My Sister's Fear

by T. J. Jones

  We were in a large entry with a table and a sofa. There was a second door in front of us, as well as another one down a short hall that led to the kitchen. Undoubtedly the room had been a formal dining room and the side door was for the wait staff to deliver food. It was a familiar layout, one I had seen a lot in the prosperous Estates on Point Road. We heard a noise from the other side of the door, then a woman's voice crying out briefly in pain, followed by a resounding thud.

  Gary started to rush forward, but the first guard grabbed at his arm. "I know she's your niece, but let me tell him your coming in. He hasn't hurt her yet, not badly."

  Gary grabbed my arm and guided me up to the door. The guard stuck his head in the door then opened it and let us in. He pulled it shut quickly behind us. With the gate guard down, that left three men and Dinar, counting the one at the dock. If I could put my hands on a gun, the shooting would be over before he reached the house, one way or the other. The door closed behind us and I got my first look at Rashad Dinar.

  I was struck by how young he was, mid-thirties with a complexion darker than most of his descent, and the fact that he was strikingly handsome. He was dressed in typical Florida garb, a bright print shirt and light-colored Dockers that he might have grabbed off the rack at JC Penny's. There were traces of blood on his pants and when I got closer, I could see some red mixed in with the other colors of his shirt. I was sure it was Angela's blood.

  She was lying close to his feet, holding one arm above her in a defensive position while the other one covered her face. The source of the blood was obvious, both her lips were cut open and continued to bleed. Rashad stood above her with a gun in his hand. He nodded to Gary, then stared at me. Suddenly he reached down and grabbed Angela by the hair, yanking her to her feet. He pulled her face close to his and leered at her as she sobbed.

  "Come on Honey, pay attention, would you? I don't want you to miss this."

  Casually, like he was shooting at a tin can on a fence, he lifted his gun and put a bullet into my left leg. The pain was immediate and the impact of the shot took my feet out from under me. I went down hard.

  "Damn it, I was trying for your kneecap!" He complained. The front door flew open and Dinar pointed his gun in the direction of the wide-eyed guard. "Get out." He yelled, and the man slammed the door quickly. Rashad grinned and pulled Angela's face closer. "But we have time Sweetie, and I can have a go at his other kneecap. Mr. Slater, you two have a thing, right?" Angela muttered an expletive and Dinar cracked her on the side of the head with his gun. I looked to Gary, fighting the pain. Where was that second gun? Even with my hands zip-tied together, I would have a chance.

  "You have Slater, Rashad." Gary spoke up. "You promised me you'd let me take her out of here. Do what you want with him, but she's my niece." He glanced at me and maybe I saw some regret, but it was clear I wasn't going to get that gun.

  "Not so fast, I think she should enjoy my company a little longer." Rashad leered at us. "Maybe on her knees, while her boyfriend watches."

  Gary's gun came up and Rashad shifted his body slightly, using Angela for a shield. From the front room, or possibly from outside the front door, there was a shout and then the sudden static roar of automatic gun fire, followed by more individual shots. I knew the sound of that gun, I had heard it a lot lately at the range. I looked at Gary, pleading with my eyes, but he was concentrating on Dinar. "It's not too late Rashad, let her go and make a run for it."

  "Like hell, you set me up, didn't you?" He fired and hit Gary in the chest, throwing him back against the door, just as someone tried to open it. "Stay out!" Rashad screamed and put two more bullets into the heavy oak frame. Gary was hit, but he was a big man and Rashad would have been wiser to use those two bullets on him. He brought his gun up with one hand and tossed Maggie's gun to me with the other one. If I had been able to get to my feet, I might have risked a shot, but from the floor and with the smaller gun, I didn't dare.

  Gary was sprawled against the door and when he started to lift his gun, Dinar fired another shot. I wasn't sure where it hit, but I knew I was on my own. I pushed off the floor and managed to get to my knees, willing to risk a shot if he gave me just the smallest opening. Angela's eyes were wide and she was fighting him, but she went limp when he tightened the grip he had on her throat.

  "Should I kill her first, or should I make her watch you die Slater?" Dinar asked as he pointed his gun first at her head, then in my direction. I didn't dare shoot, there just wasn't enough of that twisted, evil face showing. Just when I thought he might pull the trigger he stopped suddenly. "Why Slater, why the crusade to ruin my business?"

  I kept my gun on him, searching for a shot. "You ruined a lot of lives Dinar, and killed how many young girls? But then you killed Davey Templeton, that's when we started after you."

  "That little queer kid?" He mocked me, and I could see he was ready to shoot. "Aw, was he your special friend?"

  The maid's door swung open suddenly and Maggie Jeffries stepped into the room as she raised her gun, my gun actually. "No Asshole, he was my brother."

  She had a better angle, but Angela was right there and I had just a moment to be afraid for them both, then the 9mm roared and Rashad Dinar crumpled to the floor with a sizeable hole just below his left ear.

