I'm back y'all.  Sorry this took so long and it's short too.  But it's all your fault.  I had to catch up on everyone else's stories.  That's my story and I'm stick'n with it!   Not much action, but more Nick and Jarrod – I love writing dialogue between these brothers!

Chapter 9

Chased out of Heath's room, Nick gravitated to the one that he and his brothers spent so much time together. Jarrod traveled silently in his brother's wake, instinctively knowing that Nick was seeking the stillness of the library and probably a drink to steady his nerves. Jarrod was under no illusions. Nick could fool most people and sometimes their mother with bluster, but rarely his two brothers. His younger brother was shaken by what had happened to Heath. Jarrod moved to the whiskey decanter and poured a couple of fingers of whisky, then looking back at Nick, he wordlessly held the glass up.
Nick answered the wordless question quite simply, "More."
Jarrod raised one eyebrow at his brother, but said nothing as he poured a double and then a glass for himself.  Walking it over to Nick, he placed it in his hand and simply turned and found himself a seat on one of the leather wingbacks. As a lawyer, he knew that the power of silence could draw out a witness faster than a cleverly worded question. He'd wait Nick out. Jarrod didn't have much time to linger over drink before his brother broke his silence.
"That bastard left Heath tied and gagged on the side of the road like he was just waiting for me to come along." Jarrod closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the pain of both his brothers. Nick drained the glass and stalked the whiskey decanter, pouring himself another glass and throwing himself once again into the chair. Staring into the fire as if he was addressing it instead of his brother, he continued, "He had us dead in his sights, Jarrod. Could have taken me out at any time as I got Heath on that horse."
"Who?"
"Damned if I know," Nick growled with frustration. "I don't think Heath knows either. First he thought that the guy was out to kill him and then this guy leaves him trussed up as if to lure me into a trap. Heath thought so too. He tried to get me to leave him. As if there'd ever come a day that would ever happen!" Nick punctuated his speech with a slam of the now empty glass on the table.
Jarrod was now more perplexed than ever. "This isn't making much sense. Mother said that Heath's wounds were at least a day old. Are you telling me that he had Heath that close to the house for more than twenty-four hours."
"I don't know, but somehow I don't think so. Heath said…" Nick didn't know how to say it. It was as if saying it would somehow make it come true. But Jarrod had to know. He needed his older brother's Swiss watch of a brain to help him set all of these mismatched pieces into place. He was tired from trying all by himself. Standing in his frustration, Nick walked over to the fireplace. He started again.
"Heath said that the sorry so-'n-so told him that he wanted me to know what it felt like to have Heath die in my arms." The last few words ended in a pained whisper. Anger getting the better of him, Nick threw his empty glass into the fireplace where it shattered. Though temporarily satisfying, the action did little to likewise shatter the cold lump of dread that had been building in his chest ever since he spotted his injured brother lying in the road.
Jarrod pondered this last bit of information. "It sounds like someone that both you and Heath have tangled with is out for revenge, Nick. But I have to admit, I don't understand why he would let the two of you go when he could have killed you both so easily. "
"Oh, I think I have at least that figured," Nick gritted through his teeth. "He wants us to twist in the wind, while he takes his own sweet time."
"Nick, you don't know that for certain, " Jarrod cautioned.
Bitterly, Nick corrected his brother, "Oh yes I do, pappy. That is the one thing in this whole mess I do know for certain. He shot off two rounds close enough that I was sure the next one would have my name on it. Then, that low-down snake laughed and hollered out behind us: Eye for an eye, boys. But in my time, not yours."

TBC…