Chapter 4





The men had their backs to the captives, so Renee walked over to Gabriel and sank to her knees. "Are you all right?" She asked in a whisper.
He nodded his head, keeping his eyes on the men. She took his hand in hers, and he looked down at her and smiled. One of the men turned his head and saw them. He walked over to them and dragged Renee to her feet.
"Get your hands off of me," she growled at him. "I'm sitting. I'm sitting."
He let go of her and she sank onto the couch. He walked back over to the group.
*******
Sara opened the door to Gabriel's apartment and stepped in with her gun drawn. She looked around, but it was empty. Her shoulders slumped and she turned to leave. Walking out to her bike, she hoped that they were at Renee's, or else she didn't know where else to look.
A couple of minutes later, she stopped the Buell in front of Renee's apartment. Just then her cell phone rang. "Pezzeni."

"Pez, it's Jake. You need to come down to the station now."
"Jake, I'm kinda busy."
"We just got a new case. We need to check it out."
"Can't you do it?"
"We are partners."
She sighed in frustration. "All right. I'll be right there." She turned the bike around and headed back to the precinct.
*******
"You're gonna regret this."
Renee wished he would keep his mouth shut. He was just going to get himself hurt. Another part of her, however, was cheering him on.
"That's doubtful," Duff said, walking over to him.
"You'll be sorry when Sara gets here."
"Why don't you just shut up, boy?"
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
Duff slammed a fist to Gabriel's stomach and doubled him over in pain. Renee jumped to her feet and would have gone to him if one of the men hadn't grabbed her.

He wrapped a thick arm around her so she couldn't even move. She struggled to get away, then remembered what Sara had told her. She relaxed and started to slip from his grasp. The thug had to think quickly, something he obviously wasn't good at, to keep her from getting away. He pulled her arms behind her and held them pinned like that. She tried to twist away, but it caused pain to radiate from her shoulders.
She stopped trying to get away and just stood there with her back straight and her eyes looking at the wall in front of her.
Duff hit Gabriel in the stomach again, then followed it with a right to the jaw. Tears of pain were coming to Gabriel's eyes, but he blinked them back. He wasn't going to let them know how much they were hurting him.
"If you think this is helping any, you're the one who isn't very bright."
Duff's face went hard, and he brought his knee up into the younger man's stomach. Gabriel fell to the floor. He could feel the wave of nausea washing over him and was unable to hold it back this time. When it finally passed, he pushed himself to his knees and weakly stood up.
"Why do you keep doing this to yourself?" Duff asked him.
"I'm not. You're doing it to me."

A fist came out of nowhere to catch him right on the chin, and he could feel himself falling. He tried to catch himself, but there was nothing to grab onto. He felt his head hit against the floor, then everything went black.
Renee heard his head slam against the hard floor and tears began to escape from her eyes as she tried in vain to break away once more. Duff nodded at the man and he pushed Renee away from him. She fell to the floor and crawled over to where Gabriel had fallen.
She took his head in her hands and pushed his hair out of his face. His lip was split and there were numerous bruises on his face. She looked up at them. The look in her eyes frightened them. There was no denying it. It reminded the men of a wounded animal ready to make its last stand.
She eased his head to the floor and rose to her feet. With her head lowered like an enraged bull, she advanced on them. Renee had never felt this way before. This rage was something completely foreign to her. They had been attacked too many times, and she was fed up with it.

One of the men circled around behind her. "Go sit down," Duff said.
She didn't reply. The thug behind her took a step closer. She lifted her left foot, spun around, and kicked him in the stomach. Duff sent a punch toward her, but she blocked it with an upraised arm. The other thug had advanced and started to move behind her. His kick caught her behind her knee and sent her sprawling to the floor. She started to get up, but was stopped by a knee in her back. After a moment, it was lifted.
"Now, go sit down so you don't get hurt anymore," Duff told her.
Renee got to her feet, limped over to the couch, and sank down onto it.
*******
"You said there was a new case," Sara said to Jake.
"Yeah. Not sure if it's a homicide or missing persons though."
"Not sure?" She echoed.
"Cara Collins was reported missing a month ago. There has been no sign of her since." He handed a picture to her.
She looked at it, then said, "Well, she's not dead."
"How do you know?"
"I saw her earlier today. Do you know anything about the case?"

