Weston

by Dale Mayer

  She snorted. “Do you really think I came alone?” And just then two men burst through the kitchen, both with handguns.

  He swore as he stared at them because this was a whole different story. Angel was one thing, but it was another to see these two strangers with cold dead looks in their eyes. “What do you want Sari for?” Daniela cried out. Her body was stiff, tense against him.

  Angel laughed. “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “You don’t get her any longer.”

  “You can’t just kidnap another woman’s child,” Weston said. “What’s the matter? Did your brother actually make it legit when he wasn’t supposed to?”

  “He was also supposed to get me a payout by sending her letters this last while. He got up on his high horse and refused to do it. He said he couldn’t compromise his ethics, and the child was hers free and clear. But I wanted it set up so he was sending threatening letters so she would get used to it.”

  “Are you the one who sent the threatening letter to Grant and Ginger?”

  “Well, that was Terry,” she said, “but that’s where I got the idea from, only my brother wouldn’t do it.”

  “Of course not,” Daniela said. “Sari is mine.”

  “But she’s my daughter,” Angel said, “and unless you’ve got fifty thousand dollars to give to me right now, she’s leaving with me.”

  “Interesting figure,” Weston said. “Who’s buying her for that amount of money?”

  “Doesn’t matter who,” she said, “but they have more money than Daniela, and Sari will have a better life.”

  “And you need the fifty thousand to pay off Terry, your loan shark? Is that it?”

  She shot him a look full of hate. “That’s exactly it. So you see? I don’t have a choice here, even if I did want to keep her. She’s the only asset I have.”

  “Except for one thing,” Weston said. “She’s not an asset. She’s a child, and she’s not yours anymore.” He turned to look at the two men. “So, you from around here? Or did you come up to keep an eye on her?”

  “They’re Terry’s men,” she muttered, staring at them with almost hate in her gaze.

  The two men motioned toward the baby. “Grab her and let’s go,” one said. “We’ve got a flight ready, and you know we’ve got to be on it. Otherwise there’ll be hell to pay. Terry wants that money.”

  “And if he doesn’t get it? Then what?” Weston asked.

  “If he doesn’t get it, she’s dead,” the guy said, shrugging. “You pay him back the money fair and square. Otherwise she pays the price.”

  “Wow,” Weston said. “That’s not much of a choice, is it?”

  “Exactly,” Angel said, “but it doesn’t matter because I have to do this.” She walked over to Sari, but Daniela raced ahead, only the men stepped forward, one grabbing Daniela and the other one walking toward Sari.

  Weston knew Sari was covered because Shambhala was there to protect her. At least he hoped so. But with Angel and the two guys here, it might be more than Shambhala could do. One gunman was after Daniela and already had a chokehold around her neck and the gun against her temple. That was so they could use her to keep Weston compliant.

  He casually spun around and, with a hand motion, told Shambhala to attack.

  Chapter 18

  It was almost like watching something in slow motion. Daniela was held with a gun to her head, panic in her throat, her heart slamming against her chest. She watched as Shambhala leaped from a seated position, her jaw wide open and—not reaching for his gun arm, like Daniela would have expected—went straight for the man’s throat. He screamed and went down, fighting with the dog.

  All of a sudden she heard nothing but an ugly gurgling. She shuddered and turned to look away. All this was happening as Angel now tried to get Sari out of her high chair. But Weston was right there too. Then suddenly he had Angel in a chokehold, glaring at the gunman beside her.

  “I’ll kill Angel,” Weston snapped, “then you.”

  The gunman shrugged. “I don’t give a shit. Those are my orders. If we don’t get the money, we are supposed to take the baby and ditch Angel.”

  Angel stared at him, unable to speak, still choking under Weston’s pressure around her neck. Weston eased his grip enough to let her stand to the side. There wasn’t anything about this scenario he liked.

  “What?” he said in response to her look. “Why do I need you? You don’t even know the kid. The kid doesn’t know you. I can listen to it scream just as good as you can.” He sneered and without warning put a bullet in her head.

