Unlawfully Yours
Chapter XIII
Cole wondered how Reggie had managed to get out of his predicament so quickly, but at the moment, it wasn't the foremost thought on his mind. The blade was pressing harder on his throat and even if he believed that Reggie might prefer taking his revenge rather than killing him on the spot, he realized that he might still do it and then go after Phoebe. This thought brought him another urge to get his gun, even if it meant dying. However, Reggie anticipated it and quickly pulled the revolver out of his belt. He immediately pointed it at Phoebe's head.
"Now, that's more like it," Reggie snickered.
"What Reggie," Phoebe taunted suddenly, flooring Cole, "you think you got me scared…Did you take a good look at yourself lately. You're a bloody wreck."
"Shut up, bitch!"
"Why? You could never shut me up before. Besides, I've got a right to say a few last words… See Reggie, you could kill me, torture me…or him… but when I die I'll have the satisfaction to know that you'll never forget me…every time you try to take a piss or dip your dick, it's gonna hurt and you'll know it was all thanks to me…"
"Shut up!"
"Oh you didn't think of that," Phoebe added mockingly, while staring at his crotch. "Yeah, those spines they'll stay there, unless you cut your balls open to get them out, Reggie. In fact, you might actually try that, but I'm sure there isn't enough whisky in the world to drown that pain. Not to mention that you'd probably never get it up again. So yeah, shoot me, Reggie, but don't expect to ever be rid of me."
All this time, Cole had come back from his surprise to finally understand what she was getting at. First of all, Reggie was getting angry and careless, probably because he wondered if she was telling the truth, and Cole also noticed that he was shaking from the pain. In fact the more Phoebe talked, the lighter the pressure from the razor got, as Reggie's full attention was turning to her. Second, her reference to Reggie's crotch had a meaning. Only moving his eyes, he looked straight at it in turn and saw the spines half buried in his nuts. He knew that this could backfire on him, but at this point, if he didn't do something their deaths would be infinitely more painful than a slashed throat. Quashing the fear and disgust he felt, he suddenly grabbed Reggie's balls and squeezed as hard as he could. In doing so, he also hurt himself on the spines, but it hurt Reggie a lot more as he jumped with a howl of surprise and renewed pain. Without hesitation, Cole pulled hard on them and Reggie fell on his back screaming anew, while he tried to hack at Cole's arm. This one barely avoided the blade, but meanwhile, Reggie was already aligning the gun toward him. Cole believed it to be the end, but Phoebe kicked the gun out of Reggie's hand and then put a firm foot on his forearm. Cole caught Reggie's other arm in a firm grip and then sat on his legs to keep him from kicking, while he twisted the blade out of his hand. Phoebe bent quickly toward the gun then, and just as fast, she buried the barrel inside Reggie's mouth.
Struggling furiously, Reggie mumbled something and when Phoebe bent slightly closer to hear, he managed to free his arm from Cole's grip and grabbed her by the hair. Before she could react however, Cole slashed Reggie's arm with the razor blade he had taken from him and this one lost his grip. Phoebe angrily ground the arm still under her foot into the sand while glaring at him. For a few seconds they all stayed immobile and only when Phoebe was certain that Reggie knew he was made, did she bend toward him again, pulling the gun out a few inches.
"Now… what is it you have to say before I blow your brains out, Reggie?"
"If you kill me, you'll never find my money. I'll be the one laughing from the grave…" Reggie managed to grumble in spite of the gun barrel still in his mouth.
"Hey Reggie, we heard you saying that Lenny knows where the gold is," Phoebe goaded then, "…and I'm sure that he'll be very cooperative…"
A smirk came upon Reggie's features at this.
"Good bloody luck," he said, obviously very satisfied with himself.
Cole and Phoebe both got a sinking feeling from that. They had counted on tricking Reggie in telling them where the gold was with Lenny's help, or at least to get Lenny to fess up himself. However if, as they now feared, Reggie had killed Lenny… Cole irately grabbed Reggie and turned him face down. Then, he kicked his ass hard.
"Crawl…and fast!" Cole growled then.
Reggie didn't move at first but after a few more kicks, he got on hands and knees, grudgingly moving forward. Meanwhile, Phoebe gave the revolver to Cole and ran ahead. She found exactly what she'd feared. Reggie had used Lenny's blindness to get close enough without alerting him. This was why they hadn't heard a thing, along with the fact that he'd stuffed the scarf that they used on him in Lenny's mouth. Then, he had slashed his belly opened. Now, Lenny was twitching at the end of the rope with his insides hanging out. Repressing the urge to retch, Phoebe went straight at him and pulled the gag out of his mouth. Lenny barely reacted and only whimpered. Phoebe knew that his time was short and she tried to get him to talk before it was too late.
"Lenny! That bastard Reggie did this to you…talk to me. If nothing else, you'll get your revenge on him…"
Lenny didn't look up or react at her voice, while his breathing was becoming shallower by the moment.
"Lenny," Phoebe shouted nervously. "Talk to me! Where's the gold?"
By then, Cole had brought Reggie close enough for him to hear Phoebe's question and Reggie yelled:
"Shut up you bastard!"
This seemed to have an effect on Lenny, who lifted his head a couple of inches and whispered something. Phoebe couldn't hear, so she bent even closer toward him. Then, as Lenny exhaled his last breath, Phoebe stepped back with an unreadable expression.
"Hey," Reggie cackled, convinced that his secret was safe, "told you, you're screwed. I'll never talk either." Cole pushed him to the ground with his foot before glancing at Phoebe uncertainly.
"Phoebe?"
Phoebe detached her eyes from the pitiful spectacle that Lenny made, and as soon as she had overcome her malaise, she took a few steps toward Reggie and Cole without a word.
Then, as Cole watched her with increasing curiosity, she leaned toward Reggie.
"You know what, Reggie," she said very seriously, "I'm almost hoping that they don't hang you…this way you'll spend the rest of your life in prison knowing that I got your gold."
Then a smile spread over her lips as Reggie lifted his head toward her with all the scorn he could muster.
"You goddamn slut!"
"Hey, keep the invectives down, Reggie," Phoebe mocked, "you're gonna need your voice to chase away the vultures…"
Cole was now wondering if she truly knew or if she was just goading Reggie. He couldn't help asking.
"Did he really tell you?"
"Yeah…" Phoebe trailed with a half-smile. "Now, we don't really need this piece of crap anymore…hum…" Phoebe mumbled while observing Reggie.
"What are you thinking about?"
"You bitch," Reggie was again growling, "anything you do to me, I'll repay a thousand times in pain."
