“Sure. Thanks. Love you,” she hung up the phone. Any hopes she had of him telling her it was a wild animal and to go back to sleep were completely dashed.
Lobo hopped lightly off the couch, moving with impressive agility for something so large. He crouched facing the door, ready to leap at the threat on the other side. Jessie sat up, briefly debating her choice of weapon. She finally decided the skillet required less skill and fortitude, so she hoisted the heavy pan as she turned to inch towards the door.
“Jessie?” the voice from her nightmares called through the door. “Jessie, I want you to open the door. If you try anything stupid, your boyfriend here is dead.”
The initial feeling of being frozen in terror was replaced by one of confusion. She’d just gotten off the phone with Gabe.
“Jessie, don’t listen to him. Run like hell,” Vance instructed. The sound of metal meeting flesh was sickening even through the thick door. That was enough to spur her into action.
She traded the frying pan for the cell phone and dialed Gabe’s number. Without waiting to see if he answered, she turned the earpiece volume down and slid the phone under the edge of the couch.
“I’m waiting,” the voice reminded her from the other side of the door.
“Do you want me to have control of my dog first or not?” she snapped in response as she looped her fingers around Lobo’s collar. Together, they walked over to the door.
“You’re rather difficult to kill,” Aleksander greeted her when they stood face to face.
“If it makes you feel any better, you came very close.” Jessie tried to quickly assess the situation. Vance had obviously taken a beating and now stood at gunpoint.
“So, who’s the lucky father? Any guesses? The cop? The pimp? The hit man? Are there any other contenders?”
Jessie didn’t bother answering. There were three men on her doorstep. Probably at least one more waiting outside. If she let go of Lobo’s collar, he’d take down one. Hopefully the one with the gun pointed at Vance, but Jessie would settle for any of them.
That left one for her and one for Vance. Again, there was a measure of hope being factored in. If he was too weak to fight she couldn’t exactly count on the cat to pitch in. Not that she’d ever tell Gabe he’d been right.
“Aren’t you going to invite us in?”
“Wipe your feet outside. I just cleaned my floors.”
“They’re about to get dirty again.”
“I don’t like you,” Jessie stepped aside, allowing them to enter her home. She had a feeling his threat had to do with more than muddy shoes.
Two out of three men had crossed her threshold when a shot rang out and the third fell like a bag of bricks where he stood. Aleksander and his henchman both startled and Jessie took the chance to let go of Lobo’s collar.
He leapt at the man closest to Jessie, pinning him to the ground by the neck. Vance knocked the gun from Aleksander’s hand as Jessie jumped the couch to grab the cast iron skillet. She waited for a break in the scuffle to crack Aleksander over the head with the frying pan.
He crumpled to the floor. Vance gave the pan an appreciative look before checking for a pulse.
“He’s alive,” Vance told her as he picked up the gun. “Don’t let either of them go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”
Jessie did as she was told, although she felt a little useless. Aleksander didn’t so much as moan and Lobo wasn’t about to let his victim up. The man gargled once and the dog growled in response. All was silent again after that.
Jessie jumped a foot at the gunshot outside. Lobo didn’t flinch, sealing Jessie’s conviction that Gabe had found her a retired police dog.
Vance reappeared in her doorway with Harmony at his side.
“Nice shot,” she complimented her friend.
“Thanks,” Harmony cast an uneasy glance back at the man she’d felled.
“Could you get your dog to release this one?” Vance took a step towards Lobo, stopping short at the deep growl that rumbled in the animal’s throat.
“You can let him go now,” Jessie scratched the dog’s ears. He looked up at her but didn’t move. “Spit him out now, buddy.”
“You don’t know how to turn him off?” Vance asked.
“It’s never come up before,” she shrugged. “Lobo—stop chewing on him. Come on now. Bad dog.”
“Forget it,” Vance snorted in disgust. “I’ll question him like this.”
“Sorry,” she tugged at Lobo’s collar but the dog didn’t budge.
