by A. A. King
The days past and soon Brian and Cheyenne had been in hiding for a week. Neither had spoken much as it didn’t seem like there was much left to say. She had been plagued by nausea and found it increasingly hard to hide it from him. Part of her wanted to tell him so badly and another part warned her against it.
He paced the cabin floor, watching and waiting for an unknown threat and her thoughts were consumed by her unborn child. Even though she knew that she would never bring herself to have him again, she would always possess a piece of him through their baby. The thought was comforting but yet left her feeling alone. How can I feel like this when there is another human being occupying my body? She asked herself. Strangely, she could never come up with an answer. Cheyenne was content to spend her days exploring the cabins many hidden joys, and working crossword puzzles. Brian had found his moms stash of puzzle books and offered them to Cheyenne to help pass the time. She had felt honored that he would allow her to have something that had been his mother’s. It was a small thing, but she could remember after her mother died, she held onto every scrap of paper that had been hers.
Provisions were starting to run low so Cheyenne decided that she would make beans and cornbread for supper. As she took the bread from the oven, she could feel herself being stared at. After setting the hot pan down, she turned to find Brian sitting at the table with a bottle of whiskey in hand, eyeing her. His eyes looked misty as though he had been crying but she knew that he was much too masculine for that. Deciding to pretend she had not noticed, she turned to cut the cornbread but as she did, she felt his heat on her neck. He was inches from her and she could smell the whiskey on his breath. Without saying a word, she side stepped him and carried the meal to the waiting table. When she looked around, he was leaning against the counter with his back to her; shoulders slumped as if in defeat. Cheyenne wanted to go to him and kiss away his pain. She wanted to tell him everything was going to be okay, even though she knew it would not. The food went untouched that night and Cheyenne, not being a wasteful person, put it up as leftovers for the next day. The feel in the cabin was oppressive and brooding so she showered and turned in early. Crawling into the nice warm bed felt like a safe haven for her. Under the covers, all of the turmoil and stress melted away as though they could not penetrate the heavy quilt that covered her.
During the night Cheyenne awoke to a booming clap of thunder. It rattled the old windows of the cabin. For her, it was unsettling. Periodically, lightening would strike nearby and the shadows of her room would come to life. The rain soon came and the sound of the drops hitting the tin roof was like sweet music to Cheyenne’s ears.
“Are you awake?” Brian called from the door. She heard the rusted hinges groan as he pushed it open.
“I am.” Cheyenne said groggily.
“We are under a tornado warning. The wind is getting pretty strong out there.” He said as he waited for a response from Cheyenne. She lay quietly in the bed, not being difficult, but suffering from the lack of anything to say. Wanting desperately for things to be normal between them, Cheyenne turned toward the doorway. Brian was leaning against the door frame wearing only his boxer briefs. His physique was that of a Greek god. Cheyenne scooted over and patted the once occupied mattress beside her. Without hesitating, Brian sat next to her. Suddenly, a loud explosion outside made Cheyenne almost leap out of her skin. Instinctively, she darted for him as though he could protect her from a noise. The fan sputtered to a stop and she knew that the power had gone out.
“A fuse must have blown.” Brian said as he cradled her in his arms. Cheyenne felt less fearful. It felt nice to be in his arms but she knew that she should not get used to it. It took a lot for him to tell her that he loved her. That was obviously a huge commitment for him. He would no doubt run if he knew that she was pregnant.
Brian lay down in the bed beside her after a while and the storm outside continued to rage. Cheyenne woke up several times during the night and he was holding her tight each time. By six a.m. the storm had blown through. Looking out of the window of her room, Cheyenne noticed tree branches down and patio furniture blown about the yard. Leaving her room, she went to the kitchen to make coffee only to discover that the power was still out.
“It could take days for the power company to get this far out,” said Brian. “It may be time for us to head back to Houston.” The thought was depressing to Cheyenne. She had grown accustomed to the solitude and peace found inside of the little cabin in the woods.