He shook his head. "Not much. Her fiancé, Dakota Miffe, is suspected of being behind several murders, but nothing can be proven. Her family thought he might have had her killed. Where are you going?" He asked when she started out the door.
"I think I know where she is."
He just stared at her as she walked away. A couple of minutes later she stopped in front of Renee's apartment for the second time that day. She drew her gun and started up the steps. She had just reached the top when two men stepped out in front of her. They were drawing their guns, and the witch blade reacted. The two men fell down the stairs and the blade retracted. She continued up and opened the door.
Gabriel was just starting to open his eyes when the door swung open, and Sara stepped in. He saw the men spin around to face her. Everything else happened in a blur. The next thing he knew, the three men were dead, and Sara was kneeling down beside him.
"Gabe, are you all right?"

He nodded his head. Renee was instantly on her feet and on the floor beside him. He sat up, and she put her arms under his shoulders and lifted him to his feet. His knees almost gave out on him, so she helped him over to the couch.
Sara turned to Cara and said, "Your fiancé won't give up. Can you tell me why he's after you?"
"I found out what he had done and didn't want to be a part of it, so I left. But I guess I couldn't get away from him. He has important connections." She turned to Renee. "I'm so sorry for bringing this on you. I just wanted to get away."
"Don't worry about it now. We're okay."
"Maybe you should stay at my place until this is over," Sara suggested.
"You wouldn't mind?"
"Not at all."
"I'll drive her over," Renee offered.
"Thanks."
Sara left and after she had made sure Gabriel was fine, Renee drove Cara to Sara's apartment. She dropped her off and drove home. When she walked inside, Gabriel was standing at the stove. "What are you doing?"
"Making something to eat. Haven't eaten all day."
"Let me do that. You go sit down."

When the food was done, she put it on the table and they ate in silence. Once she had finished, Renee looked up at him. He felt her eyes on him and glanced up. "What is it?"
"I was scared today. You need to stop doing that."
"Doing what?"
"You know what. Your mouth is going to get you killed one of these days."
"So you would rather have me surrender to them without a fight."
"No," she defended herself. "I just wish you would think a little."
His face softened when he saw the worry in her face. "I'm sorry. I don't know what makes me act that way. It just gets under my skin when people try to push me around."
"I know." She stood up and walked to the other side of the table. He stood up and wrapped his arms around her. Her hands moved behind his back and she leaned in for a kiss. His lips lingered on hers for a second after they parted. Renee pulled away and put her fingers through his belt loops. She started to walk backwards, pulling him to the bedroom.

They collapsed on the bed, and her hands moved to his shirt. She untucked it and slid her hands underneath it. She lifted it over his head, then let it fall to the floor. He tore at the buttons on her shirt, and somehow managed to get it off. His hands slid around her back, and he pulled her closer to him. Her hands moved around behind his head and pulled it to her for another kiss.
They fell to the bed and his hands moved up into her hair. He twisted one of the curls around his finger. Her hair fell around her face and brushed his cheek. He brushed it away and ran his finger along her cheek and down to her chin.
*******
Dakota Miffe stepped out of the taxi and walked into the café. He saw a newspaper laying on the counter. Picking it up, he scanned the contents and almost dropped it when he saw the front page story. He couldn't believe it. They had failed. His best men had failed. He sent them after a woman and they failed.

He swore under his breath, then turned around and stormed out. He took his phone from his pocket and angrily dialed a number. "I'll find someone to take care of that bitch," he said to himself.
*******
Renee lay on her side and looked at Gabriel with a smile on her face. The morning sun was shining through the window, and she could see the peacefulness of sleep on his face.
There was some stubble beginning to grow above his upper lip. She couldn't help but smile. Even in sleep, he looked younger than he was.
She rolled over on her stomach beside him and closed her eyes. Soon she was asleep again.