I'll Remember You (Hell Yeah!)

by Sable Hunter

  “I want to get up and walk around.”

  “Hold on, hold on.” He got to her and put his hand around her middle.

  “I’m so fat.” She sighed. “The doctor says I may have developed gestational diabetes and that’s one of the reasons he was inducing, even though he says the baby might not be ready to come.”

  “You aren’t fat.” He hugged her. “You are perfect, pregnant and pleasantly plump.” He smiled. He’d heard what she said and it worried him. If she had gestational diabetes, why were they just mentioning it now? “Don’t you worry; everything is going to be fine.” She might be walking, but he had her covered. The slightest stumble and he’d have her up in his arms before another heartbeat sounded. “He wants you to take a little breather and then he’s going to put you on another drip and see if we can get this little rascal to budge.”

  “I know.” Jessie laid her head on his shoulder. “Bowie is going to be fine. Speaking of, did you call him?”

  Jacob knew she meant Bowie Travis Malone, his friend and the man their baby would be named after. “Yes, he’s on his way.”

  “What’s wrong?” She could tell by the sound of his voice. Her rock, Jacob, had been under so much pressure lately, they all had. Aron’s disappearance had hit them all hard—Libby, the most of course. But Jacob had stepped into his shoes, and they were a mighty big pair to fill, especially when having to deal with a pregnant, cranky wife.

  He led her to the end of the hall. They looked out at the skyline of Austin. “Are you okay? Need to sit down?” She sighed no, and leaned into his arms. He rubbed her tummy. When he realized she was waiting on him to talk about Bowie, he relented. It wasn’t a secret. Bowie would tell her himself. “He’s met somebody.”

  “Really?” Boy, that perked her up. Jacob chuckled. Nothing like a little talk of romance to put a woman in a good mood. “Who?”

  “I don’t know her name, but Bowie is smitten.” He turned her and they started back towards the room. “I’ve never seen him like this. He’s even thinking about renovating his house. I’m not sure what’s going on.”

  “Things are that far along?”

  “No, I don’t think so.” To tell the truth, he wasn’t sure. Bowie had sounded strange about the whole thing, sorta mysterious. “She’s been injured, somehow.” He wasn’t sure about the details.

  “What happened?” Jessie had that motherly tone down pat. She was going to be hell on wheels if anything ever threatened her baby.

  “I don’t know.” Jacob shook his head. “It wasn’t recent. Maybe he’ll talk to us about it when he comes to see his namesake.”

  By the time they’d reached her room, the nurse was waiting to put her back on the drip. Jacob helped her into the bed and he stepped out to get a cup of coffee. What would the family think if they knew what he’d done?

  Pouring a Styrofoam mug full of thick coffee, he wondered if he’d done the right thing. They’d tried everything else and he would never forgive himself if they didn’t do all they could. So, he’d offered a reward. If the family didn’t want to pay it, he had no problem doing it himself.

  Five Million Dollars for information on the whereabouts of Aron McCoy.

  ***

  Los Banos Ranch

  Austin hadn’t returned to his bed. If Martina moved into his room, he’d never sleep again. Last night he’d just walked around outside. He’d sat outside on the patio, in the chill and stared at the moon. The face of a woman kept dancing in and out of his mind. She was so beautiful, with a voice as warm as a soft summer breeze. Her name still eluded him, but he could remember her kiss. He was seeing images of her writhing beneath him as he made love to her. Sweet gentle mornings after, holding her close in their bed, her cuddled against his side. An image of her in a wedding gown, walking down the aisle to him, kept repeating in his head over and over. He could feel the longing, the way he cherished her. She was his world. “I want you. I need to be with you.”

  A tortured whisper left his lips as he held his aching head. “Who am I?” Lifting his eyes, he tried to fight back the loneliness and confusion seeking to overwhelm him. Austin felt lost.

