Rose, Charlotte - Bayou Flood [The Shifters of Alligator Bend 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Charlotte Rose Page A

Orleans.”
    But Sophie was only greeted with silence.
    No need to panic. No need to panic at all. Just because nobody is in range now doesn’t mean I’m going to be stranded forever. Someone will come along soon. I’ll try again in a little while.
    Fanning herself in a futile attempt to keep the heat at bay, Sophie leaned back and tried to relax. To kill time, she did some guitar exercises that had been trained so deeply into her muscles that she didn’t even need an instrument to work on them. Finally, though, the anxiety started creeping back, and she picked up the radio and put out her distress signal.
    Again, she was greeted by silence. Sophie felt her stomach knot.
    Shit. Okay. I still don’t need panic. Someone has to come along eventually.
    A crackle came through on the radio. “Sophie? That you I just heard over the radio?”
    “Yes! It is! Gabriel? Is that you?”
    “You know it, baby. And I have Virgil here with me. We were out workin’ on some of the boats when the radio went off. Don’t worry, baby. We’re gonna come find you. Just relax and sit tight. We’ll be there soon.”
    “Okay. Over and out.”
    Sophie settled down in the boat and tried to relax. Gabriel and Virgil would find her. They had been born and raised in these swamps. It would be simple for them to find her, even though they didn’t have her exact coordinates.
    Still, she couldn’t deny that the bayou had taken on a savage appearance in the previous five minutes. Half an hour ago, she had been reveling in the beauty of nature, but suddenly, the whole place seemed vicious. In an instant, she realized just how dangerous her beloved wetlands could be. The sun beat down, and though Sophie didn’t burn, she became aware of the fact that she could roast and dehydrate under its rays. The depths of the water concealed dangerous snakes, and even—Sophie hesitated to think it—alligators. The kind that wouldn’t transform into men and protect their mates. It was something she had always known, but she found it easy to forget on beautiful, calm days. Now, she was acutely aware of all of the horrible things that could happen while she was waiting. When she heard the roar of the motorboat, she wanted to jump for joy, if she wouldn’t have run the risk of tipping the boat. Instead, she held still, a smile on her face as her rescuers emerged on the water.

    * * * *

    Virgil steered Sophie’s boat, piloting it alongside Gabriel’s as they headed back toward the congregation.
    “You sure you’re okay?” he asked. She looked awfully pale.
    “I’m fine, really. I just had a bad scare out there. I really thought I was lost.”
    “Don’t worry,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Gabriel and I won’t let anything happen to you. We will always protect you.”
    Pulling up to the congregation houseboats, they secured their vessels and hopped onto the main boat, heading immediately for the kitchen. Lunch had ended a while ago, but there was still food warm on the stove for anyone who had been busy with work or chores during the normal lunch hours. Gabriel got Sophie settled at the table, and Virgil hurried to prepare her some food.
    “So,” Virgil said, placing a bowl of dirty rice in front of her. “You know Georgina Fucher?”
    Sophie nodded and swallowed a spoonful. “Wow, this is amazing,” she said. “Anyway, yes, I know her. We’ve been friends for a couple of months now. She happened to be in the audience at one of my shows, and we struck up a conversation at the bar afterwards. We really clicked, and we got very close very fast. She started accompanying me to my shows and chilling out with me beforehand. I get horrible stage fright, and Georgina is good at calming me down.”
    Gabriel sighed. “Well, that’s about as bad as I expected. Did you get the chance to talk to her?”
    “Yeah.”
    “What did she tell you?”
    “That she never felt like she belonged with the congregation and never wanted to be part of