Page 47 of Lake's Legacy

“I don’t know.”

“Is he the same guy who grabbed us? I thought Lake said the Demon Dawgs captured them all?”

“He did. This guy must be another member.”

We watch Joyce break off their intense conversation when Sylvia stalks up to her. The guy turns away from Sylvia and glances down the hall. Fisting his right hand, he punches his left before rubbing them together. I gasp when I recognize him from Francois’ restaurant. He was part of the trio who threatened him.

“I recognize him,” Annette whispers after he passes by without looking at us.

“You do? How?” I ask.

“From the video Pirate showed us. The way he pounds his fist into his hand. It’s the same way the driver reacted when he saw you weren’t in the car.”

I study the man and realize she’s right—the memory of that night when my car broke down. I recall seeing his reaction when he found I was no longer in my car. I share a glance with Annette before grabbing her hand and pulling her to the elevator. “We need to get downstairs and tell Levi. We have to follow him.”

Levi sees us enter the lobby and rushes over when he sees our expressions. “What happened? What’s wrong?”

We tell him what we saw.

Levi takes out his phone and calls Jack while he takes off his prospect kutte. We step outside to see the man walk quickly toward a white van parked nearby. He climbs into the passenger seat just before the driver reverses out of the parking spot.

Jack pulls up, and we all pile in.

“They’re in that white van,” Levi says.

Jack keeps cars between us and the van as we follow them. They don’t try to lose us, so I’m hoping that means they haven’t spotted the tail. When the van pulls to the side of the road behind a parked car, I wonder if they’ve caught on to us, but then I realize the situation is much worse. They leave the van wearing scrubs, surgical masks, and surgical caps. I glance toward the car to see a woman opening her car door.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: LAKE

“What’s his problem?” Toff asks me.

“Probably just worried about Coyote,” I say, but I can’t fight the nagging feeling that there is more to it than that. To say Coyote and Crow have a tumultuous relationship doesn’t do it justice. Crow has always been jealous of Coyote and his position within the tribe. Growing up, I heard rumors that Crow had been in love with our mother before she married Dad. But no matter how often they clashed, Crow and Coyote always worked things out. Crow always has Coyote’s back. “He probably feels like he failed Coyote by not being there when he needed him.”

“I talked to the detective looking into the attack on Coyote,” Toff says. “He doesn’t have any leads, but he wanted to tell us that he’ll release Coyote’s house in the next few days. He has some of the paperwork bagged into evidence. I told him we might need access to it, depending upon what the lawyer needs for the petition.”

I’m unsure how I feel about the cops having Coyote’s documents. “Do you think we can trust them with those documents? They could make the paperwork disappear if they’re susceptible to bribes.”

Toff shrugs. “Nothing we can do about it. Hopefully, when I meet with the lawyer, she’ll tell me she has everything she needs to proceed.”

We’re returning to New Orleans so Toff can meet with the lawyer who was working with Coyote and so I can help interrogate the assholes who kidnapped Annette and Olivia. Hex has kept them chilling in The Farm. I have little doubt that Abra and Dixie have softened them up. However, before we return to New Orleans, we plan to stop at the hospital to check on Coyote.

“How is he?” I ask Danny, who is sitting outside Coyote’s room.

“Still unconscious.”

“Anyone come by to see him?”

“A few people. One claimed to be your uncle. Colin spoke to him and turned him away. He wasn’t happy about it. But we followed your orders. No one but the medical staff in or out.” He nods at Colin, who hands him a cup of coffee from the cafeteria.

“Should we let your uncle in to see him?” Colin asks as he takes a sip of his coffee.

I considered allowing him access but decided against it. After all, he specifically said not to do him any favors. “No. Keep it staff only. Better that no one has access than to take any chances.”

Toff eyes me but says nothing as we go into Coyote’s room. The sight of him in the hospital bed still feels unreal.

“You don’t trust Crow?”

“Honestly, I don’t trust anyone but you and Annette. Do I think Crow attacked Coyote? No. But what if I’m wrong?”

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