Chapter 4
Renee stepped out of her car and walked inside. Her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the barn and she saw a woman and
a man waiting for her.
"Glad you could finally make it, Miss Mackenzie," the woman said.
"What do you want?" Renee got right to the point.
The woman smiled at this. "Well, you don't waste any time, do you?"
"What do you want?' She repeated the question.
"Write an article denying everything from your last one about us. Once I see it, you'll get him back."
"No way. I will not do it."
The woman turned to the man behind her and said, "Bring him out here."
He turned and left. Renee stood there with fear clutching at her heart. When he returned a few minutes later, he was pulling
Gabriel by his shirt. He dragged him across the floor, then dropped him in front of Renee.
She fell to her knees beside him and he opened his left eye. His right was swollen shut.
"It's good to see you," he said, slurring the words.
Tears came to her eyes as she smiled at him and said, "You can't stay out of trouble, can you?"
His jaw was mottled purple and yellow. his lip was split and she could see where his nose had bled. There was a cut above
his swollen eye and one on his left cheekbone. There were numerous other cuts on his face as well. The gash on his right
temple had opened up and blood was seeping out of it. His hair was plastered to the side of his head where the blood had
dried. The shirt he had on was in shreds. Underneath it, she could see many cuts and bruises. She looked up at them and
asked, "You did this just so I'd take back what I said?'
The woman shrugged. "Well, my men didn't care much for his mouth. He doesn't know when to shut up." The man was
smiling. She wanted to slap him to get the smile off of his face, but controled the urge to do so.
"I will not deny what I have all ready said. This was a waste of your time."
The woman looked at the man behind her and nodded. Peter pulled a gun from underneath his coat and pointed it at
Gabriel's head. Pulling back the hammer, he looked at his boss.
Gabriel looked at him then at Renee and said, "Don't worry. They won't kill me. They can't or they won't have anything to
use against you."
Peter kicked him in the stomach and he cried out in pain.
"Stop it! Please stop." Renee was close to tears and her head hung in surrender. "I'll do it. Just don't hurt him anymore."
Peter laughed wickedly and aimed another kick at his midsection. Before he could land it, however, they heard someone pull
up in front of the barn.
*******
Sara had just stepped inside her apartment when she heard someone say, "She has gone to find him."
"Nottingham?"
"Yes, Lady Sara."
"Renee's gone after him?"
"Yes. I have come to help."
"Can you tell me where they are?"
"Go back to your last search. They are there."
"Thank you."
He nodded, then left. Sara put her helmet back on and walked outside.
*******
Sara stepped into the barn and instantly saw Gabriel lying on the ground and Renee on her knees beside him.
"So I see he is here," she said to the woman.
"Oh, him. Don't know why you'd be looking for him. He doesn't look like much to me."
Renee was on her feet with a lunge. Peter swung the gun to point at her, then Sara stepped in. Renee dropped back to the
ground and knelt beside Gabriel.
He swung his gun again and the blade went into action. He fired shot after shot. The blade blocked each one.
He stared at her with mixed amazement and fear. Then, he turned to run, but instead tripped over Gabriel. He lay sprawled
on the floor, the wind knocked from him. He raised his gun for one last desperate try at her just as she plunged the blade into
his chest. She pulled it out and spun around to face the woman. Sara advanced on her as she started to fire her gun. The
woman fell to the floor with a hold in her chest.
Sara turned toward Renee and Gabriel as the blade retracted. "Can you stand?" She asked him.
He nodded, put his hands on the ground, and started to push himself up. Then, he let his head drop back to the floor with a
groan. "Guess I was wrong," he said, flashing a smile.
Sara and Renee put their arms around him, slowly and carefully helping him to his feet. It hurt him to move in even the
smallest way, but he tried not to let it show. They slowly made their way outside. When they reached Renee's car, they
helped Gabriel inside, then shut the door.
Sara turned to her and said, "He might have some broken ribs. Drive him to the hospital and I'll meet you there."
She nodded and stepped into the car as Sara got on her bike. They rode in silence to the hospital. When they arrived, Renee
stepped out of the car and walked around to the other side. Opening the door, she helped him out with her arm under his
shoulders.
When they got inside, a nurse helped her get him to a room and into a bed. Then she turned to Renee and said, "Someone
will be in to see him soon. You can wait in the lobby."