"You know what, Reggie, I can arrange for it to be worth your while…"
Phoebe pulled the barbwire length from her pocket and waved it in Reggie's face while Cole held the gun in his neck. "Don't move!" Cole snapped.
"Hum," Phoebe pondered, "where could I stick this? Maybe I should ram it up your ass, and then pull your insides out like you did to poor Lenny," she added as she twisted one end to make it look like a hook. She went around to his backside and Reggie recoiled when she slapped his left buttock.
"Again with your listening skills problem…" Cole said, pressing his foot on his lower back while Phoebe put the hook near Reggie's ass and this one tried to close his buttocks together nervously.
Then, Phoebe looked up and saw the scavenger birds already circling.
"Never mind… the little fellas are waiting for their dinner and they'll do a better job of hurting you than I," she quipped. "They'll make you regret having prepared the table for them, Reggie…I'm sure the vultures will savour your balls for dessert."
Phoebe motioned for Cole to bring Reggie close to where Lenny had succumbed. Cole nodded, actually relieved that she hadn't gone through with her threat as he handed her the gun. Then after dragging Reggie there, and with a grimace of disgust, he undid the bounds that still held the dead man. He dragged Lenny's lifeless body a few feet away, and then roughly grabbed Reggie, who still tried to fight him off.
"Reggie," Phoebe warned while arming the weapon deliberately, "you might still have a chance to survive this, but if you don't cooperate, I'll make sure you bleed to death slowly while the vultures feast on you…" To illustrate her point, she shot once very near Reggie's foot. He stopped struggling, but still glared at Phoebe with such hatred that even she had to work on herself not to step back. Cole tied him up with his back to the cactus. The stick, which was still planted in the ground at an angle, was pointing at his crotch, but Phoebe wasn't content with that. She twisted the barbwire around his balls, closing it with a running noose, and then she secured the wire around the trunk of the cactus.
"Now," Phoebe said with a smirk, "that should keep you there until McKail gets to you. The more you struggle, the tighter it'll get. Oh and bloody luck getting on McKail's good side…killing two of his men wasn't a very smart move. He wants to hurt you as much as he wants the gold…"
Reggie wasn't certain who she was talking about, but he didn't like the sound of it.
Meanwhile, Cole had prepared the carriage and when Phoebe was almost certain that Reggie wouldn't go anywhere anytime soon, she left him without another look back.
When Phoebe got closer, Cole glanced unhappily at Lenny's body, still lying a few feet from Reggie.
"Shouldn't we bury him or something?"
Phoebe hesitated only slightly.
"McKail is probably on our trail and we've lost too much time already…We'll leave him the task of burying him…"
"Where are we going?"
Cole didn't like the look of mistrust she gave him then.
"What? Are we back at this?" He questioned unhappily. "You don't trust me?"
Phoebe was about to answer when Reggie interrupted, startling them both.
"I'll get you for this, Phoebe. Wherever you go, I'll find you!"
"You should worry more about your own survival," Phoebe replied, apparently unimpressed, and then she climbed on the front seat of the carriage.
"You're coming?" She questioned, staring at Cole pointedly. This one seemed indecisive, but he still climbed on the seat beside her and turned the carriage the way Phoebe indicated.
"Can we really risk leaving him behind," Cole asked as they went on their way.
"We can't risk having him with us, and I really don't believe that he's gonna be a problem anymore," Phoebe replied flatly without looking at him.
Cole wasn't too sure about that but he hoped that Phoebe was right for both their sakes.
They heard Reggie's invectives for quite a while afterward and kept silent themselves, both thinking back on what happened with mixed feelings.
When the waterhole was only a point on the horizon, Cole finally turned halfway toward Phoebe.
"Are you sure you really know where we're going?"
This wasn't what he truly wanted to ask, but he didn't know if he should question her again about this trust business. Phoebe had not even attempted to answer his question after Reggie's interruption, and Cole was uncomfortable it. However, he soon realized that Phoebe had another concern on her mind.
"I didn't mean for anybody to die," she uttered forlornly rather than answering his direct question.
"It wasn't you who did that," Cole exclaimed then. "Reggie is the monster… and frankly, I wanted to kill that bastard…"
Phoebe turned to him then.
"No you didn't. I could see it in your eyes…" Phoebe paused uncertainly and Cole waited for her to continue, as he was convinced there was more on her mind.
"You must think I'm horrible," Phoebe trailed then while looking away.
"Phoebe… I was there…I helped you…"
"But…"
"No, I understand that you've suffered a great deal at the hands of men, Phoebe…" he stopped and winced before continuing, "including me…I'd be a hypocrite if I went self-righteous on you now."
Phoebe tried to protest again, but he interrupted.
"I saw the way they hurt that girl and I wanted to punish them just as badly as you did, Phoebe. While I'll admit I was squeamish at this torture business, I'd never hold it against you… and even less Lenny's death. You didn't do this alone, and you didn't kill Lenny."
Phoebe shook her head uncertainly, and then she bent toward the back of the carriage under Cole's curious stare. She opened the second pack and rummaged through it for a while. When she sat back, Phoebe was holding a medallion in her hands. She watched it pensively for a while, and Cole finally questioned her about it.
"What's that?"
Phoebe fidgeted with the trinket a moment longer before giving him an answer.
"That was for Mike…I thought I'd lost it and then I found it in the same spot where I found your pack. Reggie's trophies I guess..."
"Mike?" Cole questioned, only retaining the first part of her speech. He wasn't certain he liked the sound of that. After a moment though, he reflected with relief that she must have meant her baby…
"I was under the impression that you had a daughter…" He said then, covering the slight jealousy he had felt only a moment ago.
"I do…Mike's a short for Michelle," Phoebe replied with a soft smile. Then she became somber again, "I haven't seen her in months…I had this engraved for her just before I was sent to prison… after the brothel incident."
Phoebe was still staring at the little medallion while saying so.
"You could have it all, Phoebe," Cole began hesitantly. When she looked up, he worried that she might take his next words the wrong way, but he still felt that he had to try. "We could turn in the gold… and then I'd do everything in my power to get you off…you and your daughter could be together and free…"
Rather than answering, Phoebe shrugged uncertainly.
"Where is she?" Cole asked, at last, when she wouldn't acknowledge his offer.
"Near Flagstaff… She's with my cousins…just as I told you before."
"Piper and Leo…Halliwell, is that it?"
"Wyatt…but why do you wanna know," Phoebe asked with a sudden suspicion.
"Hey, don't bite my head off. I was just making conversation…"
Phoebe stared at him a moment longer without a word, and then she shrugged anew.
