grandpa’s cook and maid and part of the family,” Lily said. “So be nice to her.”

Lily kissed him again. “Ten more minutes, then get some sleep. We’ll go to the parade tomorrow.”

His eyes lit up, and he crawled into bed with his computer. One of his favorite parts of living in New Orleans was the parades. And Mardi Gras had been an exciting experience.

The kid was obsessed with alligators, too.

She left the room, then grabbed her shawl.

She’d agreed to accompany her father to help him with the fundraiser. Gerard Barrow had been the deputy director of the Louisiana Disaster Avoidance Task Force, LDAT, before Katrina. Since the flooding, he’d worked hard to rebuild the city. Her father had been his right-hand man, and she had joined the efforts.

She checked her lipstick in the mirror then descended the steps. Her father was waiting with his driver. He ushered her into the limo, and they headed toward the Quarter.

But loneliness settled into her as they drove down Saint Charles Avenue, and she fingered the emerald stone at her neck. It was smaller than the expensive jewelry her father had given her, but Mack had bought it for her the night after they’d first made love, and she hadn’t been able to let go of it.

Even after NOPD officer Charles Gibbons had shown her proof that Mack was a dirty cop and that he had been cheating on her.

MACK PULLED HIS JACKET up to keep the rain from soaking his neck as he went to meet Remy.

A limo rolled by, spewing rain all over him, and he cursed. Damn rich people thought they owned the world. Maybe that had been Barnaby’s problem. He’d wanted to be one of them.

Mack never had. Never would.

Even if he had wanted it, he wouldn’t have fit. Lily’s father had pointed that out repeatedly.

He ducked beneath an awning. The rain had finally stopped, but water stood in the alleys, dripping from the storefronts. A half-dozen patrons strolled in and out of the bars, and tourists rushed by. A man and woman holding hands caught his eye as they stopped to window-shop at the jewelry store where he’d bought Lily an emerald, and his gut tightened.

But the sight of Remy Comeaux with his Saints hat on jerked Mack back to his mission. Remy visually searched the area. Maybe he was worried about repercussions from Barnaby’s arrest.

If Barnaby had cronies working for him, they might seek revenge against Remy.

Mack walked toward him, his gaze tracking the area in case he was walking into a trap.

Once a cop, always a cop.

“Long time.” Remy gestured toward the fence behind them. “Last time I saw you we were leaving that jail.”

Mack chuckled. “Yeah, I heard your papers got lost.”

“Yours probably did, too,” Remy said.

“That doesn’t mean that my name is clear.”

Remy nodded. “Barnaby’s in jail. That’s a start. But he’s just a small part of this game.”

“Go on.”

“Like Ray said eight years ago, the corruption runs about as deep and wide as Lake Pontchartrain.”

Mack shoved his hands in his pockets. “Any evidence?”

“Suspicions ranging from police corruption to financial plans for the city’s rebuilding efforts to politics.”

“You’re talking about the mayor?” Mack asked.

“Yeah, maybe even higher.”

Remy removed a file from inside his jacket and handed it to him. “Look over that and see what you think.”

Mack opened the file. Charles Gibbons’s name was scrawled there, although Remy had made a note that Gibbons had led Remy to a drug dealer connected to Barnaby, so Gibbons was an ally.

Mayor Barrow was on the list. So was Melvin Landry.

His mind raced.

Landry had money and was buddies with Barrow. If there was corruption with the rebuilding funds, Barrow and Landry might be involved.

Suspicions rose. Landry had disliked him, hadn’t wanted him to marry his precious daughter, Lily.

Had Landry framed him to get him away from his daughter?

“What do you think?” Remy asked. “Are you in?”

Mack’s gaze met Remy’s. “You want me to work with you? I thought—”

“That I believed the charges against you?” Remy’s low chuckle rumbled. “Did you believe them about me?”

Mack shook his head. “Not for a damn minute.”

A smile creased his friend’s face. “Me, neither.”

Emotions Mack hadn’t felt in a long time hit him. “Oh, yeah, I’m in. If Lily’s father set me up, I’ll nail him.”

Remy pushed another piece of paper into his hand. “Landry’s at a dinner with the mayor now at this restaurant.”

He and Remy agreed to keep in touch, and Mack walked toward the restaurant, a pricey two-story establishment. The rain began to drizzle again, the sky dark with more clouds.

All he could think about was the fact that he might finally find out who’d ruined his reputation and sent him to jail on trumped-up charges.

He stopped across the street from the place, the sounds of Bourbon Street echoing with partiers.

He people watched for a while, listening to the rhythmic blues and zydeco music, then finally the dinner party spilled onto the veranda overlooking the city.

Mayor Barrow. His wife, Genita. Three other men he didn’t recognize.

Then Melvin Landry strode outside, a glass of champagne in his hand, a woman on his arm.

Mack squinted through the rain to see who was with him, but shadows hid the woman’s face. Still, she had blond hair piled on top of her head, blond hair that reminded him so much of Lily that his throat closed.

