Chapter 1
Renee was putting a notebook and some pens and pencils on top of the piles of clothes in her suitcase when she heard a knock on the door downstairs. "I'm coming," she shouted as she started down to the door. Halfway down the stairs, the door opened. Light flooded in, momentarily blinding her. When she could focus her eyes once more, Gabriel was standing there grinning at her. "Get in here," she told him as she finished her descent. He closed the door behind him and wrapped his arms around her when she reached him. She kissed his lips and when she pulled away, a smile brightened her face. "I'm almost ready," she said as she started back up the stairs. Following her, he couldn't get over the feeling of peace being with her brought him. Once in her room, he noticed the notebook in her suitcase. "Gonna write a novel on the way there?" He teased her. "Maybe," she replied with a smile. Just as she finished zipping her suitcase closed, his arms slipped around her waist and she felt his chin rest on her shoulder.
"You make getting ready rather difficult," she told him. Gabriel just grinned at her. He released his hold on her and sat on the edge of the bed. Renee slipped on a pair of shoes and threw on a lightweight jacket. Then, she picked up her suitcase and turned toward the stairs. Looking back, she asked, "You ready?" He got to his feet and followed her down to his car. Opening the trunk, he lifted her suitcase and placed it beside his. Then, he slammed the lid shut and walked to the front and stepped in. "I found out a little more on your necklace," Gabriel told her when they had driven a little way. "There's an envelope in one of the inside pockets of my coat." Renee turned around and picked the coat up off of the back seat. A corner of a long envelope was sticking out of the pocket. She pulled it out and dropped the coat back onto the seat. Ripping the envelope open, she could hear Gabriel laughing at her eagerness. "I can't help it," she told him defensively. "I'm naturally curious."
He was still laughing. "You look like a little kid on Christmas morning." She smiled at him. "I rarely acted like this on Christmas morning. Except when it came to the stockings. Always tore into those." He shook his head at her. Her eyes were bright with happiness, but he wasn't finished teasing her yet. "Let me guess. You always got books, pencils, and notebooks." She playfully punched his shoulder. "No. I got other things too." She pushed down the immature urge to stick her tongue out at him, only rolling her eyes. Pulling the paper out of the envelope, she skimmed over the contents. Her eyes and smile widened with delight as she read. "Aideen was from Ireland?" He nodded his head. "There doesn't seem to be much else I can find out about her. Except for that picture." She picked up the picture which had fallen on her seat. She looked at it, blinked, then looked again. Except for a few slight differences in her facial features, Renee thought she was looking in a mirror. The same rather plain-looking eyes, the same wide grin. The only thing that seemed to be different is that she seems paler and thinner than me, she thought to herself. Even their hair looked the same. Long, wavy, and the painter of the portrait had put in the streaks of red that always showed when the sun hit it.
"This is unbelievable," she said. "That's what I thought when I saw it. Sorry I couldn't find anything else." "That's all right. You found more than I would have." She smiled. "More than I would have had the patience to look for." They rode the rest of the way in comfortable silence. Renee looked out the window, watching the highway go by. Soon they were at the airport and Renee was feeling nervous. She had not been on an airplane for more than ten years. Not since she had gone out west on a vacation with her dad. She pushed these feelings of apprehension out of her mind and stepped out of the car. They grabbed their suitcases from the trunk and headed toward the airport terminal. People were heading this way and that and she began to feel nervous again. Large crowds of people around her always did that.Gabriel took her hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly. She looked over at him and couldn't help but smile. He always gave her a sense of security, that nothing could harm her when she was with him. There was something else about him, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Renee watched their bags while he asked the woman behind the counter what time their flight was expected to leave. "The flight for Buenos Aires leaves in two hours," Renee heard her say. Gabriel walked back over to where she was sitting. "A two hour wait. Know of anything we can do to pass the time?" "You could tell me something about this thing we're going to look at," she suggested. "Well, my contact said this stone is special. Story goes that as long as someone had it with them, nothing could hurt them. Unless it is used for 'evil' purposes. He didn't say what happened then though." Renee thought he sounded skeptical but interested.
"So why didn't this contact of yours ship the stone here?" "Because I wanted to see it first," he replied. "Oh. Okay." Renee closed her eyes. She had not had a good night's sleep for the past week. Dreams had haunted her but every time she woke up, she could not remember a single detail about the dreams. She would always wake feeling like she was running from something. When she tried to get back to sleep, she could only do so for short bits of time. After nearly a week of this, she was close to exhaustion. She opened her eyes again when she sensed Gabriel stand up. "They just called for us to board," he explained to her. They went to their plane and boarded it. Finding their seats, they sank gratefully into them. Renee looked around at the faces of the people in the seats around them.
There was a young couple with a small child in front of them. Across from them, an older couple was waiting patiently for the plane to take off. Once it did, Renee closed her eyes again and promptly fell asleep. Gabriel looked over at her and smiled to himself. She looks so much like an angel when she's asleep. There were no signs of worry on her face now, just peace. He, too, closed his eyes but was unable to get any sleep. He opened them again and looked out the window. A little more than an hour later, Renee woke up. That feeling of extreme fear was back again. Gabriel could see it in her face. It was uncomfortable to sit sideways in the seat, but he did it anyway. He took both of her hands in his and asked, "Are you okay?" She started to nod her head, then changed her mind. "No, I'm not. I've been having these dreams for a week now." "What happens in them?" He asked with both concern and curiosity. She shook her head. "That's the thing. I don't know. When I wake up, I can't remember any of it. I just feel like I've been running and I'm always so afraid."
"You have no reason to be afraid now. I will never let anything happen to you." Even though the fear still clung to her she couldn't help but giggle at this. "I'm sorry. It's just that you sounded so chivalrous when you said that." "I'm serious, Renee." "I know you are. It's just that, well, anymore you only hear people say those things in books and movies." He smiled. His smile took away the last of the fear that had been clinging to her. She smiled at him and said, "I'm all right now." "Good." He let go of one of her hands, but kept the other one in his. Renee closed her eyes again and this time she slept peacefully. She didn't wake until she felt the plane land. She opened her eyes and asked, "Are we there?" Gabriel shook his head. "Not yet. The people getting off aren't going all the way. At least we don't have to switch planes." "Yeah." She started to close her eyes again, then remembered something she had wanted to ask him. "What is this place called where we are staying?"
"Los Estrellas Rancho. My contact said he'd have someone meet us at the airport to drive us there." "Is it a cattle ranch?" "That's what he told me. But don't worry, Renee. I'm sure there'll be horses there too." He couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease her. This time she jokingly stuck her tongue out at him. By this time, more passengers were boarding the plane. Gabriel was laughing quietly to himself. She tried to glare at him, but couldn't pull it off. Soon she was laughing too. The other passengers just looked at them, then looked away shaking their heads. Soon the plane was taking off again. Renee relaxed against the back of the seat. After a couple of minutes, she picked up a book she had brought along. Gabriel looked at her and asked, "That's not the same one you were reading last night, is it?" She shook her head. "No, I finished that one last night." He looked at the front cover of this one. Dark Canyon it read. "Another Louis L'Amour one?" "Yeah." "Haven't you read all of them yet?" He teased her. "No, I haven't," she replied. "But almost." They both laughed. She started reading and had soon forgotten about everything else. Not until her eyes began to grow tired did she put the book down. Gabriel had closed his eyes quite some time ago and was now sleeping. As soon as she brushed against his arm, however, his eyes fluttered open and he smiled at her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she apologized. "Yes, you did. But it's okay." He brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face. She smiled at him and her face glowed with happiness. Just then a voice came through the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, we will be landing soon, if you would please fasten your seat belts.
*******
"It's been a quiet week," Jake said as he and Sara left the office. "Please don't say that. Something will happen now." "Relax, Sara." "Relax you say. Not in this city." "You get your new bike yet?" He asked, desperately wanting to change the subject. "Not yet," she replied shaking her head. "I'm going to go get it now." He nodded. "Okay. I'll see you in the morning." She walked to the shop to pick up her bike. She had finally decided to get a new one several months after hers had been destroyed by the White Bulls. Opening the door, she noticed that the place was almost empty. "Hello," she said when the man behind the counter looked up. "I'm here to pick up my new bike." "The Buell?" "Yeah." "It's in the back. Come around to the back door and I'll bring it out to you." "Thanks." She walked around to the back of the shop and met the man as he came out. "Is there anything else you'll need?" "Yeah," she said, nodding her head. "A new helmet." They walked back inside together. Sara picked out a helmet and paid for it, then walked back outside. As she was getting on the bike, she thought she saw a shadow move in the alley between two buildings across the street, but couldn't be sure. Shaking her head, she slipped her helmet on and headed home.
********Gabriel was looking around for the driver when Renee saw someone coming toward them. She touched his arm and when he looked at her, pointed toward the approaching man. When he reached them, he inquired, "Senor Bowman and Senorita Mackenzie?" "Yes, we are," Gabriel replied as he stepped forward. "The car is this way." Gabriel and Renee followed him to the car and slid into the back seat. They sat together in silence as the man drove along numerous roads. Soon they were out of the city. There were now large areas of nothing but fields and cattle. Finally, they turned into a long, winding drive. Both sides were lined with fences. On the left side were many cattle. Some of them stood up when they saw the car drive by. On the other side were some horses. They lifted their heads from grazing to watch them pass. When they came to the end of the drive, Renee looked out the window and saw a very large house. The car came to a stop and Renee and Gabriel stepped out. They walked up to the porch together where a man was standing, waiting for them. "Bienvenidos mis amigos."