“I think I would like to go back to the ranch.” She said with determination. The last place she had truly felt comfort and peace was the ranch, right before Maria had shot her. Vowing to reclaim that state of mind, she began packing her bags to leave the little piece of heaven the cabin had become.
Getting back on the road felt nice. As a child, Cheyenne was used to moving often. Never having a chance to put down roots had carried over into her adult life. Although she never allowed the thoughts to invade her life, they plagued her mentally for years. She had internally suffered from the grass is greener syndrome. Always envying others was a difficult task to keep up and it was equally hard carrying the shame of her thoughts. Now, she had everything monetarily that she could ever want but realized that she was no happier than she had been without it. Love was the only thing that was going to make her whole and her chance at that was slipping away rather quickly.
“It looks like we are going to get some rain later.” She noticed out loud. Making small talk was hard since Brian did not seem to be in a chatty mood. She rode in silence until they reached the ranch.
It appeared to be just as she left it. Nothing seemed out of place. Brian punched the familiar number code into the iron gate control and they waited for it to open but after waiting a moment, nothing happened.
“Stay right here, I need to open the gate by hand,” Brian said as he hopped from the driver’s seat. Wow, he can speak! She said to herself. As he pushed the gate open, Cheyenne could see the muscles rippling through his thin cotton t-shirt. God this man is under my skin! She mumbled under her breath.
“Did you say something?” Brian asked as he slid back into the driver seat.
“No, I was just thinking to myself,” She admitted begrudgingly. Cheyenne could not remember when their banter had turned dark but she got the distinct feeling that Brian was angry with her.
“Have I done something to upset you?” she demanded shyly. Instead of an answer, Brian, once more got out of the truck and walked toward the front door. She knew that her mixed signals had upset him. At the hospital she had told him that she loved him and then found out that she was pregnant. She began pushing him away at the cabin and he had caught on and probably gotten his feelings hurt.
“Hey, I’m talking to you,” Cheyenne said hotly as she slammed the truck door. He still continued to walk away from her as though she had said nothing at all.
“Fine, walk away. You wouldn’t be the first and you probably won’t be the last.”
Brian spun around to face Cheyenne. His eye’s blazing; she could feel his anger bursting inside him like an inferno.
“I am tired of the games. I am fed up with your moodiness as well. You are sweet and kind one moment and the next you are snapping at me. I don’t function well under these conditions. So, forgive me if I am not eating up your particular brand of bullshit but I have had enough.”
Cheyenne was stunned. She knew what was causing her crankiness but she could not tell him. Really, she had not thought it to be that bad and figured that she had been holding up well under the circumstances. Looking back, she now realized that for the past few days she had been snapping at him.
“I’m sorry.” She volunteered. “I had no idea that I have been taking out my frustrations on you. It won’t happen again.”
“Look, I know that this is stress full but you have to work with me.?
With that, Brian walked into the house.
Danger registered in Cheyenne’s body. Something was not right
, he should not have been able to walk in the house, she had locked it when she left. The hairs on her neck prickled and her stomach suddenly had butterflies. The gate had been her first overlooked clue but they had been too busy arguing with each other for either one of them to take notice of the disabled gate. Cheyenne began back peddling out of instinct and suddenly a firm hand grasped her around her neck as a gun barrel was placed against her temple.
“Get in the house,” a gravelly voice demanded in her ear. Stunned, she began taking small tentative steps toward the door. Her captor shoved her hard from behind, signaling her to pick up the pace. Not wanting to take a chance with her baby, Cheyenne complied with the unspoken demand.
Where is Brian? He should have noticed I have not come in yet. I have to get his attention before this man shoves me into the house.
Without thinking it through Cheyenne yelled out for Brian. She felt a sharp, cracking pain in the back of her head and then nothing.
Chapter Eighteen
Cheyenne was only out for what seemed like a moment, but when she opened her eyes, many things had changed. She was tied to a dining room chair and right next to her was Brian, also tied but blindfolded as well. Cheyenne began panicking, straining against her ropes that bound her helpless body. Her head hurt and she could not feel her fingers. Her ropes were too tight. “Cheyenne, are you okay?” Brian’s concern was evident.