"It's in an abandoned mine," she suddenly said.
"What?"
"Reggie's gold…he hid it inside the Hogden's mine, about five miles south of the ranch where we found him and his men."
Cole wasn't exactly certain how much, but he was convinced that he had made progress with her. He smiled contentedly at the thought.
Paul and his men arrived at the waterhole toward the middle of the afternoon. There, what he saw at once disgusted him and gave him the urge to laugh out loud. A few vultures were having a feast on Lenny's body, while others were walking in hesitant circles around Reggie. This one was still struggling, but he looked weak to Paul. The man was in really bad shape with spines stuck all over him, including his crotch, where Paul saw that his balls were bulging and turning blue. At first, he wondered why until he saw the barbwire running from them and to the tall cactus. There he recognized Phoebe's touch without a doubt.
"Maybe, we should just shoot him now and put him out of his misery," Paul said loud enough to get Reggie's attention. This one had been concentrating on keeping the birds away from him and had not noticed the new arrivals. He looked up while squinting to distinguish who was there.
"Who the hell are you?" He questioned croakily. However, even as Reggie was saying it, he showed signs of recognition.
"You were with her," Reggie exclaimed incredulously, "just like that other bastard…How the hell?"
"Save your breath, Reggie. All I want from you is the gold. Then…well, as I said before, I should do you a favour and shoot you. Phoebe did quite a number on you, didn't she," Paul added, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice. He couldn't help admiring Phoebe's guts. Although, looking back at Lenny, he wondered if she had not gone too far… "Since she's not here, I'm guessing that you told Phoebe where the gold was… so you might as well do me the same courtesy…"
Reggie spit on the ground.
"I'm not telling you anything!"
"Oh well, we'll follow their tracks and leave you here for the vultures then…" Paul taunted, as he turned his mount around.
"Hey, you can't leave me here like this!" Reggie called with a hint of worry in his voice.
Paul halted the horse and dismounted slowly. Then he went to Reggie.
"Are you ready to talk?"
Reggie struggled some more and grunted when he felt the wire tightening.
Paul chuckled at a sudden idea.
"You sure you want me to take this off? It'll hurt like hell afterward…Not to mention that the way it looks," he added, shamelessly examining his midsection, "we might have to amputate…maybe I should cut if off right now while it's still numb."
"Son of a bitch," Reggie screamed while spitting in Paul's face. Without hesitation, Paul drew his gun and pressed it next to the tender skin of his balls. Then, he fired the gun, grazing the skin while Reggie howled and fought hard against his bounds, only making things worse.
"Hey," Paul cackled as much for his men as for Reggie, "what do you know; it's not all numb yet. Now," Paul continued very deliberately, "I might blow 'em up… or you could start by apologizing to me. And make no mistake, Reggie. I had a very bad month, and I'm feeling the need for some payback…"
When Reggie said nothing, although he was breathing hard and moaning, Paul armed his revolver noisily and pressed it against Reggie's crotch again.
This one grunted but still gave him a less than heart-felt apology.
"Now that's more like it," Paul said as he moved the weapon only so and shot the knot in the wire, grazing Reggie's skin again while doing so. Immediately afterward, the pain caused by the bullet got drowned in the agony of the blood circulating anew in his crotch. It was a similar sensation to the spines that had pierced him earlier but multiplied a hundred times, and all at once. As he began to feel like someone had lit a fire between his legs, he imagined all the ways he would torture the bitch who had done this to him.
"Hey," Paul was mocking, amused at seeing him writhing, "you should be glad you can still feel something down there."
Behind them, Paul's men had taken it upon themselves to dig a shallow grave for Lenny. Reggie had tears in his eyes from the pain and possibly the exhaustion, and Paul thought that he should use his weakened state to push him. He couldn't be certain whether Cole and Phoebe had the true location of the gold. At this point, since he had Reggie, Paul wasn't too keen on leading a wild goose chase.
"Hey Reggie," he began while taking a seat on a nearby rock, "do you feel like talking now?"
"I've got nothing to tell you," Reggie answered hoarsely.
"Hum…you know, I've got plenty of time…I'll find those two love birds wherever they go. You, on the other hand, are nearing the breaking point…I can wait here and watch you suffer for a while…it'll only distract me. Then when I get tired of this, I'll start chopping you up piece by piece until you feel the need to confess… By the time, I get serious with you; you'll wish that Phoebe was still here with her fluffy kind of torture…"
Reggie tried to sustain Paul's stare, but he soon realized that this one might actually mean it. The beginning of panic crawled inside of him then. He wanted to live long enough to get his revenge on Phoebe. He also knew that he couldn't take much more punishment before he'd indeed reach the breaking point. All things considered he began to contemplate revealing the location of his gold to this McKail. Suddenly, the gold didn't seem as important as getting back at Phoebe…
Back at the ranch, Phil turned to another who had stayed behind with him.
"Well, I really don't think they know anything…Either this Reggie is one secretive bastard, or they think he's gonna chase them even in hell if they talk…"
The other one, a tall man with dark hair and a scruffy look only nodded dejectedly in acquiescence. They had been interrogating the prisoners for hours without result. Behind them, three of Reggie's men were tied with their hands over their head on some pole that must have been used to dry meat. As he looked back, Phil thought that it was suiting … All of them were seriously busted by now. They had marks from the whip all over their torsos, along with large bruises on their faces. One of them was still moaning while the other two were unconscious. Phil gave a look at the ones still tied and lined up against the shack.
They had worked on those earlier with little result. He was starting to believe that this was pointless, but decided to give it one last try. As he was returning toward the three men they'd been working on, the one who was still conscious jumped back at seeing him there.
"Please, no more," he uttered weakly. He was the one who had been guarding the shack the night before.
"Do you have something to say," Phil questioned harshly.
The man licked his parched lips nervously, still pulling away from his tormentor. When he wouldn't answer, Phil lifted his fist to hit him again and the man groaned.
"No please… I… I'll tell you anything you want…"
Phil smiled victoriously.
Reggie had almost told Paul the location immediately, but then he had changed his mind when a new idea came to him. He figured that if Phoebe got the gold, he could try escaping these guys and then go after her. If he succeeded, he would have it all. His money and his revenge… He was certain that as soon as she got the gold she would run to Mexico, out of the authorities' reach, but not his. Thus, he resolved to keep his mouth shut until the very last moment. Paul couldn't be certain what the man was thinking, but he was convinced that in a very short while, he would need little effort to make to get him talking. Therefore, he waited for almost two hours while the blazing sun struck on Reggie and made his ordeal even harsher. Meanwhile, Paul also taunted him with the water he drank and startled him here and there by shooting a few rounds near him without warning. Finally Paul had just about enough of this waiting and he came to him menacingly.