Chapter 2
She walked into the well-lit stable with Juan Mortente right behind her. "Buenas dias, senorita Pelioso," the stable boy greeted her. He walked into a stall and when he came back, he was leading a pretty bay mare with white stockings on both of her hind legs. She took the reins and spoke softly to the horse. Her ears pricked at the sound of the voice. She led the horse out into the sunlit street. Juan stepped forward and helped her into the saddle. He could be irritating with the way he followed her everywhere, but she knew it was on her uncle's orders. And sometimes it could be beneficial. Alandra Pelioso had been living with her uncle, Keneth Ruiz, since her father died when she was very small. Juan Mortente had come to live with him around the same time. He carried out every order given to him, never disobeying. The story she had always heard was that Juan was an orphan who her uncle had taken in to raise as his son. If the way he had always treated Juan, however, was the way sons were raised, then she was glad she had been a daughter. He was treated as more of a servant than a part of the family.
"Gracias, Miguel," she told the stable boy as they were leaving. He nodded his head and walked back into the stable. They rode in silence until they arrived at the hacienda. Juan was leading the horse she had rode on the way into town. When they reached the main stable at the hacienda, Alandra's uncle was waiting for them. "How is she?" He asked as he took the reins from her. "Wonderful." "I'm glad you like her." Juan came over and helped her from the saddle. As her feet touched the ground, she saw a young man standing in the doorway of the stable. She waved at him and his face widened with a large grin. Her uncle had started back to the house, so she headed for the stable. "Gabriel," she greeted him. "Have you seen Brigid today?" She asked with a knowing smile. A blush was starting to rise in his cheeks. His usually unruly hair was neatly combed today. He had brushed most of the dust from his best clothes. "I'm going to ride into town to see her now." "Hasta luego then," she said, turning away. He just nodded his head, then turned and walked to a smaller stable a little way away from the main one. Walking to a stall at the other end of the stable, he led a gray gelding out. He slipped the bit into the horse's mouth and slid the bridle over his head. Then he threw a blanket and saddle on his back. He tightened the girth, then led the gelding outside into the yard. He mounted and turned the horse toward the road. Riding down the main street of the town, he nodded in greeting to the people whom he passed by. He was known in town as a very bright young man. Everyone knew he worked as a gaucho on senor Ruiz's ranch. The little boys looked up to him and all the girls had eyes for him. But everyone knew he could be more than that. If only he wasn't a mestizo. He rode up to one of the nicer houses. Stepping down from the saddle, he walked up to the house and knocked twice. Just as he was about to knock a third time, the door swung open. "Hello, Gabriel," the man standing in the doorway said warmly. "Buenos Tardes, Senor Mackenzie. Is Brigid home? I told her I would be coming to see her."
"She's in the parlor. Reading, of course." Gabriel grinned at this. Brigid was always reading. Her father had made sure she had gotten a good education. He walked through the house to the parlor and stood in the entrance to it. After a couple of minutes, she sensed his presence and looked up from her book. Her face lit up with a smile. "Gabriel, it's good to see you again," she said as she closed the book. A couple of minutes later, Brigid's father came into the room, carrying a tray. He set it down on a table and poured tea into three small cups. He handed one to Brigid and another to Gabriel. Taking the third cup, he sat in a chair to watch over them as they talked. After talking about many other, unimportant things, they got back onto a topic they had discussed many other times. "If you hate the way he treats everyone, why do you continue to work for him?" She asked him.
"I can't just leave." The same answer to the same question. "That's not a solution. And it would only make things worse for the rest of them." "You could come work for my father. He could use your help." She quickly glanced at her father and he gave her an encouraging nod. "We have plenty of room here. You could stay with us." He shook his head. "No, Brigid, I can't. I can't just leave all of them. They're my friends. If I left, where would that leave them?" She let out a sigh of frustration. "Gabriel, your loyalty will get you killed one day." "And your stubbornness will get you into trouble many times over," he told her affectionately. They talked for another hour, then he stood up to leave. Brigid walked with him to the door. Her father stood in the hall watching them. "You'll come back again?" She asked anxiously. She didn't know why she asked him every time. She knew what his answer would be. "Of course. As soon as I can." He kissed her hand, then turned around and leaped onto his horse. He reined him around and rode away.
*******
Alandra was sitting in the parlor, looking out the window, when she saw Gabriel ride up. her uncle was standing by the stables with a riding crop in his hand. As he dismounted and headed into the stable, Keneth walked over to him. She felt a pang of dread as Gabriel handed the reins to a stable boy and walked away with Keneth. I hope he hasn't been stirring up trouble, she thought to herself. That would be just like him. And she knew how her uncle reacted to that. She turned away from the window, putting these thoughts out of her mind for the moment. She went to her room and started to get ready for dinner.
*******
"Gabriel." Senor Ruiz said his name in a deceptively gentle voice, but he was tapping his leg with the riding crop, a sure sign of irritation. "Si?" He asked nervously. He was quite sure he knew what this was about. "Are you unhappy with your work here?" "No, Senor," he replied quickly. "Then why is it that I hear you want to leave? Is that true?"
"No, Senor," he replied nervously. "Then someone is lying to me." Gabriel just stared at the ground. Senor Ruiz used the handle of the crop to raise his chin "I will not be hearing any more of these rumors, comprende?" "Si, Senor." Keneth Ruiz walked away, leaving Gabriel standing there, shaking with relief. After a couple of minutes, he walked back to the stable to make sure the boy had taken good care of the horse. Then, he went back to the bunkhouse and laid down for a while before going to eat.
*******
Alandra desperately wanted to ask her uncle about what he had talked to Gabriel about, but knew she would never get a straight answer from him. They ate their dinner in strained silence. When she had finished, she asked to be excused, then went to the sanctuary of her room. Once it was dark, she tiptoed to the door and opened it a crack. She closed it again when she saw the lamp light flooding from her uncle's room down the hall. She slipped back into bed and after tossing and turning for what seemed like hours, she finally fell into a fitful sleep.
*******
Gabriel woke up to the sound of the dinner bell. He swung his feet to the floor and stood up. Walking into the dining hall, he realized he was the last one to arrive. The cook put some food on his plate and he sat down at an empty spot at the table. As he ate, he looked around at all the faces around him, wondering who could have betrayed him. All of the faces were friendly. He was liked and trusted by many because of his loyalty. He finished eating and left, headed back to his bed, planning to sleep until morning. As he was walking past the stables, he thought he heard something off to his left and behind him. He knew that was where senor Ruiz kept his prized mares. His curiosity soon overcame his sense of caution. He turned in the direction of the noise and started toward it. The grass whispered under his boots as he moved forward. Gabriel had only taken a few steps when he felt something hit him from behind. He fell to the ground, but before the darkness of unconsciousness surrounded him, he felt someone grab his arms and start to lift him. Then everything around him went black.
*******
Alandra had just finished dressing when she heard a commotion outside. She went to the window and looked down. There was a circle of men by the paddock where her uncle kept his prized mares. She spotted him by his white hair. He was in the middle of the crowd. She looked around for Gabriel, but couldn't find his face among all the others. She glanced at the bracelet on her wrist and saw that it was glowing. Then, the visions that plagued her came back. A couple of men driving some horses in front of them. A limp body on a horse with its hands tied to a saddle. She turned quickly from the window, lifted her skirts, and ran to the stairs, then down them. Stepping out onto the porch, she paused long enough to let her eyes adjust to the sun light, then continued to the main stable. The path she took was out of sight of the area where the crowd was gathered.
She walked quickly to the stall of her new horse and led her out. She slipped a bridle on, climbed up on her, and turned her toward the rear door. "We have to hurry, Carolita," she whispered to the horse as they emerged from the stable. Alandra walked her until she thought they were far enough away, then asked her to trot. Once they were a little further away, she urged her into a canter. With the combination of the skirts and no saddle, she found it a struggle to stay in the middle of the mare. Carolita stumbled once and Alandra slid off to give her a rest. After a couple of minutes, she started forward, leading the mare. It was quite tiring walking in the skirts and the slipper-like shoes she had on. After about fifteen minutes, she mounted again. She asked the mare to trot, who obeyed readily. When she reached the edge of town, she stopped. Then, she started the mare into a walk again, not wanting anyone to suspect that something was wrong. She rode straight to the Mackenzie's house. Once she had slid off of the mare's back, she walked up onto the porch. She knocked lightly on the door, then waited. When no one answered, she knocked again, harder this time.
The door opened and Brigid stood there. "Alandra," she greeted her happily. "What are you doing here?" "Brigid," the anxious sound in her voice wiped the smile from the other girl's face. "What is it? Is it Gabriel? Is he okay?" She was extremely worried now. "Something has happened," she replied and Brigid opened the door so she could come in.
