Slim To None (Cedar Tree #1)

by Freya Barker

  The hearty cackle that accompanied the old man's trip down memory lane elicited a snort from the back seat. Gus had a hard time not to crack a smile himself.

  A shove in his back from the rear seat snapped him to attention. "Look. That sign says Outlook Point Yard right at the next exit." Emma pointed out.

  "Yup." Their driver confirmed, "Next exit is the 38. I purposely skipped the 37, 'cause it's full of potholes this year. The county and the town of Mancos are still bickering over who's gonna pay the bill to fix it up again. So it ain't getting fixed. 'Sides, turn in for the yard is off the 38 anyways. Coming right up."

  The first hundred or so yards were paved, but after that the 38 was nothing but a packed dirt road. Emma's heart was pounding in her chest. She thought for sure she was going to be sick. Gus was trying hard to keep a light and easy banter going with the old man. All the while she looked around her for something, anything that could prove to be helpful. Although at this point she figured it would probably be moot. They were about to find out what it would take to get her girls back. Though she knew Gus was sure their back up was solid; she had to admit her confidence had wavered over the last half hour. As it stood now, she was mentally preparing herself to hand herself over willingly. She would without hesitation, as long as Kara and Arlene were let go. That was the only thing that mattered. And Gus. Oh God, he would fight tooth and nail over her. She would have to try and...

  "Put that thought right out of your head, Darlin'." Speak of the devil. He was leaning over the back of his seat, glaring at her. "Whatever it was that put that frown on your face, you can drop it right now. We're in this together. Just trust me, please." His eyes were imploring her to comply without argument, which she grudgingly did. If only not to drag the old man in any further than he already might be.

  They had only passed a handful of buildings before the cab turned into a driveway on the right, which was partially obscured from the road by tall bushes. Pulling up to a closed gate, the driver turned to Gus.

  "It's closed. I don't get it."

  "I'm sure they probably just went to pick up our truck. You go, they'll be here soon. What do I owe ya?"

  "I charge a flat fee of thirty dollars for any Mesa Verde runs, but I'll take a twenty for this here short one."

  Pulling some bills from his pocket, Gus took care of the fare. Then he got out and scanned the surroundings while collecting her walker from the trunk. Only then did he come to open her door and help her out. He leaned in to the driver's window. "You might want to get yourself out of here. You're in a bit of a precarious spot. If the tow truck comes back and turns into the drive without looking too well, your pretty cab might be in the way." A few good raps on the roof, and the old man clearly took his words to heart as the cab peeled out of the driveway.

  "How are you doing, Peach?" Gus checked in with her, as she tried to fight off the panic that was threatening to overwhelm her. The back end of the cab disappeared behind the bushes and could be heard speeding off down the road. Left only was the occasional sound of some heavy traffic that must have been drifting down from highway 160. Other than that, only sounds of nature filled the air.

  Hesitant to make any more noise than necessary, she whispered, "Kinda freaked. What now?"

  "Follow me." He indicated, before turning and heading toward a smaller, man-sized gate on the far side of the chain-link fence. "We're checking that out."

  The entire yard, from what she could see, was filled with cars. Mostly rusted and in various states of dismantlement, but there were some that looked in better repair off to one side. To the far left there was a large half open barn, with the makings of a car shop inside from what she could make out. Attached to that a small, rather decrepit one-story bungalow. Other smaller buildings were scattered among the piles of rusting car debris. They were obviously not used for anything particularly important, since getting to them would be virtually impossible. But the most eye-catching structure was off to their right. A large metal contraption that looked like an old-fashioned laundry press, except it held a car in its open jaw. Not a single living soul was in sight and the entire scenario scared the hell out of her.

  "Emma, come over here. Stick close by me." Looking over, she could see Gus had managed to get through the gate and inside the fence. She was about to leave her walker by the gate and only take her cane through, but Gus shook his head no and folded her walker to manoeuvre through the opening. "Not leaving that behind." He stated firmly. "We are going to check the house out first. It seems the most obvious place, but also the easiest to search while staying pretty much covered." Pulling a gun from the waistband of his jeans, it suddenly hit her how real and familiar this all seemed.