“My head hurts and the ropes are really tight. I’m scared Brian.”
“Cheyenne, I am so sorry. If I had not been mad at you, this would not have happened. Don’t be scared, I am going to get you out of this.” Brian assured her with compassion.
What about getting his self out of this? Was that a slip of the tongue or would he give his life to save mine? Oh, I’m so scared, God please help me.
From the next room, Cheyenne could hear their captures talking. “We have them at the ranch…their tied up and the cop is blindfolded. What next?”
A shiver passed through her body and she knew that she needed to find a way out of this but she could not think clearly with her head pounding.
Cheyenne began working her wrist in an attempt to loosen the ropes that were binding her wrists. Oh this hurts so bad…The bonds were not loosening.
“Cheyenne move your wrists around.” Brian whispered.
“I am already doing it, but I don’t know how much longer I can keep it up. They are really cutting into me.”
The masked men walked into the room as Cheyenne was squirming in her seat. She was sure that they had caught her, but as they walked by, neither said anything to her. They both went straight for Brian. They struggled, but finally managed to pick his chair up and move him away from her. Brian struggled and called out, “Do either of you know who I am? This is prison time for both of you.” He threatened.
“We know who you are and the only way we will get caught is if you live through this. We can assure you that you won’t. Now shut up or we will gag you.”
Cheyenne tried to recognize either man’s voice. She decided that she had never heard them before. She was afraid to make eye contact with them, so as they walked from the room, she concentrated on the ground. “Brian.” She whispered loudly. “Brian!”
No answer. Cheyenne struggled against her bonds again and felt them giving way. She could hear the men on the front porch and knew that she had a small window of time to save them. Shaking the rope off of her hands, she quickly bent and removed the ropes on her ankles. Quietly, she moved from her chair and reached for Brian. “I have freed myself and will have your ropes off in a moment.”
She made quick work of the ropes and he removed the blindfold from his eyes. He squinted as he adjusted to the bright light from the window. Brian removed a pistol from his boot and protectively pushed Cheyenne behind him with his other arm.
“Stay behind me until I tell you to run.” He instructed as he quickly kissed her on the lips. “Cheyenne, in case I don’t get the chance later….” Brian’s voice trailed off as he saw the front door open. In walked Ed Crowley. Close behind was Jason.
“I thought you said you had them tied up.” Ed screamed as he motioned toward the empty chairs.
“Boss, we did have them tied.” Ed’s goons exclaimed.
“Find them now.” Ed demanded.
Jason walked in and surveyed the situation. “You should have let me handle this my way Dad.”
Cheyenne could not believe what she had just heard. Looking over at Brian, she knew that he was as surprised as she was.
Dad? Ed is Jason’s father? Can this get any crazier?
Hiding behind the china hutch again brought back bad memories of Maria’s tirade. The memories were fuzzy but unpleasant to relive. Cheyenne felt Brian’s arm tense and knew that he was about to come unhinged. Suddenly, he sprang from the hiding place in a hail of bullets. The group was caught off guard and one of the kidnappers fell instantly, but the other, along with Ed and Jason ducked behind the door.
Cheyenne had never seen a dead body before and she was sure that the sight would not be easy to forget. As she moved to step over the body, she was yanked backward. The feeling was familiar and she knew instantly that Jason had her. She was hauled forcibly against him and then thrown to the ground. Cheyenne protectively wrapped her arms around her mid section.
In the confusion she had not realized that Brian was not in the living room until Ed marched him back in at gun point.
“Now that I have your attention, maybe we can get something accomplished.” Ed said.