Chapter 3
Gabriel and Renee looked at each other across the table. Their host was saying something, but they weren't giving him their full attention. "Senor? Senorita?" His questioning voice came through to them. "Si, Senor?" Renee replied, composed before Gabriel was. He looked at her, then returned his attention to Gabriel. "I asked if you would like to see the stone." "Yes, Senor," Gabriel replied eagerly. He led them up the stairs and down a long hallway with a door at the end of it. When they arrived at the door, he took a key out of his pocket, stuck it in the lock, and turned it. The door opened and the three of them stepped into the room. It was very dark and the light didn't work, so they stood there until their eyes had adjusted to the lack of light. Once they had, their host, Javier Rodriguez, led the way to a small box sitting on a desk on the other side of the room. Gabriel followed him, while Renee roamed around the room. On a dresser, there was a pile of old photos. She flipped through them until she came to one of a man with white hair. She had never seen Mr. Kenneth Irons in person, but had seen his photo before. She knew this was him. She looked at the other photos. Then, she came to one of Sara. The next one in the pile was of Gabriel, only he was wearing the outfit of a South American cowboy. She dropped the photos back on the desk and walked over to the window. Then, she heard the two male voices and came back to herself.
"Could I leave it up here until we leave?" "That would be fine, senor Bowman." "Gracias. "De nada." They walked over to where Renee was standing and Gabriel put his hand on her shoulder. "Beautiful out there, isn't it?" He asked them. The sun was beginning to set behind the stables and the sky was lit up in several different colors. The most prominent of these was the red. "Yes, it is," Renee replied in almost a whisper. "Why don't the two of you take a tour before it gets dark?" Renee looked at Gabriel and he nodded his head. They turned around and started for the door. When they stepped out onto the porch, Renee took a deep breath of fresh air. "Is something wrong?" He asked her, concerned at the paleness in her face.
She started to tell him about the pictures, then changed her mind, just saying, "No, I just needed some air. It was really stuffy in there." She put her hand in his and they started down to the stables.
*******
When Sara opened the door to her apartment, she paused for a second, then continued in. Ian being there when she got home had stopped surprising her quite some time ago. "What are you doing here, Nottingham?" She asked a little harshly. She didn't mean to, but she didn't want to let her guard down and start enjoying these visits. "My master doesn't want you to know anything more." "What an explanation," she replied sarcastically. Then, she asked, "What doesn't he want me to know?" "Anything about the witch blade, your cases, just anything." He sounded truly troubled and Sara suddenly felt sympathy for him. But she was curious about something. "If he doesn't want you talking to me, then why do you keep coming back?" "Because you need help, Lady Sara." She just looked at him for a minute before replying, "Thanks, Nottingham." He nodded and turned to leave. Stepping out the window, he disappeared into the darkness. She turned just as her phone rang.
*******
When they had come to the end of the row of stalls in the main stable, they walked out the back door and to the fence of the pasture located behind the stable. Renee leaned against the fence, admiring a flashy paint stallion as he showed off for them. She stood there as if mesmerized by his movements.
She was only vaguely aware of Gabriel's presence until he put his hands on her shoulders and turned her toward him. He brought his mouth to hers. She put her hands on his shoulders, then let them slide down his back. He wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her closer to him. Her lips moved from his mouth and across his cheek. He ran his hands through her hair. With his hands behind her head, she laid her forehead against his shoulder. Then, he bent his head down, putting his face in her hair. They stood there together like that for several minutes. Then they reluctantly started to pull away from each other. Gabriel pulled her back to him. When he finally let go of her, she was smiling and her eyes were shining bright. She leaned toward him for one more kiss, then they started back up to the house, walking arm in arm.
*******
"How could he be connected to this? He's not even in the city." "I don't know, Pez. All I know is that there's a dead body behind his shop. And that looks suspicious to me." Jake had called and told Sara they had a new case. When he picked her up, he explained further. Someone had called in, reporting that there was a dead body behind the talismaniac.com shop. This person had seen someone leaving the scene, but could not make out anything about them. "Nothing is as it seems." Danny's voice came from behind her. It took all the self-discipline she had not to look at him. "Let's wait until we get to the scene before we start suspecting anything, Jake," she told him. When they did arrive, they saw their boss, Stephen Richards, waiting for them. Sara walked over to him with Jake following close behind. "Do you know where your friend is, Pezzeni?" He asked her.
"Yes, sir. I do." "Well, could you get ahold of him. We're gonna have to talk to him." "I can't, sir." "What do you mean? Why not?" "He and Renee Mackenzie left this morning for Argentina." Richards looked shocked. He recovered quickly though. "Well, when will he be back?" "In a couple of days, sir." "Then that is when we will talk to him." "Yes, sir. But I know he had nothing to do with this." "And how do you know that, Pezzeni?" "Because I know Gabriel, sir. He would never do this." He looked at her and saw the stubborn set to her jaw that he was finally starting to get used to. "You might be right. If he's your friend, I'm sure you are. But we still have to talk to him. The murder was committed by his shop."
"I understand, sir." Sara and Jake walked over to the crime scene and began to look around. The victim was a well-dressed young man around the age of twenty-five. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. He seemed to have been in good shape and a fairly decent height while still alive. Looking at him, she was reminded of Gabriel. She shook her head at this. He had told her soon after they met that he was an only child. "Sara," Jake said as he came up behind her. "Maybe I should take you home." "No, Jake. I'm fine." "You don't look fine," he told her. "Come on." She reluctantly agreed and walked with him to the car. When they reached it, she stopped with her hand on the handle of the door. The visions always caught her off guard. Now she saw a man, she thought it was the victim, knocking on the door to Gabriel's shop. Then, he was walking around to the back. The next thing she saw was someone coming up behind him. "Sara." She shook her head and looked at Jake. "What?"
"You look like you're about to faint." She glanced at her reflection in the window and thought that he might be right. Her face was the palest she could ever remember it being. "I'm fine," she said as she opened the car door and slid inside.
*******
Senor Rodriguez had opened a bottle of wine and was pouring its contents into three glasses when Renee and Gabriel walked into the house. He held one of the glasses out to her, but she shook her head, refusing it.
He had a hurt look on his face. Gabriel urged her to accept it. "I know you don't like to, but it won't hurt if you drink once. And we're not going to be going anywhere," he whispered in her ear. She finally took the glass from him. Gabriel accepted the one offered to him and the three of them went and sat at the table. She took a careful sip from her glass. Gabriel was watching her face for a reaction. She swallowed, then smiled. "This isn't bad," she said. Javier's face broke into a grin when Gabriel whispered to him, "That means she likes it." "Gracias, senorita. It is made from my own grapes." They finished their wine, then sat at the table talking for more than an hour. By that time, Renee and Gabriel were growing tired, so they went to their rooms and went to sleep.
*******
The next morning, Sara met Jake at the office. He dropped an envelope on her desk. She picked it up and opened it. Dumping the contents onto the desk, she wondered what they would tell her about the victim. She picked up a wallet and flipped it open. The name on the driver's licence was Thomas Logan. The picture was that of the victim. She put the wallet back on her desk and looked through the rest of the stuff. The last thing she came to was a folded up piece of paper. She unfolded it and skimmed over the contents. On it were written directions to Gabriel's shop. Sara figured that meant he was either selling something to or buying something from him. But if that was the case, why had he come when Gabriel was going to be out of town? "Anything else?" She asked Jake as she was putting everything back into the envelope. He shook his head. "No, nothing."
She sat down at her desk and put her head in her hands. "Why are all our cases like this?" She asked frustrated. "Do you want to go back to the scene?" She looked up at him. "Yeah. That might help."
*******
Renee and Gabriel came down to breakfast together. She was dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a light green shirt. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail to keep it out of her face and off of her neck. He had on a pair of light blue jeans and a tan-colored shirt. The night before, Javier Rodriguez had told them that they would be going riding today. Renee was excited; it had been quite some time since she had done that. Once breakfast was finished, the three of them walked down to the stables. Walking inside, they could see that a groom had led out three horses and saddled them already. Javier pointed to a chestnut mare. "Senorita Mackenzie, you can ride her. And Senor Bowman, you may ride that gray gelding." He mounted a bay stallion and they followed him out on theirs. They started down a trail that went behind the stables. Renee sat straight and tall in the saddle as they rode down the trail.
An hour later they stopped beside a stream. They dismounted and let the horses graze. Renee and Gabriel sat by the stream while Javier laid down on the grass. She put her head on Gabriel's shoulder and closed her eyes. "This is so peaceful," she said in almost a whisper. "Yeah," he replied contentedly. They sat there in silence until Javier stood up half an hour later. Gabriel jumped to his feet and held his handout to Renee to help her up. She stood up and they started to walk over to their horses. They had only walked a few steps when Renee's right foot slipped on a bit of wet grass. Gabriel reacted quickly, grabbing her arms and pulling her toward him. But gravity won out in the end. Both of them tumbled to the ground. Once she had recovered from the shock of the fall, Renee sat up and started to laugh. She got to her feet, then helped Gabriel to his. With her arm around his shoulder, they walked back to their horses.
Once they were mounted again, Javier led off back the way they had come. He started to sing a song in Spanish. Renee could pick up on a few of the words here and there, but not enough to understand it. They had only ridden a couple of miles when something flew across the path in front of Renee's horse. The mare reared up on her hind legs, then took off in a dead run past the other two horses as soon as her front hooves touched the ground again. Renee could feel the horse's muscles bunch under the saddle as she carried her away. She let the mare run for several steps, then began to ease her up, pulling gently on the reins. She finally slowed, then came to a stop. The horse's muscles were trembling. She had started to calm down by the time Javier and Gabriel arrived. Renee could see the look of extreme worry on Gabriel's face, so she smiled and mouthed the words 'I'm fine.' Relief flooded across his face, but the look in his eyes remained skeptical. The truth was that she really wasn't fine. Every muscle in her body felt like it was shaking. Javier rode over to her and looked at her carefully. Then, he asked gently, "Are you ready to go, senorita?" "Si." She turned her horse back toward the trail and they headed for home.
