Rodeo Rancher

by Lauren Wood

  I agreed, but I didn’t believe that anything was going to make me feel better. Something sinister was going on and his smile didn’t fool me. It wouldn’t take much of a push to get a completely different person out of Steve. That I knew for sure.

  There was no other choice then to go with it. He wanted to be in charge and at least until I was feeling better, I was going to let him think that. I had to, something inside of me said that I was just going to have to be quiet and wait for a good time. He hadn’t said that I was not able to leave, but I had a feeling that he wasn’t going to help me. Going up on deck was going to be scary, but then I would at least know where it was that I was at. I hoped to see some sort of landmark that would point me in the right direction.

  “I didn’t know that you had a boat Steve.”

  Steve was chopping vegetables and acting like this wasn’t strange at all. By the way he was acting it was like this was all normal to him. It certainly wasn’t normal to me, but I put on a brave face and tore the lettuce for the salad.

  “It is a client’s of mine. I made him a really good bit this quarter and he offered it to me. I wasn’t going to take it, but it all felt right. So now here we are.”

  I nodded my head slowly, trying to figure out how to ask a question that he wouldn’t shoot down so quickly. I wanted information and the more I asked, the less he gave me. That was the first straight answer that I had gotten since I had woke up.

  “I wish I had clients like that. I guess it would be a better chance of that if I didn’t work for the government, huh?”

  “I don’t think you would be able to even accept that kind of bonus.”

  It was working, he seemed to be relaxing.

  “What is that you are cooking? It smells so good.”

  “It’s just some meatloaf. I don’t know how to make too many things, but this is a recipe that I have made many times before.”

  “Well it smells good. You are right. I am starving.”

  “It will be ready soon, don’t worry.”

  I told him that I wasn’t worried, even though I really was. I was nervous about a lot of things and the dinner was the least of them. My stomach grumbled and reminded me that I was in fact hungry, but I tried to ignore it. I needed more information than food in my belly.

  Steve seemed calm and like he didn’t have a worry in the world. I think that was what freaked me out the most. He was just so calm about everything at the same time that I thought I was going to be sick I was so worried. I wished I knew what was going on in his brain. He didn’t seem to be bothered by the fact that we were on a boat and I hadn’t given my permission to take me. I don’t think it would have mattered if I would have or not.

  “I’m glad you are here Carol. I was afraid that it was going to end badly for us.”

  I wanted to ask him if this was good for me. It didn’t feel good for me. “Can we eat up on deck? I would really like to see the sun.”

  “It is already dark again Carol. I told you that you slept a while. A lot longer than I thought you were going to. You really had me worried for a little while there.”

  “Why?”

  He stopped like he had said too much and then gave me a lopsided grin. “It doesn’t matter Carol. All that matters is that you are okay and you are here with me.”

  I agreed while my mind whirled. What had he done to me and why would I being okay be in question. Steve had given me something. I wasn’t sure how he did it, but he must have drugged me in some way. That must be why I am feeling the way I am.

  Chapter 10

  David

  “Hey man, are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

  The dirty face standing over me was not one that I recognized. I grabbed the man’s shirt and pulled him down so that I could see him through the blood in my eyes. Was he one of the ones that had jumped me? I didn’t get to see them all, didn’t even know how many there were, so I wasn’t letting go of the man in front of me until I found out who he was.

  “Who are you?”

  “I just came here to do a bump and I found you lying here. I thought you were dead man.”

  At the moment, I almost guaranteed that he wished that I was dead. He was shaking in my grip and after a few failed attempts to get free, he didn’t even try anymore.

  “Did you do this to me?”

  The vagrant shook his head and I knew that he wasn’t one of them. He didn’t seem to have a bone in his body to hurt anyone and that made me feel a little bit better. That meant that the others were gone.

  “Where am I?”

  “You are in the old Douglas house. It hasn’t been used in years, except by men like me.”

  I let go of him and fell back down to the ground. I had never hurt so much in all of my life. Every movement hurt and I remembered the song about only hurting when I breathe. It was definitely doing that and I wished that I didn’t have to do it to survive. I needed to get up and get to my bike, but I was feeling nauseous from moving the little bit that I did.

  When I tried again, I felt blackness coming for me again. I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t. All I could think about was who had done this to me and how they were going to pay for it. I was going to find out, I always did and there would be hell to pay.

  ***

  “Mr. Lorefft. We are glad to see you are finally up.”

  My eyes closed to the bright light above me and it was nothing like where I had been last time that I woke up. I was no longer in the dirty, dark house. When I opened my eyes again, I saw that the man who was talking to me was in a pair of blue scrubs, so I knew that I was at a hospital.

  “How did I get here?”

  “You were found like this and someone called you an ambulance. I would say that this is your lucky day.”

  I tried to get up and grimaced. “It doesn’t feel like good luck.”

  He chuckled and told me to lay back. “Take it easy big guy. You will have plenty of time later to do what you want, but for now take it easy and let yourself heal.”

  “I was attacked.”

