Forever a Stallion

by Deborah Fletcher Mello

  John crossed the room, headed in the direction of the door. As he passed Kamaya’s table, he purposely bumped into the shorter of the companions. As he apologized profusely, offering to buy them all another round of drinks, there was no way not to notice the man’s clear lack of focus, his head rolling awkwardly. Evenutally he laid his head on the table, appearing to fall off to sleep. Kamaya turned to Phaedra and winked, her head bobbing against her shoulders.

  “Wish me luck,” Phaedra said as Donovan gave her hand a quick squeeze before purposely pushing his full glass of drink into her lap. Phaedra jumped to her feet, squealing loudly enough to draw everyone’s attention. She brushed at the offending moisture, her head shaking as Donovan pretended to assist her. Spinning away from the table, Phaedra crossed the room still muttering profusely as she headed past the dance floor toward the restrooms.

  Mark was laughing as he pointed in her direction. Mali turned to stare where he stared, her eyes widening as she noticed the man who was following Phaedra with his eyes. Her gyrations came to a fast halt, her heart suddenly beating with a vengeance. How was such a thing possible? she thought, her mind suddenly spinning with questions, unable to fathom how Mason had managed to free himself. Unable to fathom how she was going to explain that to her father.

  “Mali!” Phaedra cried as she suddenly blocked the woman’s view. “What a surprise!” Phaedra leaned to give the girl a hug, then extended her hand in Mark’s direction. “Hi, Phaedra Parrish. I’m a friend of Mali’s.”

  Mark nodded politely. “Looks like you had a little accident,” he said as he pointed to the spill down the front of her dress.

  Phaedra shrugged. “My boyfriend, Mason, was a little clumsy,” she said as she turned to point in Donovan’s direction.

  “Mason is here?” Mali questioned, unable to hide the look of surprise across her face.

  “Yes,” Phaedra said, a brilliant smile painting her expression. She shifted her body to block Mali’s view a second time. “I know you heard about him disappearing, but he was able to get away and we’re celebrating. We’re leaving tomorrow, though, so we can put all of this bad business behind us.”

  Mali shook her head as she made a motion to move. Mark caught her about the waist. “Don’t you want to keep dancing, pretty lady?” he said sweetly.

  Mali brushed him off. “I need to say hello to my friend,” she said as she moved to step past Phaedra.

  Mark grabbed her by the arm and swung her back against him. “But we’re having such a good time!” he said excitedly.

  As Mali pushed him from her, snatching her arm from his grip, she didn’t notice that Donovan had risen from his seat and was exiting the club, the man stealing out of the spotlight he’d been placed in. Kamaya, Kendrick and Guy followed closely behind him.

  As the door closed on their departure, Phaedra cut a quick eye in Mark’s direction. “Well, it was good to see you, Mali,” she said, still swiping at the wet spot that had darkened the silk print she wore. “Please give your father my regards.”

  Before Phaedra’s last words were out, Mali was searching the room, frantic to spy the man who looked like Mason Boudreaux. As she rushed in the direction of the club’s entrance, she shouted in Siamese to the two men who’d arrived with her, both sitting alone, heads bowed as they slumbered comfortably at their table. Not bothering to wait for them, Mali rushed outside.

  John stood at the door’s entrance, blocking her quick exit. “Excuse me,” he said as he stepped left when she stepped right, and right as she went left, the two looking as if they might be dancing.

  “Get out of my way!” Mali shouted, clearly perturbed.

  “I really am sorry,” John said, feigning an apology. He stepped out of her way to allow her to pass.

  Rushing past him, Mali looked left and then right, and the only thing in her view was the empty street.

  Chapter 19

  “Don’t lose her,” Kamaya said as Donovan maneuvered the car through the dark Thai streets.

  “I’m not going to lose her,” he responded, annoyance on the tip of his tongue. “You need to relax.”

  From the backseat, Guy and Kendrick admonished them both. “Stay focused,” Guy said, Kendrick echoing his sentiments.