"Alright, Reggie! I'm done waiting now. It's time for me to have some fun," he said, while pulling a mean looking knife from his boot. Smiling cruelly at Reggie, he went around the cactus and seized one of his left fingers roughly. Applying the knife to his knuckle, Paul again questioned:
"Do you have something to tell me, Reggie?"
This one grunted weakly and before he had time to say a word, Paul had cut off half of his finger. Reggie howled and tried to pull away.
"Now Reggie," Paul said again, as he moved the knife toward another finger, "do you?"
"Alright, I'll talk," Reggie said between groans of pain. Paul didn't remove the knife right away, staring curiously at the man.
"I said I'll talk," Reggie insisted, apparently pleading.
"Then," Paul answered at last while coming back in front of him, "start now, before I change my mind and decide to make you a eunuch just for the heck of it."
Reggie wanted to spit in his face again, but the truth of the matter was; he didn't have enough saliva left to do so. Besides, he figured he had given Phoebe enough of a head start and knew that Paul would have followed their tracks eventually. So he told Paul about the mine. Not long after this, Paul had his men untie him from the cactus and give him a pair of pants, joking that he was tired of his offending small dick. Then, they tied him again and sat him on the horse they had been using for their supplies.
"Count yourself lucky," Paul added then. "I'd drag you on foot through the desert, but you'd slow me down."
Meanwhile, as they started on Cole and Phoebe's tracks, Reggie didn't feel so lucky. Nevertheless, for every bounce in the saddle that reawakened the pain in his crotch and buttocks, he got new ideas for torturing Phoebe and the man who helped her. He also added Paul to his list of future victims while he began plotting his escape.
After several hours of riding, the lack of sleep began taking its toll on Cole and Phoebe. In fact, Phoebe was already dozing off against Cole's shoulder. Moreover, as he watched her, Cole wondered how much longer he would last before falling asleep himself. From Phoebe's indications, he knew that they couldn't be very far from their goal, but the mine remained elusive. They had come across a few rock formations, which had seemed promising, but they had soon proved to be false hopes. Now Cole wondered if they would ever find this place; or if it even existed. In his state of exhaustion, he saw them searching for days on end until they were completely lost in the desert. Again, he saw a promising range in the distance, but by then the sun was already coming down and he figured that they should at least start fresh in the morning. Whoever might be after them hopefully would stop for the night as well. Having made this decision, Cole pulled on the reins and dropped them before gently nudging Phoebe awake.
"What," she grumbled sleepily.
"I think we should stop for the night."
"McKail," Phoebe began to protest as soon as she was awake enough.
"Will probably camp too…" Cole finished for her. "Besides Phoebe, what good is it gonna do us if we fall from exhaustion before finding this place. We both need some rest…"
Phoebe had to admit that he was right. Even after the short nap she'd just taken, she still felt so tired. The last few days had truly been an ordeal and it was now hitting her hard.
Without waiting for her approval, Cole got off the carriage and pulled his pack from the back. Phoebe only hesitated a moment longer before following him.
Cole also grabbed a few pieces of dry wood he found in the carriage, but was still wondering how he would start the fire without any twigs to ignite it. Then, he decided to give a look inside his pack. There, he was surprised to find the banknotes that he had hidden in the lining an eternity ago, or so it seemed.
"What do you know…after all this, the money is still there," he chuckled tiredly.
Phoebe was already setting the pieces of wood ready to ignite but was also wondering how they would do it, until she saw the pile of money Cole threw on it.
"You can't be serious," Phoebe questioned although she said so with an amused smile.
"Hey, it's just money…"
Cole had also found a few long wooden matches and he handed those to Phoebe.
"Should make things easier…"
Phoebe glanced from the money to him uncertainly, and then she smiled anew.
"Right…" she said while lighting it up. Soon they had a small fire going and were simply sitting in contemplation.
"Do you think we'll ever find it," Phoebe asked suddenly, rendered a little more pessimistic by the intense fatigue she felt.
"Does it really matter all that much," Cole answered, surprising her.
"What are you talking about? Isn't that why we're out here?" Phoebe questioned pointedly.
"Look Phoebe…" he said while leaning toward her, "a moment ago, we started this fire with actual money and I just realized how little I cared…for the first time in my life, I found something more precious than luxury and money…"
"You can't seriously mean that you don't care about the gold anymore," Phoebe replied quickly. She knew what he was trying to say, but she wasn't ready to let him continue. Cole understood that she was still reticent and he kept silent for a moment. Instead, he extended his arm around Phoebe's shoulders and pulled her to him. Phoebe only resisted weakly before resting her head on his chest with a sigh. She realized then that she felt strangely safe as she relaxed against him.
"It just doesn't seem as important right now, Phoebe," Cole finally said softly.
Phoebe didn't answer and rather watched the fire pensively while Cole gathered a blanket around them.
"Sleep, baby," Cole whispered, while caressing her hair, "I'll watch over you."
"Cole," she began, as she put her head on his thighs, "I…"
"Shush…we'll talk later…" Then, as she sighed and felt herself drifting off to sleep, she thought she heard something else.
"I love you…"
In this moment between dream and reality, she believed it…
In the middle of the night, Phoebe woke up suddenly, wondering why she felt so cold. The fire was still burning albeit more like embers, but the difference was that Cole was nowhere to be found. All of a sudden, her doubts came rushing back painfully.
"Cole?" she called anxiously.
"Right here, baby," he called from outside the light circle. She watched Cole returning as an intense relief washed over her.
"Too bad," he joked, while sitting by her side, "I was contemplating abusing you in your sleep…"
"And I'd have missed all the fun," Phoebe chided playfully.
"If you had, it'd mean I seriously lost my touch," Cole replied comically, while he pulled her to him. He was already caressing her back, but couldn't help yawning noisily.
Phoebe chuckled.
"You know, I prefer when my lovers are awake, myself…" She said then, as she deposited a soft kiss on his lips. "Sleep now…"
Cole lied down reluctantly, but still kept his arm around her waist.
"Hey, I'm not going anywhere," Phoebe uttered teasingly.
Half-asleep already, Cole still managed to mumble.
