Gabriel's Pretty [Rescue for Hire 6](Siren Publishing Classic ManLove)

by Bellann Summer

  “I’m fine,” Karen replied. “The firefighters even managed to keep my house from burning down. Come meet my husband.”

  Karen let go of one of Gabriel’s hands and put her free hand on a handsome older man’s shoulder. “Patrick, this is Gabriel.” Turning back to Gabriel she smiled. “Gabriel, this is my husband, Patrick.” The men clasped hands, Gabriel instantly liking Karen’s husband.

  “Thank you for helping my wife when she was hurt and in danger,” Patrick said. “The authorities wouldn’t let me back into the canyon because of the fire danger. I was going out of my mind with worry. I was so relieved when they said your team rescued her and she was waiting for me at the hospital.”

  These moments were why Gabriel did what he did. There might be a lot of bad in this world, but there were also a lot of good people. Like this couple standing before him.

  “I take it you both know my partner, Pete, since he brought me here.” Gabriel put his arm around Pete’s slim waist, bringing him up next to Gabriel.

  “It’s so nice to meet you in person, Pete,” Karen said.

  “It’s nice to meet you too.” Pete stepped forward and hugged Karen.

  Gabriel knew his eyebrows were probably on top of his head he was so surprised. His reserved Pete didn’t hug strangers. Gabriel didn’t miss it when Pete hugged the woman, he also murmured something in her ear. She then tipped her head and whispered something back.

  Pete shook Patrick’s hand and then the four of them stood there looking at each other. Gabriel noted that he was the only one that seemed confused and didn’t have a smile that was splitting his face in half.

  “Okay, I know you have to get started back, so we better get going,” Karen said. “Gabriel, I contacted the owner of Rescue for Hire to tell him how wonderful you were to me and that I wanted to do something to show you my appreciation.”

  “You don’t have to do anything, Karen,” Gabriel said.

  “I know I don’t. But I want too.” Karen continued. “I ended up talking to Pete. And after our little discussion I knew exactly what I wanted to do.”

  Taking Gabriel’s hand Karen led him, cane tapping away on the concrete walkway, next to a big overhang that blocked the elements from the entry doors. Now he could see there was a small blue plastic animal crate sitting to the side next to the building.

  Karen went over to the crate and swung open the metal door. Reaching inside, Gabriel’s heart lurched when she pulled out a puppy with bright eyes and a white tipped tail that wagged excitedly. For the second time in the last few months, Gabriel fell in love.

  “This is Harry. I don’t know why we called him that, but it just seems to fit,” Karen said. “He is yours as a thank you for what you did for me and actually Harry, too. He was one of the puppies you put in your pocket when you helped me.”

  Gabriel was speechless. Then Karen handed Harry to Gabriel. He lifted the tiny brown and white with a little black here and there pup up to his eye level. Gabriel studied the fluffy pup and Harry studied him. The next instance he had a tongue-licking, wiggling baby that was desperately trying its best to chew his ear lobe off. Gabriel couldn’t stop laughing at the puppy’s antics.

  “I think they’re going to get along just fine,” Pete said.

  Karen laughed. “I think you’re right. Now I emailed you his care instructions and shot records. Take the crate along. There is puppy food and water in it. Harry should be fine until you get home. Just put him in the crate, he should sleep most of the time.”

  Pete snorted. “Like Harry’s feet are going to touch the ground any time soon.”

  Gabriel could care less that Pete was teasing him. Harry was currently snuggle into his neck, snoring.

  There were many hugs and thank you’s that followed before Pete had Gabriel back up in the air heading home. Gabriel looked into the darkening beautiful wide-open sky and thought, “Yep, it was one hell of an awesome day.”

  Chapter Ten

  Pete watched Dave the UPS man leave the hangar. Pulling his bottom lip between his teeth he looked at the cardboard envelope in his hand. On the top corner of the envelope was the address of the company that had an airplane that Damian was interested in.

  Ripping the tab that ran along the top of the envelope open, Pete pulled out what were clearly the specifications of the plane. The specifications he had thought had been delivered a couple of weeks ago.