“Who’s your guy on the inside?” Vance knelt beside the man on the floor. Lobo growled low in his throat.
The man opened his mouth to speak but only another gargle came out.
“This isn’t going to work,” Vance reached for the dog, who bared his teeth in response. “Damn it Jessie, call off the dog.”
“Open sesame?” she tried again.
“Release,” a voice commanded from beyond the door. Lobo let the man go and sat down.
“Thanks,” Jessie looked up at Gabe as he stepped into the light. Everything in her wanted to throw herself into his arms but she resisted the urge.
“I’m surprised poor Lobo got to see any action. I figured that cat of yours would be all over something like this,” he walked over to where she stood. The cat briefly looked up from her spot by the fireplace.
“I’m so happy to see you I’ll let that slide.”
“Do you have any idea how horrible it is to listen to something like that, knowing you can’t do anything to help?” He pulled her into the hug she’d been longing for.
“You want to come with me when I do this?” Vance asked Gabe as he grabbed the man off the floor and jerked him to his feet.
“Do what exactly?” Gabe arched an eyebrow.
“It’s our best chance to find out who the dirty cop is.”
“He’s not going to know any more than you did,” Gabe countered. “And you are not taking that poor fool outside to torture him. The sheriff will be here any second.”
“How did you beat Bobby here?” Jessie remembered that Gabe had called him.
“He was tied up at the other end of town,” Gabe scowled. “Apparently this is the one night Ava decides to have a crime spree.”
“How exactly do you plan to find out who they’re working with?” Vance demanded.
“I think I have a way figured out,” Gabe answered, taking the gun from Harmony’s grasp. “Thanks for holding that for me.”
Confusion flashed across her face, followed by understanding. “Anytime.”
Red and blue lights flashed outside, signaling the arrival of Bobby. As Jessie listened to Gabe fill him in, she began to understand the direction his mind was headed. In Gabe’s version, he’d been alerted to the presence of the intruders by Jessie’s phone call, shooting two of them on arrival.
Vance’s injuries came from the ensuing scuffle and Jessie still got credit for taking Aleksander down with the frying pan. The look on Vance’s face was one of uneasy trust as he followed Gabe’s lead.
Her peaceful home was filled with chaos as EMTs arrived to load Aleksander on a stretcher. He still hadn’t roused, making Jessie wonder if he ever would. She wasn’t sure how she felt about being the one to scramble his brains.
The remaining henchman had his throat bandaged before being loaded into the back of Bobby’s cruiser.
“I should ride with them in the ambulance,” Gabe seemed reluctant to leave Jessie’s side.
“Where are they taking him? I’ll get dressed and meet you there.”
“Don’t bother. Once I arrange for someone else to babysit him, I’m coming home. You should get some rest.”
“Like that’s going to happen,” Jessie stared at the pool of blood on the porch, wondering if she’d ever get it all up.
“Try,” he insisted before tossing his keys to Vance. “Follow me to the hospital? You can give me a ride home after you get a clean bill of health for yourself.”
Vance nodded, giving Harmo
ny a quick kiss on the forehead and striding out to the Jeep.
And just like that, the women were left alone. Jessie retrieved her phone from under the couch and gave Lobo a fierce hug. He bathed her face with kisses in return.
“Want some coffee?” Jessie straightened and looked at Harmony.
“Yeah. That sounds good.”
Jessie reasoned that the baby could survive one dose of caffeine and made a cup for herself, too. They sat at the kitchen island, clasping their coffee mugs and not saying much in particular.
“I’m glad you showed up when you did,” Jessie broke the silence.
“That was nice of Gabe to say he shot those guys. I know that was probably hard for him.”
“Yeah, I’m sure it was. He’ll do everything he can to keep you and Vance from going to prison, though.”
“Is it fair to ask him to do that for us?” Harmony understood the internal sacrifice lying would require of Gabe.
“No,” Jessie shook her head. “But lots of things in life aren’t fair. The two of you going to prison doesn’t seem very fair to me, either.”
