Chapter 3
"Gabriel, I think something's wrong with Amie's leg."
"What do you mean?" He asked, glancing away from the computer. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his face was paler than usual. He hadn't been sleeping well since Kevin's murder two months earlier. The murderer still hadn't been found.
"Every time she moves her right leg, that hip clicks."
"Maybe we should call the doctor," he suggested as he walked over to his wife and daughter.
Renee nodded and picked up the phone. Five minutes later she hung up and turned to him. "We have to take her in tomorrow."
He looked at his daughter with worry etched on his face. They knew there would be problems waith her being so small. He just hoped they'd find out this was perfectly normal.
Once they dropped Meghan off at school the next day, Gabriel drove to the hospital. In the examining room, the doctor looked over Amie then turned to her parents. "She appears to have congenital dislocation of the hip. It occurs when the hip socket isn't deep enough for the bone. It seems to be a minor case at least. We can probably just fix it with a splint."
Twenty minutes later her leg was in the splint, and they were ready to go home. "Try to keep her as still as possible. Hopefully, the problem will be corrected in a month."
When they arrived home, Renee took Amie upstairs while Gabriel checked on his shop. She was headed back down the stairs when she heard his exclamations of anger coming from the basement. She ran down there and instantly saw what had him so upset.
A set of shelves had been knocked to the floor, and broken merchandise was strewn across it. Shards of an Ancient Mayan urn laid among the ashes it had once contained. Billy the Kid's gun was hidden under an ancient Greek bronze helmet. Pieces of Sumerian tablets were scattered across the floor.
"He's back."
*******
"Gabe, I told you to leave this to us."
"Sara, I have to do this. If he comes after me or my family, I need to be able to protect myself and them. I'm not going to lose anyone else."
"You're going to get yourself killed."
"Then, that's what will happen. But I won't just let him kill me or the ones I love."
Sara sighed in defeat. "Fine. Then at least let me show you how to handle that gun."
She spent the next half hour intrusting him on how to load the gun, hold it, and aim it. When she finished, Sara made sure it was empty and handed it back to him. "Now, practice shooting it."
He aimed at a small window and squeezed the trigger. Sara shook her head. "That shot would have gone far to the right. You have to keep your hand steady. Try it again."
She had him do this again and again for fifteen minutes. Finally, she sighed and stopped him. "Gabe, that's enough. Give me the gun."
He saw the concerned look in her eyes and refused. "No, Sara. You won't give it back."
She started to say something when Renee walked into the shop. "Amie wanted to see you."
Gabriel put the gun on a shelf and took his daughter from his wife. The little girl laughed when he kissed her nose. "How's her leg?" He asked, looking up at his wife. Amie's leg was still in a splint after their trip to the doctor's, so he knew the problem wasn't completely fixed.
"He said it's better. We have to go back in two weeks. Should be fine by then."
Sara interrupted them. "I need to get going before the captain jumps down my throat. Gabe, be careful," she warned.
Renee took Amie from him. "I'm gonna go feed her then put her back to bed." She hesitated for a moment then asked, "Do you really think you're going to need that?"
"I hope not, Renee. I really hope not."
*******
Half an hour later Gabriel was getting ready to head upstairs for a late lunch when he heard the door creak open then slam violently shut. He started to turn around, and an arm wrapped around his neck. He paniced and struggled against his attacker, who sent his knee into Gabriel's back. He gasped in pain and fell to his knees as the man let go. Gabriel grabbed onto a shelf and pulled himself to his feet. He reached for his gun only to find it gone. "Aren't you glad you have such caring cop friends?"
The man grinned as he sent his fist into Gabriel's side. Then, he hit his chin with a right uppercut, and Gabriel's head snapped back. He tried focusing his eyes, but his attacker kept throwing punch after punch. Gabriel finally managed to slip inside a left hook and threw a right to the body. The man took a step back then resumed with a new ferocity. He broke Gabriel's nose with the heel of his hand, opened a cut above his right eye, and smashed his lips into his teeth. The smaller man took punch after punch, swaying on his feet. He tried to get his hands up, but they were easily batted down.
Suddenly the door opened upstairs, and Renee stepped down onto the stairs, but she still couldn't see down into the shop. "Gabe, are you coming up for lunch?" She called down to him.
Gabriel's attacker retreated to the door. Before leaving, he whispered, "I haven't finished. You're not through paying yet."
The door shut behind him just as Renee descended farther down the stairs. Gabriel fell to the floor, unable to support his own weight any longer. Stepping onto the floor, she instantly saw him lieing on his side and ran over to him. His left eye was swollen shut, and blood was running from his lips, nose, and numerous other cuts on his face. He opened his right eye and tried to smile at her. Renee fell to her knees beside him. "What happened?"
He just shook his head as he struggled to his knees. She put her arm around his shoulders and helped him get to his feet and up the stairs. "Gabe, what happened?" She asked again once she had him on the couch.
"Nothing. Don't worry about it," he mumbled.
"Gabriel, who did this?" Renee demanded.
He just shook his head again. Renee sighed in frustration and went to get what she needed to take care of his face. She carefully washed away the blood, cleaned out the cuts, and put bandages over the worse ones. When she finished, she told him, "Lay down here. I need to go pick Meghan up from school."
Once she left, Gabriel stood up from the couch and walked over to the computer. He took out a piece of paper, sat down, and started writing. Five minutes later he picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Caitlyn, can you come over and watch Amie for a few minutes? Renee went to pick Meghan up, and I have to go out."