"Thank you," she replied quietly.
She walked back down the hall and saw Sara standing there waiting for her. She led Renee to a chair and sat in the one next
to her. Renee looked up at her with tears in her eyes. "This is all my fault. If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't be here."
"Renee, don't blame yourself. You couldn't have known they would do this."
"But if I hadn't written that article, they wouldn't have taken him to get at me."
"It is not your fault. And it's over now. Gabe is going to be all right. He wouldn't want you to be thinking like this."
Renee put her head in her hands and let the tears come. Sara tried to comfort her, but just sat there silently when she
realized it wasn't helping.
Forty-five minutes later, a doctor came out to talk to them. Renee and Sara stood up and shook his hand. Then, he told
them, "His nose is broken, but his jaw is just bruised. He has some broken ribs and there might be some internal bleeding. So
we'd like to keep him here overnight for observation."
"Is he going to be all right?" Renee asked, her voice strained with worry.
He turned sympathetic eyes on her. "He should be fine as long as we can get any internal bleeding stopped. His nose and
ribs will heal. He's resting now, but you can go in and see him."
"Thank you," she said. Then she walked down the hall to Gabriel's room. She stepped through the doorway and saw him
lying still on the bed. They had removed his shirt and had wrapped a bandage around his ribs. It started at his chest and went
down to his waist. There was a small bandage on his right temple which his hair almost covered. There was another small
bandage across the bridge of his nose.
She walked across the room to the bed and pulled a chair over to the side of it to sit on. His eyes were closed in sleep. His
hands were lying at his sides. He looked at peace.
Taking his hand in hers, she brought it up to her lips and kissed it gently. Then she lowered it and placed it back on the bed.
Tears began to roll down her cheeks. She squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again. Renee grabbed his hand again.
"You have to get better. I don't know what I'd do without you. I love waking up in your arms in the morning. I still shiver
with pleasure every time your skin brushes against mine. You can't leave me. Do you understand me, Gabriel Bowman?" She
had broken down into tears again by this time.
She started to shake from sobbing. Then, she heard someone walk up behind her and swung her head around, startled. She
breathed a sigh of relief seeing that it was only Sara.
"Renee, maybe you should go home and get some rest."
She shook her head. "No, I have to stay here with him."
"But there's nothing you can do for him. And you need to get some sleep."
"I can't leave him. I just can't."
Sara saw the look of stubbornness in her eyes and the determined set to her jaw and realized she had lost this fight before it
had even started. She breathed a sigh of frustration and said, "Fine. I'll be out in the lobby. Let me know if he wakes up."
Renee just nodded. She heard the door close behind her, but didn't look up. She dozed off and woke up when she felt
Gabriel's hand tighten around hers. She opened her eyes and her face brightened when she saw that he was awake.
"How long have I been here?" He asked groggily.
She looked at her watch, then back at him. "For more than two hours."
"Do I look as bad as I feel?"
She laughed. "You look awful. But the doctor thinks that you'll be fine."
"When can I get out of here?"
"Not until the doctor says you can. You broke some ribs."
"I didn't do it."
"Well, that man did it for you."
"Both of them did."
"Both? The woman did this to you too?"
"No," he replied, shaking his head. "Just the two men."
"Two men?" She echoed. "There was only one man and the woman."
"She had two men there. I don't know where the other one was when you arrived."
"I should tell Sara about this," she said, but was reluctant to leave.
"Go ahead. I'll still be here when you get back."
She walked to the door, then looked back at him. He made a shooing motion with his hands and she smiled at him.
Renee walked down the hall and saw Sara sitting in a chair in the lobby. She stood up when she saw the younger girl coming
toward her.
"How is he?"
"Awake." She told her what he had just told her.
"Is he sure?"
Renee nodded her head. "Yeah."
Sara slipped into her jacket. "I'll go see if I can find him. You stay with Gabe. Tell the doctor he's awake."
Renee nodded her head and went to find the doctor. Once he had finished looking over him again, he said, "He should be
fine, but I'd still like to keep him here until morning to be sure. You can use the other bed in here and get some sleep."
She thanked him and he left them alone. She made sure he was as comfortable as she could make him, then went and laid
down. Turning her head to the side, she looked at Gabriel, wishing she was lying next to him. Then, she closed her eyes and
was soon asleep.