Chapter 4
"You will not succeed." Gabriel Nunez never did know when to be quiet. "Cierra la boca, Nino," one of the horse thieves growled at him. "Senor Ruiz is the most powerful man around. You will not succeed,' he repeated, ignoring the man. Another of his captors walked over and squatted on his heels in front of Gabriel. "Are you loco or just tonto, Nino?" Gabriel smiled at him, but it was full of contempt and lacking in amusement. "Or maybe both." He stood up and walked over to a man who was sitting by the fire. He leaned over and said something to him, then walked away. The man got up and walked over to where Gabriel was sitting with his hands tied behind his back. This man was very large. He looked fat, but it was all muscle. He grabbed Gabriel's shoulder and lifted him to his feet. Gabriel stood up straight and squared his shoulders. He glared right at the man facing him. The man brought his left fist to connect with Gabriel's jaw. Gabriel's head snapped around. He brought it back around and stared straight ahead. This man started to hit Gabriel in the face with punches from left and right. After a while he realized Gabriel wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of crying out.
He stepped back and seemed to be thinking for a moment. Then he stepped forward and hit Gabriel's nose with the heel of his hand. He let out an involuntary cry of pain as blood streamed out of his nose. The brute smiled evilly at him, then started throwing punches to Gabriel's stomach. He didn't stop until Gabriel finally crumpled to the ground. He hadn't lost consciousness though. The brute took a step closer and kicked him in his unprotected mid section. He did this several more times before walking away, chuckling to himself. Gabriel held onto consciousness for only a few minutes before everything around him went dark.
*******
Brigid poured tea into cups with shaking hands. She managed to do this without spilling any. After handing one of the cups to Alandra, she sank into a chair across from her.
"What happened?" Alandra shook her head. "I'm not exactly sure. There was a crowd gathered by one of the paddocks this morning. Gabriel wasn't among them." "Maybe he was still sleeping," she suggested hopefully. "I don't think so," she replied, shaking her head again. "I just have a feeling something has happened to him." She looked miserable. Brigid started to stand up, but Alandra stopped her. "Brigid, don't be stupid. You don't even know where he is." "If you didn't want me to try to find him, then why did you come here?" "I was hoping he was here or that you knew where he was. But I don't want you to go out there and get yourself in trouble." Brigid just stared at the floor. Alandra set her cup of tea down and left. Once she was out of sight, Brigid walked to their small barn behind the house and led out her horse. She saddled her, then mounted and rode her down the road. When she was out of sight of the town, she cut off of the road. She didn't really know where she was headed, but she did know that she had to do something.
*******
Keneth Ruiz was waiting for her when Alandra rode up to the stable. "Where have you been?" He demanded. "I went to see Brigid Mackenzie." "Why? And why didn't you take Juan with you?" "Because I knew something was wrong with Gabriel and thought she should know. And I did not have time to find Juan." "You're right about that first one." "What has happened, uncle?" "Well, as soon as we find him, we're going to have a trial for horse theft." "What?" She was so shocked that she couldn't say anything else. "My mares are missing and so is he. You're a bright girl. What does that make you think?" "No, uncle. I know he couldn't have done it. He's just not like that." "Maybe you don't know him as well as you thought. Go in the house and stay there until I tell you otherwise." "Yes, uncle. I am sorry I upset you." He turned away as she started to walk to the house. Just as she reached it, a man stepped in front of her, with his hat in his hands. "Felipe," she greeted him in surprise. The hands rarely came near the house. "What is it that you want?"
He seemed very nervous. "I know Gabriel is your friend too, senorita, so I thought I would come to you. After dinner he was going to the bunkhouse. But when I arrived, he was still not there. Then, this morning he was still gone. I am worried, senorita." "What do you think has happened, Felipe?" "I do not know, senorita. But what the senor says he did, I know he did not." "I know it too, Felipe." She thought of something just then. "Ride into town as soon as you get a chance to and find Jacob McCarty. He’s a friend of mine and he'll try to help us." "Si, senorita." She walked into the house and up to her room, unsure of what else she could do.
*******
Gabriel's eyes opened to the bright glare of the midday sun. He closed them again to escape the feeling of nausea that quickly came over him. It didn't work though. When he had finished retching, he was so weak that he almost slipped back into the darkness that threatened to envelop him. It was only his incredible amount of tenacity that allowed him to hang onto consciousness.
He must have passed out again because the next thing he knew, one of his captors was placing a plate of food beside him. "How do you expect me to eat that?" "With your mouth," he replied, sarcastically. "It would be a better use for it." With that he walked away. Gabriel looked at the food, then turned away groaning. He thought that he would be sick again. He rolled over on his side, but felt a fire burning along his ribs and returned to his former position. He was starting to slip away again when he heard voices coming from what seemed far away. "What do we have here?" "It would seem to be a senorita and a pretty one at that, Enrique." "So she is, Francisco." "Let me pass," a young, female voice demanded. He recognized that voice! "Brigid," he said weakly. The captor who seemed to be the leader of the bunch heard him and realized this was someone he cared about. He could use this to his advantage. He stood up and walked over to the two men. "Come on," he said to Brigid. "I think we have someone here you want to see."
Her eyes widened with fear and she would have leapt from the saddle if she hadn't been surrounded by these men. Under the circumstances, she allowed them to lead her horse forward. Brigid didn't begin to struggle with them until they started to lift her from the saddle. Once they finally had her feet on the ground, she saw Gabriel and her knees almost gave out on her. She started to run over to him, but was stopped by the leader. "Get out of me way!" She nearly screamed at him. Her Scottish accent only came out so strongly when she was upset or excited about something. He was taken aback by the strength in her voice. Not many men talked to him like that, and certainly no woman ever had. Brigid took advantage of his moment of hesitation to run around him and to Gabriel. She dropped to her knees beside him. There was dried blood from the numerous cuts on his face. His bottom lip was split and his right eye was swollen shut. There was also a cut above the same eye.
"You look a lot better than I feel," he told her and tried to smile. "You look awful." She noticed his shirt was torn in several places. She unbuttoned it and pulled the remains from his bloody body. There were cuts and bruises in several different places. He put his hand around hers and she looked at him. He was trying to smile, but she could tell that it hurt him to do so. Suddenly, she felt someone grab her arms from behind and drag her to her feet. "Get your bloody hands off me," she screamed at her still unseen captor. Gabriel tried to sit up, but the tearing pain in his stomach left him incapable of doing so. "Let go of her," he protested weakly. Brigid was struggling to get out of the man's grasp when a large man walked over to Gabriel and looked like he was going to start kicking him. She stopped trying to get away and stood still. The leader of the group walked over to her and said gently, "We are not going to hurt you."
She let him lead her over to the fire and sat down. Then, he walked back over to Gabriel and squatted on his heels beside him. "If you cooperate with us and do exactly as we tell you to, nothing will happen to her." He looked over at the fire where Brigid was sitting. "However, if you behave the same as you have been, I might give her to one of my men." Gabriel's face went white with mixed anger and fear. He turned to look at Brigid, but he had to close his eyes against the blinding pain. When he opened his eyes again and looked at him, his face was unreadable. He nodded his head. The leader stood up and walked back over to the fire. "He's going to cooperate with us for you," he told her. "What?" She asked, astonished. She had never known him to change his thinking about anything. His smile looked quite evil. "I promised him that I would keep my men away from you if he did." Her hand came from out of nowhere to connect with the side of his face. He swung his head back around and put his hand to the corner of his mouth where her slap had drawn blood.
She stood up and started to run back over to Gabriel, but one of the captors stepped forward. "Let her go," the leader told him, waving his hand. She sank to her knees beside Gabriel. "Are you bloody stupid?" He could tell she was upset. She only used the word bloody when she was. "What are you talking about?" "You know what. Why did you tell him you would do what they told you to?" "To protect you." "And you think I need protecting?" She asked indignantly. "Yes, you do, mi Amor. You don't know what they would do to you." She knew he was right. She sat down on the ground beside him and reached over to push his hair out of his face. He reached up and grabbed her hand, then brought it down to his lips. He kissed it and she smiled down at him. Brigid took her cloak from her shoulders and draped it over him. Then, she laid down beside him. *******
Alandra was looking out the window when she saw Felipe ride off to town. She looked around the rest of the yard, but didn't see anyone. She sighed in relief. She turned around and stopped in surprise. "What are you doing here?" Juan did not look up when he answered, "Your friend is in trouble." "Yeah, I know that. Uncle thinks he stole the horses." "He's not in danger from senor Ruiz. At least not for now." The visions came again at once. Gabriel laying on the ground tied up. Then, Brigid running over to him. She shook her head, then looked at him. "Will you help me, Juan?" She was almost pleading with him. "I need to find him." "Si, senorita. I will." With that, he turned around and walked away. ******* Jacob stood up and walked to the door when he heard someone knocking. The man standing there was a young man dressed in the clothing of a gaucho. "What do you want?" He asked, somewhat surprised by his visitor. "Senorita Pelioso sent me." "Is she in trouble?" He asked, concerned. "No, senor. But Gabriel is missing and she is worried about him." "What does she want me to do?" "I don't know, senor. She just told me to find you." "All right. I need to find a horse, then I'll come with you." "Gracias, senor." Jacob grabbed his jacket and his hat, then walked to the stable with Felipe.
