by Vella, Wendy
The plane had taken off and leveled out and she hadn’t even flinched. Ethan took off his belt and stretched out his legs. It had already been a long day and it would be many hours before he actually found a bed, hopefully with this woman lying beside him.
“Nothing,” Annabelle, said still looking out the window.
“Jake told me you were the one who looked after your brothers after your mother died and you’d moved in with your uncle. Supposedly your uncle wasn’t around much, and Jake was never sure how you managed it on the money you got working for his mother.” Ethan kept talking to her, determined to get her to open up, or yell at him; either would be fine with him. “Did you get the extra by gambling?” It was a guess, but by her reaction, he figured it was an accurate one. Her shoulders jerked backwards and she spun to look at him.
“You talked to Jake about me?”
Her glare wasn’t as fierce as some she’d given him, but there was still a fair amount of heat in those brown eyes.
“Yeah, you’re hot and you intrigued me, so I questioned everyone about you,” he said just to irritate her further. If she was arguing with him, she wasn’t worrying about her brother.
“I don’t like people talking about me. It just pisses me off, so don’t do it again.”
It was a foolish conversation, they both knew it, but she needed a distraction and Ethan was happy to supply one.
“Honey, you’re beautiful, and people can’t help but look at you, so it goes without saying that along with that comes the talking part,” he added reasonably.
“I’m not a fucking doll, Gelderman, I’m real.” She slapped a hand on her chest. “Don’t treat me like I’m brainless just because my face is okay.”
“Okay,” Ethan snorted, then followed it up with smile. “Your face is not just okay, it’s goddamned outstanding. There’s this line of your cheekbones…” He touched it, sliding his finger along the edge, and she slapped his hand aside. “Then there’s this one down your nose to the soft pout of your bottom lip.”
“Cut the bullshit, Ethan.”
“You don’t think you’re beautiful?” That she didn’t see what others did intrigued him.
“I’m not getting into this with you, so just shut up unless you have something important to say,” she said, turning away from him again.
“It was your legs that I first saw. You were wearing that short pink skirt and I remembered thinking that one day I wanted those wrapped around my waist—”
She jumped to her feet and started to attack him. The first blow landed on his ear and Ethan saw stars, but he managed to get catch her hands before she got another one in.
“My brother is in danger and you’re talking about my legs!” She was screaming at him, eyes wide, her whole body in attack mode. “I may never see him again and it’s my fault!”
“Why is Cooper’s gambling and drug habit your fault?” Ethan gritted out as he wrestled with her, trapping her legs between his as she lifted one to kick him. He raised the arm of the chair and then used his body weight to flip her under him. She managed to free an elbow and jab him hard in the stomach, which made him grunt.
“I should have taken his calls!”
She was breathing hard as she fought against him, her body bucking, but he was bigger so his weight advantage kept her pinned beneath him.
“Okay, so because you didn’t take his calls, he went out and took more drugs and gambled, is that how you think it went?”
She closed her eyes tight as he looked down at her, and suddenly all the fight went out of her as she stopped struggling beneath him.
“I should have spoken to him. Maybe I could have helped him.”
“It would have been putting a band-aid on it, honey, you know that. Talking to you would have only stopped him for a while. He’s sick, he needs help, and you may be a nurse, but you can’t do this alone, especially if he’s a man who doesn’t want to be helped.”
Not yet, anyway, Ethan thought. He had a few plans running through his head, but before he could implement them, they needed to get Cooper out of Vegas.
“He’s my brother.” Her words were a ragged whisper, the sound of a brokenhearted woman.
“I know, baby, and we’ll get him back, I promise.”
She let him pick her up and carry her to the bedroom at the rear of the plane. Lying with her on the bed, Ethan then held her until he felt her body ease into sleep. When he was sure she was out, he went back out to the main cabin and began making calls.
They touched down in Las Vegas at three o’clock in the morning. He’d arranged for an SUV to be waiting for them at the airstrip.
“Is that waiting for us?”
“It is,” Ethan said in answer to Annabelle’s question.
“How did you get it here when it’s not even working hours?” She looked around and then back to the vehicle.
“Money and contacts is how. Now get in,” Ethan said.
He started the SUV and headed out of the airfield. Bills had given him directions to the place he’d last seen Cooper, which had been two days ago.
“You know he’s going to look bad, don’t you? He will have lost weight, and probably won’t be lucid if he’s as bad as this guy Bills says he is,” Ethan said. He needed to prepare Annabelle for what they would find, and that was only if they found Cooper Smith still alive.
“I’m a nurse.” She said that as if that answered everything.
“And you’re exposed to drug addicts daily in Howling, is my guess.”
“I’m not a fool. I trained in Washington, and they have drug addicts there.” Her words were flat.
“We’ll get him out of here. I promise,” Ethan, said hoping he could deliver.
She sighed. “I hate that you’re involved in this, but it feels a whole lot better knowing you are.”
He squeezed her knee but said nothing further.
The address was a four-story apartment building in a seedy part of town. Ethan pulled the SUV up under a streetlight and collected the bag of money from under the seat.
“What’s in that?”