  Ahead of them Mali was racing her car as if she were late for an important meeting. Just as Phaedra and Kamaya had both predicted, the combination of alcohol and dim light had successfully deceived her. Seeing Mason’s brother had thrown her for a loop; the woman had lost control. After exiting the nightclub she’d headed straight for her vehicle, not bothering to wait for her two bodyguards. Anticipating that they were following close behind her, Mali didn’t give the car in her rearview mirror a second thought. And both families were banking on her negligence, hopeful that she would lead them directly to where Mason was being held. The one unknown in their plan was whether or not they’d be able to rescue him without incident. And everyone was hoping that wherever Mason was, the area would be secluded, with little interference to get in their way.

  In the vehicle behind them, John navigated at a safe distance, not wanting to draw any attention to the fact that there were actually two cars in hot pursuit of the young woman. Mark rode shotgun, one hand gripping the dashboard. Phaedra and Matthew held court in the backseat.

  “I don’t have a plan from here,” Phaedra said, her eyes skipping from the back of John’s head to Mark’s.

  “The plan is that you are going to sit in the car and stay out of the way,” Mark said. He looked to the backseat.

  “You are not the boss of me,” Phaedra shouted, bristling with indignation.

  “I didn’t say I was the boss of you, but you need to listen. Why are you being difficult?”

  “I’m not being difficult,” Phaedra countered. “Why are you?”

  John cast a quick glance in the rearview mirror, meeting Matthew’s amused stare. The two brothers chuckled softly to themselves.

  “I’m the boss of everybody,” John said, “and you two need to play nice.”

  Annoyed, both Mark and Phaedra fell into the silence, sulking in their seats. Matthew laughed out loud, and Phaedra, who was totally perturbed, punched him in the arm.

  “Ouch! What did you do that for?” Matthew cried out as he rubbed the rising bruise.

  Phaedra rolled her eyes. “It’s his fault,” she said, pointing at Mark.

  “Apologize, Phaedra,” John said. “I don’t care whose fault it is.”

  Phaedra bit her bottom lip, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Now,” John admonished. “Say you’re sorry.”

  She took a deep breath. “Sorry, Matthew.”

  For a brief moment a blanket of silence dropped down over them and then all four burst out laughing, the moment alleviating the stress that was fighting to consume them.

  * * *

  Mali fumbled with the key to the master lock that secured the door to the storage shed. Frustration was clouding her view, her anxiety obscuring every ounce of rational thought. There was no way Mason had gotten out, she thought, but how else would that explain how the man had found his way to Club Pattaya to spill a drink on Phaedra’s dress?

  Pushing open the door, she flicked on the oversize flashlight, shining it inside. Mason lay on the bed, his back to the door, exactly where he’d been the last time she looked in on him. Nothing had changed; even the food her father had left for him was undisturbed. She rubbed her hand across her eyes, swiping at the perspiration that had risen over her brow. Taking a deep breath, she held it as she eased her way inside the small enclosure, the heels of her Chanel pumps clicking loudly against the cement floor.

  Shining the light on Mason, she leaned over his body, her heart beating rapidly as she waited to see him breathe, relief coming when he took a breath, his body shifting with the exhalation. She reached a t
entative hand out, brushing the backs of her fingers along the side of his face. He was running a fever, his body temperature spiked high. Knowing that there was no way Mason could have been in that nightclub, realization set in that she had been played.

  A wave of anger suddenly flooded Mali’s spirit. Phaedra had played her, stringing her along like a guitar player. Mali didn’t take kindly to anyone besting her, and she was suddenly outraged, determined to get revenge. Spinning about on her high heels, she turned just as Mason rolled onto his back, lifting his head to stare at her. He brought his hand up to shield his eyes from the light, squinting to focus.

  His voice was low and craggy, the fever evident in his tone, delirium blanketing his perception. “Phaedra? Is that you, baby? Phaedra, are you okay?” he asked as he tried to sit up.