Chapter 5
Sara was slipping into her jacket when she heard a knock on the door. Jake was standing there when she opened it. "What do you want, Jake?" "To help." She started to walk out of her apartment when Jake stopped her. "Where are you going? I want to help." She thought about it for a minute, then accepted his offer. "I was going to Gabriel's shop. See if I can find anything there. Meet me there." He nodded his head and they both started out the door. He got in his car while she got on her bike, wondering what they would find when they got there. ******* After lunch, Javier took Renee and Gabriel on a tour of the ranch. As soon as they would walk into one of the barns, bay, chestnut, gray, black, and brown heads would look over their stall doors. Renee had grown up around horses, her grandparents had owned several on their farm, but that same feeling of peace always came back when she was around them. She wanted this one day. It had always been her dream to have a place out in the country where she could have her horses and dogs and be left alone just to write. Her friends and family had always made fun of her for it. Always saying she would change one day. But she never had. Gabriel looked over at her and smiled. He knew what she was thinking. They had talked about it before, but she told him that since she had met him she didn't care where she lived. He could remember that conversation perfectly. "I used to think I could never live in the city and when I did move here and it was really strange for quite awhile. But I've grown somewhat used to it." "So you don't want your own little place in the country anymore?" "For right now I'm comfortable here . . . with you." He was glad of that. He could see the same love in her eyes that he felt. But he was still afraid something would happen one day that would take her away from him and he didn't think he could stand that. They stepped outside and had to stop to let their eyes adjust to the bright sunlight. In front of them was a wide lake. The two of them stood there just staring at the beauty of it. It sparkled from the reflection of the sunlight. They finally took their eyes from it when they felt Javier put his hands on their shoulders.
"Are you ready to go back now?" He asked them. "Si," they both replied. They walked side by side as Javier led the way back to the house.
*******
Sara opened the door and the two of them walked inside. She went to his computer. Jake wandered around unsure of what he was looking for. An hour later, she had a better idea of the victim's connection to Gabriel. He had received several e-mails from him. It seemed Gabriel was wrong about his family. This man claimed to be his brother. That still did not explain why he had come when Gabriel was going to be out of town. Jake had come up empty, so they headed back to the office. ******* At dinner that night, they ate in comfortable silence. When they had finished dinner, Javier leaned back in his chair. Renee picked up her glass of wine and took a sip. Gabriel smiled at her as she swallowed it. Gabriel and Renee walked out and sat on the porch to watch the sun set. He put his arm around her shoulders and she smiled at him. Laying her head on his shoulder, she watched the sky turn from red to purple then fade into the darkness of night.
After awhile they got up and walked back inside. Javier was waiting for them when they walked back through the door. "The two of you should probably go to bed since you have to get up early for your flight tomorrow." They agreed and headed upstairs even though they didn't plan on sleeping. Renee followed him into his room which was down the hall from hers. She closed the door behind her and they walked over to the bed. She stumbled over his suitcase in the dark and started to giggle. He wrapped his arms around her until she stopped shaking from laughter. Then, he guided her over to the bed. He put his mouth over hers and they kissed hungrily. He started to pull away, but she put her hands behind his head and pulled him back to her. Untucking his shirt, she started unbuttoning it, starting at the top. He began to do the same with hers. Once she had finished with the buttons, Renee put her hands under the shirt and started to slip it off. It fell to the floor and she slid her hands behind his back.
Her hands moved up around the curves of his shoulders, behind his neck, and up into his hair. She twisted his hair around her fingers and leaned in closer for another kiss. She pulled away and let her hands move down around his shoulders and down his arms. He slipped his hands under her shirt and started to slide it off. She let it fall to the floor, then slid her hands around his back. She could feel the heat radiating from his body. They fell to the bed with their arms wrapped around each other. His hands moved up her back and behind her head. He ran his fingers through her hair, then he put his head against her forehead and let it rest there. When he lifted it, he looked right into her eyes and smiled. Then he pulled her to him and kissed her. Her hands started to move down around his shoulders and down his arms, but he grabbed them and pulled her against him again.
She pulled her arms from his grasp and put her hands on his back. She let them slide down his sides. Then, they moved to the button on his jeans. Just then they heard footsteps coming up the steps. They froze for a second, then Renee leapt to her feet. She took three large steps to the other side of the room. When she turned back around, Gabriel tossed her shirt to her. She slipped it on and quickly rebuttoned it. Gabriel was only a second slower.
They were completely redressed when a knock sounded on the door. Gabriel walked over to the door and opened it. "I wasn't sure if you would be sleeping or not, senor Bowman. I just wanted to make sure you didn't forget the stone." "Thanks. It's already packed in my suitcase." Actually, he had forgotten about it, so it was a good thing Renee had reminded him before they went to his room. "Good. Buenos Noches then, senor and senorita." He nodded at Renee, the turned and walked away. She looked at Gabriel and smiled. "I should probably head to bed now." He nodded his head, then stepped closer to her and kissed her. "See you in the morning." She kissed him again, then went down the hall to her room. *******
Sara was closing the door and slipping out of her jacket when she saw someone in the shadows. "Nottingham?" "Yes, Lady Sara." "What do you want?" "I have information for you." "About what?" "Your case." "Well," This game had gone on long enough for her. "What do you know?" "The victim was your young friend's brother." "How can that be? Gabriel told me he didn't have any brothers. And they have different last names." She had thought of the same thing, but didn't want to think Gabriel had lied to her. "He was adopted." "Which one?" "Your friend. When he was still very small, he was taken from his family and the Bowmans adopted him." "Well that could explain it," she said mostly to herself. "But why didn't he tell me?" "He didn't know until two years ago. He didn't care though. He felt that his family was the one that raised him." She nodded her head. "I understand that. Do you know anything about who killed him or why?"
"No, Lady Sara." "Thanks anyway. If you learn anything else, please let me know." "I will." ******* Renee and Gabriel were carrying their suitcases down the stairs when they heard a furious pounding on the front door. They looked at each other, wondering who it was. Javier walked down the hallway to open the door so they continued downstairs. Just as they were setting their suitcases on the floor, they heard a commotion at the other end of the hall. "Get out of my house." Javier's usually gentle voice sounded harsh now. "Not until I get what I came for." "Well, since you're never getting it, you're going to be standing there for a long time." He started to close the door, but the other man stopped him. Gabriel, sensing trouble, motioned for Renee to stay where she was while he quickly walked forward. "It would seem, Senor, that you are not welcome here." Renee heard Gabriel tell the man. "This is none of your affair, Nino." "I'm afraid it is. I've done business with this man, ate his food, slept under his roof. So, any trouble of his is trouble of mine."
She swore under her breath. One day his loyalty was going to get him killed. "You're foolish, Nino. Get out of my way so you don't get hurt." Gabriel didn't reply. He just stood in the doorway. "Are you deaf or just stupid?" "I was wondering the same thing about you." The door was blocking her view of the man, so the next minute all she saw was Gabriel falling back against the wall. She started to run forward, but before she could reach him, he had started to the door again. She now had a better view of this man. He was very large with a lot of muscle in his arms and shoulders. Gabriel glared at him and didn't notice Renee coming toward them. When he finally did see her out of the corner of his eye, he turned his head to look at her. He didn't see the man's fist coming at him until it was too late. It caught him right on the chin. He fell to the floor, his legs giving out like the bones had melted.
Renee ran forward, forgetting for the moment how much larger this man was than her. She was almost to the man when she saw Gabriel struggling to his feet. Changing direction, she walked over to him and helped him stand. Then, she turned back to the other man and asked, "What is it that you want?" He looked down at her. "There is a stone that should be in my possession." "Well, you'll never get it." "And why is that, senorita?" Her smile lacked amusement. "Because he doesn't own it anymore." The man glanced at Javier then at Gabriel. Realizing who must have it now, he walked over to Gabriel. "Give it to me. I should have it." "No," Gabriel said defiantly. He reached up to grab Gabriel's throat, but Javier stepped forward. He grabbed the man's arm and pulled it down. "Get out of my house." The man just looked at him, then decided it would be best to leave things alone for now. Once he had driven off, Javier turned to the two of them and said, "The two of you should be leaving now so you don't miss your flight."
They nodded their heads and walked back to pick up their suitcases. As they were walking out the door, Renee stopped and said, "Gracias, senor, for letting us stay here and treating us as friends." "You're welcome, senorita. It has been a pleasure. And keep the senor out of trouble." She smiled at him. "I'll try to. It's not an easy job though." When they arrived at the airport, they thanked the driver, then started to the terminal. They noticed that there were very few people around. This seemed odd, but they just shrugged the feeling off. When they had almost reached the building, three men came from around the corner of it. Renee recognized the man Gabriel had confronted as one of them. She grabbed his hand and they started walking faster. Before they could reach the terminal, the three men were in front of them, blocking their way. Gabriel stepped in front of Renee and stood straight, facing the men. "Get out of our way," he told them with more nerve than he felt.
