by KJ Dahlen
“The ugly?” Damon frowned.
“Grant had a look of rage in his eyes every time he looked at me. I should know, as it remained there for all the years I knew him. I don’t know if I reminded him of my mother or my dad but he really hated me. I should have remembered that look.” She shook her head. “But it’s been too long since I last saw him and the last time I saw him he was neat and clean, nothing like he looks now. He really has fallen off his pedestal.”
“You think he might have called Matt?” James asked.
“If he’s been running all this time, then yeah. He has to make good on his promise or hide for the rest of his life. He’s got to be tired of all the running and not having anything left to live on.”
“Aww, poor Grant.” James snarled. “So the motel. They did that together, setting the pipe bomb then Grant was around back. Matt drove the getaway car.”
She nodded. “He’s fallen hard. And he’s teamed up with that monster. I’ve never seen him like that before... all wild eyed and he smelled so bad.”
“We’ll look into him believe me. I have a feeling he needed your dad’s money for a reason,” James commented.
“Can I ask a question here?” she asked as she looked back and forth at them both. “Who exactly are you guys? Why do you know so much about Matt and his trail of murders? I mean not everyone would know this off the top of their heads.”
James nodded. “I can’t tell you everything but I can tell you this much. Our group deals with hunting down the bad guys no one else can touch. We didn’t know Matt’s name before tonight or his story, all we knew was that the cases we found were connected by the buttons left at each crime scene. Now, we have more of the picture.”
“My family became his victims,” Damon took up the story. “I was over in the sandbox when they were murdered and I never got any real answers. I lost what I thought was my whole world and I was understandably upset. I walked a way from my life and got involved with some bad people but that’s over now.”
Alybella nodded. “So you coming here had nothing to do with Matt?”
“Well, it did and it didn’t,” James answered. “We’ve been looking into his murders for some time but we had no idea who he was or why he was killing families until you told us your story. I have some partners looking into what you told us and they’re coming up with more info even as we speak.”
“Are you going to the try and stop him?” she had to ask.
James nodded. “Oh yeah, we will do more than try. We will hunt him down and stop him. We’re also going to hunt down your uncle and have him arrested for what he did to you too.”
She shook her head. “Please don’t do that. It won’t change the past but if you find something he might have done to my dad, then please make him pay for that.”
Damon frowned. “What are you suggesting?”
“When I had everything turned over to me at seventeen, my dad’s attorney gave me a letter from my mom. She said in that letter that she didn’t trust Grant. She felt he had something to do with my dad crash the night he died. That he had come to my dad to ask for money and my dad refused to give it to him. A few days later, he was dead. Grant came to the company and was acting like he owned it. My mom had him escorted out of the building. Then he took her to court and got thrown out on his ass. He vowed to get back at her.” She shook her head. “I don’t imagine he was all that broken up when she was murdered.”
“We may not find anything after all this time, but we can try to look into it.” James shook his head.
“I can accept that, but I just want to know if mom was right or not. I know it won’t bring him back but maybe, I could just get some justice.” Alybella let out a sigh as she stared down at her hands.
A half hour later, Alybella stood at the window staring out into the growing shadows as night fell. She could see the others working at the kitchen table. The cabin wasn’t that big, but they were busy and she didn’t want to think anymore.
Her heart was hurting from thinking about the past so much today. All this crap happened when she just a kid. She didn’t even know if she wanted the answers to her questions. She stared out into the darkness but wasn’t really looking at anything in particular. She just wanted this to stop. Moving from place to place... always looking over her shoulder. Looking to see if a killer was lurking behind her. Never being able to have a stable home where she could stay and just breathe.
Then she frowned as the shadows moved. Leaning forward, she peered into the shadows. She thought she saw something moving out there. Then she backed up quickly and screamed.
A blur moved quickly toward the window, teeth growling and snapping as from five feet away he leapt at the window. Glass shattered and the dog landed on its feet not far from where she stood. He turned quickly and began advancing on her.
He was bleeding from several places from coming straight through the glass but that didn’t bother the huge pit bull. He was stalking her into the corner and she could see the hair standing up on the dog’s back.
Alybella couldn’t move. She was frozen in fear, as the pit bull got closer.
“Ally Bella don’t move,” Damon told her, as they got closer.
“No worries. I’m not,” she whispered as she stared at the animal coming toward her slowly.
The dog’s growl got deeper and it was showing a mouthful of very strong teeth. Teeth very willing to tear into her and rip her apart. It shook its head slightly as if it could hear something they couldn’t.
Damon and James drew their weapons slowly but steadily.
“When I tell you, you drop to the floor,” Damon whispered. “Don’t hesitate at all, you just drop to the fucking floor, you got that?”
Aly glanced quickly at him but her eyes went back to the dog almost immediately. She could see the dog getting ready to pounce and again, it shook its head slightly. If anything, the dog became more aggressive afterward. He took another step toward her, backing her into the corner. Then the dog reared to leap at her,
Damon shouted out, “Drop.”