“Cash and a gun,” he said calmly before lifting his shirt and tucking the money around his waistband.
“Oh my God, is that all the money? A hundred and fifty thousand dollars? Someone put it under the seat ready for you and you never told me?” Annabelle’s eyes were wide as she watched his movements.
“I thought I’d put off this argument till now,” he said, then pulled down his sweater and shrugged into the black rain jacket he’d brought with him to cover it. He slipped the gun into his boot.
“I feel like I’ve stepped into some kind of movie,” Annabelle said. Her face was white now, her hands shaking as she lifted it to brush hair off her cheek. “You seem too calm, as if this kind of thing is entirely natural, when inside I’m Jell-O. My knees hurt they’re so weak, and I’m pretty sure that wedding cake is about to make a reappearance.”
“I’m a Texan, honey. Not much can get us worked up.” He flashed a smile, but her color was fast turning green, so he pushed her head down between her knees. “Breathe, woman, for the love of God.” She did, slowly, and when he let her back up she looked shaky but her eyes were clear.
“I didn’t follow through with my first instinct, which was to leave you in the plane, because I knew that A, you’d probably relocate my balls to the back of my throat if I tried, and B, I think Cooper may need your medical expertise. But,” he added as she opened her mouth, “you will do what I say from this minute onwards. You stick to me like we’re attached with glue, and don’t leave my side until I tell you to. Got that?”
Her teeth snapped together, but she reluctantly nodded.
“I mean it, Annabelle. This shit could get nasty, and I have no idea what or who is inside that building. Best case scenario is that we pay your brother’s debts, get him, and leave.”
“What’s the worst case scenario?” she whispered.
“Hell if I know, but be prepared for anything.
”
They got out, and he took her hand as they crossed the street and entered the building. He could feel eyes on them. Even at this early hour, there were people about; they were just hiding in the shadows. Every wall in the building was tagged with something, and the place smelled of things Ethan would rather not think about, so he headed for the stairs.
The address Bills had given him was on the second floor. They climbed until they reached the upstairs hallway. The light in the ceiling had blown, so he pulled out his phone, turned on the flashlight app, and shone it on the doors. Annabelle was stuck to his back, her fingers holding on to the belt loop of his jeans.
“This is it,” he said when he saw the number on the door. Lifting a hand, he knocked, then waited.
“What do you want with Cooper?”
The man had materialized behind them so quietly neither of them had seen him arrive. Big, with long dark hair, he was built like a wrestler.
“I’m his sister, and we’re in town and want to see him,” Annabelle said, moving to Ethan’s side.
He’d told her not to speak; the surprise was that she’d waited this long.
“He ain’t got no sister.”
“Yes, he does, and I’m it!” she snapped. “You want to see my driver’s license?”
“You’ve got a smart mouth on you for a woman,” the man drawled, looking her up and down, which pissed Ethan off.
“She does, but she’s my smart mouth, so kept your eyes off her,” Ethan snarled.
“No harm in looking, man.” He held up his hands.
“Is Cooper in or not?” Ethan asked.
“He’s in, but not sure as you’d want to see him, lady.”
Ignoring the words, Ethan opened the door and pulled Annabelle in, then shut it behind him. There was no lock, which made his teeth snap together. A lock would have given them some time before the others arrived, as he was sure they would.
“We have to move quick. That guy will be contacting the people Cooper owes money to and telling them we’re here.”
“I can’t find a light,” she whispered.
“The electricity is probably shut off.”
Using his flashlight app again, he moved into the room. It smelled worse than the hallway. They walked the main room and found no one, so they headed for the only room off it, and that was where they found Cooper Smith.
“Cooper!” Annabelle’s cry was pure agony as Ethan’s light touched the man lying on the bed. He was slumped sideways, and shivers wracked his body. His cheeks were hollow, his hair long and lank, and his breathing was a weak rasp. Ethan held the light on Cooper so she could see him while she checked him over.
“He’s unconscious.”
Ethan then watched as Annabelle fought a battle with herself. She went from hysterical sister to nurse before his eyes. She took his pulse, lifted his eyelids and did other things he’d seen Jake do a time or two. When she was finished, she turned to him, her eyes now calm.
“We have to get him out of here now. He’s weak and needs help.”
“Okay, search the room for anything you think he may need, passport, anything, because chances are it won’t be here in the morning. Which is actually only a couple of hours away,” he said, looking out the window.
She ran, taking his phone with her, pulling out drawers, looking in closets and cabinets and then under the bed. She pulled out the bag she found under there and stuffed the few pitiful items she’d found into it.
“Okay, I think that’s it, but I left the clothes.”
The door opened as she spoke and in walked two men. They were in the shadows, so Ethan couldn’t see their faces.
“He’s not leaving without paying what he owes me,” one of them said.
“I’ll pay you, but not until we’re at the car,” Ethan said as he bent to pick up Cooper and then moved to stand before the two men. “Annabelle, come here.” Ethan kept his voice steady, and she quickly moved in behind him and gripped his belt loop again.
“If you try anything, I’ll shoot you all,” one of the men said.
