Chapter 3



"This is the playground I used to always come to when I was at my dad's for the weekend," Renee said as they stepped out of the car.

They were looking at a wooden playground. She climbed up onto a platform and walked onto the wooden bridge. Gabriel followed her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Your hideaway?"

She nodded her head. "I don't know why I didn't learn earlier. Every weekend I came down, he would go into his spiel about how awful my mother was. How evil all women were. I would always come here to get away from his hateful words. My best friend down here always knew to meet me here every other Saturday night."

"It was that routine?"

She nodded her head slowly. "Yeah. Then, the next day he would be so different. All his words were loving. He didn't have a bad thing to say. I always convinced myself it wouldn't happen again, because that's what he told me."

"Did you tell your mom about the things he said?"

She shook her head. "I was afraid she wouldn't let me come down anymore. I always loved him."

Gabriel wrapped his arms around her. "He should have realized what he was doing."

"My mom was none of the things he called her. She was the best mom a person could have. It just took me forever to realize that. She still stuck by me though."

Tears were sliding down her cheeks. Gabriel wiped them away with his thumb. "She won't be the only one anymore."

*******

"Think I found something," Danny announced.

"What is it?"

"They both knew the same guy."

"Who?"

Danny hesitated. "Ian Nottingham."

He didn't have to wait long for the explosion. "What? Ian would not kill these girls. His family is more important to him now."

"Hey, I'm just telling you what's in the files."

Sara glanced at the clock then grabbed her jacket. "They should be back by now. I'll take Carina back and talk to him."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I can do this myself."

When she arrived at the mansion, she saw Ian and Darvi walking up to the house from the barn. Darvi waved when she saw her. Sara waited for them on the porch.

"Was she good for you?" Darvi asked, taking her daughter from her friend.

"Terrific. She slept the whole time. I need to talk to Ian if you don't mind."

She threw a worried glance at her husband, but when he shrugged, she said, "Not at all."

They walked into the library where Ian offered Sara a seat which she refused. "What is this about, Sara?"

"My case. We looked into the backgrounds of our two victims. Both of them knew you."

"Who were they?"

"Denise Miller and Emily-" She couldn't remember the second victim's last name.

"Shea?"

"Yeah. You knew them?"

Ian nodded his head. "They were involved in basic training with me, but couldn't be admitted to the Black Dragon training."

"Why not?"

"They were female. Father and others didn't believe they would be able to handle it."

"Have you heard from them lately."

"No," he replied, shaking his head. "Not since I started training with the Black Dragons."

"Would they fight back if someone attacked them?"

"Wouldn't anyone?"

"You'd be surprised," she muttered in reply.

"If you mean effectively," he added, ignoring the comment. "Yes. They were both well-trained in various martial arts disciplines."

"So only someone they knew would be able to get close enough to hurt them?"

"That is the most probable explanation."

"Who would want to do that?"

"I do not know, Sara. I have not spoken with them in years." Before the next question came out of her mouth, he said, "Do not worry, Sara. I did not kill them."

"I was sure you didn't, Ian. If you think of anyone who might have wanted to and could kill them, please let me know."

"I will, Sara."

*******

"Uncle Mike, why are you acting like this?"

"What do you mean, Dakota?"

"You know exactly what I mean. You don't even seem to realize how hard it was for Renee to come here. Why are you trying to push her even farther away?"

"I never pushed her away. She just left."

"Are you blind? Don't you realize how much you've hurt her over the years? She dreaded coming down here, but she still did because she wanted you to be happy even when it affected her own happiness."

"That was her mom's fault. She told her I was a terrible person."

"No, she didn't. You, on the other hand, made her mom out to be an evil witch. She was a wonderful person. You were just bitter and wanted to make your daughter the same way." Jason watched this discussion from the side, ready to intervene if things went bad. "Renee always loved you. She always thought you were the best dad. Even when you damaged her self-esteem she loved you and blamed herself for it."

"Well, maybe it was her fault."

Dakota's face changed from calm but determined to angry in a second. "It was not her fault! You brought her down every time she was here. It took all I could do to convince her she wasn't completely worthless the next week."

"Her mom didn't help that any, I'm sure."

"Actually, she did. She didn't want her coming down here because of how you made her feel, but still let her. She knew it would have just made things worse. She loved her daughter, unlike you. She was always there for Renee, unlike you."

Michael took a step closer to Dakota, but Jason was between them in a second. "My wife is right. Renee still suffers from the damage you did to her. She didn't even want to get close to Gabriel because she was afraid if she did, he would leave just like you did. That is not what you are supposed to teach your kids. You should let them know that there will always be someone there for them. It took a while and a very traumatic experience before Renee realized that." Jason glared at the older man until he backed away.

