by Wendy Stone
Gabe felt sympathy for the man who was really little more than a boy given too much responsibility and not allowed to sow his wild oats. He’d taken advantage of a girl, and the girl’s entire family had been made to pay because of it. “Frankie, please tell me this whole debacle wasn’t because a boy got his feelings hurt by a girl? You had an entire family wiped out because your little boy couldn’t get his wick dipped again? That’s not just sad, it’s despicable.” He shook his head.
“My son made a mistake, he’s human, but he was willing to take responsibility for Caitlyn and their child. She’s the one who had their baby killed.”
“Do you want to know the truth about all of this?” Gabe growled. “Do you want to be sure your grandchild hadn’t been killed the same night that you killed Tony?”
“How are you going to do that?” Frankie asked, suspiciously.
“I make a phone call. One phone call, Frankie, and then you and Caleb will know for sure what type of girl Caitlyn truly was.” He sent a silent prayer skyward that Caitlyn didn’t disappoint him in this.
Frankie stared over at his son still collapsed on the floor. He was crying into his hands, and Frankie seemed to know how he felt. If he put the hit on the girl and she hadn’t been planning on getting rid of his grandchild, what kind of man would that make him? “Who do you need to call?”
“The agent assigned to me; Lexi Hunter. She can find out the facts of the case easily enough. She would only need to call me back.”
Frankie took one last look at Caleb and nodded at Gabe. “Fine, make your call, but you tell them nothing. Not where you are or who has you, got me?”
“Yeah.” He gave Frankie’s muscle the number to Lexi’s cell and listened to it ring and ring. Right before it went to voice-mail, he heard her pick up. “Lexi! Baby, are you okay?”
Frankie growled, and Gabe knew he was pushing it. “Listen to me, Lexi. I don’t know how much time I’ve got. I need you to find out something for me. I need to know if Caitlyn Blandon was pregnant at the time of her death. You gotta call me back and let me know. It’s important.”
He heard her voice and then nothing as Frankie flipped the phone closed at his last word. “Frankie,” Gabe said softly. “I know you love your son and you’d do whatever you could to make him happy. Is killing me going to make him happy?”
“You’re a loose thread that needs wrapped up, Gabe. It doesn’t matter if I want to kill you or not. You know it was my family that killed the Blandons. Caleb wouldn’t do well in prison, and I’m not giving those cons a chance at making him their bitch. With your death, everything can be swept under a rug and forgotten about.”
Caleb’s head popped up as he heard his father’s words. He stood up with a steady and determined look upon his face. “You want to sweep your grandchild under a rug, forget about him? Dad, I’ve done anything and everything you’ve ever wanted me to do, but if Caitlyn didn’t abort our baby, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive you for having her and her entire family killed.”
“Caleb...” Frankie began.
“No! You wanted Caitlyn out of my life, and I quit seeing her. When she called and told me she was pregnant, you told her we would raise the baby without her, and I allowed it. When you brought Teri into this house and asked me to marry her, even when I knew she’s been your whore for almost two years now, I said yes, but I don’t think I can do much more of this.”
Frankie opened his mouth, and the cell phone in his hand rang. He stared at it for just a second before he opened it and put it up to Gabe’s ear. “Yeah, Lexi.”
Gabe didn’t speak for a few seconds. “Okay, thanks, Lex. Uh, huh.”
“What did she say?” both Traegers asked.
“Caitlyn was almost two-and-a-half months pregnant when she was killed. There’s no evidence she had an appointment anywhere to rid herself of her pregnancy. Crime scene found books in her room about how to care for herself and a newborn baby. She was having the child, Caleb.”
Gabe had never seen a look of such hatred as the one Caleb gave his father. “You motherfucker! I should have never let you take her away from me. Never!” He moved away from the chair Gabe was seated in. “I’m dead to you,” Caleb told Frankie.
“Caleb! Wait!”
