“Rick! What’s going on? Where’s Mark and Kelan? Are they okay? Has something happened?” he asked in a rush.
Rick looked grim. His mouth was set in a tight line and he couldn’t meet Luke’s eyes.
“You’d better come with me, Luke,” he said. “It’s Mark. He’s been hurt. Kelan is taking him to the hospital. You need to come, now.”
Luke felt the bottom drop out of his world with Rick’s speech. His stomach jerked violently as his supper tried to make a reappearance.
“Oh God,” he said, grabbing hold of the door post to keep him upright. “Is it bad?”
Rick gave a quick nod of his head. “We’d better hurry.”
Luke grabbed his jacket and rushed out of the door to follow Rick, who was already half way down the steps.
“What happened?” Luke asked when they were seated inside Rick’s truck.
“Ambush,” Rick answered simply.
Luke didn’t ask any further questions. He wasn’t sure he was ready to hear the answers. He needed to see Mark with his own eyes, not get the account second-hand. He closed his eyes and leant back against the headrest.
Rick drove on in silence for a few moments. Luke was so lost in his thoughts and weighted down with worry that he was happy Rick didn’t try to make conversation with him. He could barely think straight let alone make small talk.
When Luke opened his eyes, he peered out the windscreen and scrunched his brow in confusion. He didn’t recognise the road they were currently driving on.
“Where are we?” he asked, looking out the passenger window, trying to get his bearings.
“I’m real sorry, Luke,” Rick said. “I didn’t want to have to do this.”
Before Luke could question Rick further, he cried out as a blinding pain shot through his temple and everything went dark.
Chapter Ten
“Well that was a waste of time,” Mark said, dialling the ranch on his cell.
Kelan nodded. “Rick’s contact must have got it wrong.”
“I hope Rick’s dad is okay. Man got away fast as greased lightning when he got that call from his sister.”
“Yeah. His daddy already had one heart attack. The doc said back then that the next one could be fatal.”
Mark frowned. “There’s no answer at the ranch.”
Kelan shrugged his shoulders and turned left off the main road. “Did you try his cell?”
“Yeah, it must be switched off, and I can’t get Cody on his either.”
“I wouldn’t worry, they’re probably just out with the horses. ‘Sides, we’ll be back in ten.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right,” Mark said, though his mind was busy conjuring all sorts of scenarios and none of them were good.
Just as Kelan had said, ten minutes later they were pulling into the yard in front of the house. There was no sign of Cody’s truck. Mark had tried several more times to reach Luke and Cody, but both cells as well as the ranch phone remained unanswered. By the time he opened the truck door, Mark was in full panic mode.
He rushed from the car up to the house and threw open the door.
“Luke? Luke? It’s Mark! You here?”
Mark raced from room to room. When he came up empty, he ran back out to the yard to Kelan.
“He’s not here, Kelan. Oh God, something must have happened to him and it’s all my fault,” Mark said, filled with terror. “I never should have left him.”
“I know it’s difficult but try not to panic. Go and check the outbuildings. I’ll make a couple of calls see if I can reach Cody or Stefan.”
Mark nodded and sped to the barn. He knew in his gut he wouldn’t find Luke there but he had to try something. He couldn’t just stand around doing nothing while he waited for Kelan to finish talking on his cell.
Kelan was just hanging up a call when Mark returned to the yard.
“You get hold of them?” he asked, desperation evident in his voice.
“I just spoke to Marianne. She said her brother had a call from Stefan about forty minutes ago. They had problem with the truck and had to get Bob out to sort it. Cody and Stefan never made it here.
“Fuck!” Mark shouted. “It’s Ethan, Kelan. He’s taken him. I just know it.”
* * * *
Luke cracked his eyes open and gasped as a sharp pain shot through his head. He reached his hand up to the source of his discomfort and groaned when his fingers met with a wet, sticky, matted mess.
“You’re finally awake,” a low voice said from somewhere across the room.
