Throwaway (27 page)

“Jessie?” the voice from her nightmares
called through the door. “Jessie, I want you to open the door. If
you try anything stupid, your boyfriend here is dead.”

The initial feeling of being frozen in terror
was replaced by one of confusion. She’d just gotten off the phone
with Gabe.

“Jessie, don’t listen to him. Run like hell,”
Vance instructed. The sound of metal meeting flesh was sickening
even through the thick door. That was enough to spur her into
action.

She traded the frying pan for the cell phone
and dialed Gabe’s number. Without waiting to see if he answered,
she turned the earpiece volume down and slid the phone under the
edge of the couch.

“I’m waiting,” the voice reminded her from
the other side of the door.

“Do you want me to have control of my dog
first or not?” she snapped in response as she looped her fingers
around Lobo’s collar. Together, they walked over to the door.

“You’re rather difficult to kill,” Aleksander
greeted her when they stood face to face.

“If it makes you feel any better, you came
very close.” Jessie tried to quickly assess the situation. Vance
had obviously taken a beating and now stood at gunpoint.

“So, who’s the lucky father? Any guesses? The
cop? The pimp? The hit man? Are there any other contenders?”

Jessie didn’t bother answering. There were
three men on her doorstep. Probably at least one more waiting
outside. If she let go of Lobo’s collar, he’d take down one.
Hopefully the one with the gun pointed at Vance, but Jessie would
settle for any of them.

That left one for her and one for Vance.
Again, there was a measure of hope being factored in. If he was too
weak to fight she couldn’t exactly count on the cat to pitch in.
Not that she’d ever tell Gabe he’d been right.

“Aren’t you going to invite us in?”

“Wipe your feet outside. I just cleaned my
floors.”

“They’re about to get dirty again.”

“I don’t like you,” Jessie stepped aside,
allowing them to enter her home. She had a feeling his threat had
to do with more than muddy shoes.

Two out of three men had crossed her
threshold when a shot rang out and the third fell like a bag of
bricks where he stood. Aleksander and his henchman both startled
and Jessie took the chance to let go of Lobo’s collar.

He leapt at the man closest to Jessie,
pinning him to the ground by the neck. Vance knocked the gun from
Aleksander’s hand as Jessie jumped the couch to grab the cast iron
skillet. She waited for a break in the scuffle to crack Aleksander
over the head with the frying pan.

He crumpled to the floor. Vance gave the pan
an appreciative look before checking for a pulse.

“He’s alive,” Vance told her as he picked up
the gun. “Don’t let either of them go anywhere. I’ll be right
back.”

Jessie did as she was told, although she felt
a little useless. Aleksander didn’t so much as moan and Lobo wasn’t
about to let his victim up. The man gargled once and the dog
growled in response. All was silent again after that.

Jessie jumped a foot at the gunshot outside.
Lobo didn’t flinch, sealing Jessie’s conviction that Gabe had found
her a retired police dog.

Vance reappeared in her doorway with Harmony
at his side.

“Nice shot,” she complimented her friend.

“Thanks,” Harmony cast an uneasy glance back
at the man she’d felled.

“Could you get your dog to release this one?”
Vance took a step towards Lobo, stopping short at the deep growl
that rumbled in the animal’s throat.

“You can let him go now,” Jessie scratched
the dog’s ears. He looked up at her but didn’t move. “Spit him out
now, buddy.”

“You don’t know how to turn him off?” Vance
asked.

“It’s never come up before,” she shrugged.
“Lobo—stop chewing on him. Come on now. Bad dog.”

“Forget it,” Vance snorted in disgust. “I’ll
question him like this.”

“Sorry,” she tugged at Lobo’s collar but the
dog didn’t budge.

“Who’s your guy on the inside?” Vance knelt
beside the man on the floor. Lobo growled low in his throat.

The man opened his mouth to speak but only
another gargle came out.

“This isn’t going to work,” Vance reached for
the dog, who bared his teeth in response. “Damn it Jessie, call off
the dog.”

“Open sesame?” she tried again.

“Release,” a voice commanded from beyond the
door. Lobo let the man go and sat down.

“Thanks,” Jessie looked up at Gabe as he
stepped into the light. Everything in her wanted to throw herself
into his arms but she resisted the urge.