As the dog stretched out to where she had been standing two shots rang out and the enraged animal dropped to the floor.
Alybella was crouched on the floor with her hands covering her head and she didn’t dare move. Even after Damon came over to her and kicked the dog’s carcass away from her.
The animal had taken two bullets, one to his head and the other to his chest. He was dead instantly.
Almost immediately came a shout from outside, “You fucking bitch!” Then came a roar of rage and footsteps running away from the cabin. There were sounds of people running and crashing through the woods and shots being fired from a distance.
Then a banging sounded on the cabin door.
James went to answer it. Holding his gun ready to fire when the door opened, it was Lonnie from earlier.
He held up his hands and asked, “Is everyone here all right?”
James nodded and slowly lowered his weapon. “Yeah, we’re okay. Where did that bastard come from though?”
Lonnie shook his head. “No clue man, he got past us with a fucking dog too. We found him just as the dog was going through the window. He had a fucking whistle in his hand.”
James nodded. “Yeah, the whistle was a command to the dog to become more aggressive. We saw his shaking his head a couple of times. He was going straight for Alybella. He didn’t even care we were here.”
Lonnie looked over at Alybella and saw her in Damon’s arms. He shook his head. “I’m sorry we failed her. Tell her, we’ll stay close tonight.”
James nodded. “Yeah, it’s gonna be a long night I think.”
“We got someone tracking this bastard,” Lonnie stated. “The best tracker there is. He’s not going to engage this wacko, but just watch him.”
James nodded. “That’s good. We do need to know where he is at all times.”
Lonnie nodded. “You guys keep her safe tonight.”
James looked at the other m
an and had to ask, “How did you meet her?”
“One of our elders was attacked and left for dead and she found him. Not only did she get him to safety she helped him when not many white people would have bothered. She nursed him for three days until he got well enough to tell her who to call to come and get him. Some of the people, who live here, don’t like the fact we are here as well. But this is our home as much as it is their home. We were here first. We asked her why she helped him and she told us it was the right thing to do. Now, it’s our turn to do the right thing for her.”
Alybella looked up from the safety of Damon’s arms and found Lonnie there talking to James. She called out to him, “Lonnie, I’m so sorry about the trouble. I didn’t think he’d follow me here.”
“He didn’t follow you here,” Lonnie told her. “But someone did. Our watchers were after him when that bastard showed up. That’s why he was able to get so close to the cabin.”
“Do you know who the man was that followed us here?” Damon asked.
Lonnie shook his head. “Some street bum is all I know. Our men are still looking for him.”
Alybella felt her knees give out and if Damon hadn’t tightened his grip, she would have ended up in a heap on the floor. She looked up at him and whispered a single name, “Grant.”
The cabin door was pushed open and a couple of younger men joined them.
Lonnie introduced them as his brothers. “Guys this is Jackson and Rowdy. Jackson, take the carcass outside deep into the woods and let the night feeders have him. Rowdy, lets get this window boarded up, so they’ll be safe for the night. We’ll be outside to stop any more trouble.”
Alybella nodded and whispered, “Thank you.”
Damon swung her up into his arms and carried her upstairs. He went to her bedroom and laid her down on the bed. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at her. “You need to take back the power Matthew has over you and learn to get some backbone. You fought Grant off, remember? So you have it in you to do so. Matt had the power to scare you into doing just what he wanted you to do when you were six years old. You allowed him to bully you into submission but you’re older now. You can take care of yourself. You’ve been doing it for some time now. It’s the same with your uncle. He made you submit to his rule too. But you aren’t a kid anymore. You got him good at that motel and I was proud of you for it. You don’t have to cower under their thumbs anymore. Take back the power you’ve always had and show them you won’t bow to them anymore.”
“What if I can’t?” she whispered.
“How do you know until you try?” He countered. “The first step in as simple as that. All you have to do is try. You took back some of the power when you walked away from your uncle when you were seventeen. You had the courage then, you proved at the motel that you have that same courage now. You are fighting for your very life right now and only you can do that. I can’t do it for you, nobody can.”
“Will you be there with me?” she begged.
“We’ll be there with you, but this is on your shoulders.”
She nodded. “I hear you.” She paused then added. “I do hear what you’re saying and I know I can take care of myself but that dog tonight was my weak point and Matt knew it. He’s used it before when we were kids.”
Damon frowned as he stared at her. “How so?”
“Derek got me a dog when mom and I came to live with him. Matt would kick and hurt the dog every day. He did it where no one else but me would see him. He finally broke the dog and turned it vicious, so Derek had to take it to the pound to destroy it when it bit my mom. I tried to tell them it was Matt but he blamed me for allowing him to do it. Matt knows I’m afraid of dogs for a reason.”
“Then you need to turn this around on him. Is there anything that you can remember that he’s afraid of?” Damon wanted to know.