A knock at the door made both women jump. The sun was peeking over the horizon, but it was still too early to expect visitors. Lobo trotted over to the door, curious but not on guard. Jessie trusted his instinct, even if she couldn’t fathom it, and opened the door.
“We heard there was a bit of excitement here last night,” Ethan grinned at her. Jessie laughed at the understatement.
“You guys didn’t have to come over this early.”
“Don’t be silly. I wouldn’t want to sit here alone with something like that fresh in my brain,” Hailey hugged Jessie and let herself in.
“Ethan, Hailey, this is my old roommate. Harmony, these are friends of ours. They have a beautiful ranch a few miles from here. You should see it while you’re visiting.”
“You’re so young,” Hailey blurted then stopped short, horrified.
“Not so young. Jessie’s just really old,” Harmony grinned, setting her at ease.
“Thanks a lot,” Jessie swatted her playfully. “Can I offer either of you some coffee or breakfast?”
“Why don’t you let me make the breakfast?” Ethan rolled up his sleeves and Jessie gladly conceded.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The calm and reassuring presence of her friends completely changed the tenor of the morning. Still, Jessie felt odd being in the house with bloodstains on the porch and the tell-tale signs of a scuffle in her living room.
Apparently the Ava police force had never seen CSI because no one seemed overly concerned with their presence contaminating any crime scene. She desperately wanted to restore order to her home, but waited for the all-clear from Gabe. Until then, she simply did her best to ignore it.
“Want to see our cave?” Jessie turned to Harmony after breakfast. “Come to think of it, have you guys ever seen the cave?”
“It’s been a while,” Ethan’s expression told of fond memories.
“I haven’t,” Hailey sat up a little straighter.
“Want to poke our heads in while we wait for Gabe? I don’t think I can sit in the house much longer.”
“Sure,” Harmony was slightly less enthusiastic than Hailey. Still, once Jessie had wrestled the lock open and ushered the little group inside, it was hard to resist the mysterious charm of Honeybranch.
Giving a tour and recounting the history of Jesse James’s second life took Jessie’s mind off of dead men and dirty cops. It was dark and quiet and cool in the cave, just as it had been on her first visit five months before.
Jessie tried to call Gabe when they were back in the house warming their hands by the fire. His voicemail picked up just as it had the last time she called. She had expected to see Gabe and Vance before lunchtime and the wait was making her antsy.
“You look exhausted,” Jessie noticed the dark circles under Harmony’s eyes. “You should go take a nap. I promise to come get you if we hear from him.”
“I doubt I could sleep right now.”
“Seriously. You’ll do him more good if you’re rested.”
“Maybe just a few minutes?”
“Come on, I’ll show you the guest room… can you believe I have a house with a guest room?”
“This place is amazing,” Harmony surprised Jessie with a hug. “Soon this will all be over and you can just live your fairy tale.”
“If Gabe has anything to say about it, I think you and Vance will have some peace and quiet, too.”
“That would be nice.”
Jessie got Harmony settled then returned to her guests. It bothered her to think about the work that was piling up on their own ranch while they sat with her.
“Do you want some lunch?” Ethan asked as he rooted through her pantry.
“I just want to know Gabe’s okay,” she answered honestly. “Ever since he came back from overseas, I worry about him like a mother hen.”
“We could go check on him if you want,” Hailey offered. Ethan gave her a look that said he didn’t like the idea. She gave him one back that plainly asked, “why not?”
“He was probably given strict instructions not to leave me alone,” Jessie interjected into their silent communication.
Ethan’s guilty expression told Jessie she had guessed correctly.
“It’s okay. The bad guys are incapacitated. I’ll be fine for an hour. It would actually make me feel a lot better to know Gabe was okay. If you don’t mind, that is.”
“I don’t mind….” Ethan started only to be cut off by Jessie.
“Great—thank you!” she trapped him.
“Fine. But lock the door after me. And I’m leaving my 12-gauge. Do you know how to shoot a gun?”
“Sure.”
“You’re a horrible liar.”