“Why are you doing this?” Cheyenne demanded. “It is not for you to ask why my dear. This is just simply the way things are going to be. After I have disposed of the two of you, I can go about my life like none of this ever happened. It really is unfortunate though, if Jason had not became greedy, your father would still be alive,” he said as he scowled at Jason. Cheyenne refused to believe that anything could have changed the course that Ed, Jason and Maria had been on. They were all pure evil. Ed leveled his gun on Cheyenne. “You are going to be first, my dear.” Jason came from behind Cheyenne and grabbed her by the hair. As he lifted her, it felt as if each strand would be pulled out one at a time. She wrapped her arms protectively around her stomach. Knowing that she would have to expose her secret to save their lives did not make it any easier to do. Taking a deep breath Cheyenne pleaded,
“Mr. Crowley please do not hurt me. I am pregnant.” Brian’s eyes widened as she spoke.
“You’re what?” Brian exclaimed.
Cheyenne knew that it was a shock to him but the intended target just laughed and replied, “That is of no consequence to me young lady.”
“Before you kill me, please tell me why you have done all of this. Why have you hidden the fact that Jason is your son?”
“I have done all of this for love. You see, I came to town many years ago. Jason was only ten at the time and lived with his mother. When he turned seventeen he came to live with me. I had fallen in love with Maria and she did not know about him. She was a wonderful lady but she did not like kids. Maria wanted to marry your father for financial security and I wanted her to marry me; we were at an impasse. In the meantime, Jason had begun working on one of Charles’s rigs. Charles liked Jason very much and brought him into the office to work. No one ever found out that he was my son, so no one suspected anything when we began insider trading. We all appeared to be unconnected. Hiding the fact that Jason is my son helped us to cover up what we were doing. I will say that Jason and I had no idea that Maria was going to kill Charles. That was a total surprise, but at the same time, we have kept our secrets from her as well. There is only one thing that I regret. Killing your mother was a mistake. I had no idea that Maria planned on marrying your father as a result of your mother’s death. If I had known that, I would have never carried out Maria’s plan.”
“That is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard. You are the most self centered person I have ever met in my life. You regret killing my mother because you fe
lt used? You make me sick!” Cheyenne screamed.
“Young lady, in life things do not always go our way. You have been through some hard times but you should be thanking me. From what I learned, your mother was a no good con artist who had no business having children and your father was too clueless to understand. He should have never left you in your mother’s care. I was quite surprised that you turned out so well considering the role model you had.”
Cheyenne moved forward at lightning speed, taking Jason by surprise. She almost reached Ed, when Jason regained his composure and hauled her backwards with such force that she bounced off of his body.
“You disgust me Ed Crowley and you should be ashamed of yourself. Maria was right about one thing. She knew that your son was trouble but was obviously too stupid to realize that you are too. It has been funny watching you all tear each other apart. Maria killed my father and tried to set your son up to take the fall. You are caught in the middle not knowing which side is going to frame you and your precious son is out for himself. All of you deserve each other.”
Ed studied Cheyenne intently. “I may have misjudged you, young lady. You have more fire and grit than your mom and dad combined. It is such a waste to kill you but it is necessary.”
While he was distracted with Cheyenne, Brian lowered his shoulder and pushed him, knocking him off his balance. Every muscle in his body tensed as he pulled his right arm back and smashed it into Ed’s face. While on top of him, he pressed his knee into the attorney’s neck with all of his might. Ed was turning red in the face as he struggled to ask his son for help. Jason released Cheyenne and lunged for Brian. Just as he was about to reach him, a sharp bang echoed through large living room. Everyone froze for a moment. Everyone that is, except Cheyenne. She held the pistol that Jason had left behind, trained on Ed as she ordered him to let Brian go. Jason lay on the floor bleeding. Cheyenne had shot Jason in the back and he had fallen immediately. Ed released Brian long enough to reach for his pistol that had landed on the marble floor. Taking deliberate aim, Cheyenne fired the pistol one last time. Ed Crowley fell to the ground on top of the gun he had so desperately tried to get. As the shot rang out she was stunned it had been so easy to kill two people who were trying to harm the father of her child. She felt no remorse for the killing and knew that she would have done it again if she had to. Cheyenne stood there, holding the gun by her side as Brian reached her. He did not say a word as he took the gun from her dangling hand.