Just as Stubborn

by Jeanne Arnold

  I leaned back on my haunches and observed Gabe as Caleb flashed the light over him. The sight of his injuries finally overwhelmed me. I grew lightheaded.

  “Legs,” Caleb rasped at me and grabbed my arm as I fell backward. He jerked me forward. I bumped Gabe and knocked his head.

  He moaned.

  “He’s awake. Oh no, his neck is all purple. Wake up,” I cried.

  Caleb grabbed at my shoulder. “Be quiet or I’ll have to tie you up too.”

  I choked down the bile rising in my throat. “Gabe,” I said and gently shook his knees. He grumbled again. “I’m here.”

  I tugged the blindfold off his eyes and let it fall to his collar. I took his head in my hands. My eyes welled up. He looked awful.

  Caleb sighed. “Avery, he’ll be okay. Don’t cry.”

  “I’m not crying. He’s hurt,” I said.

  I would never get used to seeing an entire side of Gabe’s face pummeled. Thankfully, his eyes were unharmed. I tried to hold his chin and jaw, but my hand pressed on the bruise and he groaned. He needed medical attention.

  “He thinks he’s Superman. Have you forgotten about his stunt with Hunt’s gang?”

  Thunder rocked the cabin, sounding like a freight train striking the walls.

  “Gabriel Halden, open your eyes,” I whispered and pressed my lips into his good cheek. I kissed from his ear to his eye. He stirred and I sat back to watch. “Gabe, wake up. It’s me.”

  Caleb stayed busy behind Gabe’s back and worked at removing the cuffs.

  I lifted Gabe’s head and forced his back against the seat. His head flopped to the side, and I slid onto his lap to hold him up. Slowly, I pressed my lips into his. I didn’t care that Caleb watched. I saw him look up. I ignored him.

  Gabe’s lips were sweet. I couldn’t identify what he’d eaten, but I was sure it was candy. I tasted more. His warm breath blew out of his nose, and I felt his chest rise against me as I pressed a deeper kiss to his lips. I didn’t stop. I kissed him until his neck tensed. His lips moved a fraction, just enough to notice.

  I kissed him harder.

  I knew he was awake. His breath rushed out, and he gasped, but he kept kissing me. Every nerve in my body squealed.

  “Av’ry?”

  “Hmm?” I answered.

  “Howdy there.” His deep voice warmed me. He lifted his head slowly and tried to smirk.

  I stared at his pained expression. He looked like hell.

  “You need ice or you’re going to swell up,” I told him as I fixed his matted hair.

  “That would be like putting lipstick on a pig,” Caleb gibed behind us. “You alive, little brother?”

  “What the hell happened?” Gabe hissed. “I’m tired.”

  “You got hit. Leon kidnapped you. You drove here.”

  Caleb flashed the light around.

  “We’re at a cabin.” Gabe coughed hard. “Why are we here? Why are you covered in mud?”

  “Yup. He’s still a genius,” Caleb snapped behind the chair.

  “It’s your cabin. Where’s Leon?” I asked.

  “Who’s Leon?” he said squinting.

  “Check his pupils. See if they’re dilated. I can’t get these damn things off.”

  I drew the light across Gabe’s face in slow motion.

  “Why am I…what happened to my face?” Gabe grunted. “Aw, it stings like a mother. Get me out of this. Turn the dang flashlight off.”

  “I’m working as fast as I can,” Caleb told him.

  “I saw you get hit with a gun,” I told Gabe. He lifted his chin and squinted. Then he grimaced and turned his head to spit on the floor. I looked away. “That’s really nice.”

  Gabe blinked a few times fast and stared at me with question.

  “Why are you here?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “She figured it out. She figured out what you said about the stabbing and the fork. I remembered where it happened,” Caleb shared. Then he addressed me. “The little weasel tossed my Gameboy in this lake, so I chased him down with a plastic fork and speared him—on accident.”

  “Gabe, you have that little scar above your knee. I remembered you told me in the summer how you got bit by a snake. Then you told me Caleb did it.”

  “How’d you get to Texas?” Gabe’s drawl intensified.

  I tipped my head back and studied his eyes.

  “You don’t remember?”

  “Naw. Fill me in. Jeez this hurts. Hurry it up. My shoulders are killing me.”