“I’m surprised poor Lobo got to see any
action. I figured that cat of yours would be all over something
like this,” he walked over to where she stood. The cat briefly
looked up from his spot by the fireplace.

“I’m so happy to see you I’ll let that
slide.”

“Do you have any idea how horrible it is to
listen to something like that, knowing you can’t do anything to
help?” He pulled her into the hug she’d been longing for.

“You want to come with me when I do this?”
Vance asked Gabe as he grabbed the man off the floor and jerked him
to his feet.

“Do what exactly?” Gabe arched an
eyebrow.

“It’s our best chance to find out who the
dirty cop is.”

“He’s not going to know any more than you
did,” Gabe countered. “And you are not taking that poor fool
outside to torture him. The sheriff will be here any second.”

“How did you beat Bobby here?” Jessie
remembered that Gabe had called him.

“He was tied up at the other end of town,”
Gabe scowled. “Apparently this is the one night Ava decides to have
a crime spree.”

“How exactly do you plan to find out who
they’re working with?” Vance demanded.

“I think I have a way figured out,” Gabe
answered, taking the gun from Harmony’s grasp. “Thanks for holding
that for me.”

Confusion flashed across her face, followed
by understanding. “Anytime.”

Red and blue lights flashed outside,
signaling the arrival of Bobby. As Jessie listened to Gabe fill him
in, she began to understand the direction his mind was headed. In
Gabe’s version, he’d been alerted to the presence of the intruders
by Jessie’s phone call, shooting two of them on arrival.

Vance’s injuries came from the ensuing
scuffle and Jessie still got credit for taking Aleksander down with
the frying pan. The look on Vance’s face was one of uneasy trust as
he followed Gabe’s lead.

Her peaceful home was filled with chaos as
EMTs arrived to load Aleksander on a stretcher. He still hadn’t
roused, making Jessie wonder if he ever would. She wasn’t sure how
she felt about being the one to scramble his brains.

The remaining henchman had his throat
bandaged before being loaded into the back of Bobby’s cruiser.

“I should ride with them in the ambulance,”
Gabe seemed reluctant to leave Jessie’s side.

“Where are they taking him? I’ll get dressed
and meet you there.”

“Don’t bother. Once I arrange for someone
else to babysit him, I’m coming home. You should get some
rest.”

“Like that’s going to happen,” Jessie stared
at the pool of blood on the porch, wondering if she’d ever get it
all up.

“Try,” he insisted before tossing his keys to
Vance. “Follow me to the hospital? You can give me a ride home
after you get a clean bill of health for yourself.”

Vance nodded, giving Harmony a quick kiss on
the forehead and striding out to the Jeep.

And just like that, the women were left
alone. Jessie retrieved her phone from under the couch and gave
Lobo a fierce hug. He bathed her face with kisses in return.

“Want some coffee?” Jessie straightened and
looked at Harmony.

“Yeah. That sounds good.”

Jessie reasoned that the baby could survive
one dose of caffeine and made a cup for herself, too. They sat at
the kitchen island, clasping their coffee mugs and not saying much
in particular.

“I’m glad you showed up when you did,” Jessie
broke the silence.

“That was nice of Gabe to say he shot those
guys. I know that was probably hard for him.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it was. He’ll do everything
he can to keep you and Vance from going to prison, though.”

“Is it fair to ask him to do that for us?”
Harmony understood the internal sacrifice lying would require of
Gabe.

“No,” Jessie shook her head. “But lots of
things in life aren’t fair. The two of you going to prison doesn’t
seem very fair to me, either.”

A knock at the door made both women jump. The
sun was peeking over the horizon, but it was still too early to
expect visitors. Lobo trotted over to the door, curious but not on
guard. Jessie trusted his instinct, even if she couldn’t fathom it,
and opened the door.

“We heard there was a bit of excitement here
last night,” Ethan grinned at her. Jessie laughed at the
understatement.

“You guys didn’t have to come over this
early.”

“Don’t be silly. I wouldn’t want to sit here
alone with something like that fresh in my brain,” Hailey hugged
Jessie and let herself in.

