Larry shrugged. “Just watch her. I can’t say more.”
Wyatt nodded toward the two men trying to get into the locked garage. “I understand. Is that why the others are lookin’ around my property?”
“Yes.” Larry’s voice went clipped. Tight. “What’s in the garage?”
“I’m a doctor. My equipment and lab are in there. And no one’s goin’ to go through my things. It’s a sterile environment.” Wyatt put a little hard-ass into his voice.
Larry and the dog stepped off the porch. He whistled. The two men by the garage turned and noticed Wyatt watching them from the porch. They didn’t move.
“You might want to warn them, there’s a high-powered rifle trained on them right this moment and the man behind the trigger doesn’ miss. Not ever. They break that lock and he’ll kill them.” Wyatt’s tone was back to mild.
Larry visibly paled. He hurried over to the two men. They argued for a moment, and then one of them, Blake, took a careful look around, still shaking his head, clearly not believing.
Put one right in front of his boot. In front, Wyatt emphasized, not in his boot.
The bullet hit dead center, less than an inch from Blake’s boot. The sound of the single shot echoed through the bayou. The three men froze, raising their hands slowly. Two more men rushed around the corner of the house and skidded to a halt. One was limping and his clothes were torn up. Wyatt would have bet any amount of money that he would be pulling nettles out of his legs for some days to come. He was going to be one uncomfortable man for a while – and that was if he wasn’t allergic.
“Gentlemen,” Wyatt said, beckoning them toward him. He waited until they walked slowly up to the porch. “I believe I’ve been more than patient with you. This is my home and ma famille. I will defend them with everythin’ in me. By now, you can tell this isn’ my first party. Next time you come round my property without bein’ asked, I’ll be feedin’ you to the alligators.”
“Don’t think this is over,” Blake snarled.
“Shut up, Blake,” Larry said. “It’s over. These people have nothing to do with our business. We’re going,” he added.
Wyatt nodded, feeling a little sorry for the man. Larry had a job to do, and he had no real idea of what he’d gotten himself into. Probably most of the other guards were like him. They’d been hired to guard a plastics company that they’d probably been told was a front for a military laboratory. They were convinced someone was trying to break in and get their secrets. The guards had no idea what else was in that laboratory.
Not that he excused them. They knew something else was going on and, although they were leery, they didn’t bother to check because they didn’t want to lose their jobs. There had to be one part of the building none of them were allowed into. They were told to keep whatever was in there inside, and everything else out. He didn’t think ignorance was an excuse, not when you knew your place of business was lying their ass off to the outside world – and to you.
He watched them all get onto the airboat, knowing both Ezekiel and Malichai watched their every move as well. He would definitely need a couple of more members of his team and soon. These men were not part of Whitney’s crew. They were civilians, and the GhostWalker teams could get in and out without detection.
The moment Whitney heard that Braden had sent his guards to the Fontenot residence, he would send for his own supersoldiers, and that would make things a whole lot more difficult.
Chapter 9
“Wyatt, I can’t do this,” Pepper said. He was crazy. There was no other explanation. She hadn’t seen insanity in him until this very moment.
“
“
Wyatt grinned at her. “We’re just goin’ into town, little darlin’, nothin’ all that difficult. Here’s how you do it all nice and easy.”
She glared at him while he pulled open the door to the passenger side of the Jeep and gestured.
“Just hop up there on the seat and put your seat belt on. If you don’ know how to do that, I’ll be more than happy to show you.”
She backed away. “I’m not getting in that vehicle, and I’m certainly not going to any town with you.”
“Yes, you are. We need supplies. Clothes for the girls. I have to order some things to be delivered. Too many days are gettin’ away from us.”
“You can go by yourself.”
His eyes didn’t leave her face and she found herself shivering. She was supposed to be the seductress, not him, yet standing there, draped against the Jeep, his dark eyes moving over her face with faint laughter and way too much intensity, he looked so sexy she was afraid to move an inch, afraid she might fling herself at him.