The man they had met before, who seemed to be the leader of the group, just grinned at him. Then, he looked at the two men with him and they started forward. Gabriel and Renee started to run around them. One of them ran right at Gabriel and tackled him to the ground. The other man came up behind Renee and grabbed her arms. The one who had tackled him hauled Gabriel to his feet and held him with his arms pinned to his sides. The leader walked over to him. He threw a punch into his midsection. Gabriel nearly doubled over in pain from the blow. He straightened up and glared at him. Renee was struggling with the man who held her. Gabriel threw a glance at her that told her to stop and she immediately did. He threw a couple more punches to the same spot. Then, he hit Gabriel numerous times in the face. His lip was split, his nose was bleeding, and he had a cut above one eye, but he still looked at this man with defiance.
The man who was holding him let go of his arms and he fell to the ground. The leader walked over to their suitcases and opened up one of them. By chance, he had found Gabriel's. The box holding the stone was on top of his piles of clothes. He picked it up and walked back over to Gabriel. He kicked him once in the stomach, then started to walk away. On the way, he stepped on Gabriel's hand, crushing the bones. He let out an exclamation of pain. He walked over to the other men, one of whom was still holding Renee, and talked quietly with them. Then, he walked over to Gabriel, grabbed his shirt front, and lifted him up. "I'm taking the senorita with us, but you're staying here." As he walked away, Gabriel struggled to his feet. Seeing this, Renee tried to break away. She managed to free one arm. With it, she hit her captor on the side of his head. His grasp involuntarily loosened and she slipped away and ran over to Gabriel. She put her arm around his shoulders and helped to steady him. The men were coming back over and Renee looked around frantically for help. Just as the men reached them, she saw some people approaching from another direction. She started yelling to get their attention.
Two of the men in the group came over to see what the trouble was. When the three men saw help coming, they took off. "What's the matter here?" One of them asked when they reached Renee and Gabriel. "Those men attacked and stole something from us," Renee explained to them. The other man started running after the retreating men, while he aided Renee in helping Gabriel to the terminal. The other one intercepted them, handing the box to Renee. "Gracias, senor." Once they were inside, he started to examine Gabriel. When he had finished, he looked at Renee and said, "He'll be fine. I think he has some bruised ribs, but nothing worse. His hand needs to be bandaged though." He took some things out of his suitcase and started to fix him up. Renee looked at her watch, then started cursing under her breath. The man looked at her, shocked. "What is wrong, senorita?"
"We missed our flight." "I will go see when the next one leaves. Where are you headed?" "New York." When he came back, he was smiling. "The next flight leaves in three hours." Renee thanked him, then thought of something else. "What about those men? What happened to them?" "They are in the custody of the airport security. They will not hurt you again." Renee sighed with relief and thanked him again. A couple of hours later, she helped Gabriel board the plane and they were headed home.
Chapter 6
"No." Gabriel didn't know when he had decided he wasn't going to help, but he wasn't going to let them use Brigid for their own purposes. They had waited a week for him to regain enough strength to ride, then told him what they wanted. He was to help drive the horses to be sold and if anyone asked, to say he was leading the drive for senor Ruiz. He knew what would happen to him if he was caught though. And Brigid would be left alone with these men. Of course if he didn't do it, they planned to have their way with her. Either way his enemies won and he and this girl he loved lost. "I will not do it." The leader of the group looked at him, then shrugged. "Fine." He walked over to where Brigid was sitting and helped her to her feet. "I think I'll let Enrique have her first." She shot Gabriel a look and he knew what it meant. She didn't want him to do what they asked for her. He didn't pay any attention though. Lowering his head, he mumbled, "I'll do it." The leader smiled. "Good. That wasn't so hard, now was it?"
He let Brigid go and she ran back over to Gabriel. "What do you think you're doing?" There was misery in his eyes when he looked at her. "I can't let them hurt you." He squeezed her hand and she felt a rush of hope. Maybe he had a plan to get them away. They started out, driving the horses ahead of them. Brigid rode between two of the men. They didn't want to risk having Gabriel ride off while they had him untied. They rode this way all through the day. When the sun started to set, they slowed the horses and prepared to stop for the night. Gabriel caught Brigid's eye and mouthed the word "ride" and nodded his head toward the west. She nodded slightly, then turned her mare's head and kicked her into a gallop. Just as the men realized what had happened, Gabriel was taking off after her. Two of the men started to chase after them, screaming at them. They didn't stop or even slow down. A moment later, Gabriel felt something plow along the top of his shoulder, then he heard the report of a gunshot. He let out a grunt of pain and surprise and brought his other hand up to his shoulder. It came away wet with blood.
They continued riding at a gallop until they were a safe distance away, then slowed to a trot. Gabriel rode in front of Brigid, leading them first one way, then another, but never in a straight line for long. It was dark and they were traveling by the light of the moon when they finally found some shelter. He was helping her off of her horse when she noticed the blood coming from his shoulder. "You're hurt!" She cried. He shook his head. "I'm fine." "No, you're not," she told him firmly. "Now sit down so I can look at that." She led him over to a rock, then went about gathering wood and starting a fire. Once she had it going, she walked over to Gabriel and started to take his shirt off. He tried to stop her, but she didn't pay any attention to him. Once she had it off, she tore some strips from it, folded one up, and put it over the wound. Then, she tore off some more and used it to keep the bandage in place.
Brigid helped him to lie on the ground and covered him with her cloak. She laid down beside him and was soon asleep. ******* Alandra rode behind Juan on the trail. Not too far in front of them she spotted the smoke of a campfire. Juan stopped his horse, they dismounted, and started forward. They were in the camp before anyone saw them. She looked around and her heart sank when she saw no sign of Gabriel or Brigid. When she looked at Juan, he nodded. They walked over to the fire where the leader was sitting. He stood up and bowed mockingly. "What can I help you with?" "Where are my friends?" She asked in a demanding voice. "Your friends? Ah, the Nino and the senorita. They are gone." "Where?" She demanded again. "That I do not know. They left last night. They did not enjoy our company I assume." Looking around, Alandra could understand why. Just then, she saw something hanging from around his neck. It was a small, black stone. She remembered something her uncle had told her about a stone that looked like that. It was supposed to keep its owner from harm.
He was saying something. "You'll not see your friend again. He was shot as they were leaving." The look on her face turned to one of rage. She took a step forward and the bracelet on her wrist turned into a blade. She lunged at him, but he somehow remained out of reach. After trying this several times and failing every one, she sliced the air with the blade. The string holding the stone around his neck fell to the ground. His face went white with fear. She stepped closer and this time the blade went true to its mark. She pulled it from his body and he fell to the ground. The other three men were laying on the ground, dead. One had a bullet through his heart and the other two had caved-in skulls. Juan had retrieved their horses and was mounted on his, holding Alandra's for her. She walked over to him and took the reins. Once mounted, they headed off, looking for tracks. On the west end of the camp, they found what they were looking for; the tracks of two horses. They started off on the trail. ******* Brigid was startled awake when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped to her feet and looked around. Wrapping her arms around Jacob McCarty's neck, she started to cry with relief. After a minute, he said, "Come on. We need to get away from here." They helped Gabriel up and onto his horse, then started away. They had been riding for about an hour when they saw two riders coming toward them.Jacob pulled up, Brigid and Gabriel stopped behind them. Gabriel was swaying in the saddle and didn't look like he'd stay there long. As the riders got closer, Brigid recognized Alandra as one of them. "Are the two of you all right?" She asked, concerned. Brigid shook her head. "Gabriel's been shot." He shook his head. "I'm fine. It's just a scratch." "No, you're not," Brigid told him firmly. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, realizing the futility of it.
Alandra looked at Jacob and said, "I thank you for finding them. If you and Juan will go back and gather my uncle's horses, I will take these two back to the hacienda." He nodded his head and they headed back to the thieves' camp. Alandra turned back to Brigid and Gabriel. Just as she opened her mouth to say something, he fell from the saddle. Brigid leapt from her horse and ran over to him with her skirts flying behind her. She fell to her knees beside him and took his head in her hands. She pushed his hair out of his face and recoiled at the burning sensation she felt on his skin. "He's on fire." "We need to get him back to the hacienda. His wound is probably infected. My uncle's doctor can take care of him." Brigid nodded her head and they lifted Gabriel to his feet and practically carried him to the horse. Once they had him in the saddle again, Brigid reached into his saddlebags and pulled out some leather strings. With these, she tied his hands to the saddle horn to keep him from falling again.
The sun was beginning to get lower in the sky when they arrived at the ranch. Alandra and Brigid helped Gabriel from the saddle and into the bunkhouse. A stable boy took the horses into the stable. Alandra had gone up to the house and returned a couple of minutes later with an older man; the doctor. Alandra led Brigid out of the building and the doctor set to work over Gabriel. He started heating some water over the fire, then walked back over to the bed and removed the soiled bandage from Gabriel's shoulder. There was a deep furrow along the top of his shoulder, running from front to back. The skin around it was red and inflamed. It had also started to bleed again. The water had started to boil by now, so he soaked some bandages in it. While the bandages were in the water, he pulled a flask of brandy out of his bag and poured a small amount on the wound. Gabriel let out a cry of pain and shock. Then, he tried to order his thoughts through the fog of pain.