  “That’s pretty obvious. You took quite a beating. I keep expecting the other guy to show up. You have enough scars on you that it is certain that this isn’t your first time.”

  I didn’t have anything to say. I wanted to find out who had done this to me. “What is the damage Doc?”

  “Well, not too much. A few broken bones and a whole lot of bruising and lacerations pretty much all over. I would say you were rather lucky.”

  That was the second time that he had said that and I was starting to question if he understood what that word even meant. “Still not feeling like it.”

  “No permanent damage so that is what many would call lucky. I also saw the gunshot wound in your chest. That one made you look lucky too. I wouldn’t have thought that a man wouldn’t have lived through that.”

  “Yeah, they said it was close. I didn’t have to stay in the hospital too long. When can I leave?”

  “Why are you in such a rush?”

  I gestured towards myself in the bed. Did he not see the why?

  “I just have things to take care of.”

  “I want to keep you overnight for observation.”

  “What is today?”

  “Friday.”

  I had been out a whole day and I still didn’t know why. I didn’t have another night to lose. I didn’t want whoever it was to think that got the best of me. They might have had the jump on me, but that was because I allowed it. I could have walked away, should have when I think about it now.

  “I don’t think that is going to work for me. I have to get out of here.”

  “I am running a few more tests. Wait until they come back and I will give you something to take home for the pain.”

  I would need it, hell I needed it now. I laid back in the bed and told him I would wait a little while. I wasn’t going to promise long, but I was so tired. Even after all of the sleep that I had gotten, I was exhausted. That or the nurse slippe
d something into my IV when I wasn’t looking. Either way, the doctor was going to get a little more time for his tests.

  ***

  When I came to again, the doctor was gone and it was light out again. I still felt off and I wasn’t sure what was going on or what day it was even. All I know is that I needed to get out of here and make some calls. I couldn’t let this go and I wanted to know who did this to me. I had every intention of taking care of whoever they were before I left town.

  Getting dressed, I took it slow, but it was still almost enough pain to bring on the darkness again. I wasn’t at my top at the moment, that much was clear, but it didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to let it just go. I couldn’t. I never was one of those types of people to just leave it be. If I was, I wouldn’t be in the position that I was in. If only I wasn’t so damn sore everywhere.

  The sun outside about blinded me and I can imagine how I looked searching desperately for my shades. It took a minute to get myself together enough to get my phone and realize that I didn’t have any battery life yet. It must have been on when I was out.

  Hailing a cab, I had it take me to Joel’s apartment building. All of my stuff was in the spare one that he had let me use. I needed to get a shower and fresh clothes, maybe something to eat. I needed to feel human again.

  “Hey David, what the hell happened to you?”

  His voice fought into my thoughts and I looked up.

  “Damn David. I thought you had found you a woman to shack up with the last couple of nights. What the hell happened to you? Marcus has been over here several times looking for you, said that you had called about meeting him somewhere?”

  “Yeah I got jumped. I don’t know by who yet, but when I do, I am going to make sure that they all feel it.”

  I knew that he didn’t have anything to do with. He was one of the only ones that I did trust and the shocked wide-eyes were another indication of his innocence.

  “I will see what I can find out. Do you want me to ask Lucas?”

  There was an internal tug inside of me when he asked that. I didn’t really know Lucas, but I knew that he would be the one that could get information the quickest. I wasn’t ready for that yet. Food and a shower were sidetracking me from what was important. Once I had something to eat, I would be able to think a little clearer.

  “Nah, not right now. I need to go get my mind right before I talk to him. Are you going to be around for a while?”

  “Yeah, just come down if you need anything.”

  I thanked him and made my way to the staircase. He tried to come forward and help, but I told him I was fine. “I am just moving slow. That’s all.”

  “Alright, let me know if you need anything.”

  I had always liked Joel, even if he was a little soft. Soft or not though, he was loyal and I was thankful to have someone like him in my corner. I made my way upstairs slowly and cursed myself for the tenth time in five minutes. I just had to go into that building, knowing what was in store for me. It was reckless and every step reminded me of that fact. There was nothing I could do but learn from the lesson that was handed to me. Learn and foster the anger that resulted.

  After a shower, dinner and another nap, I went down to Joel’s and seen if he had heard anything. It wasn’t hard to imagine that he had checked into and he had.

  “There is no word on the streets. If it was another gang, they would have claimed it just to start beef. I don’t know what happened, but Marcus said they had to have been at the big Devil’s party the other night. That was where him and his phone were.”

  “How many people were close enough to get a hold of it?”

  Joel’s face and demeanor changed. “That’s the thing. It was only Devils there and his phone was left on a table for a while. Said that his girlfriend got drunk and horny and he forgot about it.”

  I had to chuckle, that was my luck. When I realized how much it hurt, I grabbed my side with the cracked and broken ribs and closed my eyes to the pain. “Yeah that sounds about right. So it is one of Lucas’ guys?”

  “It looks that way. I have never had any trouble here, so I don’t know why they would target you.”