  “Stay quiet,” I said. I ran my fingers along the side of his face. He was warm. “What do you remember?”

  He shook his head lightly and moaned.

  “What day is today?” I asked.

  He tightened his eyes. “I have no freaking clue what today is. You’re really here, Av’ry?”

  “Yes, I’m really here.”

  “I can’t get these cuffs off,” Caleb said.

  “This might work,” Deliah’s voice traveled from the kitchen. She walked past the staircase and dangled a key in the air.

  “You’re awake,” I stated the obvious.

  “Hot damn. Give it here. I’m wasting precious time,” Caleb spoke above a thunder clap.

  Gabe stared at Deliah as the lightning flashed on and off.

  “What’s with him?” she asked as she got a closer look at Gabe’s face.

  “Who is that?” he asked.

  Caleb and I gaped at one another. Caleb hiccupped a laugh.

  “She’s our sister. You know the one Meggie popped out when we all got together that Thanksgiving after the storms hit about thirteen years ago. Before we all swallowed the drug that made us stop aging.”

  I huffed and placed my hands on Gabe’s legs. “He’s kidding, sort of. She’s your sister. You don’t remember?”

  “I don’t have a sister,” Gabe drawled. “What is going on?”

  Caleb fussed with the cuffs as I grew nervier. “Why is it taking you so long to free him? You have the key. We have to get him out of here.”

  “They busted the lock. Dang thing won’t turn,” Caleb grumbled.

  “Let me try,” Deliah said as she stepped behind Gabe. His eyes trailed her. “I have experience.”

  “You’re not gonna be able to do it if I can’t do it,” said Caleb.

  He slid out from behind the beam and let her take his place. Ten seconds later, Gabe sighed loudly and his arms fell to his sides. “Preciate it, Mona.”

  “You remember her?” I asked irritated. Deliah grinned. Gabe drew his gaze to me, and a suggestion of a smile appeared on his battered face.

  “Yeah, and I remember she owes me a truck and you owe me something big—that you’re mighty well aware of. I know there were two guys here too. I heard a diesel pull in.” Gabe tried to stand. “Jeezus, my legs.” He curled over to untie the ropes.

  “Oh no. I didn’t even see your legs were tied,” I told him apologetically.

  “Me neither. Hurry up and help me,” he whispered.

  “Avery should take Deliah to my truck. Get out of here before somebody comes back,” said Caleb.

  “No. We should all go,” I said as my fumbling fingers tried to untie the mess around Gabe’s jeans. “I’m not leaving without him.”

  “I’m staying right here. I’m gonna give him a little surprise. Pay him back,” Gabe said.

  “No!” The blood rushed out of my face. “You’re hurt.”

  “Just my pride’s hurt, Av’ry. I’m gonna get it fixed as soon as they come back. Go to the truck and wait. I can handle myself.”

  One foot was free.

  “Like you handled yourself into handcuffs and a broken jaw,” I told him.

  “I’m fine,” he drawled.

  “Count me in. I’ll happily lend a helping hand or a friendly fist,” Caleb said.

  “Take the phone and try to call the police out there.” Gabe looked up. “Stay in the truck.”

  Caleb slapped a hand on his thigh. “D
on’t bother. She doesn’t listen to that line.”

  I shook my head at Caleb. Gabe’s feet were free. He stomped and stood to stretch but appeared tipsy. I did a quick exam of his face and his torn shirt and winced.

  “Hurry up now. Stop pussyfootin’ and go hide in the truck,” Gabe ordered and sat back down. “C’mere first and make it look like I’m cuffed, would ya?”

  “No way. Please don’t do this,” I begged them both. “Let’s just go.”

  “There’s a truck pulling in!” Deliah shouted.

  “Hurry, go hide,” Gabe told me as he grabbed my waist, pulled my face down, and pressed a kiss into the side of my lip before sliding his hand all the way from the back of my knee to my butt. Then he shoved me away. “Go.”

  “Both of you get out. Go climb out the window and get in the damn truck,” Caleb barked into my face. “We got this handled.”

  “No,” I said, giving him my most assertive pose.

  “Jeez, Av’ry. Just go!” Gabe shouted as he pulled his arms back to set the cuffs on his wrists. “We’re just gonna turn the table on the bad cop and leave him here for the good cops. Go make the call and stay down.”