The doctor gave him some of the brandy to drink, then went about his work. He pulled the bandages out of the water and covered the wound. Then, he took a dry bandage and wrapped it around and under his shoulder to keep it in place. Once his patient was resting somewhat comfortably, he gathered all of his things and left. ******* Alandra stood beside Brigid with her arm around the younger girl's shoulders. "He can't die. We've been through too much. He can't die now." "He won't, Brigid. He doesn't know how to give in." She smiled at Alandra through the held back tears. They turned around when they heard the door open. "He'll be fine if the fever passes in the next twenty-four hours," he told them. "You can go in with him, senorita." "Gracias." She almost ran inside, but controlled the urge to do so. She pulled a stool over to the side of the bed and sat down. Taking his hand in hers, she lifted it to her lips. Then, the tears started to fall. She let her chin fall to her chest while her whole body shook from sobbing. She was startled and almost choked on her sobs when she felt a strong but gentle hand fall to her shoulder. She jumped to her feet and wrapped her arms around her father. She buried her face in his shirt as the tears continued to pour forth. He stroked her hair and muttered something soft and gentle in Gaelic. After a couple of minutes, he lifted her head and wiped her tears away with his thumb. "Everything will be all right," he said gently. Then added, "But never do that to me again. I had no idea of what had happened to you. I was scared. I thought I had lost you. I could not bear that. Promise me that you will never do that again." "I promise, Father. I did not mean to scare you. I was not thinking. I was scared too. For Gabriel." "I know, Daughter." He kissed the top of her head, then went outside, leaving her alone with Gabriel once more. She sat down on the stool and took Gabriel's hand again. Brigid must have dozed off because the next thing she knew, she was brought awake by his hand tightening around hers.
She smiled down at him. His eyes were still cloudy with pain, but she could see his strength coming back and knew he was going to make it. "Where are we?" He asked. "Back at the hacienda," she told him. "What about the horses?" "They're back too. Juan and Jacob drove them back." He closed his eyes again and had soon fallen back asleep. Soon, the door opened and Alandra looked in. "You need to get some rest, Brigid." Brigid looked at Gabriel's sleeping form, then back at Alandra, reluctant to leave him. "He'll be fine," she assured the younger girl. "The men are back and his friend, Felipe, said he'd keep an eye on him." Brigid followed Alandra outside and up to the house. She led the way to an extra room and gave her some night clothes to wear. Brigid slipped under the covers and was immediately asleep. When she woke up, it was long past dark. She closed her eyes and tried to get back to sleep, but was unsuccessful. She stared up at the ceiling and sleep finally did overcome her.
The next morning her eyes opened to the sun streaming through the window. She stood up and saw a clean dress hanging from the closet door. She pulled the night dress over her head and put on the dress. She also saw a new pair of shoes and slipped them on. She walked down the stairs and reaching the bottom, saw her father and Alandra waiting for her. She looked at them and was relieved to see nothing but happiness in their faces. "Go on out and see him," Alandra told her. "Felipe said he's been asking for you all night." She headed outside with her father looking after her with feelings of mixed happiness and concern. She walked into the dimly lit bunkhouse and saw Gabriel propped up in his bed once her eyes had adjusted to the change in light. "Come over here, mi Amor," he told her. She did, sitting on the edge of the bed. He took her hand in his and squeezed it tightly. "You saved my life." "No . . . " she started to disagree, but he silenced her. "If it wasn't for you, I would have just let them kill me. But because of you, I decided to fight back, get away, and survive. I owe my life to you."
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. Lowering it, he looked into her eyes and smiled. She returned his smile and they leaned toward each other, their lips meeting in a kiss. They pulled away, but her hand lingered on his. After a while, he said, "You'd better get back up to the house before they start to wonder where you are." She nodded her head, but remained sitting for another minute. When she did get up, he took her hand again, then let it go. She walked to the door and looked back at him, smiling. Closing the door behind her, she walked up to the house. Over the next couple of weeks, Gabriel's condition continued to improve. One week after their escape from the thieves, he was well enough to see Brigid. She was staying at the hacienda until he was well again. After a month of rest, he was able to get back to work.
One day when he was out rounding up strays, he saw something partially hidden in the tall grass. He dismounted and bent to pick it up. In his hand, he held a small, black stone. It looked like it had once hung from a string. It gleamed brightly as the sun reflected from its surface. Walking back to his horse, he put it in his saddle bag, thinking he'd give it to Brigid as a gift. He remounted and headed home, singing a song, content with his life for now. Brigid and her father were back at their house in town. And everything was back to the way it had been; the way it was supposed to be.
Chapter 7
Gabriel hit the play button on his answering machine. "Gabriel, it's Sara. I need to talk to you as soon as you get back." He shook his head. "Only one message. I can't believe it." "No friends?" Renee asked with a laugh, moving up behind him. He turned around as she put her arms around his waist. They leaned together and kissed. Pulling away, he said, "If you were my only friend, I'd be happy." "What about Sara?" She teased him. He smiled. "Okay. If you and Sara were my only friends." "Oh. So now I have competition." She was having fun. He tickled her sides and she nearly doubled over with laughter. "Sto-stop it," she told him through her giggling. When he wouldn't, she tried to back away from him, but it didn't work. Finally, she fell to the floor, still giggling. "How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?" She asked him through the laughter. "A lot it would seem," he replied with a grin. "Let's go see Sara," he said once she had calmed down. They walked to Sara's, side by side and hand in hand. They walked waited outside her door for only a small amount of time before she opened it. When she saw them, she smiled and welcomed them in.
Once they were seated, he asked, "What did you need to talk to me about?" She handed him a small photograph. Renee looked at it over his shoulder when he let out a gasp of surprise. "His name's Thomas Logan. He was found dead behind your shop." "What?" Gabriel was shocked to hear this. "Friday night. Gabriel, what do you know about this man?" He shook his head. "Not much, Pez. I first heard from him a couple of weeks ago. Said he was my brother. I told him I didn't have any brothers, but he insisted. So, I went to my parents," he paused for a moment on this word, then continued. "I knew I was adopted, but had never bothered to try to find my real parents. They told me their name was Logan. So, I guess he was my brother." "I think he is. He looks exactly like you." Renee was still amazed at the similarities. "Who killed him?" Now it was Sara's turn to shake her head. "We're still investigating. I'll let you know as soon as we hear anything though.
Gabriel nodded his head. "Thanks." "Expect a call from my boss in the morning. He'll have some questions for you. Just tell him what you know." He nodded his head, then said, "We'd better be getting back before it gets too dark." They walked back to his place in silence. Renee wanted to say something, but didn't know what. When they arrived at his door, she asked, "Do you want me to go now?" "No," he said quickly. "Please come in with me." They walked inside and threw their coats on his bed. Then, he turned toward her and she wrapped her arms around him as he silently cried. After a while, he pulled away and tried to dry his tear-stained face with the sleeve of his shirt. She used her hand to wipe the moistness from his eyes. He smiled at her and said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be crying. I don't know why I am." "I do," she replied with gentleness. "You never knew him, but he was your connection to your past. Your only connection. And now he's gone. You've always been able to find what you're looking for no matter how long it took. But now you don't even know where to start."
He lifted his hand and stroked her cheek. "My past is where it's supposed to be. And my future is with you." They looked into each other's eyes for several minutes, then he closed his mouth over hers. She pulled away and smiled at him. Then, he pulled her back to him and whispered in her ear, "I need you in my life. Promise me you'll never leave." "I cross my heart," she whispered before covering his mouth with hers. His hands moved behind her neck and up into her hair. Moving them to the base of her ponytail, he started to pull it out. When her hair was free, he ran his fingers through it, untangling it. Her long, brown hair fell into her face. He brushed it back behind her ears and kissed her again. They fell onto the bed and Renee started to untuck his shirt. She slipped her hands under it and lifted it over his head. Dropping it to the floor, she wrapped her arms around his neck.
He was fighting with the buttons on her shirt. "Why do you wear these shirts?"
She laughed, then kissed him again. His hands started moving faster to get her shirt off. One of the buttons popped off, but he didn't notice; he almost had it. Finally, she could let it slip off to the floor. Renee slid her hands over his shoulders and down his back. He pulled her right up against him. The heat from his body warmed her bare skin. He grabbed her arms and pulled them in front of him. Then, he wrapped his arms around her and held her to him like he would never let her go. She relaxed in his arms and laid her head on his shoulder. Several minutes later, she lifted her head and looked into his eyes. Tracing the line of his jaw, she tried to think of something to say, but was unable to put her feelings into words. He winced as she touched a sore spot on his jaw. He tried to hide the look of pain, but she saw it before he could.
"I'm sorry. I forgot about your face." He smiled at her. "It's fine. I'm fine."
"You're a lying, stubborn idiot," she said with an affectionate smile. "But I love you for it." She kissed him again and he wrapped his arms around her. Relaxing in his hold, she was soon asleep and he was close behind. Early the next morning, the phone woke them both with a start. Gabriel rolled over sleepily and lifted it from the receiver. "Hello," he said, still half asleep. "Gabriel Bowman?" "Yes." "This is Captain Stephen Richards. I need to ask you some questions. Can you come down?" "Yeah. I'll be there in a few minutes." He hung up the phone and swung his feet to the floor. Standing up, he walked over to his dresser, chose a clean shirt, and slipped it on over his head. When he turned around, Renee was sitting on the bed, buttoning up her shirt. She came to one of the middle buttons and realized it was missing. Gabriel realized what had happened, smiled, and pulled another shirt from the drawer. He threw it to her and she slipped it on once she had hers off again. It would do.