  Racking his brain he tried to remember what he had done with the other envelope that Dave had delivered. He searched the large work bench that ran along one wall. Finding nothing, he got down on his hands and knees and crawled around under it.

  He started to get frustrated and looked inside the cockpits of the airplanes and all around the floor under them, still not seeing the missing envelope.

  Walking over to the tool chests he opened the drawers and wondering if somehow the envelope was in one of them. Leaning an elbow on top of one of the chests, he knew the next place he was going to have to search, was upstairs. Dreading it, he sighed and straightened up, ready to head upstairs.

  Looking down, something caught his eye. Leaning over he saw the envelope. It was wedged between the two chests of tools. He ended up using a long thin screwdriver to pry it out of its hiding place.

  Turning the envelope over, he saw that the return address did say it was from St. Louis, but the top line said, The Law Offices Of. Ripping open the envelope, Pete started reading the letter inside.

  A half hour later he was sitting on the bottom step of the stairs leading to his apartment crying. Reaching into the inside pocket of his overalls, he pulled out his phone. Through the tears he managed to hit the contact button and find Haley’s number.

  “Hello.”

  “It’s me.” Pete’s throat closed up as more tears flowed down his face.

  “Pete? Shit, what happened? Did my father or brother beat you?”

  “No.” Pete took a deep shaky breath to try to calm down.

  “Please talk to me. Should I come over?” Haley asked.

  “I hate them, Haley.”

  “I hate them, too. What happened?” Haley asked.

  “I got a letter from a lawyer’s office. It says because my guardian is now deceased. In accordance to my mother’s last will and testimony, the twenty-five mandatory age factor is now waived and I need to sign some papers so the quarterly taxes can be taken out of the estate fund.”

  “What the hell?” Haley said.

  “Haley. My parents never married. According to this letter, when she died, my father became the guardian over her estate until I was twenty-five. Haley, the land and the house have always been mine. My father hated me. Now it makes sense. He only kept me around so he could use the house as a drug den.”

  “And the land, Pete,” Haley said. “There’s something big going on with that land.”

  “Your right,” Pete agreed. “Now that my father is dead, your dad and brother have taken over whatever it is.”

  “Leave it alone, Pete,” Haley warned. “Call the sheriff. I hear he’s actually one of the good guys.”

  “I can’t do that,” Pete said. “The other night one of the county cops was talking to Howard at the hotel. There’s a good chance if I call the sheriff, the county cop could tip off your dad or brother. I wouldn’t make it to morning alive, if that happened.”

  “Don’t do anything stupid, Pete. We both know how bad they can be,” Haley warned. “I’m coming over.”

  “No, don’t come over. I’m not sure what I’m going to do. Just stay there at the dorms, it’s safer that way.” Pete paused and then asked, “Haley?”

  “Yeah?”

  “They always said she left because she couldn’t stand taking care of me. Now I find out she’s really dead.” Pete took a deep breath. “Do you think they killed her somehow?”

  “But why?” Haley asked.

  “For the land and whatever this estate trust fund the letter refers to.” Pete’s hair on the back of his neck stood up at the t
hought of the evilness he had been exposed to all his life. It had been hell for him, but now he deducted that if his father had lived and he had hit his twenty-fifth birthday, it would have turned into a whole new hell. He was sure that his father had a plan and now his uncle was probably going to try and carry it out.”

  “Call the sheriff, Pete,” Haley urged.

  “Haley, is your mother alive?”

  “My dad always said she ran off because I was such a pain as a baby,” Haley said. “Shit now I wonder if they killed her too. Pete what are we going to do?”

  “You stay put and I’m going to talk to Gabriel. With his help, maybe we can get Cade to come with us and talk to the Sheriff. They’re good friends.” Pete hoped Haley bought the shit he just tried to sell him.

  “Okay, but call and let me know what happened. Promise me, Pete.”

  “I’ll call you when I know something,” Pete said.

  “I love you cousin,” Haley said.