"I'm not taking any chances…"
Phoebe smiled contentedly while reviving the fire. She thought back on that moment in the afternoon when Reggie had almost killed him. Then, she had figured out something that she never believed possible. When she was certain he was asleep, she leaned toward him and said in a whisper:
"I love you…"
Chapter XIII
Cole wondered how Reggie had managed to get out of his predicament so quickly, but at the moment, it wasn't the foremost thought on his mind. The blade was pressing harder on his throat and even if he believed that Reggie might prefer taking his revenge rather than killing him on the spot, he realized that he might still do it and then go after Phoebe. This thought brought him another urge to get his gun, even if it meant dying. However, Reggie anticipated it and quickly pulled the revolver out of his belt. He immediately pointed it at Phoebe's head.
"Now, that's more like it," Reggie snickered.
"What Reggie," Phoebe taunted suddenly, flooring Cole, "you think you got me scared…Did you take a good look at yourself lately. You're a bloody wreck."
"Shut up, bitch!"
"Why? You could never shut me up before. Besides, I've got a right to say a few last words… See Reggie, you could kill me, torture me…or him… but when I die I'll have the satisfaction to know that you'll never forget me…every time you try to take a piss or dip your dick, it's gonna hurt and you'll know it was all thanks to me…"
"Shut up!"
"Oh you didn't think of that," Phoebe added mockingly, while staring at his crotch. "Yeah, those spines they'll stay there, unless you cut your balls open to get them out, Reggie. In fact, you might actually try that, but I'm sure there isn't enough whisky in the world to drown that pain. Not to mention that you'd probably never get it up again. So yeah, shoot me, Reggie, but don't expect to ever be rid of me."
All this time, Cole had come back from his surprise to finally understand what she was getting at. First of all, Reggie was getting angry and careless, probably because he wondered if she was telling the truth, and Cole also noticed that he was shaking from the pain. In fact the more Phoebe talked, the lighter the pressure from the razor got, as Reggie's full attention was turning to her. Second, her reference to Reggie's crotch had a meaning. Only moving his eyes, he looked straight at it in turn and saw the spines half buried in his nuts. He knew that this could backfire on him, but at this point, if he didn't do something their deaths would be infinitely more painful than a slashed throat. Quashing the fear and disgust he felt, he suddenly grabbed Reggie's balls and squeezed as hard as he could. In doing so, he also hurt himself on the spines, but it hurt Reggie a lot more as he jumped with a howl of surprise and renewed pain. Without hesitation, Cole pulled hard on them and Reggie fell on his back screaming anew, while he tried to hack at Cole's arm. This one barely avoided the blade, but meanwhile, Reggie was already aligning the gun toward him. Cole believed it to be the end, but Phoebe kicked the gun out of Reggie's hand and then put a firm foot on his forearm. Cole caught Reggie's other arm in a firm grip and then sat on his legs to keep him from kicking, while he twisted the blade out of his hand. Phoebe bent quickly toward the gun then, and just as fast, she buried the barrel inside Reggie's mouth.
Struggling furiously, Reggie mumbled something and when Phoebe bent slightly closer to hear, he managed to free his arm from Cole's grip and grabbed her by the hair. Before she could react however, Cole slashed Reggie's arm with the razor blade he had taken from him and this one lost his grip. Phoebe angrily ground the arm still under her foot into the sand while glaring at him. For a few seconds they all stayed immobile and only when Phoebe was certain that Reggie knew he was made, did she bend toward him again, pulling the gun out a few inches.
"Now… what is it you have to say before I blow your brains out, Reggie?"
"If you kill me, you'll never find my money. I'll be the one laughing from the grave…" Reggie managed to grumble in spite of the gun barrel still in his mouth.
"Hey Reggie, we heard you saying that Lenny knows where the gold is," Phoebe goaded then, "…and I'm sure that he'll be very cooperative…"
A smirk came upon Reggie's features at this.
"Good bloody luck," he said, obviously very satisfied with himself.
Cole and Phoebe both got a sinking feeling from that. They had counted on tricking Reggie in telling them where the gold was with Lenny's help, or at least to get Lenny to fess up himself. However if, as they now feared, Reggie had killed Lenny… Cole irately grabbed Reggie and turned him face down. Then, he kicked his ass hard.
"Crawl…and fast!" Cole growled then.
Reggie didn't move at first but after a few more kicks, he got on hands and knees, grudgingly moving forward. Meanwhile, Phoebe gave the revolver to Cole and ran ahead. She found exactly what she'd feared. Reggie had used Lenny's blindness to get close enough without alerting him. This was why they hadn't heard a thing, along with the fact that he'd stuffed the scarf that they used on him in Lenny's mouth. Then, he had slashed his belly opened. Now, Lenny was twitching at the end of the rope with his insides hanging out. Repressing the urge to retch, Phoebe went straight at him and pulled the gag out of his mouth. Lenny barely reacted and only whimpered. Phoebe knew that his time was short and she tried to get him to talk before it was too late.
"Lenny! That bastard Reggie did this to you…talk to me. If nothing else, you'll get your revenge on him…"
Lenny didn't look up or react at her voice, while his breathing was becoming shallower by the moment.
"Lenny," Phoebe shouted nervously. "Talk to me! Where's the gold?"
By then, Cole had brought Reggie close enough for him to hear Phoebe's question and Reggie yelled:
"Shut up you bastard!"
This seemed to have an effect on Lenny, who lifted his head a couple of inches and whispered something. Phoebe couldn't hear, so she bent even closer toward him. Then, as Lenny exhaled his last breath, Phoebe stepped back with an unreadable expression.
"Hey," Reggie cackled, convinced that his secret was safe, "told you, you're screwed. I'll never talk either." Cole pushed him to the ground with his foot before glancing at Phoebe uncertainly.
"Phoebe?"
Phoebe detached her eyes from the pitiful spectacle that Lenny made, and as soon as she had overcome her malaise, she took a few steps toward Reggie and Cole without a word.
Then, as Cole watched her with increasing curiosity, she leaned toward Reggie.
"You know what, Reggie," she said very seriously, "I'm almost hoping that they don't hang you…this way you'll spend the rest of your life in prison knowing that I got your gold."
Then a smile spread over her lips as Reggie lifted his head toward her with all the scorn he could muster.
"You goddamn slut!"
"Hey, keep the invectives down, Reggie," Phoebe mocked, "you're gonna need your voice to chase away the vultures…"
Cole was now wondering if she truly knew or if she was just goading Reggie. He couldn't help asking.
"Did he really tell you?"
"Yeah…" Phoebe trailed with a half-smile. "Now, we don't really need this piece of crap anymore…hum…" Phoebe mumbled while observing Reggie.
"What are you thinking about?"
"You bitch," Reggie was again growling, "anything you do to me, I'll repay a thousand times in pain."