“Ethan, Hailey, this is my old roommate.
Harmony, these are friends of ours. They have a beautiful ranch a
few miles from here. You should see it while you’re visiting.”

“You’re so young,” Hailey blurted then
stopped short, horrified.

“Not so young. Jessie’s just really old,”
Harmony grinned, setting her at ease.

“Thanks a lot,” Jessie swatted her playfully.
“Can I offer either of you some coffee or breakfast?”

“Why don’t you let me make the breakfast?”
Ethan rolled up his sleeves and Jessie gladly conceded.

The calm and reassuring presence of her
friends completely changed the tenor of the morning. Still, Jessie
felt odd being in the house with bloodstains on the porch and the
tell-tale signs of a scuffle in her living room.

Apparently the Ava police force had never
seen CSI because no one seemed overly concerned with their presence
contaminating any crime scene. She desperately wanted to restore
order to her home, but waited for the all-clear from Gabe. Until
then, she simply did her best to ignore it.

“Want to see our cave?” Jessie turned to
Harmony after breakfast. “Come to think of it, have you guys ever
seen the cave?”

“It’s been a while,” Ethan’s expression told
of fond memories.

“I haven’t,” Hailey sat up a little
straighter.

“Want to poke our heads in while we wait for
Gabe? I don’t think I can sit in the house much longer.”

“Sure,” Harmony was slightly less
enthusiastic than Hailey. Still, once Jessie had wrestled the lock
open and ushered the little group inside, it was hard to resist the
mysterious charm of Honeybranch.

Giving a tour and recounting the history of
Jesse James’s second life took Jessie’s mind off of dead men and
dirty cops. It was dark and quiet and cool in the cave, just as it
had been on her first visit five months before.

Jessie tried to call Gabe when they were back
in the house warming their hands by the fire. His voicemail picked
up just as it had the last time she called. She had expected to see
Gabe and Vance before lunchtime and the wait was making her
antsy.

“You look exhausted,” Jessie noticed the dark
circles under Harmony’s eyes. “You should go take a nap. I promise
to come get you if we hear from him.”

“I doubt I could sleep right now.”

“Seriously. You’ll do him more good if you’re
rested.”

“Maybe just a few minutes?”

“Come on, I’ll show you the guest room… can
you believe I have a house with a guest room?”

“This place is amazing,” Harmony surprised
Jessie with a hug. “Soon this will all be over and you can just
live your fairy tale.”

“If Gabe has anything to say about it, I
think you and Vance will have some peace and quiet, too.”

“That would be nice.”

Jessie got Harmony settled then returned to
her guests. It bothered her to think about the work that was piling
up on their own ranch while they sat with her.

“Do you want some lunch?” Ethan asked as he
rooted through her pantry.

“I just want to know Gabe’s okay,” she
answered honestly. “Ever since he came back from overseas, I worry
about him like a mother hen.”

“We could go check on him if you want,”
Hailey offered. Ethan gave her a look that said he didn’t like the
idea. She gave him one back that plainly asked, “why not?”

“He was probably given strict instructions
not to leave me alone,” Jessie interjected into their silent
communication.

Ethan’s guilty expression told Jessie she had
guessed correctly.

“It’s okay. The bad guys are incapacitated.
I’ll be fine for an hour. It would actually make me feel a lot
better to know Gabe was okay. If you don’t mind, that is.”

“I don’t mind….” Ethan started only to be cut
off by Jessie.

“Great—thank you!” she trapped him.

“Fine. But lock the door after me. And I’m
leaving my 12-gauge. Do you know how to shoot a gun?”

“Sure.”

“You’re a horrible liar.”

“Point and click?”

“Pump, point and click,” he corrected. “Come
on. If I’m leaving you alone, I’m teaching you to shoot first.”

Jessie nodded. She had no desire to hold a
shotgun, let alone use one, but if that’s what it took for him to
feel comfortable then so be it. She followed him out to his truck,
where he produced a shotgun that would convince her not to
trespass.

“This,” he pointed, “is the safety. Move it
like this to load the gun.”

Jessie furrowed her brow in concentration. It
seemed simple enough.

“Once you’ve got it loaded and are ready to
fire, move the safety back. Hold it like this… point and
shoot.”