  "Never realized you had that on you."

  "Won't leave home without it, and wasn't told to come without. So yeah. I have it on me." Draping his free arm around her shoulders, he lead her to the ugly looking bungalow. "For now, maybe leave your walker here by the door, and simply hang on to the back of my jeans. Can you do that? I feel better with you behind me. That way you're covered at all times."

  "Yeah, sure. Just don't drop me when I stumble or make any sudden moves." She tried to joke.

  "Not gonna let you fall, darlin'. Promise."

  Leading the way with her clutching the back of his jeans, Gus entered the hallway, making sweeping motions with his gun trying to cover all the doorways that came into view. When they entered the last doorway at the end of the hall, he tried to quickly back her out again. But he was too late. She had gotten a quick glimpse of a red spattered wall and a body lying in a pool of blood.

  "Don't look." He growled as he tried to press her head into his chest.

  "Too late." She mumbled into the fabric of his Henley. "Just tell me it's not them."

  "Not them. A man. Looks to belong here. Wearing greasy coveralls and has been dead for a bit I'm afraid. Let's get out of here."

  Once outside, the shakes hit and Emma was grateful for the sense of stability her walker gave her. Feeling a little guilty for the sense of relief that it wasn't Kara or Arlene lying in that pool of blood in the kitchen, she needed to take some action.

  "Do you think we should we yell their names?" She wondered.

  "Sure, wouldn't hurt. Whoever is around would already know we're here anyway. I have a feeling we are pawns in a nasty little game and I don't know the rules yet."

  With that, Gus cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled out. "Kara. Arlene!"

  She followed suit, yelling out their names over and over again. They slowly made their way into the yard, along the far left side. Suddenly, Gus motioned her to stop and be silent with his finger to his lips. Waiting to see if she could pick anything up, she heard it. It was very faint. A voice, but she couldn't make out what it was saying. It appeared to be coming from the opposite end of the yard. Spurred on, Emma started yelling again and moved toward where she thought the voice had come from. When she was held up by a strong arm around her waist. "Hold up, darlin'. You can't go walking out into the middle of the yard, unprotected. You might be walking into a trap. We have no idea who or what we're dealing with. We'll go together but let's stick to the edge and not cross over the open yard. Okay? Let's pause in between calls, so we can actually listen as well."

  Rather than say anything Emma simply nodded her head and trusted Gus to take the lead once again.

  Slowly making their way around the yard, Gus urged her to call again. This time they could faintly make out 'Mom. I'm here...' in response. It almost made her fall to her knees in relief - hearing Kara's voice - if Gus' quick reflexes hadn't kept her on her feet.

  "Oh shit." Gus stared across the open space to what she realized must be a car crusher, and when she followed his gaze and spotted what he must have seen, all the blood seemed to freeze in her veins. Hands and what looked to be a face, were pressed to the window of the car that was clutched in the jaws of the massive machine. A small whimper left Emma's lips.

  *****

 
"I see you've found my surprise."

  The unknown voice behind her had Emma whipping around and backing into Gus' chest, who had turned and was frozen in place.

  "You like? Almost like a real family reunion, isn't it?" The man mocked.

  Chapter 26

  This was it. That small tingle of unease that had wormed around in his gut all this time was standing in living color right in front of him. The suspicion he hadn't been willing to acknowledge for too long because it seemed too far-fetched, had been right on the fucking money. Right up to the moment he looked at the man, he had hoped the fingerprints had not been his. That there could not be any way he was here. Involved in this huge fuck up of a case. There was no mistaking the resemblance, but only on the surface. The man in front of him was hard, especially his eyes, that shone full of cold hatred directed at him. His stance appeared to be relaxed, a gun held loosely, pointing at Emma. The other hand clutched a remote device, the total picture making him look like a symbol of vengeance. Undoubtedly the image he was going for

  "You're his brother." Emma gasped in front of him. He instinctively wrapped a protective arm around her midsection and pulled her back into his body. "What have you done with my daughter and Arlene? What do you want? Is it me? You can have me if you let them go. Please!" Emma's pleading had only served to plaster a satisfied grin on the bastard's face. Determined to stay in control of his boiling emotions, he kissed Emma on her head, whispering apologies in her hair. Never once did his eyes leave those of his brother, Will.