"You know what, Reggie, I can arrange for it to be worth your while…"
Phoebe pulled the barbwire length from her pocket and waved it in Reggie's face while Cole held the gun in his neck. "Don't move!" Cole snapped.
"Hum," Phoebe pondered, "where could I stick this? Maybe I should ram it up your ass, and then pull your insides out like you did to poor Lenny," she added as she twisted one end to make it look like a hook. She went around to his backside and Reggie recoiled when she slapped his left buttock.
"Again with your listening skills problem…" Cole said, pressing his foot on his lower back while Phoebe put the hook near Reggie's ass and this one tried to close his buttocks together nervously.
Then, Phoebe looked up and saw the scavenger birds already circling.
"Never mind… the little fellas are waiting for their dinner and they'll do a better job of hurting you than I," she quipped. "They'll make you regret having prepared the table for them, Reggie…I'm sure the vultures will savour your balls for dessert."
Phoebe motioned for Cole to bring Reggie close to where Lenny had succumbed. Cole nodded, actually relieved that she hadn't gone through with her threat as he handed her the gun. Then after dragging Reggie there, and with a grimace of disgust, he undid the bounds that still held the dead man. He dragged Lenny's lifeless body a few feet away, and then roughly grabbed Reggie, who still tried to fight him off.
"Reggie," Phoebe warned while arming the weapon deliberately, "you might still have a chance to survive this, but if you don't cooperate, I'll make sure you bleed to death slowly while the vultures feast on you…" To illustrate her point, she shot once very near Reggie's foot. He stopped struggling, but still glared at Phoebe with such hatred that even she had to work on herself not to step back. Cole tied him up with his back to the cactus. The stick, which was still planted in the ground at an angle, was pointing at his crotch, but Phoebe wasn't content with that. She twisted the barbwire around his balls, closing it with a running noose, and then she secured the wire around the trunk of the cactus.
"Now," Phoebe said with a smirk, "that should keep you there until McKail gets to you. The more you struggle, the tighter it'll get. Oh and bloody luck getting on McKail's good side…killing two of his men wasn't a very smart move. He wants to hurt you as much as he wants the gold…"
Reggie wasn't certain who she was talking about, but he didn't like the sound of it.
Meanwhile, Cole had prepared the carriage and when Phoebe was almost certain that Reggie wouldn't go anywhere anytime soon, she left him without another look back.
When Phoebe got closer, Cole glanced unhappily at Lenny's body, still lying a few feet from Reggie.
"Shouldn't we bury him or something?"
Phoebe hesitated only slightly.
"McKail is probably on our trail and we've lost too much time already…We'll leave him the task of burying him…"
"Where are we going?"
Cole didn't like the look of mistrust she gave him then.
"What? Are we back at this?" He questioned unhappily. "You don't trust me?"
Phoebe was about to answer when Reggie interrupted, startling them both.
"I'll get you for this, Phoebe. Wherever you go, I'll find you!"
"You should worry more about your own survival," Phoebe replied, apparently unimpressed, and then she climbed on the front seat of the carriage.
"You're coming?" She questioned, staring at Cole pointedly. This one seemed indecisive, but he still climbed on the seat beside her and turned the carriage the way Phoebe indicated.
"Can we really risk leaving him behind," Cole asked as they went on their way.
"We can't risk having him with us, and I really don't believe that he's gonna be a problem anymore," Phoebe replied flatly without looking at him.
Cole wasn't too sure about that but he hoped that Phoebe was right for both their sakes.
They heard Reggie's invectives for quite a while afterward and kept silent themselves, both thinking back on what happened with mixed feelings.
When the waterhole was only a point on the horizon, Cole finally turned halfway toward Phoebe.
"Are you sure you really know where we're going?"
This wasn't what he truly wanted to ask, but he didn't know if he should question her again about this trust business. Phoebe had not even attempted to answer his question after Reggie's interruption, and Cole was uncomfortable it. However, he soon realized that Phoebe had another concern on her mind.
"I didn't mean for anybody to die," she uttered forlornly rather than answering his direct question.
"It wasn't you who did that," Cole exclaimed then. "Reggie is the monster… and frankly, I wanted to kill that bastard…"
Phoebe turned to him then.
"No you didn't. I could see it in your eyes…" Phoebe paused uncertainly and Cole waited for her to continue, as he was convinced there was more on her mind.
"You must think I'm horrible," Phoebe trailed then while looking away.
"Phoebe… I was there…I helped you…"
"But…"
"No, I understand that you've suffered a great deal at the hands of men, Phoebe…" he stopped and winced before continuing, "including me…I'd be a hypocrite if I went self-righteous on you now."
Phoebe tried to protest again, but he interrupted.
"I saw the way they hurt that girl and I wanted to punish them just as badly as you did, Phoebe. While I'll admit I was squeamish at this torture business, I'd never hold it against you… and even less Lenny's death. You didn't do this alone, and you didn't kill Lenny."
Phoebe shook her head uncertainly, and then she bent toward the back of the carriage under Cole's curious stare. She opened the second pack and rummaged through it for a while. When she sat back, Phoebe was holding a medallion in her hands. She watched it pensively for a while, and Cole finally questioned her about it.
"What's that?"
Phoebe fidgeted with the trinket a moment longer before giving him an answer.
"That was for Mike…I thought I'd lost it and then I found it in the same spot where I found your pack. Reggie's trophies I guess..."
"Mike?" Cole questioned, only retaining the first part of her speech. He wasn't certain he liked the sound of that. After a moment though, he reflected with relief that she must have meant her baby…
"I was under the impression that you had a daughter…" He said then, covering the slight jealousy he had felt only a moment ago.
"I do…Mike's a short for Michelle," Phoebe replied with a soft smile. Then she became somber again, "I haven't seen her in months…I had this engraved for her just before I was sent to prison… after the brothel incident."
Phoebe was still staring at the little medallion while saying so.
"You could have it all, Phoebe," Cole began hesitantly. When she looked up, he worried that she might take his next words the wrong way, but he still felt that he had to try. "We could turn in the gold… and then I'd do everything in my power to get you off…you and your daughter could be together and free…"
Rather than answering, Phoebe shrugged uncertainly.
"Where is she?" Cole asked, at last, when she wouldn't acknowledge his offer.
"Near Flagstaff… She's with my cousins…just as I told you before."
"Piper and Leo…Halliwell, is that it?"
"Wyatt…but why do you wanna know," Phoebe asked with a sudden suspicion.
"Hey, don't bite my head off. I was just making conversation…"
Phoebe stared at him a moment longer without a word, and then she shrugged anew.