She said something to Landry, walked to the edge of the veranda and looked out over the Quarter, a sliver of streetlight catching her face.

Mack staggered backward.

Dear God. It was Lily.

Chapter Two

Shock and disbelief slammed into Mack. He couldn’t believe Lily was alive.

His hand trembled as he wiped sweat from his brow. Why had her father told him she was dead?

Bile rose to his throat.

First Landry had him thrown in jail on false charges, then he must have been furious when Mack survived the flooding prison.

And when he’d come looking for Lily—hell. He’d probably figured telling him Lily was dead would be the end of him.

And it nearly had been. He’d sulked away to grieve just as Landry had predicted.

God. What about the baby? Had he survived?

Did he have a son?

He balled his hands into fists. Did Lily know he’d made it out of that jail?

Was she aware her father might be stealing money from the funds they’d raised to help the city?

Too agitated to stand still, he began to pace. Rainwater squished between his shoes, the sounds of Bourbon Street fading as his anger took root.

Dammit. He wanted to nail Landry.

But first, he’d watch Lily. If she’d known he was alive, why hadn’t she tried to find him?

LILY SENSED SOMEONE watching her from the veranda and scanned the street below. A figure moved to the right and ducked into a bar, and she chided herself for being paranoid.

Ever since she’d moved back to New Orleans, she’d seen Mack in the shadows, Mack in the streets, Mack waiting on her at their favorite coffee shop with a latte.

But Mack was gone.

The jail where he was had flooded. Some of the prisoners had escaped, and although Mack’s body hadn’t been recovered, the fact that he hadn’t come looking for her made her certain he’d died in the floods.

She turned to her father. “I’m tired, Dad. I’m going to take a cab home. I’ll pick up Winston in the morning.”

Her father frowned. “I thought you might spend the night tonight.”

How could she explain to him that she needed to be alone? “Maybe next time.” She went to say good-night to the mayor. Piano music played softly in the background, champagne floated freely through the room.

Mayor Barrow squeezed her hand. “Thank you for all you’re doing for our city. The fundraisers you’ve organized have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars already.”

“I just want everyone who lost their homes to have one again.”

He nodded, and she said good-night to the investors. Then she retrieved her wrap and headed down the stairs. The maître d’ called her a cab, and within minutes, she was slipping inside her house on Saint Charles Street.

Darkness bathed the inside, and she reached for the lamp, but suddenly someone grabbed her from behind.

She tried to scream, but he shoved a hand over her mouth and pushed her toward the den.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he murmured in her ear.

His voice sounded vaguely familiar, yet fear seized her. If he wasn’t going to hurt her, why had he broken in?

Prepared to offer him her purse and whatever else he wanted in the house, she nodded against his hand.

He eased her toward the sofa, then flipped on the lamp, and she spun around, ready to tangle.

But her heart stalled in her chest. Her attacker was Mack Rivet.

Her former lover and husband. And the father of her son.

MACK’S HEART POUNDED so hard that he had to take a deep breath to calm himself. He thought he’d lost Lily years ago, and now here she was alive, in the flesh.

And looking like a knockout in that skintight black sheath. Just touching her stirred a deep ache in his soul.

And in his groin.

Her long blond hair was captured in a chignon with jewel combs holding the silky strands in place.

A reminder that her father had money and that she was too good for him.

Still, it hadn’t stopped him from wanting her—and having her—eight years ago.

It wouldn’t stop him now.

“Oh, my God,” Lily said in a choked whisper. “I thought…you died in the flood.”

“No.” Mack narrowed his eyes at her. “But I thought you were dead.”

Emotions flickered in her eyes. “You looked for me?”

“Of course I did,” he said with a muttered curse. “Dammit, I loved you, Lily. You were pregnant with my son.”

Lily paled. “I don’t understand. It’s been years.”

“I know it has,” he said sharply.

She raised her gaze to his, those damn emerald eyes drawing him in. “Father said he checked the listings and a guard said you died.”

Anger gnawed at Mack. Landry had lied to both of them.

Which made him even more certain that he was aiding the mayor in his scheme.

“Why did you wait eight years to come to me?” she asked.

Mack’s defenses rose as she turned the tables on him. “I did look for you, for months,” he said, his heart in his throat. “I kept checking the lists, the police departments and hospitals, and I called your father, but he told me you didn’t make it.”

Lily gasped and sank onto the sofa. “What…No…” She knotted her hands in her lap. “Why would my father say that?”

“You tell me.” Mack gritted his teeth as he realized her father had gotten what he’d wanted—he’d torn them apart.

Denial flickered in her eyes. “It has to be a mistake. Maybe he checked and couldn’t find out anything about you so he made up that story.”

“He spoke to me, so he knew I was alive. And he told me that you were gone, and obviously he knew you weren’t,” Mack said.

Lily frowned. “You were watching me tonight?”

“I was watching your father and the mayor,” Mack said. “Then I saw you on the veranda and was shocked to discover you’d survived.”

Lily dropped her head into her hands.

His chest squeezed. For the life of him, he wanted to believe that she had no part in her father’s or Barrow’s illegal actions.

