by Becky McGraw
"Nope, they were closed a couple of years ago to be rehabbed, but the park officials haven't gotten around to it yet. If something happens, I'd suggest you guys run this way," he pointed east to a place where there was supposedly some woods and a creek. "It's a trail riding area, and you can circle back to the road here," he pointed to the edge of the woods. "I've ridden there before, and there's cell coverage there, so you can call the police."
"Karlie, pay attention to this in case we get separated, honey." he said over his shoulder to the agitated redhead.
She leaned over his shoulder and took a look, her eyes scanning the map, then she went back to pacing. "Got it. I wish you'd have gotten me that damned taser, Gabe. It sure would make me feel better."
He chuckled, and told her, "Somehow, I think you'd have used it on me, before you got to use it on Jake Johnson."
"I'm not kidding, Gabe...I have a bad feeling, and don't like it," she told him with her hands on her hips.
"Take your lariat, that should scare the shit out of him...I know it does me," Gabe told her then threw his head back and laughed. Cole joined in and Tommy just looked at them with a curious smile. "Remind me to tell you the story of how we met Tommy...you'll understand then."
"There's no time for stories now!" Karlie said and her face turned almost as red as her hair. "This is serious stuff!"
Gabe pushed up off of the bar stool and pulled her to his chest, hugging her tightly. "Calm down, baby...we're just trying to lighten the mood a little. I know this is serious business, trust me."
She nodded against his chest then he felt a tremor pass through her, then she told him, "I do trust you."
Tommy piped up then, "Okay Cookie is here to watch Dixie while we're gone, so I'm ready when you are. We probably should go early, and scope things out, because it's been a while since I've been out there," he said and looked at his watch. "It's ten forty-five now, so we should probably get going."
"You go get Sarge, and we'll head out," Gabe told Karlie with a kiss to the side of her head.
"I've decided not to bring him," she told him firmly. "I don't want to put him in danger, or take the chance that Jake will snatch him."
"If he doesn't at least see Sarge, he may not let Katie go, darlin'...." Gabe told her then shoved a hand through his hair.
"She'll come with us anyway. He can't stop her," she replied then gnawed her lower lip.
"Yes, he can...he could hurt her, and it could make things get ugly." They'd already worked out the plan, he wondered why she was changing things now. It could make it a lot harder for them to get her sister back safely. The plan was to use Sarge as bait, but not hand him over to Jake Johnson.
"Ugh...let me go get him," she said then mumbled when she turned toward the stairs, "I hope I don't regret this."
Gabe hoped the same thing about using her and Sarge as bait. This thing had all the markings of a goat fuck, and he didn't like it...two unarmed women, two cops and a cowboy trying to pull off a bait and switch with a mean ass sonofabitch, who might be armed. He wasn't afraid of Jake Johnson, he was just afraid of all the things that could go wrong here.
They drove three vehicles to the park, the patrol car, Karlie's Lincoln and Tommy Tucker's big dually truck. Like Tommy said, the tennis courts were abandoned, and the tall fences around them padlocked. The gravel parking lot was pretty large, so they parked the truck and patrol car under some trees, out of sight from the road, and then parked Karlie's Lincoln right in the middle of the lot. He saw Cole and Tommy get out of their vehicles and walk around front to talk for a second, then Cole pointed in different directions, before they split up and walked into the woods.
When Karlie stopped the car, Gabe checked his gun and took off the safety, then put it back in his shoulder holster. She looked over at Gabe and asked in a trembling voice, "You, scared, sugar? I sure am." Sarge popped up over seat and licked the side of her face, and she patted the side of his head.
"If you're not scared in a situation like this, you get cocky and things can go wrong. I have a healthy dose of fear about the things that could go wrong, but I am not scared of Jake Johnson, darlin'," he told her matter-of-factly. The twenty-five minutes they had to wait for Jake Johnson's big black pickup to appear was spent in contemplative silence, but when he turned into the drive of the park, he heard Karlie whimper, and saw her fingers start trembling on the steering wheel.
"Calm down, darlin'. The best thing you can do is show him no fear...he's the type that feeds off of it. He's not going to hurt you, I'm not going to let him," Gabe reassured her.
Jake Johnson pulled up nose to nose in front of Karlie's car, effectively blocking her from leaving the lot, unless she backed up first. And Gabe saw she hadn't left a helluva lot of room to maneuver the big boat of a car backwards. He ground his teeth, because he hadn't thought to tell her to leave more room. Through the tinted windshield he could see the outline of a big cowboy hat, sitting on the head of a big cowboy, and Katie in the passenger seat. He couldn't see her face through the totally fucking illegal tint on the windshield, but he could see someone else on that side of the truck.
"Okay honey, I don't like how close he's parked to us. Don't get out, crank the car right now and back up then swing around and put about twenty yards between us and him. Park so we can leave fast if we need to, and so we can use the car for cover, if he decides to start shooting." Gabe told her calmly. This was going down the way he wanted it to go down, not the way Jake Johnson wanted it.