When Frankie followed Caleb out of the room, Gabe yanked at his hands still tied with the same now blood-soaked rope. He pulled and yanked, finally grinning as the lengths of rope slipped off his wrists and over his hands, freeing him. He could hear the two men out in the hallway, could hear the fight still going on. Running behind the desk, he pulled open the door on one side of the fireplace and slipped out into the garden.
Peeking around the side of the house, he could see Traeger’s goons heading toward the front door as the sound of shattering glass filled the air. Keeping down, he raced over to Caleb Traeger’s car; a 2010 Chevy Camaro, with all the bells and whistles. He turned the key, feeling it catch and then vibrate beneath him as if it were alive.
“Okay, baby, get me out of this, and I’ll make sure you’re okay too.” He slipped the transmission into first and rammed on the accelerator, knocking two of Traeger’s men through the air to leave them unconscious on the front lawn. More men were coming, including Caleb Traeger, who watched in shock as his pretty, bright-red Camaro smashed into the front gates, slamming them back and into the walls of the fence.
Gabe ran through the gears, barely touching the brakes at every intersection. He was running for his life, and he knew it. Turning onto the main road leading around the lake and back into town, he floored it. The engine grumbled and growled, vibrating under him with a showy flash of muscle. He knew the road and where the sticky spots were going to be. One was coming up; a sharp S curve. If he missed it, he’d be axle-deep in lake water.
The sound of a gunshot behind him had him ducking. He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Frankie Traeger following him. If he slowed down too much, Traeger would knock him off the road and leave a 9 mm slug in his brain. “Fuck,” he growled, sliding the car from one side of the road to the other. The back window shattered, safety glass flying all around him. He ducked down as another shot came his way.
Lights were coming around the first curve, and he knew he had to slow down or he was going to hit the car as it moved toward him, then he saw the red and blue flashes and knew they were cops. He slowed down, but it wasn’t enough. The Camaro fought him as he tried to get it to stay on the road. He was headed toward the first car and saw Lexi’s wide eyes as the Camaro broadsided her. Her car slid across the shoulder and through the guard rail, flying about fifteen feet above the water before coming down hard. Gabe fought with the damn air bag and looked up just in time to see the water splash and the top of the roof of Lexi’s car slide under the water.
Chapter Fourteen
Gabe rubbed his head, his foot still hard on the brakes. He saw blood on his fingers and cursed. He waved his hand in front of him to disperse the powder that exploded along with the air bag, and then it hit him like a brick in the head. “Lexi!”
He could still see the shocked look upon her face as he’d come barreling toward her and the horror as she realized he couldn’t stop. He’d slammed into the side of her car, and he could still see the ghostly gray side of her vehicle as it flew through the air toward the icy cold depths.
The Camaro stopped at the edge of the pavement, and he smashed his shoulder against the door, praying it would open. After the third time of trying, it gave, creaking noisily as he shoved it open. He ran down to the edge of the water, stumbling the first few steps until he caught his balance. He could see the car lights under the water. It was completely submerged. “Fuck!” He glanced around, and then kicked off his shoes before diving in.
* * * *
The car sank fast, and Lexi struggled against the steering wheel that held her locked into place. She could feel her lungs beginning to burn, and she was becoming panicky. Her eyes grew even wider when Gabe, blood streaming from a wound in his f
orehead, was suddenly there in front of the windshield.
He beat his hands hard against the cracked glass, finally reaching for the corner of the windshield and pulling it out of the opening. Bracing his feet on the hood, he reached in, grabbing hold of the steering wheel and yanking up on it with all his strength. It was stubborn, and he grasped it again. He stared down into Lexi’s eyes as they began to lose focus.
* * * *
The last of the air bubbled out of her mouth, and she gaped like a fish, reaching her hand up to him, only to float with the flow of the water. He growled at the pain of watching her die and strained with everything he had in him, tearing the wheel up. Lexi floated free underneath it, her hair escaping from the pins she’d used to keep it up. He reached in and dragged her out, pushing off the hood one last time.
He held his arm around her waist, kicking his feet and pulling against the coldness of the water with the other arm. He could see the brightness of the sunshine above him, drawing him on like a beacon in the watery depths he braved to retrieve the woman he loved.