  In the hours before dawn, while the whole ranch seemed to sleep, he took a chance. A risk. Martina slept in his room, so he went to hers. Even though she’d invited him, he’d never been in there before, and when he entered, he was surprised. What he’d been expecting, he didn’t know, but it was a feminine room, done in soft blues and white. The bed was a queen size and a portrait of her and Alessandra as children hung over the bed. An uneasy thought came to him, what if it was bugged or what if there was a camera. But he realized she would have never allowed that. This was her private place. Walking around, he made note of her furnishings, her closet, an entertainment system. And a desk.

  Holding his breath, he sat down and began opening drawers. Nothing, it was relatively disappointing. And then he saw a laptop on the credenza. Opening the lid, he turned it on. Dang, he realized he wasn’t as comfortable on the computer as…damn, there was a person in his life who was a computer whiz. Who was it? Shit.

  He pressed enter and looked at the icons. Going into Word, he started looking at documents. A creaking noise out in the hallway made him freeze. What if she came back? The jig would be up. But nothing. Scanning down through the files, he saw some clearly labeled—Suppliers, Transport, Employees, Financial Records, and Emily Gadwah. He started to open a file, but another noise in the hallway let him know people were stirring. Crap, he had to hurry.

  Opening the drawers one by one, finally, he was rewarded. A thumb drive. With a few clicks, he saved the files. Closing the lid, he rose. Now, if he could only get out of here without getting caught.

  Pulling open the door, he looked right and left. The coast was clear. Well, at least he had the information; he would put it in the shaving kit with the gold coin, his two most prize possessions.

  ***

  Hospital – Austin, Texas

  “Jacob!” Jessie screamed as the doctor gave her the news. Something was wrong with their baby.

  “I’m sorry, Mrs. McCoy, but you’re going to have to calm down. I need to get this IV in your arm; you have to have a C-section now. The baby is in distress.”

  Jacob tried to get to her, but the nurses kept pushing him back. “Jessie, I’m here.” He wanted to yell. Why was this happening? “What’s wrong with him?” He asked anybody who would listen.

  “It’s his heart.”

  His heart. Jacob reeled as if he’d been slapped. They began to wheel Jessie out of the birthing room and toward the operating room. “Will she be all right?”

  “We’re going to do everything we can.” The doctor informed him solemnly.

  He stood back against the door as they went back, pushing the gurney down the hall. He took out his cell phone to call his family, needing them. Joseph answered.

  “Am I an uncle?”

  “Something’s wrong, Joseph. The baby’s having trouble. They’re on the way to give Jessie a C-section. Come down, please.”

  “We’ll be right there.”

  He paced. He cursed. But more than anything, Jacob missed Aron. He needed his big brother, the one who’d always stood by him in times of crisis. It wasn’t long before they began pouring in—Isaac and Avery, Joseph and Cady, Libby, and Nathan. Noah and Skye came last. They had been to the Cattle Baron’s Ball. He felt like he was drowning. They comforted him all they could, but nothing was sufficient until the doctor came out to give him the news. “Your wife is resting, but the baby has complications.”

  The whole room tensed, Jacob most of all. “What kind of complications?”

  “Your son has a heart valve abnormality.” Everything seemed to fade. Jacob was listening, but terror seemed to be sapping his very breath. He could feel the touch of his family as several stepped up to place a hand on him in sympathy.

  “What are you going to do about it?”

  “Surgery, when he’s stronger.” The doctor went on to explain tha
t the baby was too small and too weak to undergo such a dangerous procedure at the moment. He would be placed in NICU until he was stronger and better able to withstand a serious operation to replace one of the valves in his heart.

  “When can I see my wife?”

  “Give us a few minute, someone is closing the incision.” When he’d left, Jacob had hung his head, but the rest of the McCoys had stepped up, assuring him he wasn’t alone. They promised to stand by him, stay with him. Noah even offered to give blood, but in Noah’s typical way he put his foot in his mouth.

  “I know he’s not a McCoy, but if you need blood…”

  Jacob had reeled on him, blasting his brother with both barrels. “You don’t have to be blood related to be family, Noah! Someday, you’ll understand that.”