  Turning to stare at him, Mali grimaced, unable to hide her dismay. He was calling Phaedra’s name, and not hers, and that made her even angrier. It was on the tip of her tongue to cuss him, but she didn’t. Instead, she switched off the light as she eased her way backward to the door. And as she turned to make her exit, Mali slammed harshly into Donovan and Guy Boudreaux, who were standing like stone in the entrance.

  As she lifted her arm to swing the flashlight at his head, Donovan grabbed the woman’s wrist and pushed her back against the wall. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said as he turned the flashlight back on and waved the light around the space, resting it on Mason’s reclined frame.

  Guy moved past him, rushing to his brother’s side. Kamaya and Kendrick followed on his heels. Noticing the lantern, Kamaya dropped to the floor, fiddling with the wick and a pack of matches that rested beside it. In seconds, a stream of light flooded the room. “Is he okay?” she questioned, concern spilling past her lips.

  “We need to get him to a doctor,” Guy said. “He’s burning up and it looks like he might have lost a good amount of blood.” He pointed to the stained mattress beneath his brother’s head.

  Kendrick called his name. “Mason…can you hear me?”

  Mason struggled to focus. “Who…I…” he sputtered softly, his eyes closing as he fell back into a stupor.

  “I found him,” Mali said loudly. “I was trying to save him. I was just going to call for help. I wouldn’t let anything happen to Mason!”

  “We need to move,” Donovan said, ignoring her. “Get him to the car.”

  With Kendrick bracing his brother’s weight on one side and Guy on the other, the two lifted Mason to his feet.

  “Everything is going to be fine now, Mason,” Kamaya said, bringing up the rear. “We’ve got you, big brother.”

  They heard him just seconds before they saw him enter the room. He spoke in Siamese, his words meant only for his daughter’s ears. As Daniel Kasam stepped into the room, he fired into the midnight air, the gunshot ringing loudly. They all came to a standstill in anticipation of a second shot, panic blowing through the space as the man pointed a large gun squarely at Mason’s heart.

  The silence was thundering. Donovan released his hold on Mali, the woman pushing him harshly in the chest as she moved to stand beside her father. Daniel was not amused by the smirk on her face, his daughter sneering as if everything was going to be okay.

  “I am very sorry for this,” he said, looking from one Boudreaux to the other. “This was not how things were supposed to go. You were supposed to pay the money and we would have let him go.”

  “So, what now?” Donovan questioned, easing himself slowly in front of Kamaya. “Do you plan to shoot us all, Daniel?”

  The man swiped the back of his hand across his brow. He shook his head. “I just needed the money,” he said. “You don’t understand.”

  “But we do,” Guy said. “And that’s not going to happen now. So the only choice you have is to kill us all or let us go.”

  “Don’t listen to them, Papa,” Mali demanded. “We can fix this. We can make them get us the money. We can—”

  “Shut up, Mali!” Daniel shouted. “I have to think. If you had just done what I told you to do, we would not be in this position.”

  “You need to decide now,” Kendrick said. “Because Mason needs a doctor and the only way we’re not leaving here is if you shoot us.”

  “You leave when I say so,” Daniel shouted back, turning the gun to point at Kendrick’s head.

  “Not this time,” John said as he and Mark moved in behind the father and his daughter, surprising them both.

  Mark pointed his own pistol to the back of Daniel’s head. “You might want to put that down, friend,” he said softly. “We don’t want any blood to be spilled tonight.”

  It was a standoff and that brief moment felt like a lifetime. The silence was consuming, so harsh that every heartbeat resounded like thunder. Taking a deep breath Daniel finally acknowledged defeat as he lifted his hands, opening his palms in submission. John reached for the gun Daniel was holding, pulling the firearm from the man’s hand. “In the corner,” he said, gesturing for Daniel and his daughter to move.

