Gabriel (Guardian Defenders Book 1)

by Kris Michaels

  When the power kicked back on, he followed the steps to reconnect his computer to the dial-up internet connection. It took over a half-hour to load in excess of 493 emails. Gabriel started at the top and scrolled through them looking for anything of major importance. The email subject jumped from the page.

  Possible Electronic Lead – A.H.

  He opened the encrypted email. The seconds clicking by seemed to take hours. The small hourglass that flipped as the information populated taunted him.

  From: Guardian Security Computer Computation Security and Intelligence Department

  Subject: Possible Electronic Lead – Anna Harriger

  To: Alpha - Eyes Only

  Per standard protocol, new records checks on all documentation received into state and federal databases revealed the following input. Input has been quarantined, and access to the document was determined. No inquiries. The document has been removed from all federal, state, and local systems. Original can be obtained from the Weston County Courthouse if directed. Attached copy of scanned document forwarded for your review and disposition.

  As he clicked on the document, his hand shook. He clenched it into a fist as the document downloaded and then opened. It was a certificate of live birth for a baby girl. The mother was Anna Harriger. The baby’s name had flagged his Intelligence Division. The reason was obvious. Gabriel Xavier was listed as the father. Both names would have triggered flags his programmers had put into their new search engine.

  He closed his eyes and said a prayer of thanks. He had a daughter. A daughter. Gabrielle Jacqueline Xavier. The document showed the baby was born November 11th in Weston County, Wyoming. He had his lead. He would turn over every stone in that county to find her.

  He glanced out the window. He was literally three blocks from the courthouse. He glanced at the time and date on the lower right of his computer. The government building wouldn't be open until Monday at nine. Fuck. He was so close to finding them. Gabriel grabbed his coat and slammed out of his small house. The cold blasted through his coat and swept his frustration away with it. He turned into the wind and walked the block to Main Street, turned right, and slogged through the snow the town's plow had deposited on the sidewalk. He stalked to the courthouse, even though he knew it was closed. Standing at the base of the steps, he stared at the door. Inside that building was the key to finding Anna. He only had to wait. Unfortunately, he'd had too much practice at that skill lately.

  A gust of arctic wind sliced through his wool coat. He tucked his face into the collar and headed back. He chastised himself. Freezing to death on the sidewalk is stupid. Get your ass inside and deal with the delay. At the last minute, he turned and pushed through the double glass doors of a western wear clothier. The rack of down-filled parkas in the window was the only incentive he needed. The winters were fucking brutal in Wyoming. The one coat he'd brought with him was not appropriate for hostile weather.

  Gabriel shook the snow off his shoulders and strolled into the store.

  “Hey! I'll be with you in a minute. Do you want some coffee or cocoa? Not many people out in this weather.” A female's voice called to him from the back. He could just see a blonde head at the very rear of the store.

  “Coffee would be fantastic.” He thumbed through the coats. He'd get several and make sure his team was outfitted, too. He pulled out his cell and dialed Harvey.

  “At least it’s a decent hour this time,” the man taunted by way of a greeting.

  “I got a lead. A birth certificate.”

  “Seriously? Are we in the right area?” He could hear Harvey scrambling in the background.

  “We are. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait for the courthouse to open on Monday to find out who filed the certificate. Once we have that...”

  “Damn. Can we find a judge and ask them to bring someone in?”

  A gust of wind sent a sheet of white past the store window. “No. If the storm shuts everything down, I'll consider it on Monday.”

  “Hey, boss, she's smart. You know she's hunkered down somewhere taking care of your kid. What did she have?”

  “I have a daughter.” He stared out the window as he spoke.

  “Congratulations, man. Sorry for the little angel though; hopefully she looks like her mom.”

  Gabriel laughed. Harvey always had a way to lighten the mood. “I'm at the clothing store on Main. If your people aren't outfitted with top-of-the-line winter gear, get them in here and tell them to buy what they need. I'll set up an account.”