When Luke’s vision had cleared sufficiently, he peered around the dimly lit room to try and work out where he was. He was lying on some sort of cot in the corner of an old farmhouse kitchen. His eyes widened when they rested on Ethan sitting at the pine kitchen table, smoking a cigarette. Luke tried to sit up but pain shot through his skull again, causing his stomach to lurch.
“What do you want with me, Ethan?” Luke asked, holding his hand to his head. “And where’s Rick?”
“I wouldn’t move too much if you can help it,” Ethan said. “You’ve probably got concussion, and don’t worry—I took care of Rick for what he did to you.”
Luke gasped. “What have you done to him?”
Ethan grinned. The sight made the hairs on the back of Luke’s neck stand on end.
“Nothing he didn’t deserve,” Ethan spat venomously. “The deal was that he bring you to me in one piece. Did he honestly think I would still give him the fifty thousand after what he did to you?”
Luke was sure Ethan never had any intention of giving Rick any money, ever.
“Is he dead?” he asked, quietly.
“What do you care?” Ethan said, with a shrug of his shoulders. “He sold you out for fifty pieces of silver. You should be grateful I took care of him for you.”
Luke shivered. Although he was furious with Rick for what he’d done, he would never want to see the man dead for it. He knew Rick had serious worries over money and often that caused people to do things they wouldn’t normally do out of desperation. Luke found it difficult to hate Rick for something like that.
“You did a lot worse to me,” Luke said, turning the tables on Ethan.
“Ah. That was unfortunate,” Ethan said. “I was aiming for that dog of a mate you have. Never was a good shot.”
Luke bristled at the insult to his mate. Mark was worth a thousand Ethans. With much effort, he kept his mouth shut. If he ever wanted to see Mark again, he’d do best to not provoke Ethan.
Ethan stubbed out his cigarette and got up slowly from the chair. He made a show of stretching out his muscles before crossing the room and crouching down in front of Luke.
“You know it’s a shame you chose that flea bag over me, Luke. You and I could have been good together.” Luke had to turn his face away as the stench of Ethan’s breath hit him.
Luke realised Ethan was talking in the past sense. He had clearly lost all hope that he could win Luke. Even though Luke was trembling on the inside, he refused to show Ethan his fear. Ethan was nothing but a bully and like all bullies, he got off on people’s fear and misery.
“I guess we’ll never know,” Ethan mused.
He stood up and stretched again languorously as though he didn’t have a care in the world. For a brief moment, he turned his back on Luke. Luke had already made up his mind. It was now or never. He gazed around the kitchen frantically, ignoring the intense pounding in his head. His eyes fell upon a large oil lamp on a table next to the makeshift cot he was lying on.
Luke sprang up from the bed and reached for the lamp. He was swinging his arm back to get in a good hit when Ethan spun around to face him. Just as Ethan reached out to grab him, Luke swung the lamp with all the force he could muster, bringing it crashing into the side of Ethan’s head with a loud crack. The glass in the lamp shattered and immediately blood started pouring out of the cut on Ethan’s head.
Ethan’s eyes went wide with shock. He screamed out in fury and pain—mos
tly fury, Luke thought. Ethan was so jacked up on adrenalin, Luke wasn’t sure the man could feel anything. A split second later Ethan fell to his knees, clutching the side of his head. Luke didn’t wait around to see what his next move would be. He rushed to the door and reached for the handle. It was locked. Ethan starting laughing menacingly from his place on the kitchen floor.
“You didn’t think it would be that easy did you?” he said, reaching in his pocket for a key and dangling it in front of Luke’s face.
Luke scanned the room. There was only one other door and to reach it he would have to pass Ethan. He couldn’t risk that. He noticed a shotgun on the kitchen table. Ethan followed Luke’s gaze and roared, springing up from the floor and lunging for the gun at the same time as Luke.
