Heart of a Hero

"You stole Maria for yourself!" Accused a large man, waving a pistol in a drunken rage.

Buck and Inez, who had been getting ready to close Rosie's, were standing by the bar, carefully watching the drunken form of Mort Samuels. Samuels was unshaven, wearing worn boots and a shirt tucked half-in and half-out of his dusty jeans.

Buck and Inez, less than thrilled when Mort burst through the front door right before they could lock up, were familiar with the big man's temper and drinking habits as he was the husband of Maria, a waitress working at Rosie's and also one of Inez's best friends.

"You drove Maria away!" Inez spat, defending Buck. "You beat her over and over!"

"You put those ideas of me abusing her in her head!" Mort screamed, gun pointing towards the Mexican beauty. "She never would have left me if you and Bucky Boy there had not influenced her."

Buck gave Inez a warning glance and tried to reason with the angry man. "Mort, they have counselors to help you deal with your anger. You can . . ." The man was now shaking his head in defeat. "Won't work. She'll never come back." His eyes seemed to grow colder, his hand steadying with purpose. "You took her from me Bucky Boy. So I'll just show you how it feels - and take your girlfriend from you."

"No!" Buck screamed and Inez's brown eyes widened as the gun pointed at her, her hand going automatically towards her large turquoise cross necklace.

The front door of the restaurant opened, and to Buck's horror, kid brother JD, wearing an oversized t-shirt and jeans entered the restaurant, banging the door shut as usual and saying, "Hey, Buck, what's the holdup?"

Mort turned towards JD's voice; a gunshot rang out; Inez screamed and Buck, temporarily paralyzed with fear, yelled, "JD! JD! Kid!"

JD felt something whiz by his head and dove to the floor, banging his head on a bar stool as he stumbled. Wide hazel eyes took in first Buck's terrified face; Inez's pale face as her hand grasped the cross she wore; and the gunman's uncertainty as he pointed the gun at JD, then Buck, and then Inez as if uncertain what to do.

Buck recovered first, shoving Inez behind the bar and then running towards JD. "Stop!" Mort roared and Buck halted, unwilling to upset Mort further.

Mort wiped his sweaty brow and then addressed JD. "Kid, if you want to live to see your eighteenth birthday, get up and move over to that booth real slow-like. Move!"

JD was so used to being taken for younger than he was, he let the remark pass, scrambled to his feet and moved shakily to the booth Mort pointed to, blood dripping from his head.

Buck desperately wanted to go to his kid brother but was afraid to set off the unhinged Mort. The blood on JD's head unnerved him.

"You hurt, boy?" Buck said instead.

JD shook his head slightly, moaned. "Buck . . ."

"Stay out of this boy," Buck warned, trying to get JD to understand he wanted to keep their relationship under wraps for now.

"Chiquito," Inez began.

"Shut up!" Mort warned, now pacing back and forth. "Who is the boy?" he demanded.

"Kid who shows up once a week to clean up," Buck answered glibly, not entirely lying.

"Leave the chiquito out of this," Inez blazed. "He's just a nice boy."

But the plan backfired as Mort pointed his gun at JD. "If the boy doesn't mean much to either of you," he said, cocking the gun. "I'll just kill him."

TBC