Breckenridge waited impatiently. Sheba could feel the anger emanating from him. He was like a spoiled little kid.
Finally, Slater closed his phone. “He will contact William at 6:00 tonight, but he is extremely unhappy to have to rearrange his plans.”
“For what I am paying him, he can just get over it.” Breckenridge snarled. Abruptly, he turned and walked into the house.
Sheba looked up at Slater who was watching Brackenridge, a frown on his face.
“Is there a problem?” She asked.
He looked down on her. “This problem doesn’t concern you at the moment.” His tone was icy, his eyes hard and narrowed.
“You seem--” She paused, then rubbed her eyes.
“What is it?” He said quickly.
When she didn’t answer, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her arm up behind her back. “Answer me!” He snarled.
“I don’t know.” She gasped.
“You saw something. Tell what it was!” He pulled up harder. Suddenly, he pulled her into the forest where they couldn’t be seen from the house.
“If you don’t tell me what you saw, I’ll dislocate your arm.”
She began gasping for breath. “I can’t breathe.”
“Yes, you can,” he snapped, but he let her arm down a little. “Tell me.” He demanded, grabbing her chin and forcing her face up.
“I thought I saw a flash of silver.”
“Like a gun barrel?”
“I don’t know. I only saw it for an instant.”
“Think!” He ordered.
“If you’ll stop hurting me for a minute I’ll try to see it again.”
He lowered her arm, but he kept hold of her wrist.”
She closed her eyes. “It wasn’t long like a gun barrel. It was kind of roundish
He thought for a moment. “Could it have been a reflection off of a pair of sunglasses?”
She thought, it can’t be Marshall. He isn’t supposed to be here until tonight so it must be that Assid guy.
“It could have been a reflection from a pair of binoculars, I guess, but I only saw one flash.”
She looked through the trees. “Could it have been that Assid person? Didn’t you say he got away?”
He pulled her through the trees until they were opposite of where they had been standing in the open. “Show me where you saw the flash.” He ordered.
She looked at the hillside. Then moved around a couple of trees. “I think it was right about there. She said, pointing about half way up the hill. “It just showed for a second.”
He looked at the spot, then pulled his radio from his belt. Quietly, he ordered his men to search the hill. “I doubt if they are still there, but they must be around somewhere. Stay low. They have AK-47’s.”
He pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket. “You’d better blow your nose and wipe your eyes, if we’re going to check on Braden. I’m sure you don’t want him to see you looking upset.”
She took the handkerchief and blotted under her eyes and then blew her nose. “Does it look all right, now?”
He tipped her face toward the light. “There’s still a little mascara under your eyes.” He said.
She licked the tip of her finger and gently rubbed under her eyes. “Better?”
“Much,” he said, as he tipped her face up. “Much better.”
Before she knew what was happening, he put his hand behind her head, then bent over and kissed her hard on the mouth. His other arm came around her. She tried to push him away, but his arms tightened.
When he pulled away, she said a little breathlessly, “Is this a new interrogation technique? You’re both the bad cop and the good cop?”
He bent his head and his lips met hers again. He was so strong that when she tried to pull away, he just tightened his arms and refused to let her go. Finally, she managed to pull away enough to turn her head. “You’re hurting me.”
He loosened his grip a little, still holding her close. “You are so beautiful.” He whispered, adding, “But I get the feeling that you are like the black widow spider. Beautiful but deadly. Luscious but poisonous.”
He ran the tip of his finger over her lips. “But I’m willing to play your game.”
“Game?” She said bewildered. “You were the one who kissed me.”
He started to speak when they heard Braden call, “Aunt Sheba? Where are you?”
She raised an eyebrow. “I guess you’ll have to wait to see if I’m as poisonous as you think I am.”
She stepped away from him. “I’m over here, sweetie. What did you need me for?”
“Helen wanted to walk around out here for a while. Mick said that we needed to leave so that Russell could sleep.”
Slater walked over to his sister. “How are you feeling?”
She shrugged, tears running down her cheeks. He frowned then looked down at Braden who looked sad.
“What’s going on?” Sheba asked.
Braden looked up at her then flung himself into her arms. “Russell isn’t doing good now. He started bleeding again. Mick told us to get out so he could work on him.”
Slater put his arms around Helen. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you another dog. It will be okay.”
Helen shoved him. “It won’t be okay. Another dog isn’t Russell. If he hadn’t been trying to protect me, he would be all right.” She turned away and stumbled.
Quickly, Sheba caught her before she fell. “I’m sorry about Russell. I know that you love him and that he loves you. But he wouldn’t have been Russell if he hadn’t tried to protect you.”
Braden pulled on Sheba’s sleeve. “But he isn’t dead yet. Mick might be able to save him. He said he was going to try.”
Helen put her arm around him. “Thanks, Braden. Maybe Mick will be able to save him.”
Slater looked around uneasily. “We’d better get back to the house.” He said.
“What’s wrong?” Helen asked anxiously.
When Slater didn’t answer, Sheba said, “Come on, Braden. Let’s get Helen into the house. It’s too hot in the sun anyway. Your ears are beginning to burn.”
