Page 62 of Beau

Her fingers curled around his. “If not me...who?”

“That’s a job for the EPA and law enforcement. You shouldn’t be sneaking onto corporate grounds. They could get you for trespassing. You could end up in jail.”

“True,” she said, her brow knitting. “But I’m not trespassing when I follow their people out into the bayou or when I test the bayou waters near their facilities.”

“I realize saving the bayou is your father’s philanthropy, but with you going the extra lengths, are you helping his cause or hurting it?”

“How can it hurt the cause if we stop companies from poisoning the bayou?”

“You said yourself that sometimes the EPA forces the companies to shut down until they put measures in place to clean up their acts.” He squeezed her hands gently. “That puts people out of work. When people don’t have work, they don’t have money to feed their families. They’re less likely to care about saving the bayou and more likely to back whoever keeps the factories open.”

“Jacob Gousman,” she whispered. “My work to save the bayou could cost my father the election.”

Beau nodded.

She stared at their joined hands. “I need to back off my investigations until after the election.”

“Is that what this afternoon’s meeting is about?”

She nodded. “I’m going to talk to Patrick Holzhauer at JBK Chemicals. I got a tip from an anonymous informant that they’re not reporting all their industrial waste.”

“What do you hope to gain by speaking with him?”

“Maybe an explanation. I don’t know who my informant is. He could be wrong.”

“Have you received tips from this guy before?”

She nodded.

“Has his information been accurate each time?”

Again, she nodded.

Beau sighed. “You’re going to talk to Holzhauer despite almost being killed, aren’t you?”

She nodded. “At the very least, I hope to encourage him to leave the world a better place than he found it. For his children. For the future.”

“I’m going with you.”

She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. “I set up the appointment in my name only. It’s a secure facility. All persons entering their complex are required to submit their names at least a day in advance so they can conduct a background check.”

“Call them.” Beau said. “Tell them that, based on a recent attack, you’re bringing your bodyguard.”

Aurelie met his gaze. “Okay.” She pulled her hands free of his, rose and walked into the living room where she’d left her cell phone on an end table.

Lady, having finished her food, trotted along behind her.

Beau smiled at the picture they made.

Aurelie returned a few minutes later. “Done. Your name is on their guest list.”

“Good, because if they wouldn’t let me in, I’d have to raise some hell.”

Her lips turned upward. “I would’ve paid good money to see how that went down.”

Beau and Aurelie gathered their dishes and entered the kitchen together. He washed, she dried. They stood so close that their shoulders bumped against each other, making Beau want to pick up where they’d left off before the invasion of the matted mop now named Lady.

Lady stood by Aurelie’s feet as if afraid she’d disappear and abandon her.