Ethan’s eyes were wild. His hair was sticking up at odd angles, and even though the wound on his head had stopped bleeding, it left behind a trail of crimson that trickled down the side of his face.
Luke got to the gun first but Ethan was right behind him, trying to grab it from Luke’s hands. They tussled, each fighting for purchase on the weapon. Ethan grabbed hold of Luke’s wrist and twisted, hard. Pain shot up Luke’s arm with a fierce intensity. He tried to hold on to the gun but there was no chance. Ethan managed to tug it out of his hands but the force caused it to fall. Luke watched in horror as it skittered across the tiled floor.
Luke saw his chance when Ethan went after the gun. He ran for the other door and threw it open. The corridor Luke found himself in had several doors opening off it and a stairway at the end. Luke wanted to get out of the house, not go further into it, but he didn’t have much choice. He ran for the stairs and climbed, taking them two at a time. On the upstairs landing, there were four doors. He ran to the end, opened the last door on the right and stepped into the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
Inside, the room was empty except for a large oak bed with a grubby, bare mattress. Luke ignored it and ran to the window. He threw up the sash and looked down into the yard. It was only then that he realised where he was.
Jackson’s farmhouse had been empty for several months, ever since old man Jackson had died. Luke had heard that his son had sold the property but the new owners would not be moving in for another couple of months. It was just two miles from the Crazy Horse, Luke’s home. All the effort they had expended looking for Ethan, and the man had been hiding out a stone’s throw from them all along.
Below the window was the roof to the porch. It looked as though it had long since seen better days, and Luke wasn’t even sure it would hold his weight but he had to try. He had one leg out the window when Ethan’s voice boomed out from the upstairs landing.
“Luke! Don’t play games with me. You know I’m going to find you in the end.”
Luke swung his other leg out and jumped at the same time the door to the room was flung open. He landed with a thud but got up quickly and ran the length of the porch roof, the wood creaking under his feet. When he got to the end, he jumped again, curling his body and rolling when he hit the ground. A shot rang out above him, hitting the porch in the exact spot he’d just vacated.
“Luke! This is pointless. You won’t get far,” Ethan’s enraged voice boomed.
Luke got to his feet and winced when his ankle nearly gave out from under him. He must have twisted it when he landed. He ignored the ache in his fatigued muscles and limped around the side of the house. He turned back at the last minute to see Ethan already running across the porch roof, shotgun in hand.
Fear and adrenaline kept Luke moving even though his body was begging him to slow down or stop. The woods at the back of Jackson’s property led to his own. He knew if he could just get to them, he could hide under the cover of the trees until he reached home. Luke took a deep breath and started running, as fast as his injured foot would allow.
He had barely made it to the tree line when another shot echoed behind him. He ducked when he heard it and flinched when the bullet grazed a tree inches away from his head. Luke raced on into the trees, afraid to look back over his shoulder to see what progress Ethan was making. If he wanted to get out of this alive and see Mark again, he had to keep moving.
“You can’t run from me, Luke, there’s nowhere to hide,” Ethan shouted. Luke could tell from the sound that Ethan was gaining on him.
Luke wasn’t sure how long he ran for but he was painfully aware of the throbbing in his ankle. At some point he had veered right, ducking behind trees, and he could no longer hear Ethan behind him. A few minutes later Luke ran out into the clearing where Ethan had attacked Luke and Mark in wolf form.
Luke skidded to a halt, gasping for breath and clutching his sides. He was nearly home but he wasn’t there yet. He looked around the clearing nervously, listening intently for any noises coming from the trees. When he didn’t hear anything, he hobbled through the clearing, following the path back to the house.
Luke nearly collapsed from exhaustion and relief when the ranch came into view beyond the trees. He quickened his pace when he reached the yard even though his right ankle could barely hold his weight. He was halfway to the house when Ethan’s furious voice blasted out behind him.
“Luke! Stay where you are!”