  “Please don’t get shot,” I said over my shoulder. “Better yet, please come with me.”

  “He’s not gonna shoot us. We’re the billion dollar ransom brothers,” Gabe deadpanned.

  I couldn’t believe it. I finally found Gabe, and all he wanted to do was sit and wait for trouble to come in and whack him with a pistol again.

  Why did boys handle everything with violence?

  Deliah and I bolted up the stairs. I followed her out of the window, and we held onto each other as we slid down the roof in the pouring rain. My hair whipped around my face, nearly blinding me. The temperature dropped, and the fog began to lift.

  “They’re so stupid,” I said as we splashed through the puddles. Deliah ran ahead and disappeared behind the trees. I stopped halfway and turned around as inspiration found its way into my veins. I wasn’t going to let them get killed while I sat in the truck. I was perfectly capable of helping.

  My feet marched back to the cabin. I knew I couldn’t get on the roof alone so I slid my back along the stone groundwork until I came to a wall I could peer around. There was nothing unusual on the property aside from, apparently, the flooding.

  My heart attacked me so hard my ribs bulged from the pressure as I ran to the sliding door in the kitchen, pulled it open, and slipped through. The granite island, partially shielded from Gabe, would work for a hiding place. I crawled across the floor. I focused in on the unusual accent, and there he was. My breath hitched as a man appeared in front of Gabe, where he pretended to be knocked out and slumped over.

  Caleb was nowhere.

  “I’m back,” the man announced. He tugged the blindfold off Gabe’s head and forced his chin up. Seconds later, Gabe had the chair out from underneath him and slammed it over the guy’s head.

  “That’s for my brother!” Caleb shouted. The man lost his balance and stumbled. “That’s for my tires!”

  Caleb? I thought he was Gabe. Caleb’s reaction impressed me. He shoved the man to the floor. I couldn’t believe his speed. The broken chair slid across the room. Gabe lunged at the guy and sucker punched him in the nose. He nailed the man in the gut when he tried to get up.

  I threw up in my mouth and stopped myself from hurling on the floor.

  “Not so tough when somebody fights back,” Gabe told him.

  “That guy works for me! He’s on the crew out near Mountrail, came up from Louisiana. Damn, little sister said Leon talked funny. What the freak is going on?” Caleb said and shook his head.

  Gabe bent down and swiped a pack of cigarettes off the floor and stared at them like they were dynamite. He shoved them in his back pocket and took a stab at kicking the guy on the ground when the man rolled over and reached out to grab Caleb’s leg.

  “Guess you’re fired,” Gabe sneered. The man didn’t respond, only moaned and groaned in agony. “This might explain why the lieutenant’s been off his rocker.” He rubbed his red jaw. His bruising reminded me of gruesome makeup.

  The hairs on my neck stood at attention. A creepy feeling tingled beneath my skin.

  That’s when I saw him.

  A second man, short and muscular, stood in the doorway, shaded by the darkness of the foyer. I held my breath and tapped my knuckles on the floor. Both Caleb and Gabe noticed me as I pointed to the entryway, but before they could react, the man aimed a gun into the room. He moved from brother to brother, his gaze shifting, eyes skilled and sharp.

  I watched in fear as Gabe and Caleb spread the space between them, sliding their boots across the wood floor in slow motion. I visualized a potentially bloody scene taking place—screaming, shouting, unending terror-filled minutes.

  “Oh, he knows by now. He’s been expecting me,” the man replied smugly. He stepped closer to Gabe, his arm outstretched.

  Caleb had a bat in his hand. I had no clue where it came from.

  “I’m gonna guess you’re Leon,” he drawled as he swung the bat back and forth in the air. He moved slowly away from Gabe. “Nobody needs to get hurt here.” He struck the wall with the bat in an intimidating manner. “Lieutenant won’t be too cooperative if he don’t have all his kids together for Thanksgiving dinner.”

  The bat smacked into a beam with a loud crack. Caleb meant business. He wasn’t afraid of anything.

  “I hear he’s one down this year,” Leon snapped.

  Caleb swung the bat at the man’s hand. The pistol flew out of Leon’s grasp. Gabe charged in to attack and kicked Leon’s leg out as he bent to grab the pistol from the floor. Caleb jumped in, and he and Gabe wrestled for the gun, but Leon scrambled to stand, kicked Caleb in the chest, and grabbed Gabe’s arm. Leon slid behind Gabe, setting his arm across his chest and pressing the pistol into his bruised neck.