  “I love you, too,” Pete answered honestly.

  When the call ended Pete stared at the phone. “I’m sorry, Haley, I have to see what’s really going on.”

  Pete slipped off his overalls and hung them in the small closet under the steps. Turning he left the hangar, shutting the door behind him.

  From the corner of the hangar, Treb stood up from his hiding spot. When he had entered the hangar to give Pete the paper work for a new student taking flying lessons, he had seen the crying Pete calling someone on his phone. Not wanting to intrude he had stepped back, only to be drawn in by the conversation he was hearing.

  Treb quietly opened the hangar door and slipped out. To his way of thinking he’d better follow Pete, in case he got into something over his head.

  * * * *

  Pete knew it was a stupid idea, but he had to find out if his suspicions were right. Cautiously he made his way through the woods, careful to avoid stepping on dry sticks or catch his clothes on the thorny bushes.

  He figured he had traveled about twenty acres deep into the woods and soon he should be coming across some signs of the pot-growing activity he suspected was going on. Pete stopped walking and stood looking around for anything that looked out of place. And there it was. Through the woods to the right, a faint trail cut through the woods. At first glance it looked like a deer trail, but deer walked through the water. They didn’t fill in the low spots with logs or branches and sometimes thick grass.

  Pete followed the trail, gently pushing aside the leafy green vegetation, always looking to see what was up ahead. It would be very bad if he ended up walking right in the middle of the drug operation accidently.

  The hair on the back of his neck stood straight up when he caught sight of a lean-to made of treated wood with a metal roof that was painted in camouflage colors. Pete knew he needed to get closer so he could see just how big the operation was.

  Then behind the lean-to a man stepped out scratching the back of his neck. “Hey, Ken, where’d Howard go?”

  From behind a patch of scrub brush to Pete’s left, he heard a voice say, “I think he went and took a piss.”

  “Well, he better hurry up. We have to start the pumps and get these plants watered before his old man gets here.”

  Pete had heard enough. Turning he made his way back through the forest about a hundred yards. Crouching down behind a tree, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed the police station.

  When a lady answered, he asked for the sheriff.

  “Sheriff Steve Titan.” When Pete heard Steve’s voice, the rush of relief was so overwhelming he almost passed out.

  “Hi, this is Pete Kenyan,” he said quietly. “I’m in the middle of the woods on my land and I’ve discovered a drug growing operation. The people who are managing it are here and I just heard them say my Uncle is on his way to check on things.”

  “Pete, I want you to get out of there as carefully and as quietly as you can. We’ll discuss why you didn’t call me before you decided to search on your own later. Just get out of there, now,” Steve ordered.

  “One more thing, sheriff,” Pete said. “I discovered Lee Heartland is in on this.”

  “I’ll take care of it, Pete. Thanks for the heads up. Now get out of there.”

  “Okay, bye,” Pete answered.

  Putting the phone in his pocket, Pete went to stand up and froze as the barrel of a gun was pressed into his neck.

  * * * *

  Treb pulled his phone out of his pocket and text a message to Shane. Slipping it back into his pocket, he silently watched Howard Kenyan roughly push Pete toward the sweet marijuana operation they had going.

  He winced when Pete hit the ground hard and the fat assed Howard kicked him in the ribs. Treb was probably going to kill him for that. From somewhere behind him he heard the heavy footsteps of at least three people.

  Marvin Kenyan and two goons carrying assault rifles passed Treb, heading toward the operation.

  Silently a camouflaged covered Treb left the tree branch he was hiding on and climbed down from the tree.

  It was time to get busy. He had eight men to take out so he could return Pete to Gabriel’s care. And as far as he was concerned, that care better include a spanking.

  As Treb soundlessly made his way through the thick vegetation, he reached down and touched his pocket to make sure he had enough zip-ties. Damian was going to be pissed enough that Treb hadn’t told him what he was doing. It might not be a good idea putting the man over the edge by killing everyone.

  * * * *

  “Howard, you don’t have to do this,” Pete said. “I won’t tell anybody. Just let me go.”