Luke froze and turned around to face the madman. Ethan had the shotgun pointed straight at him. Luke felt an undeniable case of déjà vu when he stared down the long barrel.
“You’re not going back to him,” Ethan spat.
Luke rolled his eyes. If he was going to die then so be it. He would not beg for his life like some coward.
“If you can’t have me, no one will—is that what you were about to say next? Please. You sound like a character from a bad movie. You need some new material, Ethan.”
“Shut up!” Ethan warned, walking closer and raising the gun to Luke’s head. “I will kill you.”
“Then kill me already,” Luke goaded. “And stop talking about it.”
He watched with quiet resignation as Ethan held the shotgun tighter, his finger curling around the trigger. He squeezed. Luke gasped as a shot rang out but the blast never came his way. He gaped in astonishment as Ethan crumpled to the floor. When he turned, Luke saw Mark standing behind him, smoking shotgun still trained on Ethan’s body.
Epilogue
Three months later
“Luke, I’m home!” Mark shouted as he entered the front door to the ranch.
“Up here!” Luke bellowed back. He switched off the computer and got up from the swivel chair in his new office. Well, it was actually a spare room that Kelan had redesigned so that Luke had someplace to work out of, but it made Luke finally feel like he was earning his keep. Luke stretched out and grinned when he heard Mark running up the stairs like he was being chased by a herd of elephants.
He opened the door, walked out into the hall and was nearly knocked over as Mark barrelled into him.
“Oof!”
“Sorry,” Mark said, grabbing hold of Luke’s shoulders to steady him.
“What’s the rush?” Luke asked. “Everything okay?”
“It is now,” Mark said, leaning down and slanting his mouth over Luke’s.
Luke opened up to the kiss immediately and Mark took quick advantage. He slid his tongue into Luke’s mouth and moaned when Luke’s tongue began to duel with his own. Luke whimpered when Mark pulled back.
“I missed you,” Mark said, his voice an octave deeper than usual.
Luke rolled his eyes. “You saw me at lunch.”
“That was nearly six hours ago.” Mark frowned.
“How’s everything going with the ranch?”
“Good. If things keep up, we’re gonna have to take on new hands.”
Luke smiled. The ranch had been going from strength to strength since they purchased their cattle nearly two months ago. Luke had been worried at first that people in town would boycott the business when they came to learn of the brothers’ orientation but he couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Most folks h
ad gone out of their way to give them a helping hand and Luke couldn’t believe the number of men who had approached them for work. Seemed there were a lot more gay cowboys in the area than he’d first thought.
“When is Kelan getting back from New York?” Mark asked, nuzzling Luke’s neck.
“Sometime tonight,” Luke said, tilting his head to the side to give Mark better access. “He said he had a surprise for us when he gets back.”
“Really, what kind of surprise?” Mark asked.
“Don’t know, wouldn’t say.” Luke trailed his hands up Mark’s chest, stopping at his nipples to give them a squeeze.
“Well, we’ll find out soon enough,” Mark’s voice was low and husky. “Mmm, that feels good.”
“By the way,” Luke said, “the sheriff called by today.”
Mark stopped what he was doing and pulled back to stare down at Luke.
“Why? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, it is. He wanted to let us know that Ethan got life in prison.”
Mark let out the breath he’d been holding.
“Wow. Well, I can’t say that I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, but can you imagine how hard it will be for a wolf to be locked up like that for life? He’ll go insane in there.”
Mark raised an eyebrow. “He already is insane, Luke.”
“Yeah, guess so.”
“Any news on Gus and Jacob?”
“Actually, yeah. Idiots got caught at the scene of a burglary. Sheriff said when they ran their prints, they found out they were wanted for all kinds of different crimes including assault and grand theft auto. Looks like they’ll be going down for a long time too.”
“So it’s finally over,” Mark said, stroking his thumb along Luke’s cheekbone.
“Yeah, I think we can finally put everything behind us and get on with the rest of our lives.”
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