His head broke the water, and he dragged her up as well, hearing the hue and cry of the cops and the fascinated onlookers that stood against the lake shore. Lexi was heavy against him, limp, her hands trailing along behind him as he swam toward the men.
“Help me!” he shouted when he was close enough. Hands reached out, tearing her from his arms, before helping him out as well.
“She’s not breathing.” Gabe pushed past the man who spoke, bending over her.
“You’re cops. Don’t you know CPR?” He flipped her to her stomach, pushing gently against her back to expel the water in her lungs, and then he flipped her back over, fitting his mouth to hers, and pinched her nose closed. He lifted his head, putting his ear to her mouth, feeling the air come back. He breathed again into her mouth. “Come on, Lexi. Don’t leave me, baby. Come back to me.” Three breaths later, with a lot of praying and cursing on his part, the cops were beginning to try to pull him away.
“She’s dead, man. Let her go.”
“Don’t touch me!” Gabe growled, snarling at any one who tried. He breathed one last big breath of air into her lungs and tears began to fall down his face as a sob shook his shoulders. “Come on, Lexi. Come back to me.”
Her body hitched, and she coughed harshly, spitting out another mouthful of lake water. He lifted her up, gently patting her on the back. “God, Lexi. I’m so sorry.”
“You...You got me out.” She shivered harshly, reaching up to grab hold of his wet shirt. “You saved me.”
“I also put you in there. The car was going too fast. I couldn’t stop. I tried, I just couldn’t stop.” He buried his face against her neck. “I almost lost you. I almost killed you.”
A police officer draped a plain, dark-gray blanket over them. Suddenly, there was a commotion nearby. Gabe looked up just in time to see Caleb and Frankie Traeger being dragged, handcuffed, over to the police vehicles. Frankie saw Gabe. “He stole my car. I want him put up on charges of grand theft auto.”
Caleb was there as well. “My father was holding Mr. Elliott against his wishes, and it was my car he borrowed, not his. I’m not pressing charges. I’d also like to speak to the ADA about the illegal activities my father is responsible for, up to and including the death of the Blandons.” Caleb glanced Gabe’s way one more time and gave him a wink.
“Caleb, shut your fucking mouth. Don’t you dare disrespect your father here, understand me, Caleb. Caleb!” The rest was unintelligible as Frankie was put in the back seat of one cruiser and his son sat in the front seat of another. Gabe and Lexi were helped up by Joe and Gerald.
“Did you find Toby and Luke?”
“Sleeping on the job, boss. Someone got the jump on them, and they were handcuffed to each other in the back yard.”
“Were they hurt?” Lexi asked, her eyes filling with tears.
“Nothing beside a few tiny bumps on the head. You know they got hard heads, boss. There’s no reason for the water works. Only thing really hurt was their pride.”
“Agent Hunter and Mr. Elliott, we are going to want you to be checked out.” said an emergency medical technician, holding open the back of an ambulance.
“Oh, I don’t need a hospital,” Lexi tried to say, but she was outvoted when Gabe reached down and lifted her in his arms, hauling her complaining and struggling body to the ambulance.
“You weren’t breathing, Lexi. You were dead. I can’t go through that again, not ever. So sit with me in here and let’s get checked out so we know you’re all right. I hate hospitals too, but you don’t hear me doing any complaining.” He scooted closer to her to let the EMT into the back as well. The doors were slammed shut, and they were on their way.
“You don’t have a witness to protect anymore,” Gabe said softly. “Caleb Traeger just promised to flip on his father’s organization. After what his father did, I can’t see him backing out on that. You don’t need me anymore.”
He began to pull away, but she grabbed his face, turning him back toward her. “I will always need you, Gabe. I love you. You aren’t getting out of this relationship that easily.”
He smiled, picking her up and sitting her on his knee. “I love you, too, Lexi. I just didn’t want you to think I would hold you to any of the things you said to me when we were stuck in that house.”