  Weston was already on the move, looking for a distraction, and somehow he had the dog moving once more.

  Daniela watched in horror as the dog raced toward them. The gunman turned his gun hand away from her and moved to point it at Shambhala, and she knew she had to stop that. She reached up with her leg, trying to kick his arm.

  As he tightened the chokehold around her neck, everything in her world sank down to a black circle, but she was determined to stop him from shooting the dog who had already saved her daughter once. Then, all of a sudden, the arm was jerked away from her throat.

  The dog had the gun arm this time, and there was Weston, landing one heavy punch in the gunman’s face. After a second heavy punch, the guy went to his knees. With the third one, his nose shattered, and he went down screaming. Then he went quiet.

  Weston stopped and talked to Shambhala. She looked at him, still growling with a bloodlust in her eyes that Daniela had never seen before. But, with simple hand gestures, Shambhala dropped the arm of the second man and came over to Weston, whining.

  He cuddled her gently and whispered, “Good girl. That was a good girl. You did exactly what you were supposed to do.”

  Daniela ran to Sari, who was screaming at the top of her lungs in terror. Daniela picked up her daughter and wrapped her arms around her, holding her close. And then, not wanting to be away from Weston or Shambhala, she crouched beside the dog and the man. Weston wrapped up all three of them in his arms, and Shambhala licked Sari’s face as she sobbed, each little hand clutching her furry friend. They all held each other like that for a long moment.

  “Is it over?” Daniela whispered.

  “Two dead probably, one not,” he said. “I’m still hearing sounds from behind you.”

  She didn’t want to look at the man whose throat had been ripped out because the blood was still pumping.

  “There’s nothing anybody can do for him,” he said gently. “It’ll be over fast. The other man, I think he’s gone, but I don’t know for sure though.”

  She shuddered and burrowed her face tight against him, while he tightened his arms and held them close. “I don’t know how that happened,” she whispered, “but, dear God, I just want it to be over.”

  “Except for this guy down beside us,” he said, “it is. Angel is definitely dead.”

  “Is it wrong of me to be happy about that?” she whispered.

  “No,” he said, “that would be completely normal. But I need to phone the detective.”

  She nodded and pulled back so he could find his phone. But, with the armload he was cuddling, it was hard. He finally got his phone out, and she realized his hands were bloody, but he dialed the detective. She could hear the call as he explained what happened. The detective sounded shocked, if not horrified, and then resigned.

  “I’m on the way,” he said, “but, damn, I was really hoping to get home and have a meal with my family tonight.”

  “At least now we know where Angel is,” Weston said. “You need to get an ambulance here for one guy. There’s nothing to be done for the other one.”

  “I’ll be there in ten,” he said in a resigned voice.

  Weston ended the call, while Daniela watched. She looked up at him and said, “Are we in trouble over this?”

  He shook his head. “No, we were defending our family. That’s all there is to it.”

  “What about Shambhala?” she asked, reaching out to stroke the be
autiful dog who’d done so much to save her baby girl.

  “Nope. She did what she was supposed to do too. If anybody would pay a price for that, it would be me because I gave her orders, but I don’t think that will be a problem either.”

  She sighed gently. “You know what? The next time you suggest going on a date, I think we should do it,” she said, “because, staying at home sucks.”

  He burst out laughing and said, “Listen. It’ll be an ugly night here. Do you want to take Sari and go stay somewhere else, like with your sister or something?”

  “I want to stay with you,” she said.

  “Good enough,” he said. “I’ll have to see if I can get you upstairs, while the men are working down here.”

  She nodded. “We will do what we need to do, but I wouldn’t mind an early bedtime and at least some chance to de-stress.”

  It was crazy watching the organized chaos as the detective came in and took one look, then shook his head and got down to business. After she’d given her statement, she was allowed to go upstairs with Sari. Shambhala went along at her heels, not leaving Sari’s side. And Daniela was beyond grateful. She owed the dog so much.