  “This storm is wicked. I mean we had snow in the city when I was back east, but this shit? This is North Pole type cold. Makes me yearn for the bayous of Louisiana, cher. Almost.”

  “Do you take sugar or cream?” The woman's voice traveled toward him as she walked up the aisle with two mugs in her hands.

  “I've got to go. Get the men down here, today.”

  “You got it, boss.” Harvey hung up, and Gabriel pocketed the phone.

  “Neither, black is perfect.”

  “Now there is a man who knows how to drink his coffee.” She handed him a cup and turned to watch the storm outside. “What brings you out in weather like this, dressed like that?” She nodded at his designer coat of superfine cashmere and wool.

  “Good question. I need to set up an account. I have several employees that will need to purchase coats, hats, boots, gloves... the works.”

  The blonde blinked up at him. “Well, I guess it was worth opening up today.” She took a sip of her coffee and nodded at the down-filled coats. “I carry the best, but only a couple in each size. I have a shipment coming in next week. I can add to the order if I don't have what your people need.”

  “That would be fine. In the meantime, I'll need a full overhaul.” He moved over to the coats and slid through the ones hanging on the circular rack. “Which is the best at keeping the wind and cold from freezing me instantaneously?”

  “Oh, that would be this brand. They are expensive, but you'll be warm and dry. They have a line of boots and gloves. Hats we have over there. If you grab what you need, I can ring you up and then we can go back to the office and fill out the paperwork to set up an account. I bill every thirty days.” She glanced at Gabriel. “I'll take that cup so you can shop.”

  Gabriel finished the coffee and handed the cup back to her. He pulled out a jacket in a size that would fit him, grabbed a couple pairs of gloves, and two skull caps, and dumped the lot on the counter. “Where were the boots?”

  “All the way in the back, past the leather cowboy boots on the right. Almost out the back door. You'll want the insulated ones with the nylon flap that ties at the top so snow won't get into your boots when you're stomping through drifts.”

  “Thanks.” He hoped like hell he wouldn't have to break through any drifts, but he was going to be prepared just in case. He found the boots and pulled his size from the stack of boxes. He glanced around before he called back, “Is there anywhere I can sit down to try these on?”

  “Oh, sure, you betcha. Use my office. I took the bench out last week. Had a rancher sit down on it and bust it. Rather embarrassing for both of us. I ordered a new one. It should come in next week. Just open the door, the one with the mirrored glass. I'll be back in just a second.”

  He tucked the box under his arm and opened the door to the office. It bumped against something and forced him to enter sideways. His eyes fell on the culprit. A beautifully tooled saddle sat on a half barrel stand behind the door.

  He stared at the leather. He knew that artistry. He dropped into the chair and stared at the saddle. His eyes traced the flowers and vines.

  “Did they fit? Oh, dang, sorry, I forgot I had a delivery in here.” The blond squeezed by him and dropped into the seat behind the desk.

  “I haven't tried them on. I'm interested in that saddle.”

  “It is beautiful, isn’t it? The person who made it takes commissions, but it is handmade, so the lead time is quite long.”

  “May I speak to
the person who makes them? Perhaps I can encourage him to go a little faster?”

  “Her, and no, she doesn’t live here. I take the orders and relay them to her.”

  “Interesting. How is Anna, by the way?”

  The blonde blinked repeatedly. “I'm sorry, who?”

  “Anna Harriger. She tooled that saddle and my belt.” He opened his wool coat and removed the belt Anna had crafted for him. He handed it to the proprietor. “I’m Gabriel.”

  The blonde studied the belt he wore. He stood and walked to the saddle. The hours of work she'd invested in detailing the leather was obvious. He traced the lines with his fingertips. “Please tell me she's safe.”

  “She's safe.”

  “And Gabrielle?” He kept his focus on the leather.

  “Anna does not want to be found.”

  He turned and looked at her. “I love her. I need to find her, and I need her to come home.”

