BornontheBayou Read Online Free Page B

and spun the car onto the highway. It started raining,
fine drizzle obscuring his view until he put the wipers on. How far had they
gone?
    Not far. About five miles on, he saw a sports car nestled by
the side of the road as though it were a great red beetle, disfiguring the
fresh greens and sandy browns of nature. It didn’t look right there. Nor should
it. He passed it and pulled in, making the drive as smooth as he could,
considering the circumstances.
    The circumstances being the Englishwoman sprawled across the
hood of the car, weighed down by the heavy body of Gaston Rebennac. He gripped
her forearms and his thighs were pressed hard against hers. She couldn’t move.
    Jace wrenched open his car door and leapt out, heading for
the couple.
    Rebennac glanced at him and sneered. “Cain’t you see we’re
busy? Fuck off, you bastard. You never belonged here and you never will.” He
was big, but Jace had learned some tricks since the big man had last turned him
into a bloody pulp.
    As long as Rebennac was looking at him, he wasn’t messing
with Beverley. “Is that supposed to be an insult?”
    “Don’t care how you take it. Me and the little lady are just
having some fun. Ain’t we, sugar?” He released her arm, only to grip her jaw
and grind his lips against hers. She struggled and bucked against him.
    Rebennac pulled his hand away and clamped it over her mouth.
She reached up, clawed at his back, but he only laughed. “Regular wildcat,
ain’t we? Don’t worry, I’ll make it all good.”
    “You?” Jace almost spat the word. “What would you know about
giving a woman a good time? You’re so useless you have to fight for it. Always
were, Rebennac. Always will be. Dick the size of a cricket, or so one of your
ex-girlfriends told me.” He took a step back, widened his stance. “You had a
lot of exes, didn’t you? Once was enough for most of them.”
    That did the trick. With a yell of rage, Rebennac propelled
himself off the woman and toward Jace. Who was waiting, ready. He had time to
glance at Beverley, but he could see she wasn’t in a state to help herself.
He’d thought of tossing her his car keys and telling her to lock herself in,
but she was visibly shaking.
    No more time to look at anything except the big, angry Cajun
coming his way. “I’ve whupped you before and by hell, I’ll do it again. You’re
always in the wrong place, Beauchene.”
    “I wouldn’t say that.” He was ready when Rebennac swung. He
knew the big man’s technique of old and he wasn’t surprised now. He’d learned,
but his opponent hadn’t.
    He narrowed his eyes, waited until Rebennac had committed
himself to his punch and then leaned back so Rebennac swung through clear air.
When his opponent stumbled, Jace blocked the wilder left he swung and half
turned, bringing up his leg with a sharp kick to the knee. He acted faster than
the big Cajun, swinging around as Rebennac went down and bringing his arm up in
a swift, old-fashioned jab to the jaw.
    Rebennac went down, hitting the tarmac hard and cursing, but
he didn’t black out. He came back up, spewing a stream of invective, but Jace
hadn’t kicked blindly at the knee, he’d aimed for the nerve and he’d hit it
right on target. With a yell, Rebennac went down again, his leg refusing to
support him. “What did you do, you motherfucker?”
    “Learned how to fight,” he said. No way would he get beat up
like he had in his youth. The so-called rich kid, the one with the mother who
refused to socialize with the other moms, the one whose parents never showed up
to sports events or graduation ceremonies. Easy to bully, easy to upset. Well,
that didn’t happen anymore. It hadn’t for a while, so the depth of his fury now
startled him. “You’ll be okay. In a while. Be thankful I didn’t break it.”
    Rebennac cried out in agony as he got to his feet but he managed
it. Jace knew exactly what he’d done. A little knock, that was all. Who’d have
thought that the