"Maybe I wasn't always there, but I tried."

"No, you didn't," both Jason and Dakota said at the same time.

"Well, I've tried to make it up to her in the last couple years."

"What? With gifts?" Dakota questioned. "That's not good enough for her. You need to ask for her forgiveness. And I'm not sure if you even deserve it."

His pride took control. "If I even deserve it? How dare you talk to me like that in my house. If you're not going to show me respect, get out!" He was close to screaming. His temper had gotten loose.

"Fine," Dakota shot back. "We'll leave. Renee was right. It was pointless to come here."

She picked J.J. up from the floor and carried him upstairs. Gathering the kids' things together, she told Meghan, "We're leaving. We'll have to find your aunt and uncle. Help Amie downstairs. Me and Jason will bring the other three down."

Meghan nodded her head and went to get her cousin. Five minutes later the five kids were in the car, Amie on Meghan's lap and J.J. in his mother's arms. Jason finished putting their stuff into the trunk then climbed into the car without a word to Michael.

*******

"So your dad's the one who got you started with horses?" Gabriel asked as they walked to the car from the stable.

"Yeah. That was before."

He squeezed his wife's shoulder encouragingly before stepping into the car. If he hadn't been so focused on his wife, he might have seen the man standing beside his car at the other end of the driveway who pulled away before he could be seen.

Ten minutes later they pulled into a deserted parking lot. "This is the movie theater I used to come to," Renee said after they stepped out of the car. "Closed down when a newer and larger one was built in town. Didn't get enough business here anymore."

"But they left the building?"

"Yeah. The town didn't want to hire anyone to tear it down, and no one wanted to use it for anything."

They walked up to the doors, but they were locked. Turning around again, they started for the car until Renee saw the man striding purposefully toward them. "Gabriel," Renee hissed in warning not liking the looks of the man.

He glanced up at her tone, and his stomach somersaulted. With only a few differences in facial characteristics, he looked almost exactly like the man who had kidnapped Meghan a year ago. "Who are you?" Gabriel asked when the man reached them.

"I'm Danny Kief. You're the reason my brother's dead now."

"Dead?" Gabriel knew he hadn't been sentenced to death.

"He was killed in prison," the man said before sending his fist into Gabriel's stomach. "It's your fault." He struck him in the same place.

Renee, seeing someone trying to beat up her husband, again, rushed forward to try to protect him. This man was fast and strong though. He saw her coming at him and quickly struck at her chest with his forearm. The blow sent her flying backwards, and she landed with almost all of her weight on her shoulder. She let out a cry of pain but bit back the tears. Pain tore through her arm when she tried to sit up from the ground. Danny Kief just laughed before turning back to Gabriel whose eyes were still on his wife. The man's taunting voice brought him back to the fight. "You gonna let your little wife fight your battles for you?"

Gabriel lunged for the man, but he stepped out of the way. Unprepared for the lack of a target, he had to lean back to avoid falling. Before he could get himself set, Kief moved in with two punches to Gabriel's stomach. Renee couldn't do anything but watch as her husband doubled over in pain. Even the slightest movement sent pain shooting through her arm.

Gabriel straightened as a quick jab connected with his chin. He winced then moved in. He managed to connect a right to his enemy's mouth before a left ran into his head. Lights burst in his skull, but he kept moving. He couldn't get in anymore blows, too busy protecting his face. Kief brought his knee up into the smaller man's stomach. The blow brought Gabriel to the ground. The man booted him in the stomach then drew a gun from inside his coat.

Renee heard the strangled cry. Neither of the men had opened their mouths, but she couldn't remember opening hers either. As the man cocked the pistol, all three of them heard a car door slam.

Renee turned her head and saw Jason running toward them. Danny Kief saw him as well and took off for his car. Jason's legs were longer, and he soon caught up to the runner. Danny Kief turned like a cornered animal and struck out at Jason with his gun. the blow caught the young man on the side of his head and stopped him. Kief jumped into his car and pulled away, his tires screeching.

Dakota ran over to her husband and put her arm around him. "Are you okay?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah. But he got away."

"Don't worry about that," she told him as she led him back over to where their friends were. "We need to get the two of you to the hospital."

"I'll drive Gabe there," Jason offered.

"No," Dakota protested. "You need to get your head checked out before you drive anywhere."

"My head is fine," he argued. "We'll meet you at the hospital." He leaned over and kissed her. "Don't worry."

She watched him help Gabriel to the car then turned to Renee and grabbed her uninjured arm. They walked to Renee's car and followed the men to the hospital.