  “She is afraid of someone, someone who she said was evil. How can I know you aren't that bastard?”

  “The one who hurt her is dead. He died almost nine months ago.”

  “Nice story, but I don't know that I can trust you.”

  “Has she ever mentioned me?”

  The blond nodded once.

  “She named our daughter after me. Did she say she was afraid of me? Did she say she thought I'd hurt her?”

  A slow shake of the woman's head answered his question.

  “I'm here to take her home with me.”

  The blonde leaned back in her chair. “She's terrified. She leaves that ranch only when the baby needs something or has a doctor’s appointment.”

  “I'll make sure she never has to worry again.”

  “Do you love her?”

  “With all my heart.”

  “Then why weren’t you there for her? What was so damn important that you left her to be prey to someone like the bastard who terrorized her?”

  “I was overseas... working.” Gabriel drew a breath, trying to keep calm. The woman was pissed and protective of Anna. Thankful she had friends like this, he clenched his jaw and smothered the temptation to demand the woman tell him where Anna and his daughter were.

  “Yeah, well in this neck of the woods, a man takes care of his family. God, family, and then work.” She lifted one finger after each. “That's the order. Seems to me you got your priorities wrong.”

  Gabriel shoved his hands in his coat pocket. “I did. It will never happen again.” He stared at the woman.

  Her eyes narrowed as she inspected him. “She lives about eighty-five miles west of here. Probably can’t get there because of the blizzard, but I will draw you a map.”

  “Have you seen her lately?”

  “About two weeks ago. I took her out a run of groceries and a new rough-out saddle to work on. She hardly ever leaves the house now that...” Brandi looked up at Gabriel.

  “Now that the baby is here?”

  “Yeah.”

  The winter was extremely harsh this year. The snowdrifts were enormous, and the February snowstorm had cut Anna and little Gabrielle off from the outside world. The wood-burning fireplace crackled and hissed, eating the wood and taking the chill off the small room. The wood-burning, cast-iron stove at the other end gave off a steady warmth. Anna pushed back and set her rocker in motion.

  She glanced down at her little angel. Her hair, face, and eyes were just like her daddy’s. She was going to be an absolutely beautiful woman. Gabrielle smiled as she slept. A gas bubble no doubt, but Anna loved to watch her and found it difficult to put her down. Her work was a distant second to the princess she held in her arms, but the income would allow her to remain in her little piece of anonymous heaven a while longer.

  She stood and shuffle-rock-stepped over to the bassinet. She'd moved it closer to the wood-burning stove. The bitter cold of the blizzard had gripped the little house in its freezing clutches, but at least she had plenty of firewood. She rocked the bassinet slowly and waited for Gabrielle to stir. When she didn't, she tiptoed away from her sleeping beauty and headed to the woodpile she'd had stacked on the covered porch. Pulling the door between the kitchen and living room almost completely closed to prevent a chill from reaching Gabrielle, Anna snugged her sweater around her and darted through the kitchen to the porch.

  She'd bring in enough to last until tomorrow. It was her routine. She stacked an armful of wood and carefully moved it into the house, peeking over to check on Gabrielle with each load. She fed another log into the cast-iron stove and shut the door. She added several more logs to the fireplace. The chill that accompanied her moving wood couldn't be prevented, but she'd be damned if Gabrielle would catch a cold because of it. Anna tucked another blanket around the sleeping form and tiptoed out for another load.

  Gabriel parked his four-wheel drive truck over the hill from the house. Or at least he hoped it was over the hill. A ten-foot snowdrift across the gravel road made continuing with the truck impossible. According to the odometer, he should be right on top of the small ranch house. He'd double-checked the directions and made sure he took the correct turn off the interstate.

  The boots, coat, gloves, and hat he wore were remarkable. He secretly thanked the woman at the clothing store for recommending the boots that tied around his jeans. They kept snow from falling inside his boots as he sank repeatedly to his hip in a ridgeline of snow. Reaching the top of the drift, his eyes fixed on the small house and outbuildings just over a quarter of a mile from where he stood.