Karlie cranked up the car and revved it, then put it in reverse and looked over her shoulder to back up. She had to pivot a couple of times to get around the big truck, but she did it, and then parked the way he'd told her to with the doors facing the truck, before they got out, but left the doors open and in front of them. "Stay behind that door, sugar, no matter what happens, unless you have to run. Remember what Tommy told you about where to go, we'll meet there, if I'm behind you. If something happens, don't look back, just run like hell, and I'll find you."
He watched as Jake Johnson opened the door of the truck and shove something in the back of his jeans then he got out and slammed it. His square jaw was tense and his big beefy arms flexed. Then Gabe saw Katie walk around the back of the truck, her hat pulled low over her eyes. He saw that her body was shaking, and her legs were wobbly. Karlie whimpered on the other side of the car, and he glanced a warning at her.
Jake sidled over to Katie and yanked her beside him, then he yelled at Karlie, "Give me the dog bitch, and you can have your sister back." Gabe saw his eyes dart around the parking lot, then when he spotted the patrol car, they narrowed and he said, "Why'd you call the cops? You stole my fucking dog, I should have you arrested."
Gabe saw him tighten his grip on Katie's arm, and he heard her moan, then her knees gave out. She recovered and stood up, then yanked her arm away from him to rub it, before moving a few steps behind him just out of his reach. Gabe was glad she was smart enough to put some space between herself and the man, it would give her running room, if she needed it.
When Karlie picked that time to yell, "You're not getting him back, Jake. He's not your dog anymore. I called the lawyers and told them you weren't taking care of him, that you'd kicked him. He's mine now," Gabe cringed wishing she'd have waited for a few minutes.
The big bruiser's face got fiery red and he let out a roar then reached behind him at the same time Katie dove behind him. She struggled back there a second, then crawled to the other side of him, pushed up to her feet then took off running toward the Lincoln. Jake Johnson was right behind her and tackled her on the gravel, as her arm swung in an arc and she went down, but managed to throw the big gun she had in her hand toward them. It landed between the car and where Jake had Katie pinned to the ground.
"Get the gun, Karlie!" Gabe yelled then ran around the car toward Jake, who had turned Katie over and was straddling her, with his fist raised to hit her. Katie had her arms crossed across her face and was sobbing hysterically.
> Taking a flying leap, Gabe knocked the man off of Katie, then straddled him and started pummeling him in the face. His rage was so complete he had no idea what was going on around him, he just kept punching the bastard in the face like a machine, until Cole and Tommy came up behind him and pulled him off of Jake Johnson.
When he looked down at him and saw the bloody mess he'd made of the asshole's face, Gabe was amazed, then he looked at his fists and saw they were bloody and torn up too. He clenched them a couple of times and pain shot up his wrist. He'd probably broken a finger or two, he thought. Gabe wiped his hands off on the man's shirt then stood up and said, "That's how it feels to get your ass beat by someone your own size, asshole," then he kicked him in the leg and added, "Remember that when you feel like hitting a woman again, you fucking coward."
All Jake Johnson did was moan and roll to his side, then cover his head with his arms. Gabe took out his pistol from the shoulder holster, and Cole put his hand on Gabe's arm, "He's down man, and unarmed," he told him.
"As much as I'd enjoy shooting this S.O.B., that's not why I pulled my gun..." Gabe told Cole, his purpose for pulling the gun was to make sure the bastard didn't follow them back to the Rockin' D. Tommy didn't need his kind of trouble there, or any kind for that matter, he had a small child to protect. Turning toward the truck, Gabe aimed at the front tire then squeezed off a round, before doing the same with a back tire. The truck leaned to the side as the tires deflated.
"Now, you figure out how you're going to get out of here, asshole. If I ever see you around Katie or Karlie again, that bullet will be in your sorry ass, instead of your truck," he told the bully, then looked over at Karlie who was standing by her car with the gun hanging limply at her side. Her eyes were wide and she had a big smile on her beautiful face, and gratitude in her eyes.
Gabe smiled grimly, then walked over to her and pulled her into his arms for a heated kiss. When he let her go, he looked around for Katie to make sure she was okay, and saw her in Tommy Tucker's arms sobbing into his shirtfront. Tommy held her tightly, and didn't look like he minded holding her at all.
"Katie did he hurt you?" Gabe yelled over to her and she shook her head. He sure intimidated the hell out of her, that was obvious, but Gabe couldn't arrest the bastard for that. Katie had taken his gun from him, so he'd say he was trying to recover his property. She hadn't let Jake pull the gun on them first, so that wasn't going to fly for a charge either.
Hell, what Gabe had done to the bastard was borderline assault. Even though he was defending Katie, he'd been excessive for sure, so he felt like the best thing they could do was get the hell out of here. He didn't think Jake Johnson had the balls to call the Amarillo police, after what he'd done. Hopefully the beating and the warning would keep him away from the twins, but Gabe had a bad feeling though this wasn't the last time they'd see Johnson.
Gabe squeezed Karlie's shoulders then looked at Cole and Tommy and said, "Let's go back to the ranch and regroup."
They all went back to their vehicles and left, leaving Jake Johnson laying in the gravel parking lot moaning.