She started to put her shoes on when he stopped her. "Where are you going?" "With you," she told him firmly, letting him know there was no room for argument. He nodded his head, then walked into the bathroom to run a comb through his hair. She followed him and combed the tangles from hers. They picked their jackets from the floor, where they had fallen from the bed the night before. He closed the door behind them and they walked to the police station. Walking inside, they met Richards and walked with him into his office. "I take it you've all ready talked to detective Pezzeni." Gabriel nodded his head. "Yes, sir." "I thought so. Then you know what I want to know. So, what do you know about this Thomas Logan?" Gabriel told him everything he had told Sara. At the end of it, Richards asked, "And you were gone from Friday until last night?" "Yes, sir. We left Friday morning." He nodded his head. "Thanks. I'll let you know if we uncover anything new." "Thank you, sir."
They stood up and shook his hand, then turned to leave. Richards was sure he was telling the truth. Sara must have been right, he wouldn't have done it. When they were walking outside, they saw Sara coming toward them. She smiled and said, "Richards called early I see." "Yeah. He seems better than the last one." "Yeah, he is. What are the two of you going to do now?" They looked at each other, then Gabriel replied, "Breakfast. Then, I think we'll go home." They smiled at each other. Sara looked at them and smiled to herself. "Well, have a good time. I'd better get to work." They nodded and then turned and walked down the street. An hour later, they had finished eating and were leaving the restaurant. As they were walking back to his place, Renee asked, "Why didn't you tell me you were adopted?" He shook his head. "I didn't know until just a couple of years ago. And it didn't really make any difference to me. My parents are the ones who raised me."
She squeezed his hand and he smiled at her. Just then, his cell phone rang. He dug it out of his coat pocket and answered, "hello." "It's Sara. I just received some more information. I thought you'd like to know." "Of course. We'll be right there." He hung up and turned to Renee. "We've got to go talk to Sara. She has some more information." They turned around and walked back to the precinct. When they arrived, Sara was waiting for them. The three of them walked to her office before saying anything. Once the door was closed, Gabriel asked, "What did you find out?" "A witness came forward. We got a composite drawing." She pushed a paper across the desk to him. "Does he look familiar to you?" Gabriel looked at the drawing for a long time before nodding his head. "He came to me a few weeks ago wanting to sell something to me. I wouldn't buy it. No one would have bought it from me. There was no way they would have believed the story he told me. I told him that and he stormed out of my shop, threatening that I would change my mind soon or wish that I could."
"Why did he kill him though?" "In the darkness, some things are hidden." Danny was standing behind Renee and Gabriel. "What?" "I didn't say anything." Gabriel was confused. Sara was trying to figure out what Danny meant. "Never mind," she said off hand. "Well, he couldn't have known he was my brother. No one else did." A thought was forming in Sara's mind. "Maybe he thought it was you. He did look a lot like you and it was dark. Can you remember what this guy's name is?" Gabriel shook his head. "I never even asked him for it. Didn't think I'd ever see him again." He hesitated for a second, then asked, "What are you going to do now?" "I'm going to find this guy and then bring him in if I can." He nodded his head. "Thanks. Call me as soon as you do. No matter what time it is." "I will, Gabriel. I promise." They got up and left, heading back to his place one more time. Before they reached it, Renee stopped and turned to him. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what?" He asked, even though he knew exactly what she was talking about. "You never told me he threatened you. You just told me someone told you some crazy story and you told him to get lost. Why didn't you tell me?" She repeated her question. He looked down at the ground, not wanting to meet her eyes. He mumbled something, but she couldn't understand him. "Gabriel, look at me and tell me," she demanded. He lifted his eyes and they were filled with sadness. "I didn't want you to worry. And I never thought I'd even see him again. I just thought he was some crazy person. I didn't want you to worry about me when there was no need for it. I love you, Renee." She took his face in her hands and said, "I will worry about you whenever I please. And I will decide when there is need for it. Because I love you, Gabriel Bowman." They leaned together and kissed. When they pulled apart, Renee smiled at him. Then, she slipped her arm around his back and they walked to his apartment. When they arrived, there was a message on his answering machine. Thinking it was from Sara, he nearly sprinted to it and hit the play button. "It seems I went after the wrong guy. Just a case of mistaken identity. It won't happen again. When I'm through with you, you'll wish you had taken me serious." Renee's feet were rooted to the spot where she stood or she would have run over to Gabriel. The message wasn't over yet though. "I've seen that girlfriend of yours. Maybe I'll have some fun with her before I kill you." The machine beeped, signaling the end of the message. Gabriel's face was white with fear and anger. He turned and practically ran out the door. Renee tried to stop him, but by the time she could form any words, he was gone. She ran over to the phone and tore it from the receiver. When Sara picked up on the other end, she hurriedly explained about the message they had just finished listening to. "Then, he ran out of here. I'm afraid he went after him. What am I going to do?" She had started to cry by this time.
"First, calm down. When he left, did he take a gun?" "No. He just ran out of here." "Okay. Does he even know where to find this guy?" "I don't think so." She had started to cry again. "Then he's probably just out there wandering around. I'll find him. You stay there." "Okay," she replied. After she had hung up the phone, she walked over and sank onto the couch. She sat there motionless for a minute, then curled up with her chin on her knees while the tears flooded unheeded down her cheeks. Finally, she stood up and walked into the bathroom. She washed the tears from her face then went back out and stood in the middle of the living room, feeling helpless. She made a decision. Walking out of the building, she started across the street. Renee had no idea where to even begin to look for him, but she knew she couldn't just sit around while he could be getting himself killed. Before she knew it, she was in front of Gabriel's shop. The door was slightly open. A chill of fear ran down her spine, but she walked forward. She pushed the door open and walked in. She had only taken a few steps when she stopped. There was a man with unruly blond hair and unnaturally blue eyes standing in the middle of the room waiting for her. Gabriel was laying on the floor behind him. She started to run over to him, but this man stopped her with his raised gun. "He's still alive. He'll just have a headache when he wakes up." "Why?" She didn't know what else to say. "Oh, because I hit him over the head with this gun." She shook her head. "Why are you doing this?" He laughed, but it had an insane sound to it. "He didn't take me seriously. No one ever has, but he called me crazy. No one ever does that to me." "And for that you'd kill him?" "Oh, I'm not gonna just kill him. First, I'm gonna make him regret his scorn of me." Gabriel groaned and started to open his eyes. He closed them again when the bright lights started flashing in his head. He slowly opened them again and this time waited for the light show to pass. Once it had, he rolled over and got on his hands and knees. He started to rise, but a boot to his stomach stopped that.
He looked around and saw Renee standing in the middle of the room, looking helpless. Then, he saw that this man was holding a gun on her. The anger in him started to rise and he lunged to his feet. There was a burning pain where he had been kicked and his head felt like it was spinning out of control. He started toward the man, each step a challenge. Seeing Gabriel coming at him, he took Renee by the arm and pulled her in front of him. He had the barrel of the gun pointed at her head. "I suggest staying where you are. Unless you want to see your girlfriend laying on the floor." Gabriel stopped where he was. The room before him was moving in and out of focus. Renee's mind was racing trying to think of a way out of this. When she felt the cold metal pressed against her temple, her survival instinct took over. She lifted her foot and brought it down on the top of his. He pulled it back and let go of her arm. She brought her hand up and raked his face with her nails. One of them broke, but she didn't have time to notice. He screamed in pain and brought his hand up to the bleeding cuts on his face. Renee started to run over to Gabriel, but the man grabbed her arm and jerked her back to him. Her mouth opened to scream out in pain, but she closed it before any noise could come out. He pushed her to the floor and she cried out in pain as her shoulder struck the hard floor. Gabriel started forward, but his knees gave out on him. The man let out another insane laugh, then walked over to him. He brought his left foot back to kick him in the stomach again. Before he could deliver the blow, Gabriel grabbed his right foot and pulled. Off balance, he crashed to the floor. His breath was knocked from him. When his hand hit the floor, his grip on the gun loosened and it went sliding across the floor. Thinking quickly, Renee stood up, ran over, and grabbed it. She lifted her right arm, but the pain was too much for her to ignore. She switched the gun to her left hand and kept it trained on him.
A couple of minutes later, Renee heard the door creak open. She didn't dare take her eyes away from this man to look, but she saw the look of relief that flooded over Gabriel's face. She heard a voice behind her. "Looks like I got here too late. I thought I told you, Renee, to stay where you were." She walked over to the man on the floor and muttered, "Kids these days, they never listen." Gabriel and Renee smiled at each other and she walked over to him and helped him to his feet. "Twice in two days. Must be a record, even for you," she said with a grin. Sara had the man handcuffed and was reading him his rights. They headed out the door before her and waited for her to come out. "I'm gonna take him home before he gets himself into trouble again," Renee told her. "Probably a good idea. Good luck." Gabriel grinned, realizing they were teasing him. It hurt his face, which was still sore from the beating he took the day before. His head hurt from the blow he took just half an hour before. Renee had her arm wrapped around his shoulders and helped him walk home.
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