  “I don’t know. I think it might have something to do with Lucas wanting me to stay down here and work for a bit. Maybe I am stepping on someone’s toes and they don’t like it. They could have shot me if they wanted me dead or if it was another gang that did it to make a point. The only thing that makes sense is it was someone that I directly offended.”

  My mind already had a few people in mind. Leo kept popping up in my head and I remember maybe a vague memory of him being there. The longer I was awake, the more I started to remember, glimpses of people that I had never seen before. I was convinced that if I ever seen them again, I would be able to recognize them. This was my hope anyways.

  “Who do you think it is?”

  His question brought me back to reality. I didn’t want to name who I was almost sure it was. I didn’t want it to get around that I knew. When I came to them, I wanted them to be as surprised as I was about it. I wanted them to know what it was like to walk into a room and be the target of such an action. I knew enough people here that I would make sure that I had help or take them out one by one. Even if I had to go against the boss, Lucas, I was going to get my justice.

  “I don’t know. I am going to go talk to Marcus and see if I can get a feel. Knowing that they are a Devil is half of the battle taken care of. Thanks.”

  He just kind of nodded his head. There was a warning on his lips, I could see it in his eyes, but he shut his mouth. I didn’t take kindly to that sort of thing. I knew what I was getting into and I didn’t have to be reminded of that.

  “Just don’t do anything stupid David.”

  That got a laugh out of me. “I am sure I will.”

  Chapter 11

  David

  I called her again and finally gave up. It was the tenth time that I had called Carol. She just wasn’t answering. I had a lot on my mind and she was always good at helping that. There was something about her and I wanted to see her. I wouldn’t say that I was close to death on the floor of that house, but there were definitely a few moments that I thought about what my life had turned into, what was missing in it.

  So instead of waiting for her to answer, I went back to the house around the corner where Carol lived. It was like it had been before, but after a few minutes of sitting across the street I noticed a few things were off. The screen door wasn’t latched and the wind kept catching it and banging it into the side of the house. It was the movement that caught my eye.

  The door looked to be opened as well, just a little but enough that it had me wondering what was going on. Something was amiss and instead of waiting around for the car to arrive like before, I made my way to the porch. The door was ajar when I got there and my heart started to race faster in my chest. I wanted to think that I was wrong, but I had a bad feeling about this.

  Pushing the door open, I called out her name a couple of times before I walked in. The place was void of any light and I turned one on by the door. It flooded the living room with an eerie glow. Nothing looked out of place. It just looked like someone had momentarily stepped away. Another door led to the garage and that was where I found her car.

  If I hadn’t found the car, I would have left. I didn’t want her to come back and find me there, not after how the last meeting between us went. But something was wrong and the feeling in my stomach was stronger. So, I kept searching around for any clues as to where she was. I no longer felt like a robber or stalker. Now I felt like I was going to find something that I didn’t want to. Where was Carol?

  The only room that had anything out of place was her bedroom. There was a glass of wine on the nightstand and the closet door was wide open. Missing clothes on hangers made me believe that she had grabbed a few things before she left. It just didn’t make sense and instead of calling it a day, I called Joel to see if I could talk to Cameron.

  “He
y David, did you find anything out?”

  I had, but that wasn’t why I was calling. I wasn’t worried about my mess anymore, I was worried about Carol and even though I had no proof of wrong doing, it sure felt like it.

  “Yeah, but I am calling about something else. Is Cameron home?”

  “She just got in a little while ago, why?”

  “Well I need to talk to her about her friend Carol.”

  There was a moment of silence and then a little noise as the phone was given to her. She asked how I was and I told her I was fine. I didn’t want to share niceties around the bush and I just went right into it.

  “Have you seen Carol in the last couple of days?”

  “No, she isn’t returning my phone calls. I figured that she was mad at me because she thinks I gave you her address.”

  “Where does she work?”

  “I am not going to tell you that David. She is already mad at me for you going over there before.”

  “I went back to her house a little while ago and the screen and regular door were open. Some clothes are gone and her car is in the garage. Do you know where she would be?”

  I wasn’t trying to reveal that I was in the house, but I was losing Cameron quickly and I had to say something. I wanted her to tell me that Carol was vacationing somewhere, anything opposed to what I was thinking about in my mind.

  “Are you serious? Her door was open?”

  “Yeah, it looked off and now I can’t get a hold of her. I just want to make sure she is okay.”

  “You really do care, don’t you?”

  I was irritated at best and I didn’t want to talk about my feelings with her. I didn’t want to tell her that I just had a bad feeling that I was usually better off listening to. There was no concrete evidence, but circumstantial was stacking up quickly.

  “I just want to make sure she is okay. I didn’t tell her that you gave me the information, so I apologize if that started something between you. I would be more than happy to tell her if I could just get a hold of her.”

  “I haven’t seen her, honestly. I will give you the address to where she works, but it would be easier if you just let me call and see what is going on. They know me over there and it isn’t the type of place that people off the street can walk in.”