She started to shake her head but paused. She was remembering something from her far past. “He is afraid of something. I remember him talking in his room one night. He was very upset. He kept repeating ‘I am not cursed. Granny is insane when she says my soul is cursed with evil. I chose to do evil things but I am not cursed. I am not insane.’ ”
“Ok, well that may help once we get him in custody but it isn’t going to help us catch him.”
She grabbed hold of his arm and pressed her grip on his skin. “But it will, don’t you see? The one thing he’s afraid of is being cursed. If Lonnie’s men can find him, we can put a curse on his house. We can play his game and make the people of the town avoid him, if they run from him and tell him he’s cursed, it will drive him insane. He’ll fall. We can do the same thing to Grant. All we have to do is put the word out among the homeless that he’s really a fake. He depends of people being fooled by his act. Right now, they think he’s the same as they are. Homeless and needy but if we tell them he’s got money and power, they won’t believe a word he says, and they will turn their back on him. He won’t have anything to eat or a safe place to sleep. He’s hiding from the police and probably his debtors but if they can find him, he can’t hide anymore.”
Damon thought about her words for a few minutes and finally nodded. “Your plan might work. This way, we don’t have to touch either one. We just have to watch. Spread the word and watch them both self destruct.”
“But we have to do it quickly,” she warned.
Damon grasped her wrist, “Come on let’s get this started then. I don’t know if it will work or not, but we can try. Let’s see if Lonnie is still around. He can get the words spread about Grant anyway. We still have to find Matt but we can get started on Grant.”
They went back downstairs and outlined their plan to Lonnie who smiled when he heard it. He said he would be happy to help because men like these were dangerous. He grinned.
“Do you really think this will work?” James asked the other man.
“If what she says about these two men is true and I have no doubt it is, then we’ll make it work. We can spread the word tonight about this Grant person and he’ll find he has no friends tomorrow. Even though they are homeless they have their own pride. They won’t like the fact that he’s been lying to them all this time.”
Alybella stepped closer and laid her hand on Lonnie’s arm.
Damon glared at the man when she touched him.
Alybella looked at Lonnie and pleaded, “Please be careful when dealing with these two men. When backed into a corner, they will fight back and I don’t want anyone hurt.”
Lonnie leaned forward and put his hands around her face, then he leaned forward and brushed his lips over her forehead. “Do not worry about us Ally Girl, we can do this, and we will because it’s the right thing to do.”
Damon had finally had enough, he tore her away from Lonnie and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
Lonnie smiled slightly as he raised a brow at this
Alybella was stunned by his action. She didn’t understand him at all.
Chapter Eight
Lonnie nodded then turned to leave the cabin. He felt glad Ally Bella had these men protecting her. It was a relief to see, actually.
He had work to do before he could sleep and now, he knew it was important work. He smiled again and thought about how much fun this was going to be. The old man Alybella had helped was more than just a tribe Elder he was Lonnie’s grandfather. Someone had beaten him up and left him to die. They thought they knew who it was but his grandfather wouldn’t confirm their suspicions so there was nothing they could do.
But Alybella had nursed his grandfather and gave him a safe haven until they could collect him. This had been another clash the Indians had with the town and it could have ended with more bloodshed but because of her it hadn’t and in time the tension eased.
This curse idea had some merit but it also might backfire on them. If the Carter family heard of it, they could use it to make their case and try to force the tribe back into the hills. They wanted the lands the tribe was using but that land was protected by Fed
eral laws. The only way they could get the land was if the tribe moved on their own. They had been trying for the last seven years or so to get them to move but the tribe knew their rights. They weren’t going anywhere.
The tribe also had had the town’s support. They didn’t want the Carter’s moving in either. So it was possible this could work for them.
He had to try. He also needed to help save Alybella.
James looked over at Damon.
Damon seemed to realize he was gripping Alybella and he let go of her.
James shook his head. “You two better get some sleep. We’re going to need clear heads tomorrow.” He looked around the cabin. “I’ll sleep down here tonight. If that bastard Matt comes back, I’ll be ready for him.”
Damon nodded. He turned her around and pushed her gently toward the stairs. When they got to the second bedroom, he steered her inside.
Alybella went inside then turned to face him. “This isn’t my room.”
“I know, its mine.” Damon growled. “I don’t want you to be alone right now. I think I should stay with you until this is over.”
She shrugged then went to grab a pillow. She’d seen a chair she could sleep in.
When she moved over to the chair he asked, “Where are you going?”
“I’m not sleeping in the bed with you. We don’t know each other well enough for that. You need your sleep and I need mine.”
Damon didn’t like it but he knew she was right. When and why he’d become so possessive over this woman he didn’t know and wasn’t even sure he liked it but he couldn’t seem to alter it. He stomped over to the bed and sat down on the edge. He glanced over at her and saw her settling into the chair. He saw the blanket folded on the foot of the bed then carried it over to her and spread it out over her.
She peered up at him and smiled slightly.
He wanted to haul her into his arms and carry her back to the bed but he didn’t. He went over to the light switch to turn it off.