Now that he was closer Ethan could see them. One wore a suit, the other casual clothes. He was guessing the suit was the boss.
Ethan didn’t speak again, just headed for the door. He figured if he kept moving they’d either follow or shoot him. He was hoping for the first option, so he walked around them and out the door with Cooper in his arms. Annabelle’s brother weighed less than Mikey, and his head rolled from side to side as Ethan moved. He was still breathing, but Ethan believed only just. Once they were in the hallway he pulled Annabelle in front of him, feeling the tension in her body as it passed his.
“It’s okay now. Just do exactly as I say. Lead the way now out now, Annabelle.”
They walked slowly. The only sound was Cooper’s breath as he struggled to draw each one into this body. The silent procession made its way to the front entrance of the building and Ethan noticed the sky was lighter as they stepped outside. He kept walking until they reached the SUV.
“Open the door, Annabelle.” She hurried to do as he asked. “Now get in and I’ll pass Cooper to you.”
“What are you going to do now?” She looked at him as he placed Cooper gently into her arms.
“Here’s the keys. Now if anything goes wrong, you get in the front and drive to the airfield, and don’t stop.” Ethan whispered the words. “The pilot has instructions to get you out of here if need be.”
“No! I won’t leave without you.” She gripped the edge of his jacket.
“You promised you would do exactly what I asked of you.” He looked into her beautiful brown eyes. “You need to promise me, sweetheart.”
“I-I can’t. Don’t make me leave you.”
“Get out here now before I start shooting!”
Ethan removed her fingers from his jacket. “You run if I tell you, or if you hear gunshots,” he said before he got back out of the SUV.
“I have the money under my shirt, so don’t shoot me while I get it,” he said as he moved away from the door.
Neither man spoke as he pulled each wad of cash out and handed it over, then the suit counted it on the hood. When he was finished, he came back to stand in front of Ethan.
“I’m telling you this because you paid his debts and I don’t want to see his face in this town again,” the man in the suit said.
Ethan nodded as his stomach clenched. This was not going to be good news.
“You need to know that I’m not the only one he owes money to, and the other guy, Jenson, he’s a mean sucker. Cooper owes him a shitload more than this.” He pointed to the cash the other man was now collecting off the hood. “So take my advice and leave now and get as far away as you can,” he said, and then they both headed back across the street and climbed into a long black limo.
Drawing in a lungful of much needed air, Ethan got into the driver’s seat. He spun the wheels as he sped out of town and back to the airstrip. They’d be safe once they got back to Howling; he had to believe that.
Annabelle said in a wobbling voice, “I was so scared when you got out. What you said to me about leaving you…”
He felt her hand on his shoulder and placed one of his over it briefly before returning it to the steering wheel. “It’s okay.”
“Cooper’s bad, Ethan, really bad.” He could hear that fear again, fear that a sister felt for the brother she loved. “We need to get him to a hospital fast.”
“Not here. That guy said to leave town now because Cooper’s made some enemies and if they find out he’s running, they’ll come after him. So unless you think he’s going to die without hospital care, you need to tell me what he needs to get him home, and I’ll see you get it.”
“I don’t know if he’s going to die, but he’s going to be dead if these people catch up with him. So we have to take the risk, don’t we?”
He caught her eyes in the mirror. “Yes.”
“Okay, then, we do that,” she said, and he was proud that she soun
ded calm when she was anything but. “My guess is he’s still using heroin. That’s what he was using before. He needs prescription medicine, but we can’t get that till we get home.” She was working through things aloud, so Ethan stayed quiet and let her talk. “Just pull up at the first drugstore you find open and ask what they have for heroin withdrawal. I’m sure it’s a question they’ve been asked before. And water. We need to get some into him.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Annabelle watched Ethan run into the drugstore and wondered if he would ever forgive her for putting him through this. Not that she would forgive herself anytime soon. When he’d asked her to leave him back at that apartment building she’d gone cold. Just the thought of doing that, leaving Ethan alone with those men, had made her realize just how much he now meant to her. Walking away from him would never have been an option for her…not ever.
She looked down at her brother, then bent and kissed his forehead.
“Dear God, Cooper, how could everything have gone so wrong for you?”
He didn’t answer her, and she hadn’t expected him to. He was in the throes of a nightmare that Annabelle knew would take him months, possibly years, to recover from. They’d fight this, and it would be long and dirty, but hopefully when they came out the other side they’d still be sane. She’d get Cooper clean. He’d always be an addict, but she hoped a recovering one, and then she’d have to find a way to pay Ethan back.
He’d shown no fear through the entire ordeal, not even when those men had arrived, one carrying a gun that he’d pointed at them. Ethan had calmly said that if they followed him to the car then they would get their money, while Annabelle had been terrified, fear making her body shake so hard she’d had to clench her teeth together.
“I have a bag of things that the guy said would help until we get to a doctor,” Ethan said when he returned to the SUV.
“Thank you.” She could barely get the words out. They seemed inadequate; a simple thank you would never convey how grateful she was to this man, how humbled she was that he had done all he had for her. “For everything,” she added.
“You were there for me with my family. I just did the same,” he said, looking at her in the rearview mirror.