"It's in an abandoned mine," she suddenly said.
"What?"
"Reggie's gold…he hid it inside the Hogden's mine, about five miles south of the ranch where we found him and his men."
Cole wasn't exactly certain how much, but he was convinced that he had made progress with her. He smiled contentedly at the thought.
Paul and his men arrived at the waterhole toward the middle of the afternoon. There, what he saw at once disgusted him and gave him the urge to laugh out loud. A few vultures were having a feast on Lenny's body, while others were walking in hesitant circles around Reggie. This one was still struggling, but he looked weak to Paul. The man was in really bad shape with spines stuck all over him, including his crotch, where Paul saw that his balls were bulging and turning blue. At first, he wondered why until he saw the barbwire running from them and to the tall cactus. There he recognized Phoebe's touch without a doubt.
"Maybe, we should just shoot him now and put him out of his misery," Paul said loud enough to get Reggie's attention. This one had been concentrating on keeping the birds away from him and had not noticed the new arrivals. He looked up while squinting to distinguish who was there.
"Who the hell are you?" He questioned croakily. However, even as Reggie was saying it, he showed signs of recognition.
"You were with her," Reggie exclaimed incredulously, "just like that other bastard…How the hell?"
"Save your breath, Reggie. All I want from you is the gold. Then…well, as I said before, I should do you a favour and shoot you. Phoebe did quite a number on you, didn't she," Paul added, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice. He couldn't help admiring Phoebe's guts. Although, looking back at Lenny, he wondered if she had not gone too far… "Since she's not here, I'm guessing that you told Phoebe where the gold was… so you might as well do me the same courtesy…"
Reggie spit on the ground.
"I'm not telling you anything!"
"Oh well, we'll follow their tracks and leave you here for the vultures then…" Paul taunted, as he turned his mount around.
"Hey, you can't leave me here like this!" Reggie called with a hint of worry in his voice.
Paul halted the horse and dismounted slowly. Then he went to Reggie.
"Are you ready to talk?"
Reggie struggled some more and grunted when he felt the wire tightening.
Paul chuckled at a sudden idea.
"You sure you want me to take this off? It'll hurt like hell afterward…Not to mention that the way it looks," he added, shamelessly examining his midsection, "we might have to amputate…maybe I should cut if off right now while it's still numb."
"Son of a bitch," Reggie screamed while spitting in Paul's face. Without hesitation, Paul drew his gun and pressed it next to the tender skin of his balls. Then, he fired the gun, grazing the skin while Reggie howled and fought hard against his bounds, only making things worse.
"Hey," Paul cackled as much for his men as for Reggie, "what do you know; it's not all numb yet. Now," Paul continued very deliberately, "I might blow 'em up… or you could start by apologizing to me. And make no mistake, Reggie. I had a very bad month, and I'm feeling the need for some payback…"
When Reggie said nothing, although he was breathing hard and moaning, Paul armed his revolver noisily and pressed it against Reggie's crotch again.
This one grunted but still gave him a less than heart-felt apology.
"Now that's more like it," Paul said as he moved the weapon only so and shot the knot in the wire, grazing Reggie's skin again while doing so. Immediately afterward, the pain caused by the bullet got drowned in the agony of the blood circulating anew in his crotch. It was a similar sensation to the spines that had pierced him earlier but multiplied a hundred times, and all at once. As he began to feel like someone had lit a fire between his legs, he imagined all the ways he would torture the bitch who had done this to him.
"Hey," Paul was mocking, amused at seeing him writhing, "you should be glad you can still feel something down there."
Behind them, Paul's men had taken it upon themselves to dig a shallow grave for Lenny. Reggie had tears in his eyes from the pain and possibly the exhaustion, and Paul thought that he should use his weakened state to push him. He couldn't be certain whether Cole and Phoebe had the true location of the gold. At this point, since he had Reggie, Paul wasn't too keen on leading a wild goose chase.
"Hey Reggie," he began while taking a seat on a nearby rock, "do you feel like talking now?"
"I've got nothing to tell you," Reggie answered hoarsely.
"Hum…you know, I've got plenty of time…I'll find those two love birds wherever they go. You, on the other hand, are nearing the breaking point…I can wait here and watch you suffer for a while…it'll only distract me. Then when I get tired of this, I'll start chopping you up piece by piece until you feel the need to confess… By the time, I get serious with you; you'll wish that Phoebe was still here with her fluffy kind of torture…"
Reggie tried to sustain Paul's stare, but he soon realized that this one might actually mean it. The beginning of panic crawled inside of him then. He wanted to live long enough to get his revenge on Phoebe. He also knew that he couldn't take much more punishment before he'd indeed reach the breaking point. All things considered he began to contemplate revealing the location of his gold to this McKail. Suddenly, the gold didn't seem as important as getting back at Phoebe…
Back at the ranch, Phil turned to another who had stayed behind with him.
"Well, I really don't think they know anything…Either this Reggie is one secretive bastard, or they think he's gonna chase them even in hell if they talk…"
The other one, a tall man with dark hair and a scruffy look only nodded dejectedly in acquiescence. They had been interrogating the prisoners for hours without result. Behind them, three of Reggie's men were tied with their hands over their head on some pole that must have been used to dry meat. As he looked back, Phil thought that it was suiting … All of them were seriously busted by now. They had marks from the whip all over their torsos, along with large bruises on their faces. One of them was still moaning while the other two were unconscious. Phil gave a look at the ones still tied and lined up against the shack.
They had worked on those earlier with little result. He was starting to believe that this was pointless, but decided to give it one last try. As he was returning toward the three men they'd been working on, the one who was still conscious jumped back at seeing him there.
"Please, no more," he uttered weakly. He was the one who had been guarding the shack the night before.
"Do you have something to say," Phil questioned harshly.
The man licked his parched lips nervously, still pulling away from his tormentor. When he wouldn't answer, Phil lifted his fist to hit him again and the man groaned.
"No please… I… I'll tell you anything you want…"
Phil smiled victoriously.
Reggie had almost told Paul the location immediately, but then he had changed his mind when a new idea came to him. He figured that if Phoebe got the gold, he could try escaping these guys and then go after her. If he succeeded, he would have it all. His money and his revenge… He was certain that as soon as she got the gold she would run to Mexico, out of the authorities' reach, but not his. Thus, he resolved to keep his mouth shut until the very last moment. Paul couldn't be certain what the man was thinking, but he was convinced that in a very short while, he would need little effort to make to get him talking. Therefore, he waited for almost two hours while the blazing sun struck on Reggie and made his ordeal even harsher. Meanwhile, Paul also taunted him with the water he drank and startled him here and there by shooting a few rounds near him without warning. Finally Paul had just about enough of this waiting and he came to him menacingly.