  He took a minute, swallowing the emotion the sight of that house stirred. His heart was in that house. His life was there. His eyes traced the smoke that rose from two chimneys and watched as gusts of wind scattered the wisps into oblivion. He put one foot in front of the other and trudged through thigh-deep snow and bitter cold to the house. Approaching from the back of the house, he rounded the corner. The building shielded him from the arctic gusts of wind. He could see a back porch door. Reaching the door, he opened it, slipped on a step that was hidden under the snow, and caught himself from face planting. Finding firm footing, he lifted onto the porch and closed the door behind him. A vast stack of cut firewood lined the entire length of the porch. He turned at the sound of the door opening.

  “Anna.” The word slipped from his lips, almost like a prayer. Which was probably a mistake. She jolted and slipped on the icy boards. Her eyes rolled, and she dropped. She fainted, falling face-first toward the woodpile. Gabriel scrambled forward and caught her but not before she struck her head on one of the larger logs.

  He picked her up and kicked the door open, carrying her inside. He pushed open the door from the kitchen to the living room and stopped, arrested by what he saw. By the wood-burning stove was a small basket slash crib thingy. His brain finally supplied him with a word. It was a bassinet. He reached back with his foot and shut the door to the kitchen before he inched forward with Anna still in his arms to take a look at his daughter. He saw a little nose, mouth, and closed eyes. She was bundled up in blankets so he couldn't see anything else, but what he could see, was beautiful.

  Gabriel carefully put Anna down on an old couch that had seen better days and had probably been ugly when new. He brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her forehead before he went into the kitchen, stripped from his winter coat and boots and called his team. “Harvey, I found them. Stand down until called.”

  “Are you sure? We can be there in two hours. Three if this storm keeps it up.”

  “No, we're fine. Keep the team safe. I'll wait out the storm here.”

  “You got it, boss. If you need anything, anything at all. Give us a call.”

  “Will do.” Gabriel hung up and pocketed the phone. He wet a cloth and went back into the living room, closing the door to the kitchen to keep the warmth in. He wiped the small scrape on Anna’s head, determining the extent of her injury. The scrape was superficial. She'd fainted when she'd seen him. No wonder. He had no doubt she’d thought she was alone out here. He placed
the cool cloth on her head, kissed her gently, and walked back to the bassinet.

  He peeled back the blankets that obscured his daughter from his view. Oh, she was beautiful—with black hair–he could see a little of himself in her. He placed the cover back over her and looked around at the old house. It was very clean, but there were only the essentials, one couch, and one rocking chair, no television. He walked into the bedroom. The twin bed had a threadbare comforter on it. He opened the closet and found several large stacks of baby clothes, blankets, diapers, wipes, powders, and baby washes. He saw only four shirts for Anna hanging in the closet. He opened her dresser and found more baby clothes, but only one drawer of clothes for Anna. He went back into the living room and studied Anna. Her face was gaunt, and she was terribly thin, but her breathing was steady, and she was still. Gabriel went out to the porch and brought armfuls of cut firewood into the living room, stacking it on the stone area hearth by the fireplace. He stoked the fireplace and the stove and took off his outer sweater, covering Anna with it.

  He glanced at the bassinet again. Gabrielle was awake. Her eyes were open, and her arms were waving in the air. She made small, cooing noises. He carefully picked up his daughter and moved to the rocking chair. While Anna might have missed a few meals, she obviously made certain their daughter hadn’t. She was a chubby little thing. Her small hand grabbed his finger, and she pulled it toward her mouth. He chuckled at the effort. Her eyes traveled from his finger to his face. She cooed and her hand not holding his finger waved in the air as if she was reaching for his face. He lowered and kissed her forehead. She squeaked, and he chuckled again. He pushed off, sending the rocker into motion as he sat with his daughter in his arms, waiting for Anna to wake.