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sounded familiar, though. His dark hair, which was flecked with shots of white, grazed his collar. He stood a full head taller than the rest. His dark eyes seemed to look through Mama Gator to her very soul. “I own Jolene’s child. The papers are right here.” He patted his pocket. “The law says she must come with us. If you choose to defy the law, then you must pay the consequences. C’est simple, Madame.”
    “You don’t scare me none. I have seen worse den you, boy. I don’t know where she be, an I wouldn’t tell you if I did. She belong to no one, an definitely not de likes of you. You boys leave now an I’ll forget you ever came. You give me trouble an it be bad on you and yours. C’est simple, Monsieur.”
    Rowan was touched that Mama Gator loved her enough to face these scary looking men in order to protect her, but even if they left today, they’d come back again. Something about the tall white man frightened Rowan to her soul. She knew his voice, and the memory of it wasn’t a good one. It made her feel anxious, scared. Why couldn’t she place him?
    “All right, if that’s the way you want it; Stefan, if you please?” The white man signaled the two colored men and they advanced on Mama Gator.
    She stood still, not backing away an inch as they approached.
    “No, you need to run.” Rowan whispered. They’ll kill you. She didn’t know where the thought came from but she knew it was true. If Mama Gator allowed them too close, she was dead.
    “It’s time to feed your gators Madame, they look so very hungry.” The man called Stefan chuckled and picked her up as though she were no more than a sack of potatoes.
    Mama Gator closed her eyes and began to chant.
    The men laughed at her, making their way back to the water. Rowan couldn’t let them kill her. It was far worse to lose Mama Gator than to live as a whore. She jumped down from her perch and then ran after them. “No! Please wait, she’s just trying to help me.”
    The men turned. Mama Gator opened her eyes and sighed. “Oh chile, you are foolish. Now dey got you an me.”
    “They’ll let you go now, won’t you?” Rowan looked to the man who shared her mother’s bed so many nights. “Please, Pierre, don’t do this. I’ll go with you, just don’t hurt her.”
    He smiled, his blue eyes sparkling. “Ma petite, I knew you were in the tree all along.”
    “But you don’t have to hurt her. She’s just an old woman.”
    “We’re killing two birds, in a manner of speaking. Madame knows we can’t let her live. Monsieur Dumas here,” he nodded to his companion, “has an old score to settle.”
    Monsieur Dumas smiled. “I do. That you chose to hide here was merely a happy coincidence.”
    Rowan gasped as Monsieur Dumas signaled for them to continue to the river. Pierre took her arm and dragged her with them.
    “Why are you doing this?” Rowan asked. “I’ll kill any man who touches me. I’m sure he has more willing slaves available to you.”
    “Monsieur Dumas cares not about willingness, my dear. You’ll kill no one, because this fate is in your blood.”
    “I’m not my mother.”
    “But you are a whore. You see, ma petite fille, many years ago, Monsieur Dumas knew your mama intimately. He tried to get rid of the lying whore when she betrayed him, but his father took pity on her, and well, he took a lot more from her too if you know what I mean.” He winked and she scowled. “Anyway, Mama Gator found a place for him to keep her and you for all these years.”
    “She hates Mama.”
    “Not always. Monsieur Dumas tried to claim you long ago, but the old woman advised him to wait. When his father died, at your mother’s hands, Monsieur vowed revenge. The old woman threatened him, and when he ignored her threat, she killed his wife and son, leaving him alone.”
    Rowan didn’t believe any of his words. Her mama might be dishonest, but she’d never kill anyone. Not intentionally. Mama Gator wouldn’t either. “Why has