“Point and click?”
“Pump, point and click,” he corrected. “Come on. If I’m leaving you alone, I’m teaching you to shoot first.”
Jessie nodded. She had no desire to hold a shotgun, let alone use one, but if that’s what it took for him to feel comfortable then so be it. She followed him out to his truck, where he produced a shotgun that would convince her not to trespass.
“This,” he pointed, “is the safety. Move it like this to load the gun.”
Jessie furrowed her brow in concentration. It seemed simple enough.
“Once you’ve got it loaded and are ready to fire, move the safety back. Hold it like this… point and shoot.”
“Got it.”
“It’s got a bit of a kick,” he warned. “Pump it like this to eject the shell and get it ready to fire again.”
“Sure.”
“Your turn,” he handed the gun to her. She hesitated briefly before taking it and trying to mimic his stance.
The weight of the weapon was both terrifying and empowering. She took careful aim and pulled the trigger.
“Holy…” she swore soundly. “I see what you mean about a kick.”
“You learn the best way to hold it with practice,” Hailey reassured her.
“Is everything okay?” Harmony bolted out the front door.
“Yes, sorry,” Jessie felt guilty for waking her up.
“That was a great shot,” Ethan pointed to the sign they’d used as a target. “So now you just need to pump it and it’s ready to go. Be careful you don’t accidentally fire it. Watch where you’re aiming when it’s not in use.”
“I’ll be careful,” she promised.
“Here’s a box of shells. You shouldn’t need them, but just in case.”
“Thank you.”
With Ethan satisfied that she could protect herself and Harmony reassured they were not under siege, Jessie stuck the gun in a corner in the kitchen and curled up on the couch with Lobo to doze while she waited for word.
A knock at the door caused her to bolt upright again. Jessie sighed and grabbed Lobo’s collar before answering it.
“Captain Carter,” Jessie greeted Gabe’s boss uneasily
. She recognized the man with him as the uniform from Nick’s. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Jessie,” he quickly recovered from the shock of seeing her. “It’s good to see you in one piece.”
“Thank you, sir,” she stepped to the side, allowing them in.
“We were supposed to meet Gabe here… is he around?” Carter surveyed the house.
“No, I’m sorry. He’s still at the hospital. I expected him back by now. Can I get you a cup of coffee while you wait?”
She didn’t wait for a response before moving to make a fresh pot of coffee. She needed something to keep her hands busy. Their presence made her nervous again. Would Gabe be in trouble now? Had she ruined his career?
“Seeing you here, it suddenly makes sense,” Carter began conversationally as he accepted the cup of coffee she offered him. “No wonder Gabe was so worried about the timing of the raid.”
Jessie swallowed nervously, unsure how to respond. She turned to hand Kevin his coffee and caught movement out of the corner of her eye as he pulled a gun from his waistband. She blinked in shock as he leveled the weapon on Carter, his aim knocked off course at the last second by Lobo, who had lunged at his arm. The bullet plowed into Carter’s shoulder, knocking him back off the stool. Kevin swore and swung the gun at Lobo, who went down with a yelp.
Jessie bolted out the front door before he could regain his shot. He was right behind her. The woods offered little coverage this time of year, so she made a beeline for the cave. With the lights off, she was quickly ensconced in total darkness. She knew her way well enough to feel along the edges with a certain amount of confidence that she could make it all the way to the back without falling in a hole.
The journey was slow. She could only hope it was even slower for Kevin. A few times she had to release the wall to stay on the path and during those times she prayed fervently to anyone who might listen that she wouldn’t get turned around.
Kevin’s curses echoing through the cave told her he was there, following her. Once she saw the distant glow of an LED screen behind her. He was using his cell phone as a flashlight. Knowing he wasn’t flying as blind as hoped, she picked up her pace.
After a timeless eternity, she felt the rickety railing that lined the natural stairs up to the shelf Gabe had once told her about. The cold, slick Missouri clay caked to her hands and clothes as she did her best to shimmy blindly through the narrow corridor.
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