  Daniel moved to the other side of the room as he and Mali both turned to stare, watching as the brothers carried Mason out the door.

  Phaedra met them in the entrance, wrapping her arms around the man’s waist. “Mason!”

  Opening his eyes, Mason met her eyes and held the gaze for a brief moment. A slight smile pulled at his lips as he whispered her name. “Phaedra?”

  Phaedra nodded. “I love you, Mason,” she said as she kissed his lips, pressing her cheek to his. “I love you,” she whispered before stepping out of the way so that they could get him to the car.

  “We’ll meet you at the hospital,” Kamaya said, dropping a warm hand against Phaedra’s arm. “Good job,” she finished, giving Phaedra a quick wink.

  Inside, Mali persisted. “What are you going to do with us?” she questioned, her eyes widening.

  Phaedra pushed past the brothers, coming to a stop in front of the woman.

  “I thought we told you to stay in the car,” Mark admonished.

  “I have some unfinished business,” Phaedra said, looking at him. “And I told you, you are not the boss of me!”

  “Let’s go, Phaedra,” John commanded. “We need to check on Mason.”

  “What about us?” Mali asked again, leveling her gaze on Phaedra.

  Phaedra looked from her to Daniel, who’d sunk to the floor, visibly sobbing. Mali’s father was broken. There was no denying the wealth of hurt that consumed him, everything he had ever valued gone with a series of bad decisions. Phaedra shook her head. “Your father needs you, Mali,” she said. “You are all he has.”

  Mali sneered, twisting her mouth to sound off. A torrent of expletives flew past her lips, but before she could get the second wave out, Phaedra balled up a tight fist and busted the girl in the mouth. Mali fell back in surprise, landing flat on her behind on the floor beneath her. “And if you come anywhere near me or my man ever again, I will hurt you,” Phaedra said, her index finger waving erratically.

  “Damn!” Mark shouted as he pulled his own fist to his mouth. “Nice right cross!”

  John shook his head. “Phaedra, move it. Now!”

  * * *

  Mason was diagnosed with a concussion, heatstroke and severe dehydration. After a day of intravenous fluids and some serious bed rest, the doctors at the Phuket International Hospital released him. Back at the hotel, both Kamaya and Phaedra were smothering him with attention.

  “Girls, I’m not handicapped,” Mason said, admonishing them both to give him a break.

  “You better enjoy this,” Kamaya said. “It won’t last much longer ’cause we’re leaving this afternoon.”

  “Uh, pay your sister no mind,” Phaedra said, smiling. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Don’t be bringing him into any bad habits,” Kamaya teased.
“You’ll regret it once he gets better.”

  The men in the room all laughed. “I could use a cool drink of something,” Mark quipped, “in case one of you would like to wait on me hand and foot.”

  Phaedra rolled her eyes. “Uh, you’ve got two good hands.” She looked at Mark as he eyed her back.

  Matthew laughed. “Y’all two are funny.”

  Mason chuckled softly. He turned his attention to John. “So, what’s happening with Daniel?”

  John shrugged. “Officer Niran took him and Mali both into custody, but it seems that they have a long history between them. I don’t anticipate that much will come of it. He’s actually charged the two men who took Mason with assault to cause bodily harm and detaining by force. They’ll see more time than Daniel will.”

  “Daniel called me,” Mason said, the pronouncement surprising them all. “He called to apologize.”

  “He’s got some nerve,” Kamaya said. “He kidnaps you, demands one million dollars in ransom and he thinks all he has to do is apologize?”

  Mason shrugged. “Desperate times will make people do desperate things, Kamaya. I can’t discount that without Daniel’s help I would not have been able to accomplish half of what I accomplished here in Thailand. Daniel is not a bad man. He just made a very bad decision. In his eyes one million dollars wouldn’t make a dent in my bank account, so it wasn’t going to be missed.”

  “That she-devil he calls a daughter isn’t much help to him, either,” Phaedra muttered under her breath.