  Pete saw Howard’s arm coming at him and the next moment pain exploded on the left side of his face as the gun struck him, sending him crashing to the hard-packed dirt. He lay there not sure which way was up at that point. Breathing was becoming a problem from the kick he had taken to the ribs earlier.

  “Where did you find the little mouse, Howard?”

  Pete’s heart sank when he heard his uncle’s voice. Things had just gone from bad to worse.

  “He was creeping around, looking at stuff he shouldn’t be,” Howard said. “I was just showing him what happens when he goes where he has no business being.” Howard lifted a big black boot and brought it down on Pete’s foot and proceeded to spend long, agonizing minutes grinding it into the ground. Pete couldn’t stop the screams that followed.

  The toe of a boot caught him in the face. “Shut up!” Marvin ordered.

  Pete spit the blood that was filling his mouth onto the ground. Then he lay there hoping if he didn’t move they wouldn’t hurt him anymore. It had never worked with his father, but he could hope it would this time.

  Through his lashes he saw that Marvin was looking at one of the men standing next to the lean-to. “I don’t hear the pumps running. Are the plants watered?”

  “No, sir. We were just going to take care of that.” Pete could see the man looked genuinely scared.

  “Get to it, now,” Marvin ordered. His voice was so deadly, Pete felt a shiver run up his back. The man Marvin spoke to and another man left the area and soon Pete heard a generator start up followed by what must be the water pumps.

  “Tie the mouse up,” Marvin ordered. The two muscled men on either side of Marvin walked over to Pete and hauled him up by the arms and dragged him over by a tree. Minutes later his hands were pulled back around the tree and tied together.

  Pete kept his head hanging down, hoping his uncle and cousin would think he was unconscious. Out of the corner of his eye one of the men who was standing over by a tree, was suddenly gone. Pete blinked trying to clear his vision. The man was still gone. There was a slight movement next to the tree and Pete caught a glimpse of the end of a ponytail.

  “What are you smiling about, mouse?” Howard demanded.

  Pete’s hair was grabbed painfully and his head jerked back. Looking at his bloated, ugly cousin, he couldn’t quite stop the small smile that pulled at his ripped up bloody
lips. “You’re going to die,” he said.

  “You son of a bitch,” Howard screamed. An explosion of bright lights erupted inside of Pete’s head when Howard slammed it against the side of the tree and everything went black.

  * * * *

  “Heads up. The camp is just ahead.” Alex’s voice quietly spoke through the earpiece in Gabriel’s ear.

  The team was fanned out, preparing to surround the drug camp. Treb had texted Shane that Pete was in trouble and gave him the coordinates of where to find him. Gabriel was a little hurt that Pete hadn’t told him anything about this. Apparently they still had a lot to talk about.

  “Let’s see what Treb left us. According to Cade, the sheriff’s men just took over the house and the sheriff has just entered the woods behind us,” Shane informed them.

  Now that he was closer, Gabriel could see a make shift wooden fence up ahead with some sort of camouflage netting covering it. As he got closer Gabriel could see that the netting covered the whole area like a roof. It was ingenious. From the air there would be no way the camp would be seen.

  Gabriel stopped. Right in front of him, lying on the ground was a man. Staring hard through the thick green vegetation, it became clear the man was unconscious. Stepping closer, he now saw that the man’s wrists were pulled behind the man’s back and secured with zip ties. Gabriel realized that the man’s ankles also had a zip tie around them.

  Tension released its hold just a little. Gabriel knew only one man who always carried a pocket full of zip ties. More than likely most of the men running this drug camp were in the same predicament as this guy.

  Carefully stepping around the prone man, Gabriel made his way to the edge of the camp. Gabriel’s heart slammed in his chest and he froze in his tracks at the sight before him.

  His pretty Pete was seated on the ground and tied to a tree. His head was hanging forward, clearly unconscious. Off to the side, Treb stood behind an overweight, balding man who looked to be somewhere in his twenties, holding a knife to baldy’s throat.