  Angela, still dazed and unable to stand, crawled over to where Gary lay and tried to rouse him. Maggie ran to me, pulled her sweatshirt off, and began wrapping my leg.

  I was feeling weak, but I managed a smile. "Kind of glad to see you. How'd you find us?"

  "After the kidnapping Jasmine and I got tracker apps on both our phones. When Gary came to the house, she dropped her phone behind his spare tire. Then we called McCade and he came with me. No offense, but I think that kid is a better shot than you are. He got hit too, so I better check on him."

  "You're a better shot than me. I told you my gun wasn't too heavy for you."

  "Men, you always have to be right." She pecked me on the forehead then ran out the side door.

  In the distance I could hear the singsong shrill of an ambulance approaching. I knew Dinar didn't need one, and I was afraid Gary didn't either. I shifted my gaze to Angela, who was holding his hand and crying.

  She looked over at me and smiled through a sob. "He's gone, but he smiled at me before he died. It counts that in the end he tried to be a good guy, doesn't it Slater?"

  I wasn't sure if that was all there was to it, but I nodded. "Of course, it does Angela."

  "Is it really over now?" She asked pitifully.

  "It's over." I sure hoped so.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Have I told you how much I love you?" I asked from my hospital bed. Dinar's bullet had fractured a bone and complicated my recovery. After several days in the hospital filled with expert opinions and consultations, the doctors finally decided to operate. It had gone well but I was still somewhat altered by the pain medication. Quite altered. The dreams were great, but it was difficult to wake up and make sense of the world.

  "Slater, Maggie's right here and she can hear you." Jasmine giggled.

  "I don't care, she loves you too. That was pure genius, putting your phone behind the spare tire." I tried to sit up, but the room started to spin. "Why did you do that again?"

  "My girl wanted to go to the party and you were trying to leave her out."

  "But we got your boyfriend shot." I shook myself awake. There was a window near my bed that was open and a cool breeze whispered across my face smelling faintly of someone's breakfast and the ocean. It was morning, the sun was warming my face, and I felt intensely happy to be alive. The drugs helped.

  "He's tough, he'll be fine. I'm taking really good care of him."

  "I can do without details. If he and Maggie hadn't showed up when they did, I might not be here."

  "Might?" Maggie asked as she sat down carefully beside me on the bed. "Face it Slater, I saved your butt again."

  "You did." I admitted. "And we got the man that killed Davey, tha
t feels good."

  "Susan Foster is coming by to see you later, and she isn't thrilled that you got her star witness killed. There are still a lot of people she wants to prosecute."

  "I have a feeling she's not going to be too upset. We rid the world of Rashad Dinar and that'll make her happy. But I am really sorry about your uncle."

  Maggie shrugged. "My uncle died in a plane crash years ago. The man Dinar shot was the Diablo Blanco. He was the bastard that got my brother killed and sold those young girls into slavery. I know I have to put those two people together someday, but I'm just not ready yet. He did help save my sister, so I owe him for that."

  "Is Angela doing okay? She's probably going to need more therapy, or another dog."

  "She's black and blue and has a few stitches in her lip, but mostly she's just exhausted. I checked on her this morning. She and Gabriela were wrapped up in a huge pile of blankets with the dog stretched across them both, dead to the world."

  "That's what I need. I could sleep for a week." I closed my eyes, but Jasmine bumped my good leg before I could drift off.

  "Tell him the other thing." She said impatiently.

  Maggie laughed softly. "Our house is ready, whenever you get out of here."

  "Our house?" I remembered, but it was a phrase I had never used in my forty years. "Is Angela okay with us leaving?"

  "Mom will be back next week and Gabriela is keeping her busy. Andrew said he's going to try to be around more, so who knows where that'll go? Angela isn't that crazy, broken girl anymore, Slater. She can take care of herself."

  I rubbed my eyes and shifted my leg away from accidental harm, trying to fight the drugs and stay awake. "I need to heal up and get back to helping Luis and the crew."

  "Luis has been giving me a hand this week. I turned the front bedroom into our office, and now we have an outside door with one of those opaque glass panels like Davey had in Miami."

  "Why the fancy door? All I need is a computer and a place to roll out blueprints."

  "The glass panel is for the sign; Slater and Jeffries' Investigations. You should be happy I gave you top billing."

  "I like that name." I mumbled as sleep won the battle. "Screw that butterfly." My eyes slammed shut on their own, too heavy to hold open as reality twisted into a dream. That pesky butterfly floated away on the warm summer air and a boy with Angela Jeffries' beautiful blue eyes chased it down a white sand beach, laughing happily.

  Maggie's face hovered above me suddenly, and I fought sleep again long enough to kiss her and ask the question I knew didn't need asking.

  "Are you sure you want to keep doing this PI thing with me, Red?"

  Vaguely, I heard her laughing as I drifted away.

  "Slater, you and I are just getting started."

  ***End***