  "How very heart-warming. Both the plea and my brother's protection. But I'm sorry to disappoint you. I'm afraid you hold very little interest for me now, Ms. Young. That ship has sailed."

  "I don't understand... I thought Silva ... You don't work for him?"

  "Oh but I do; I guess I should say 'did'." He chuckled to himself. "Since I couldn't quite abandon this job the way I was instructed. And I'm sure Bruno is less than happy about that. But you see, it was the most serendipitous event for me, this assignment. I was supposed to keep an eye on you, Ms. Young. To see if Mr. Corbin showed his cowardly face. Then I was supposed to bring him in. Next thing I know, Bruno wants me to engage in a little B&E, snatching any type of electronic storage devices. Imagine my surprise, when my little duplicitous brother here showed up at the scene. Only a glimpse, mind you, but that traitorous face of his has been burned in my brain, there was no mistaking it. And just like that a menial little job had turned into a beautiful opportunity for some justice. A chance thrown in my lap to give karma a little... assistance. What are the odds?" He said, broadly smiling, making Gus sick to his stomach.

  He did this. Kara and Arlene getting hurt had never been about Emma, it was about him. About something he was responsible for and the vaguely familiar sick feeling of carrying some kind of infectious disease slowly settled in his bones again.

  Obviously pleased with himself, Will punched a button on the remote in his hand, and a loud metallic grinding noise started up, startling Emma.

  "No!" Realizing what had just been set in motion, she threw up her hands as if to ward off what was happening. "Please stop it. Don't hurt them ... take me. It's me you want ... Please!"

  Gus was biding his time, he knew Caleb could not be far behind. And Joe had his eyes and ears on them as well, thanks to Neil's nifty work on Emma's walker. But they had better move fast, or he was going to have to move on his own. Turning to his brother, he confronted him.

  "Innocents now, Will? This is how low you've sunk? You're willing to hurt a bunch of harmless, innocent women to try and get a rise out of me? Is that the best you can do?" The slight tic on the side of his brother's mouth was his tell he was trying not to let Gus' taunts get to him. So Gus pushed a little more. "Of course they're a bit easier to control, aren't they? And we both know you always liked things easy, using the uniform to push your weight around. No brains, little brawn. And now women. You were always a pussy."

  By now, the veins in Will's forehead were standing out against the fiery red of his face. All traces of his smirk had disappeared and his eyes were squinted down to glaring slits.

  "Shut the fuck up. You little lying bastard! Traitor!"

  Gus let out a loud laugh, while gently pushing Emma to the side, keeping his eyes firmly locked with his brother's hateful ones. "That's rich. Traitor? Seriously? Let's see what Silva's croonies in prison have to say when their favorite bitch is back, huh? Brother dear?"

  Finally Will snapped, launching himself at Gus, who managed to give Emma one final shove to get her out of the way of the oncoming mass of fury.

  But Emma had been prepared. Figuring out what Gus was playing at, she was waiting for something; anything to happen. She needed to get her hands on that remote. She had kept her eyes on the crusher as soon as the roof of the car had started pressing down and the windows had popped. There was still time. As soon as Gus gave her a shove got tangled up with Will, Emma went for it. She tried to get her bearings and looked around for the controls. Finally spotting them half underneath the pile of pounding and punching limbs and body parts belonging to Gus and Will. She had no time to concern herself with that now. One focus and one only, and that was stopping that godawful machine crushing the car holding her daughter and likely Arlene. On hands and knees, she inched closer to where she could try and snatch it, if the two men rolled the other way. Seeing her opportunity, she dove under the two struggling bodies. While her hand was trying to grab hold of the control unit, she felt something connect with her jaw. Before she even had a chance to push the button - for the third time in as many weeks - her world went black.