But dammit, she had believed the worst of him. That still hurt.

“Where have you been?” she asked in a pained whisper.

“Living in the bayou, helping other folks find missing loved ones. Trying to find evidence to clear my name from those bogus arrest charges.” He didn’t tell her that he suspected her father had set him up.

“The charges you believed, Lily.”

Lily began to pull the combs from her hair as if she needed to do something with her hands. The silky strands fell around her shoulders, and she finger combed them, making his hands ache to do the same.

“That was because Lee Barnaby showed me proof,” Lily said, her voice rising an octave. “He had documents, evidence that you were taking bribes and selling drugs.”

Memories bombarded him. That night he’d been waiting on her call, worried she might go into labor.

Instead Lee Barnaby had slapped handcuffs on him and ruined his life.

“I know what you saw, Lily, but Barnaby fabricated all that evidence.” He pressed a hand to his chest. “You know what happened to my father, how I grew up. I would never take a bribe or sell drugs.”

Lily shot up from her seat. “What about that photo of you with your girlfriend, Mack? That looked pretty real to me.”

“My girlfriend? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Angelica, the woman with the sultry body and chocolate eyes,” Lily said. “I believe you call her Angel.”

Another shock wave rolled through Mack. “Good God, Lily, you can’t believe that I was cheating on you.”

Her beautiful pouty lips formed a frown. “He showed me pictures of you with her, Mack. The two of you cozy in a dark bar, in an alley, in a car.”

Mack hissed between his teeth. “Angelica was not my girlfriend. She was my C.I.”

Lily stared at him, the tension stretching between them, war raging in her eyes.

“I was working undercover with a federal agent named Ray Storm. He had evidence against Barnaby that would have put him away for corruption and drug trafficking. Two years before that, I arrested Angelica for dealing. She was an addict, but I persuaded her to slip me information.” He scraped a hand over his chin. “If we looked cozy, it was part of my undercover work, Lily. I swear it.”

Lily’s lower lip trembled. “You…really weren’t with her?”

“Never,” Mack said emphatically. “I loved you. And I did not accept any bribes.”

“Oh God, Mack,” Lily whispered. “I can’t believe my father lied to me and that Barnaby set you up.”

“His arrest should validate my story,” Mack said. Although, getting Barnaby was only the beginning. There were others on the take, bigger fish to fry.

For the first time since he’d entered the place, Mack’s gaze scanned the room. A second later, he saw what he was searching for. A photograph on the built-in bookshelves by the fireplace.

A photo of a little boy who looked so much like him that his throat swelled.

He picked it up, his heart pounding. The little boy had dark black hair like his, the same stubborn jaw and intense brown eyes. And that cowlick. Damn, he even had his cowlick.

Another photo of the boy caught his eye, this one with Landry at Christmas.

Anger at all the time he’d missed choked him. “Where is he? What’s his name?”

Tears glittered on Lily’s eyelashes. “Winston Mack Rivet. He’s spending the night at my father’s.”

So she had named their son after him.

“I have to see him,” he said, heading toward the door. “I’ve missed eight years of his life.”

Lily ran after him and grabbed his arm. “Wait, Mack, you can’t, not tonight.”

He swung toward her, his jaw clamped tight. “Dammit, Lily, I thought you two were dead. I…thought I’d lost you, but you were both alive all along.”

“I’m sorry, Mack.” Lily’s voice cracked. “I…I’m so sorry.” Mack was trembling. “What did you tell him about me?”

Lily blinked back more tears. “Just what I thought, that you died in the storm.”

“Well, I’m not dead,” he said. “And I want to see my son.”

“You will,” Lily said. “But he’s sleeping now, Mack. We can’t wake him up. Let’s wait until the right time.”

When would the right time be?

When he cleared his name? When he arrested Lily’s father?

Dammit, he had to find out the truth, but if he had to arrest her father, Lily would hate him.

And so might his son.

Chapter Three

Mack reined in his temper. She was right. It would be a shock for Winston to learn his father was alive. No use doing it in the middle of the night. “How about in the morning? I’ll go with you to pick him up at your father’s.”

Lily rubbed her arms, her face panicked. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, Mack. Especially considering the trouble between you and my father.”

“He lied to us both,” Mack said. “He owes us an explanation.”

Lily flinched. “I’m sorry, Mack.”

“Stop apologizing for him,” Mack said. “It’s your father who should be sorry. He never wanted us to be together, and by lying he got his wish.”

“Mack—”

“It’s true and you know it.” Mack inhaled a calming breath, questions bombarding him. “What happened that night, Lily? Where have you and Winston been all these years?” God, was she involved with someone else?

Lily sighed. “The night of the storm, I went into labor. Daddy’s friend flew me to Alabama in his helicopter before the worst hit. I gave birth to Winston that night, and we lived there until a couple of months ago.” She rubbed a hand over her mouth, drawing him to those damned kissable lips. “Meanwhile, Dad was working with Mayor Barrow on the rebuilding campaign, and he convinced me to move back and help.”