  Noah had pulled back, Skye taking him by the arm. “It’s okay. He misunderstood.”

  They’d stayed a few more minutes, but Noah was the first to leave. Jacob hadn’t seen him go. Joseph had talked him down and he knew he had messed up. “Tell him I’m sorry. I’m just torn up,” Jacob said.

  “It’s okay. We’ve all had a hard time,” Isaac spoke up. “But we’re McCoys, we’ll pull through.”

  Jacob had faith. He knew scripture said we’d never be asked to handle more than we could bear, but he was reaching his limit and there were still battles to be fought.

  ***

  Emily Gadwah’s lab – Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico

  “I’m loyal to a fault, Martina. My memory is a long one. I haven’t forgotten what your family has done for me.” Emily Gadwah sat at her desk, arranging and rearranging the stacks of papers in neat, perfectly aligned piles. She fingered the staples, letting the sharp edges of the ends almost prick her fingers. She needed to stay alert. The woman in her office was a friend, but a very dangerous one.

  “We take care of our own, Emily.”

  Which was true. To an extent.

  As long as an employee or a friend was loyal, Marinta was loyal. But if they slipped, the consequences were dire. She stared at the woman across the desk. Her pink hair was startling. If she walked out from behind the desk, Martina knew her sandals wouldn’t match and she would be wearing no socks of any kind. But she was brilliant, and she could be trusted—and that was all that mattered.

  Emily swallowed hard. “Would you like some coffee or a coke?” How she’d gotten mixed up with a drug cartel was one of those mysteries of life for Emily. Her work was her world, other than her son, and sometimes trade-offs had to be made. Cartel money bought the best lab equipment. It funded research when government grants dried up. All she had to do was test their coke, perfect their meth recipes, keep their reputations intact as to the grades of heroin offered, and the rest of the time she could dabble in whatever her heart desired.

  And her heart desired recognition.

  If she was correct, her work would ensure her a place in history. All she had to do was keep her nose clean, stay alive and continue getting enough money to fund her testing. What she’d found was a drug which would almost halt the progression of certain forms of cancer—namely leukemia. Ibrutinib effectively stopped tumor cell multiplication in its tracks.

  “What can I do for you, Señorita?” Staying alive had to be her first priority and keeping this woman happy went a long way in ensuring she would be around to see another day. Other unsavory types came knocking on her door. Without the protection she received from Ms. Delgado, it would be like a mouse living in a glass cage full of anacondas.

  “Let me tell you a story.” Martina knew she was risking everything, but if Emily knew exactly what was happening, she would the best course for her to take. “Several years ago, I fell in love.” She hated to show her vulnerability, but that might be exactly what would convince this brilliant chemist to give her what she needed—if it even existed. “The man, a Texas rancher, did not return my affections. At the time, he did not realize who I was, the granddaughter of a drug lord. I had not picked up the reins of power.” She twirled her engagement ring on her finger. The ring was real, but the love it represented was false. “So, he didn’t reject me because of my association with El Duro, he just wasn’t interested. At the time, I don’t think he was in love, but I was lacking somehow.”

  Emily felt sorry for this woman, she couldn’t help it. Anyone could see there was a longing in her for tenderness, to lay down the guns she carried and just be a sensual human being. “What happened?”

  “I have thought about it a lot. If he’d shown me any encouragement, I would have done anything he wanted. I’d never have become the Diosa. I would have been happy becoming his wife.”

  “It didn’t work out?”

  Martina laughed. “He didn’t look at me twice. His ranch purchased cattle from us. More than once. After that, I never heard from him again. I became embroiled in the ‘family business’.

  “Okay, so what happened, then?” Lord, Emily thought, this was like pulling teeth.

  “A few weeks ago, while sailing off the coast of the Cayman islands, we pulled a man out of the water. Saved him. He’d almost drowned. A diving accident, we think.” She blew out a long breath. “It was the man I love. And he was hurt, badly. His memory was gone. And I made a decision to bring him with me, to get the help he needed and to sail away from whoever was searching for him.”