"Sure, Gabe. I'll be right there."
He took the note he had just written into their bedroom and put it on Renee's dresser. Then, he went into Amie's room, leaned over the crib, and brushed a lock of her hair away from her forehead. "Goodbye," he whispered. As soon as Caitlyn arrived, he left.
When Renee returned, she saw her friend sitting on the couch. "What are you doing here?"
"Gabriel called and asked me to come watch Amie while he went out."
"He went out?" Renee had a feeling he wasn't planning on coming back for a while.
"Yeah. What's wrong, Renee?"
She shook her head and ran up to the bedroom, her eyes darting around the room. Gabriel's cell phone was sitting on his dresser. He obviously didn't want anyone to contact him. Her gaze came to rest on the folded piece of paper laying on her dresser. She grabbed it and read over it silently, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.
Renee,
I promised to never leave you, but I also promised to protect you. I can't keep both ends of that promise anymore, and I won't let anything happen to you, Amie, or Meghan. This man is after me. I've already lost one person to this maniac. I will not lose anymore. So I'm going to stay away from those I care about until this is over. If he doesn't kill me, I will return to you. I promise you that. I love you, Renee.
Gabriel
The tears streamed down her face as she sank to the floor. A few minutes later she felt a small hand on her shoulder, and Meghan asked, "What's wong, Aunt Renee? Where's Uncle Gabiel?"
"Trying to get himself killed," she whispered as she turned and gathered her niece in her arms.
*******
Gabriel leaned against the building. He sank to the ground, shivering. He hadn't grabbed his coat before leaving the house, and the air had grown cooler as the sun descended. His head dropped into his hands, and he closed his eyes, his thoughts returning to Renee. He could remember the way she looked when he first met her. She was comfortable in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a light-weight jacket. Her hair had been pulled back in a loose ponytail, and her face was completely clear of make-up. There had been a friendly, yet guarded look in her eyes.
He wished he was with her now but knew that was too dangerous for his family. He didn't care what happened to him. No, he had to admit that wasn't true. He did care. He cared for Renee, for Meghan, for Amie. Renee would have read the note by now, he thought to himself, glancing at his watch. Gabriel knew what her reactions would be, just not in what order they would come. She would be angry with him, scared for him, and for herself and the girls. She wouldn't be sleeping; she refused to unless he was lying beside her.
He needed to do something. He couldn't just sit there and wait for the monster to find him. "I need to see Sara," he said to himself as he stood up from the ground.
As he turned around, he heard someone say, "Now, why would you want to do that?"
Before he had time to react, Larry sent his fist into Gabriel's face. "I wouldn't like that very much."
Gabriel licked the blood from his split bottom lip, then he started for his attacker. Larry stopped him with two fists to the stomach, doubling him over in pain and sending him to one knee. Instead of straightening up from the ground, Gabriel lunged from his position. He head-butted Larry in the chest and pushed him against the wall he had been sitting against just a moment before. With his enemy pinned to the wall, Gabriel began slugging him in the stomach.
Larry battered the side of the other man's head with his elbow, but it didn't deter him. Gabriel knew he was fighting for his life. After trying for several more minutes to batter him away without success, Larry gave up on this defense. Instead, he jerked his knee up into Gabriel's stomach. He backed away while Larry took a deep breath. Then, they came together again. Gabriel took several punches but wouldn't back up or go down. He took three quick rights to the ribs and returned one to Larry's jaw.
They exchanged punches for a few more minutes, then Larry reached around Gabriel, wrapped his fingers together, and ground his knuckles into the smaller man's spine. Gabriel's body was bent backwards nearly in half. He wrapped his legs around those of his attacker, and they both fell to the ground. Both men heard a loud crack when Gabriel's knee hit against the pavement. They rolled apart and got to their feet, but Larry was quicker.
He grabbed the front of Gabriel's shirt and held him against the wall. With his other hands, he sent punch after punch into Gabriel's face until it was covered with blood. The back of his head was bleeding as well from hitting the wall. Larry let him drop to the ground. As he pushed himself up, the other man sent a foot into his stomach. "I'm crazy, am I?" He asked as a second kick followed the first. "Didn't believe me, did you?" He sent a kick to Gabriel's ribs with each word as the smaller man clung to consciousness. He tried to move away, but any movement sent excruciating pain through his knee. "I told you that you'd pay. You'd regret your scorn of me. But you just laughed. Are you regretting it now?"
"Go to Hell," Gabriel told him through clenched teeth.
Larry's foot connected with his chin, clicking his teeth together and sending him plummeting into the darkness of unconsciousness. Larry kicked him in the stomach once more then left the bruised, bloody, and broken body in the street. People passed by, but ignored him, thinking he was a young bum sleeping off a drunk.
*******
"Sara," Renee said when she heard her on the other end of the line.
"What is it, Renee?" She could tell the younger woman had been crying.
"Gabe left. Someone attacked him in his shop, and he left so we're not put in danger. But he's gonna get himself killed."
A vision attacked Sara. Gabriel fighting back against an attacker. Then, the attacker kicking him. Finally, she saw Gabriel laying in a street, blood covering his face.
"Sara?" Renee's voice finally came through to her.
"Don't worry, Renee. I'll find him." She grabbed her helmet and left her apartment.