Braden nodded and put Helen’s hand on his shoulder. “Let go back to the house so Mick can find us when he’s made Russell better.”
Suddenly, Sheba looked up at the hillside. She saw a flash. “Get down,” she screamed as she shoved Helen and Braden to the ground, covering them with her body.
A hail of bullets hit the grass around them. Slater hit the ground rolling. He brought up his pistol, aiming for the flashes in the trees. He snapped off three quick shots. The shots stopped. Before anyone could move, he was on his feet running toward the hillside. Pulling his radio from his belt, he said. “There is someone on the hill shooting at us. I think I hit him. Get me back up fast.”
Hastily, he looked back over his shoulder. “Get them to the house now.” He yelled at Sheba.
When Sheba raised her head, a bullet whizzed past her. “Crap,” she exclaimed. “Someone’s still shooting at us.”
Without moving, she looked up at the hillside. She could see what looked like a long pole protruding from the trees. “Look out, Michael. He’s aiming for you.”
Another shot echoed from the trees. Slater dropped and rolled. Suddenly there were a dozen men running from around the house. Most of them ran in a zig zag pattern toward the hillside. But three headed for Sheba’s group lying flat on the lawn. While one man stood guard, his sub-machine gun snapping off shots, the other two grabbed Helen and Braden. Sheba scrambled to her feet as they took off running toward the house where Breckenridge could be seen in the doorway.
As they ran, bullets started whizzing around them. The guard began firing back. As Sheba turned to look over her shoulder, she saw the pole turn toward the guard. She grabbed his pistol out of his pocket, paused and aimed toward the pole. Before she could fire, one of the bullets hit him in the leg. He collapsed to the ground. Standing in front of him, she kept firing until the pole disappeared into the
trees.
Looking down at the guard, she could see blood gushing from the bullet hole. She put both hands over the gushing blood and pushed down hard. When the guard tried to sit up, she snapped. “Lay down. Keep your heart below your leg. I’ve got to stop this bleeding. She pulled his leg up so it rested on her shoulder while she gripped the leg. The guards who had just taken Braden and Helen into the house came running back toward them.
“Get me something clean to put on his wound,” she yelled. “You can’t move him or he’ll bleed to death.”
The one guard ran back into the house. The other hurried toward her, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket. “Here, use this.” He said.
“Fold it.” She ordered. When he had done as she asked, she lifted her hands for a second so he could put it on the wound. She instantly began pressing down again.
He pulled off his belt and then slipped it over the cloth on the guard’s leg and pulling it tight. “That should control the bleeding, but we can’t leave the tourniquet on too long. We don’t want him to lose the leg.”
The other guard came running out a handful of napkins in his hand. “We’d better get him inside. He’ll need a doctor.”
One guard took his shoulders, the other his legs. Lifting him carefully they began to walk toward the house. Sheba walked with them, her hand steadying his leg and making sure that the tourniquet didn’t slip.
“Lay him on that sofa,” Breckenridge ordered, adding, “It is only a reproduction.”
“He needs a doctor badly.” Sheba said. “I’m afraid the bullet nicked an artery. He’ll bleed to death without having the bullet removed and the artery stitched up.”
Without turning, Breckenridge said, “I called for a med-copter. It should be here in a few minutes.”
“If there is a helicopter coming someone better make sure that they don’t set down in the line of fire.”
One of the guards said, “I’ll radio them and have them come in by the stables.”
Ignoring him, Breckenridge added, “I sent for a regular vet. He will be coming with the chopper. Hopefully, he will get here in time to save Russell.”
Helen who had been sitting on a sofa hugging Braden gasped. “Thank you, Nathan.”
Ignoring her, he said to one of the guards. “Ralph, go find Mick. Have him bring the dog here. The vet may need to take him on the chopper. If he has to do surgery, he’ll want to do it at his office or the pet hospital.”
A few minutes later, Braden said, “I can hear a helicopter.” He hurried to the door that led to the stables.
He came back in leading two medics carrying a stretcher between them. They were followed by an older man wearing a white coat and a stethoscope.
The doctor knelt by the guard. “How long has the tourniquet been in place?”
Sheba looked at her large digital watch. “Not quite 25 minutes, but we loosened it twice for a few minutes while I held the bandage in place.”
“Goot, goot. It has not been on so long that he will lose his leg. I will loosen it so.” He placed his fingers over the bandage as he pulled on the belt buckle. As soon as the pressure was released, the blood began to gush out from under the makeshift bandage.
“Not goot. Not goot. It looks like the bullet has nicked the Femoral Artery.” He pushed harder on the bandage. “Move the belt up about six inches toward the groin.” He ordered.
One of the assistants hurried to comply.
“I think that we will need to stitch up the artery before we transport him. Otherwise we will have to leave the tourniquet on too long. He will lose the leg. I do not like to amputate. It is not good for the body.”
“But doctor,” one of the assistants said. “This isn’t a sanitary environment.”
“Tut, tut. It is better to risk a slight infection than to lose a limb. But we will take all precautions. We aren’t going to remove the bullet, just stitch the artery.” He looked over his shoulder at Breckenridge. “Is there a place where we can work on this young man? There are too many people in here. Too many germs.”