  My arms trembled as I saw Gabe’s expression pinch in agony.

  Leon tightened his grip as Gabe wriggled in his clutch. I thought Gabe made eye contact with me again, but I couldn’t be certain. I needed to figure out how to help him.

  “He won’t miss another one of yous,” Leon said in his distinct accent.

  Caleb held his ribs and coughed. “Won’t be long before he finds out we’re back up one kid from where we started.”

  “You think he didn’t know had a baby girl growing up in Tennessee? Think again punk. He’s been hiding her since birth. I guess you fellas didn’t know about that little arrangement he had going with your mamma and your oldest brother.”

  “Don’t you dare bring Eli into this,” Gabe said under his breath, but I heard him.

  “Prove it!” Caleb shouted.

  The rain stopped. Nature quieted. Leon pushed the metal into Gabe’s neck.

  “There was an accident involving your mamma and your brother way back. He took the rap. You really don’t know about that one? Your father embezzled Sara’s company assets, kept the HalRem money for himself, and left her to raise the little mistake. He’s got enough dough to fund a third-world nation. Your mamma got nothing but the red-haired brat.”

  “That’s completely bull. You can’t intimidate the lieutenant with lies,” Caleb said with a nervous laugh. “He don’t take threats lightly.”

  The man on the ground moved. I caught his arm slide across the floor to nab Caleb, and I screamed when Caleb reacted and kicked him hard in the chest. The man’s hand flopped to the ground and a pistol spun out of his grip.

  “Get it, Avery!” Caleb shouted as he held the man down with his foot. “Go pick it up!”

  Leon’s surprised gaze flashed to me. He forced Gabe to stand taller. His beautiful hazel eyes tightened. He looked angry.

  I shifted my attention to the shiny, menacing weapon.

  Deliah shouted and distracted Leon as I picked up the gun cautiously. Her entry startled me.

  “Don’t jerk it, Av’ry,” Gabe drawled. I stepped back against the wall and held
the rescued weapon in my hand as if it was a bird with a broken wing. “It’s loaded.”

  “Let my brother go or I’ll shoot you, Leon!” Deliah’s arms were stiff as she aimed at Leon with another pistol. She didn’t appear afraid.

  Caleb ground his boot heel into the partner’s back and held him down when he tried to move. “Man, I gotta remember to lock that glove box,” he said. “Deliah, just give me my dang gun.”

  “I can hit anything,” she boasted to Leon. “You beat up my brother! I hope you’re scared now.”

  “Deliah,” Caleb persisted. He slid his other leg toward her. “Gimme that. You don’t know what you’re doing.” He swiped at her arm, but she stepped back.

  “No way!” she yelled. “He’s always trying to hurt my family. I hate him.”

  “Be careful, Deliah, okay? You could kill Gabe. Nobody needs to get shot. We can work this out,” I said.

  “He should be scared like he scares my mom and me. I know what he’s doing, Avery.”

  “Believe me, he’ll get what’s coming,” Caleb told her.

  Leon laughed. “She’s been helping me. So has your brother. Seems young Haldens are suckers for attention,” he boasted.

  “I didn’t help him. He tricked me,” yelled Deliah.

  “It don’t matter none. Just put the gun down,” Caleb told her.

  “Your father won’t ever want to look at you, Deliah Remington. He won’t acknowledge your name. He won’t be able to stand the likes of your face. You’re just a sorry little girl with a doped-up mamma and a father who thinks he’s above the law,” Leon shouted.

  “He made me do stuff. He’s lying!”

  “Give Caleb the gun. It’s not a toy,” I told her with a trembling voice. “Please listen to me.”

  Caleb’s hand reached for her while he tried to keep the other man down.

  Tears strained her voice. “I didn’t mean to do anything. I didn’t mean to hurt Gabe’s truck either.”

  “Just give Caleb the gun,” Gabe said in a strangled voice. He probably thought she couldn’t hit Leon and miss his body in the same shot. I knew she would kill Gabe if she tried.

  “Listen to us. Listen to Avery. You trust her, don’t you?” Gabe continued.

  Leon squeezed his arm and forced the gun so hard into his neck that Gabe bellowed a sound that sent me reeling.