  Emily tensed up. Damn. She didn’t let on, she thought it wise not to, but Emily Guadet knew exactly who she was talking about. The American, Aron McCoy. “Were you able to help him?”

  “Yes.” Martina nodded. “He’s had surgery and recovered. But his memory was still missing when he awoke.” She smiled, slightly. “Well, he’s remembering now.” She stood up and walked across the room and then back. “I’ve lied to him. I told him he’d sold his ranch and lived with me. I told him he was my fiancé. I gave him a new name, a new identity—everything.”

  “His memory is returning?” At Martina’s nod, she continued, “And what do you want me to do?”

  “I want to know if there’s a way you can stop him from remembering, but I don’t want him hurt. I don’t want him impaired.” She thought of the strong virile man he was. “I want him to be who he is, but just not remember his family…or his wife.”

  Emily pondered the question, staring at the Diosa. She could tell how important this was to her. A twinge of guilt and fear hit Emily. This was huge. Aron McCoy was as important and powerful in his own right as the queenpin was. “Give me a day or two and let me see what I can do.” She wasn’t certain, but maybe there was a way she could appease Martina and protect Mr. McCoy at the same time. Maybe.

  ***

  Tebow Ranch – the day after the Cattle Barron’s Ball

  “You need to take it easy, Libby.” Joseph led her back to the room. “Those babies of yours need you to be strong.”

  “I know, I didn’t mean to get upset. It wasn’t Noah’s fault.” She pulled herself together. Libby didn’t want to be a burden to her family. “It was just a shock. For the Cattle Baron’s Association to honor Aron as if he were dead…” Her voice trailed off.

  “They meant well.”

  God, she had to be strong. Aron wouldn’t want her falling apart every few minutes like this. She brushed the tears off her face. “I know it. I’m sure it was as big a shock to Noah as it was to me.”

  “Well, Noah, you know, he’s a little anal.” Joseph laughed. “Everything has to make sense, it all has to add up. He doesn’t like surprises or uncertainties.” He touched Libby’s shoulder. “That’s why he keeps questioning everything about Aron. You’ve got to understand, Noah would give his right arm to bring your husband home. So, he keeps grasping at straws about where he might be or what he’s doing. That’s Noah’s way of working it all out in his head. He wants Aron to be alive, no matter what.”

  Libby knew what he was talking about. One of the private eyes had told Noah it was possible Aron had just walked out of the surf and left. That he didn’t want to come home. That it was intentional.
“I don’t believe it, but I understand their thinking.” She had been through enough in her life to know tough things happened. Pain and grief made some people do strange things. “But, he was happy. If he could, Aron would come to me.”

  If he could come home, Aron would. There. She had said it. It had been over a month, Thanksgiving would soon be here. Then Christmas would come. If Aron could come home, he would. And if he didn’t, neither her life nor the lives of his family would ever be the same again.

  ***

  Emily Gadwah’s Lab – Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico

  When Martina left, Emily began doing some research. A colleague of hers was working on a compound which was being designed to make subjects forget traumatic experiences, or at least that was the legal, public reason. It was being labeled the innocuous name of Zip. Such a drug was what the Diosa was hoping for. But Emily didn’t want to tamper with an innocent life, any more than had already been done. In addition, the tests on Zip weren’t conclusive. Most of the results chronicled had been on lab rats. Only a few human subjects had been tested. But as far as was known at this point, the effects of the peptide were thought to be a complete erasure of whatever memory the patient was recollecting at the time the drug was administered. In the trials, the people were asked to discuss their trauma and while they were speaking, the dose was administered.

  She had no wish to permanently harm Mr. McCoy, so what she needed was something she could give Ms. Delgado which would pacify her by doing what she wanted, but only on a temporary basis. But to do that, she needed to know more about Zip. It was time to make a phone call and see if she could make a trade, Royce had been hounding her about the cancer cure. As much as she hated to share credit, she would do it to save a good man’s life. Dialing the phone, she put her plan into motion. “Royce, this is Emily…”