“Well, now, that’s just a hoot because I am holding you to it. Every little bit. You’re going home with me, and you’re going to meet my family. You’re going to bring my mother roses, and you’re going to ask my father for my hand in marriage. I want it all, Gabe. I want the impossible-to-sit-in dress and the eight attendants. I want the church and my father to walk me down the aisle. I want to see you standing there, waiting for me, so we can take those first few steps as husband and wife. If that’s not what you want, then let me out of this ambulance right now.”
“Your dad’s a nice guy, right?” he asked nervously.
“My dad’s a Hunter, Gabe. Hunter men are strong, reliable, egotistical and arrogant. He’ll make you prove you love me, and you’re going to take every challenge, baby, because you love me.”
“I...I do love you, Lexi. Didn’t you tell me at one time you have four brothers?”
She laughed at the look of sheer terror on his face. “Oh come on, Gabe. You ran with the mob, you worked for one of the biggest bosses in Monroe City. You cannot possibly be afraid of my four brothers.”
“Can I have a piece?” He glared at her as she began to laugh harder. “Maybe I should have left you at the bottom of the lake,” he snarled under his breath.
She turned him to face her and ran her hand over his face, gently pushing at the bump on his forehead where he’d hit the steering wheel of the Camaro. “I’ll be at your side through every single minute, Gabe. I promise. If they get too bad, I’ll sneak you out, and we can go to my favorite make-out spot from when I was a kid. I won’t let them hurt you.”
“I’m not scared of them...okay, well maybe a bit of your old man, but I can handle the rest of it.” He hummed his approval when she slid her lips over his, coming back over and over to taste and tease before he tired of the teasing and held her against him. “I want to start a gym,” he whispered against her mouth. “Not one of those sissified places where they serve funky juices and little girls work out in skimpy clothes. I want a place for boxers, for people who want to try the Sweet Science, guys like me.”
“That sounds great, really great, as long as you don’t come home to me every night all bruised and swollen.” She laughed when he lifted her back to his lap. She could feel that even through his icy cold and wet clothes, a certain part of his anatomy already was swollen. “You are impossible,” she whispered, meeting his eyes, “but you’re my impossible. I love you so much, Gabe.”
His answer was whispered against her lips. “I adore you, Lexi, forever.”
“I really hate to interrupt this beautiful moment,” the EMT said softly, “but I should really check yo
ur bump, and I want to listen to your lungs, Agent Hunter, so if you don’t mind?” He cocked his head toward the low-slung gurney.
Gabe kissed her once more before helping her move to the gurney, covering her up so her lips might actually change from blue to a warmer color. Her skin was cold to the touch, but her eyes were warm, and she held on to him all the way to the hospital as if unsure he was real.
Luke and Toby were standing out in the parking lot in front of the emergency room when the ambulance pulled up. They ran to Lexi as she was pulled out of the back of the ambulance. “Are you two okay?” she asked, ignoring the shocked look they gave her.
“We’re fine. Joe said that Gabe smashed into your car and sent you into the lake. Are you okay?”
“That’s what we intend to find out.” The EMT’s voice was slightly terse, and the two men stepped back, waiting until Gabe slipped out of the back of the ambulance. “Are you okay?”
“Just a headache. Let me tell you, those new Camaros don’t turn for shit when you’re doing ninety on an S curve.”
“Uh, no, duh, Gabe.” Joe laughed. “Come on. Let’s get you in there so you can get stitched up. We’d hate to have another scar mar that pretty face.” Joe ducked the half-hearted punch Gabe sent his way and grabbed his arm to help him into the hospital.
Epilogue
The music was playing softly as Gabe took his place at the end of the thin white runner. He tugged nervously at the collar and the tie he swore Joe tied tightly on purpose.
“Settle down, you’ll be fine,” a tall dark-haired man said. He had eyes that were more silver than gray, and he smiled over to where a woman was holding onto a little girl and a tiny boy. “Who knows; you might have a couple of those in a year or so.”
“I thought you were trying to get me to settle down,” Gabe growled at Aaron Hunter. “One step at a time, man. Don’t push me.”