  She was just thankful Sari was okay. The fact that Angel was gone was shocking but a blessing for their future.

  Upstairs in her room, Daniela sat down and noticed the dress she’d planned to wear on their date. She shook her head. It wasn’t that late, but it had been an exhausting day. Needing something to keep her occupied, she gave Sari her bath and then tucked her into bed.

  After just a few minutes of reading, Sari was fast asleep with Shambhala lying beside the bed.

  Not wanting to leave her alone, Daniela sat here with her laptop, looking at various other US states. No way in hell she wanted to stay here now. She’d miss her sister, but it wasn’t enough to keep her here. When her phone rang, and she saw her sister’s number, she wondered if she wanted to answer it. Deciding to get it over with, she picked up the phone.

  “What’s going on?” Davida demanded.

  “You wouldn’t believe it if I could tell you,” she said tiredly, “and I’m not sure what I’m even allowed to say.” Still, she gave her the bare-bones story, cringing at her sister’s cries with every new turn in the twisted tale.

  “We’re safe now. I’m upstairs, while the police are at work down below. Sari’s in bed sleeping, and I’m sitting beside her with my laptop.”

  “Would you want to come here for the night?” her sister asked.

  “No, but thank you,” Daniela said. “I want to stay here with Weston. He’s had a pretty rough time of it too.”

  “I was really wrong about him, wasn’t I?”

  “I don’t know. He just defended the two of us against terrible odds, and we’re not hurt,” she said in disbelief. “But two dead people are downstairs, and another is severely injured.”

  “I hope that one dies too,” Davida said. “What has happened to this town?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, “but I’m more than ready to move.”

  At that, her sister gasped. “Seriously?”

  “Yes,” she said, emotionally exhausted. “I don’t know where yet. But I don’t want to spend another winter up here.” There was an odd silence, and then Daniela swore she could hear her sister’s frown.

  “Why?”

  “It just seems like a fresh start would be good. I’ll miss you though.”

  “Brian’s being transferred,” her sister said in a rush.

  Daniela froze. “Seriously?”

  “Yes,” she said. “To New Mexico.”

  “Oh, my God. You’re moving anyway.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I didn’t know how.” She sounded defensive.

  “Well, now you have,” she said. “And I made the decision to move regardless.”

  “You could come to New Mexico,” Davida said hopefully.

  “Maybe, I don’t know.”

  “Where is Weston from?”

  “Most recently, Santa Fe,” she said, laughing.

  Her sister gasped. Then started to laugh too. “Okay, so maybe I was really wrong. It sounds like a fated meeting to me.”

  “Not to mention we had the DNA testing rushed, and he is definitely Sari’s father.”

  “Oh my,” she said. “And Angel is gone forever, right?”

  “Yes,” she said. “And good riddance. She was planning to sell Sari for fifty thousand dollars to pay off a loan shark.”

  “Oh, my God,” Davida cried out. “How low can anybody go?”

  “Apparently very low,” Daniela said, suddenly supertired. “Listen. I’ll hang up now. I think I hear Weston coming up the stairs.”

  “Well, my offer still stands, if you want a place for the night. I can’t believe the police will let you stay there.”

  “I don’t know that they will, but I’d like to stay if I can.” With that, she hung up. She walked to the doorway to see Weston looking into the master bedroom, and, not seeing her, turning toward Sari’s room. She smiled up at him. “Are you okay?

  “I am,” he said, “but it’ll be chaos downstairs for quite a few hours. We can go to a hotel, you know?”

  She frowned, thinking about it and then said, “What would you like to do?”

  “It would have to be a hotel that takes dogs,” he said. “Otherwise I’d rather stay here.”

  “Agreed,” she said. “I’d like to get a steak just for Shambhala.”

  He smiled and joined Daniela in Sari’s room, then reached out a hand to the dog, who even now was at his daughter’s bedside. “She has certainly earned her keep,” he admitted.