When they got back to the Rockin' D, Tommy broke out his special stash of Kentucky Bourbon and passed out glasses. Karlie had gone to get his first aid kit so she could doctor up Gabe's hands, they looked awful. But not as awful as Jake's face did, she thought.
The beating had been brutal, it was barbaric, but nobody deserved it more than Jake Johnson did. He'd terrorized her for months, and he'd finally gotten his comeuppance by the man Karlie was afraid she was quickly falling in love with. Gabe Kelly was a good man, he was honest, dependable and he kept his promises. It didn't hurt that he so hot he set her panties on fire with just a glance, either.
Karlie just hoped he kept his promise tonight, because she was way beyond ready to taste that fire. A chill of anticipation skittered along her spine at the thought.
After she found the first aid kit in the bathroom where Tommy had told her it would be, Karlie headed back to the living room where everyone was talking. Gabe was seated on the huge buttery soft sofa, with his head leaned against the back and his eyes closed. Sitting down beside him she gently took one of his hands in hers and rubbed her thumb along his, then brought it to her mouth and kissed it.
Gabe opened one eye and looked at her, and the corner of his lips kicked up in a sexy grin. "Do I get a sponge bath too?" he mumbled softly, his deep voice rumbling along her nerve endings.
All the heat in her body pooled in places south and she swallowed, then nodded, "You can have anything thing you want, sugar."
She heard a growl rumble in his chest, then he pulled his hand away to put it behind her neck and drag her to him for a heated kiss. When he released her, her breathing was erratic and her heart beat like a hummingbird in her chest. Noticing the stark quiet in the room, she glanced around and saw everyone staring at them with face-splitting grins...even Dixie, who'd evidently gotten over her anger at her daddy and wanted to be a part of the excitement, was smiling.
Cole's lips twitched and he drawled, "If that's part of the nursing services can I be next?" then he flinched and put his hand to his neck. "I think I pulled a muscle in my neck watching the action."
"Sabrina's going to break your neck, if I tell her what you just said," Gabe grated, then told his brother-in-law with a heated look, "If I don't do it for you first," as Karlie went to work on his hands.
Throwing back his head, Cole laughed and the others joined him, even Katie, who Karlie guessed was starting to feel better, both from the whiskey and the undivided attention Tommy Tucker seemed to be giving her. She was sitting next to him on the love seat and he had his arm over her shoulders. Dixie was sitting on the arm of the love seat by him.
Suddenly, Dixie hopped down and ran over to Karlie then asked with excitement in her brown eyes, "Can I take Sarge for a walk? He looks kinda sad, like he needs some lovin'."
Karlie looked down at Sarge who was sitting by her feet, he did look kinda sad...maybe jealous even, which made her want to laugh. She looked back up at Dixie and smiled. "He does need some lovin', and since you're one of his favorite people, I can't think of anyone better to give it to him. Thanks, Dixie," she told her then added protectively, "Ya'll stay close to the house though, don't wander off."
It was going to take Karlie a long time to feel safe again, she knew, even though Gabe seemed determined to protect her. With Jake Johnson still free, and so damned unpredictable, how could she not be edgy. Now that she had the right to keep Sarge, and Jake had lost the five-thousand dollars a month, she knew he wasn't happy. He did okay in the rodeo, he wasn't a top ranked rider or anything, but he needed that money he got every month to keep him in liquor and women, and to pay for that fancy truck of his.
No wonder his grandpa hadn't left him any money from his huge estate, if he knew how Jake went through money like water, and knew what a low life he was. Maybe the man wasn't so crazy after all. Jake was the one who had called him crazy, which could explain things, Karlie thought.
Tommy cleared his throat and asked Karlie, "So, does this mean I'm losing my cutting horse trainer?"
Karlie hadn't even thought about her job here, and how today's events would affect it. She liked it here, but Bowie felt more like home to her, and that was where Gabe was. The people there had welcomed her with open arms and seemed to care about her. She'd only left because she was afraid of Jake. Although she was still afraid, she felt better now that her sister was not with him, and since Gabe had warned him off.
But did she feel safe enough to go back now?
Karlie felt Gabe's arm drop on her shoulders and he squeezed, then looked down in her eyes with questions there too. Indecision warred inside of her, and she knew her decision would affect more than just this moment...it could affect her whole life. If she stayed here at the Rockin' D, that would mean she and Gabe were probably done. That was something she couldn't face, so she nodded then said, "Yeah, I'm sorry, Tommy...I have to go back to Bowie now."
A sudden thought occurred to her and she asked Katie, "What are your plans now, sis?"
"Well, since you left me in the lurch too, I've decided it's time for me to hang up my spurs. It's not the same without you, and if I'm not going to be able to find a partner as good, I don't want to do it, just to do it. I want to win, and without you that's not happening. Barrel racing is just a side gig for me...not worth staying for."
"I truly am sorry, Katie. I should have told you what was going on with Jake, but I was scared he'd hurt you too...he said as much. I had to leave because of him, but once I was out of that rat race, I realized I'm over it. We've had a good run, but it's time to look at other options."