"Alright, Reggie! I'm done waiting now. It's time for me to have some fun," he said, while pulling a mean looking knife from his boot. Smiling cruelly at Reggie, he went around the cactus and seized one of his left fingers roughly. Applying the knife to his knuckle, Paul again questioned:
"Do you have something to tell me, Reggie?"
This one grunted weakly and before he had time to say a word, Paul had cut off half of his finger. Reggie howled and tried to pull away.
"Now Reggie," Paul said again, as he moved the knife toward another finger, "do you?"
"Alright, I'll talk," Reggie said between groans of pain. Paul didn't remove the knife right away, staring curiously at the man.
"I said I'll talk," Reggie insisted, apparently pleading.
"Then," Paul answered at last while coming back in front of him, "start now, before I change my mind and decide to make you a eunuch just for the heck of it."
Reggie wanted to spit in his face again, but the truth of the matter was; he didn't have enough saliva left to do so. Besides, he figured he had given Phoebe enough of a head start and knew that Paul would have followed their tracks eventually. So he told Paul about the mine. Not long after this, Paul had his men untie him from the cactus and give him a pair of pants, joking that he was tired of his offending small dick. Then, they tied him again and sat him on the horse they had been using for their supplies.
"Count yourself lucky," Paul added then. "I'd drag you on foot through the desert, but you'd slow me down."
Meanwhile, as they started on Cole and Phoebe's tracks, Reggie didn't feel so lucky. Nevertheless, for every bounce in the saddle that reawakened the pain in his crotch and buttocks, he got new ideas for torturing Phoebe and the man who helped her. He also added Paul to his list of future victims while he began plotting his escape.
After several hours of riding, the lack of sleep began taking its toll on Cole and Phoebe. In fact, Phoebe was already dozing off against Cole's shoulder. Moreover, as he watched her, Cole wondered how much longer he would last before falling asleep himself. From Phoebe's indications, he knew that they couldn't be very far from their goal, but the mine remained elusive. They had come across a few rock formations, which had seemed promising, but they had soon proved to be false hopes. Now Cole wondered if they would ever find this place; or if it even existed. In his state of exhaustion, he saw them searching for days on end until they were completely lost in the desert. Again, he saw a promising range in the distance, but by then the sun was already coming down and he figured that they should at least start fresh in the morning. Whoever might be after them hopefully would stop for the night as well. Having made this decision, Cole pulled on the reins and dropped them before gently nudging Phoebe awake.
"What," she grumbled sleepily.
"I think we should stop for the night."
"McKail," Phoebe began to protest as soon as she was awake enough.
"Will probably camp too…" Cole finished for her. "Besides Phoebe, what good is it gonna do us if we fall from exhaustion before finding this place. We both need some rest…"
Phoebe had to admit that he was right. Even after the short nap she'd just taken, she still felt so tired. The last few days had truly been an ordeal and it was now hitting her hard.
Without waiting for her approval, Cole got off the carriage and pulled his pack from the back. Phoebe only hesitated a moment longer before following him.
Cole also grabbed a few pieces of dry wood he found in the carriage, but was still wondering how he would start the fire without any twigs to ignite it. Then, he decided to give a look inside his pack. There, he was surprised to find the banknotes that he had hidden in the lining an eternity ago, or so it seemed.
"What do you know…after all this, the money is still there," he chuckled tiredly.
Phoebe was already setting the pieces of wood ready to ignite but was also wondering how they would do it, until she saw the pile of money Cole threw on it.
"You can't be serious," Phoebe questioned although she said so with an amused smile.
"Hey, it's just money…"
Cole had also found a few long wooden matches and he handed those to Phoebe.
"Should make things easier…"
Phoebe glanced from the money to him uncertainly, and then she smiled anew.
"Right…" she said while lighting it up. Soon they had a small fire going and were simply sitting in contemplation.
"Do you think we'll ever find it," Phoebe asked suddenly, rendered a little more pessimistic by the intense fatigue she felt.
"Does it really matter all that much," Cole answered, surprising her.
"What are you talking about? Isn't that why we're out here?" Phoebe questioned pointedly.
"Look Phoebe…" he said while leaning toward her, "a moment ago, we started this fire with actual money and I just realized how little I cared…for the first time in my life, I found something more precious than luxury and money…"
"You can't seriously mean that you don't care about the gold anymore," Phoebe replied quickly. She knew what he was trying to say, but she wasn't ready to let him continue. Cole understood that she was still reticent and he kept silent for a moment. Instead, he extended his arm around Phoebe's shoulders and pulled her to him. Phoebe only resisted weakly before resting her head on his chest with a sigh. She realized then that she felt strangely safe as she relaxed against him.
"It just doesn't seem as important right now, Phoebe," Cole finally said softly.
Phoebe didn't answer and rather watched the fire pensively while Cole gathered a blanket around them.
"Sleep, baby," Cole whispered, while caressing her hair, "I'll watch over you."
"Cole," she began, as she put her head on his thighs, "I…"
"Shush…we'll talk later…" Then, as she sighed and felt herself drifting off to sleep, she thought she heard something else.
"I love you…"
In this moment between dream and reality, she believed it…
In the middle of the night, Phoebe woke up suddenly, wondering why she felt so cold. The fire was still burning albeit more like embers, but the difference was that Cole was nowhere to be found. All of a sudden, her doubts came rushing back painfully.
"Cole?" she called anxiously.
"Right here, baby," he called from outside the light circle. She watched Cole returning as an intense relief washed over her.
"Too bad," he joked, while sitting by her side, "I was contemplating abusing you in your sleep…"
"And I'd have missed all the fun," Phoebe chided playfully.
"If you had, it'd mean I seriously lost my touch," Cole replied comically, while he pulled her to him. He was already caressing her back, but couldn't help yawning noisily.
Phoebe chuckled.
"You know, I prefer when my lovers are awake, myself…" She said then, as she deposited a soft kiss on his lips. "Sleep now…"
Cole lied down reluctantly, but still kept his arm around her waist.
"Hey, I'm not going anywhere," Phoebe uttered teasingly.
Half-asleep already, Cole still managed to mumble.
"I'm not taking any chances…"
Phoebe smiled contentedly while reviving the fire. She thought back on that moment in the afternoon when Reggie had almost killed him. Then, she had figured out something that she never believed possible. When she was certain he was asleep, she leaned toward him and said in a whisper:
"I love you…"