  “Angel didn’t admit to killing her brother though, did she?”

  “Not in so many words,” he said. “I have no doubt that’s what happened. But I don’t know if there’s a way to prove it.”

  “I wonder if we’ll ever find out.”

  “I don’t know. I think the detective wants me to leave town and fast,” he said with a smile. “And you? What does your rental agreement say?”

  “It’s pretty standard,” she said. “I have to give a month’s notice.”

  He nodded. “And the end of the month is coming up.”

  “Yes,” she said. “So I have to pay for next month, but I could leave any time after that.”

  “And will you?” he asked, leaning against the doorjamb with his hands in his pockets.

  “Maybe,” she said. “If I had a reason to and a place to go. I just found out from my sister”—motioning at her cell phone—“that her husband is being transferred, moving to New Mexico.”

  “Wow,” he said. “It’s hard to argue with that.”

  “Maybe,” she said. “I don’t know what it’s like there.”

  “Well, it’s not nearly as cold,” he said with half a smile.

  She grinned and nodded. “Good point,” she said.

  He looked around at the furnishings. “How much of this do you want to keep?”

  She found herself considering the logistics of moving an entire household that far. “I’m not sure I care about very much of it. And how hard would it be to drive it all that far? Or should I just let it all go and fly?”

  “That stuff we can worry about later,” he said. “You should sleep now, if you can. I don’t know that you want to sleep in your bedroom now though, if she’s already asleep here.”

  “No,” she said, “I can’t sleep yet, but I thought I’d stay here.” She nodded to the rocker, near Sari’s crib, pointing out the daybed too.

  “Good enough. I’ll go back downstairs and keep an eye on things. We’ll have to tell the landlord too.”

  She wrinkled her nose up at that. “That won’t be fun.”

  He smiled. “I think it’s the law on something like this, but I don’t know. There’s some damage to the patio for sure. I don’t know if we can get the bloodstains out.”

  “It’s still better this happened outside than inside,” she muttered.

>   “Do you want me to bring you a cup of tea?”

  “Yes,” she said. “I would love that.” And she watched as he disappeared. Something was just so damn special about a man who looked after you like that.

  It was a while before he returned, almost an hour, but he was carrying a cup of tea. “Sorry it’s so late,” he said.

  “That’s fine. How is it going?”

  “Well, the bodies are gone. The forensics guys are working still.”

  “What about the guy you punched out?”

  “That’s both good news and bad news,” he said, squatting in front of her to study his daughter, who still slept soundly in her crib. Shambhala reached over and nudged him with her muzzle. Instantly he stroked and caressed her long silky fur. “He didn’t make it.”

  She gasped.

  “I guess, when I hit him, and his nose exploded, a piece of the bone went into his brain.”

  She took several long, slow breaths as her mind processed the information. “Once again,” she said, “I feel like it’s wrong to be happy about it, but it seems like the best thing for everybody.”

  “I don’t have a problem with it. That man came here, held a gun on my family and was trying to kidnap my daughter. As far as I’m concerned, having them all dead is the best way.” A shout came from downstairs, and Weston said, “I’ve got to go see what they want.”

  She smiled. “We’ll be fine here. Thanks for the tea.”

  He nodded and disappeared downstairs.

  Another two hours later he made it back upstairs again, and, when he walked into Sari’s room, Daniela was stretched out on the floor with her feet propped up on the edge of the crib, sound asleep too. He winced because he knew she would be damn sore in the morning, sleeping like that. He walked into the master bedroom and pulled back the covers, thinking he could wake her up and bring her to bed, but she resisted all forms of easy wakening. He smiled because she slept just as heavily as Sari did. Finally he scooped her up, carried her to the master bedroom and laid her down on the bed.

  Quickly he stripped her of her outside layer of clothing, leaving on her bra and panties, and tucking her under the covers. Instead of doing what he wanted to do, which was crawling in beside her, he reached down and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. He left a lamp on low.