Breckenridge said, “My mother’s sitting room is just across the hall. It is cleaned each morning but I haven’t used it since she died.”
“Goot, goot. That will do nicely. If you will show us where it is, we will do our emergency surgery, then transport him to the hospital.”
Breckenridge opened the door into the hall. “The sitting room is right here.”
The assistants lifted the guard onto the stretcher, then rolled the stretcher into the hall. The doctor picked up his bag and followed them.
Braden had disappeared during the guard’s examination. He came back in the room as the doctor left it. “Helen, the vet is going to operate on Mick’s dining room table. He said that Russell will die if he doesn’t do it now.”
Helen gave an uncertain sob. Sheba sat down beside her. “It will be okay. Do you want me to go see what is going on?”
“Yes, please. Will you find out what is happen to Michael? He’s been gone a long time.”
“I will, but I don’t think you need to worry about him. The shooting has stopped. He knows that the doctor is here. If he had been injured, his men would have brought him to the house or come for the doctor. I suspect that they are looking for the men who shot at us.”
“Thank you,” she said. “Without my watch I can’t tell how much time has passed.”
“Do you want me to get it for you?”
“I wish you could. But it is at a jewelers in town. It talks to me, but something happened to the voice part of it. He didn’t know if he could fix it so I may have to special order another one.”
Sheba stood up. “I’ll go find out about Russell. I’ll be right back.”
Helen nodded.
Sheba hurried across to the door leading toward the stables. Braden was waiting outside the door. “I thought you would come so I came out here to wait for you.”
She followed him across a large room that had stalls around the walls. She could see horses watching her over the top of the stall gates.
“What beautiful animals,” she said as she hurried past them.
“Mick says they are racing horses. I can’t pet them without him being here.” He headed up a narrow staircase. “Mick lives up here.”
He pushed open the door at the top of the stairs and quietly slipped in. Sheba followed.
Mick and the vet were standing by Mick’s kitchen table. Sheba could just see Russell’s tail between the two men. Taking Braden’s hand and putting her finger to her lips, she tiptoed around the room until she could see what the men were doing to Russell.
Mick glanced up then he looked back down at the dog. Sheba noticed that Russell was laying on a clean white sheet. Both men were wearing plastic gloves. The doctor lifted a needle and thread from Russell’s wound saying, “Cut.”
Mick snipped the thread.
“That should do it.” The vet said. He dusted the cut with an antibiotic powder. “You will need to keep him sedated so he doesn’t move today. Watch for infection. Call me immediately, day or night, if you need to. But he will be fine if we can keep the wound from getting infected.”
He looked up at Sheba and Braden. “Are you his owners?”
Sheba shoot her head. “No. Helen Breckenridge is his blind owner. Without Russell she is helpless and he’s like family to her.”
“Why don’t you take me to her? I think I can reassure her about his condition.”
Sheba gave a sigh of relief. “That would be wonderful. She is absolutely terrified that she is going to lose him.”
Mick said, “I think the vet will let her see Russell now that the surgery is finished. She won’t be able to touch him though.” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have said ‘see’ though.”
“Could she just pet his head? I think that would be all she’d need.”
He smiled. “I think that could be arranged. He’d know that she was there even though he is asleep. It might help him heal.”
Th
ey met Slater as they crossed the stable yard toward the house.
“How is Russell,” he demanded. “Helen is a total wreck over all this.”
Sheba looked up at him. “Russell just had surgery and is doing well. The vet’s gone to reassure her. You need to calm down. She will be able to tell that you are angry which won’t help her.”
He took a deep breath. “Right. Tell her I’ll be in to see her in a few minutes.”
“You are very brave to talk to him that way. I’ve seen him backhand a man who said less than that to him.” Mick smiled.
She looked up at him, “He won’t hurt me. As long as I’m valuable to Mr. Breckenridge, I’m safe.”
He looked startled, but all he said was, “I see.”
When they got to the house, he stood back to let her enter first. Helen was still sitting on the couch. Braden was holding her hand looking very anxious. The vet went to her. He took her hand before telling her about the surgery.
Sheba sat down on the other side of her, taking her hand.
The vet looked at Sheba. “Mrs. Breckenridge is very upset. I told her that she can’t see Russell because he would sense that she is upset even though he is sedated. It would set back his recovery.”
Tears began to run down Helen’s face just as Michael strode into the room. Sheba took one look at his furious face and held up her hand.
“Helen. The doctor isn’t telling you that you can’t see him. He’s telling you that you can’t see him while you are so upset, right doctor?”
The vet nodded. When Helen didn’t respond, he said, “That’s correct. If you can be calm, you could go see him.”
“Oh, I hate being blind.” She cried out in despair. “I can’t see Russell. I don’t know if Michael is all right. I hate this.”
Michael took a deep breath. “I’m right here, Helen.” He said calmly. “I just came to check on you. I’m fine but it’s obvious that you aren’t.”
The doctor got to his feet so Slater could take his place. He put his arms around her pulling her close. “I keep telling you to quit worrying about me. I can handle myself.”
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