  Chapter 27

  ❖ One Day Earlier ❖

  Arlene

  Frickin' Seb. Swear that man was going be the death of her. Hovering and fussing, being all up in her face about where she was going and when she would be back. She was gonna trip balls all over his ass if he didn't give her some room to breathe.

  Ever since he had found out she had taken off after Emma in her truck with Caleb, he had been berating her for jumping in without thinking. Risking her life without using any common sense. Well. Her common sense told her loud and clear that she didn't need another controlling arsehole up her business. And certainly not one who was on her bloody payroll. Who the hell did he think he was anyway? Fine, she might at some point have felt a bit of attraction to the dangerous looking inked up ex-con who walked in looking for work. And it's possible that had a little something to do with why she gave him a chance to prove himself in her kitchen. She had to admit that there had been nights, where she fantasized about all the incredible things his skilled hands might be able to do to her body. But that sure as hell didn't give him the right to try and bully his way into her life.

  Pulling up to Emma's porch, she can see Gus sitting on the porch, his head in his hands, looking dejected. Perfect subject for some of Arlene's early morning special.

  "What'd you do? You get kicked out?" She had to laugh, it was so much fun to try and get a rise out of the big unflappable man.

  "Ha. No, more like I escaped. Kara caught us in a... Let's say, compromising position this morning and it didn't go over too well."

  Oh... this was too perfect for words. She would file this away for future torture of her bestie. But finding out Kara had gotten really upset and was crying, sobered Arlene a bit. Not enough to let Gus off the hook though, so she needled him a bit more before heading in to collect Kara, who she was supposed to take to the airport this morning.

  *****

  "So how are you doing, honey?" She looked over at Kara, who was still sniffling a little beside her. She had walked in on a complete meltdown earlier and had marveled at the way Emma had managed to settle her daughter. And then again when she peeked out the window when Kara went outside to talk to Gus. The man had risen a few marks in her book right then. His calm acceptance of her slightly embarrassed apology obvious, when he wrapped his big arms around the girl. She doubted she would ever have had the patience to deal wi
th kids. But she would never have to find out now, would she.

  "I'm okay, thanks, Arlene." Kara met her eyes with a little smile brightening her face. "Just a little messed up in the head is all."

  A snort escaped before Arlene could suck it back.

  "Sorry babe - those have got to be the words of the century. And welcome to the club." She said with a wink to Kara. "Gus is a good guy. And your mom is a smart cookie. And when she isn't and if he fucks up, know that I'm here to kick his behind and set her straight. I'll be looking out for her by proxy - how's that? And you can call me anytime you think she isn't being straight with you, cause I am nothing if not straight. Alright?"

  Kara giggled a bit at that and nodded.

  Next thing she knew, her body jerked and her hands flew off the steering wheel. At the same time a crunching sound came from behind her. Her eyes flew to the rearview mirror as her hands were groping to regain purchase on the wheel. She could see a tow truck backing away from her tail end. Pulling on the wheel to get her off to the side of the road, she could see the other truck pulling off on the shoulder as well.

  "What the fuck was that?" Turning to Kara, she scanned the girl top to bottom, to make sure she was still in one piece. "You hurt doll?"

  "I'm good. What happened?"

  "Some idiot just ran up the back of my truck. Hang on, I'm gonna see what's up with my back end."

  No sooner had she opened the driver's side door, or it was slammed right shut again, almost pinning the foot she was about to drop down.

  "Hey! What ...?" But before she managed to finish the expletive that was lodged in her throat, the door was yanked open again and the big body of a man squeezed in the opening, a gun leading the way. Kara screamed in the seat beside her, but Arlene reacted and hauled back her fist, aiming for his groin. Unfortunately, without any real punch behind it and from an awkward angle, the hit missed its intended target. It did nothing more than glance over a fucking sharp belt buckle straight into a set of pretty hard abs. The only result a grunt from him, sore knuckles and a knock over the head with the gun for her. Damn.