Chapter 6



"Dante got away," Sara growled. "Completely skipped out."

"We will find him, Sara," Danny tried to assure her.

"He's right, Sara," Jake put in. "We will."

"How did you know when and where to show up that day, Jake?" The question had been bothering Sara.

"My bosses told me the White Bulls were surfacing and to get my ass back here to finish the job."

"Yes, but how did you know Orlinsky was going to be at the hospital and that he'd been sent there to kill Gabe?"

"Informant told me. Now, Dante is still around. Sara, he wants you dead. He's not going to go far. We have to find him."

*******

"Jake, we'd really like to thank you for saving our lives," Gabriel said. "That's why we asked you and your family to come here for dinner tonight."

"That really wasn't necessary. After what I did-"

Gabriel stopped him. "That wasn't your fault. Yes, I did blame you. Obviously more than my wife did, and she had more reason to. But she set me straight, like she always does."

Jake smiled. "I understand, Gabe." His gaze went to their daughters at the other end of the table. "Niamh and Amie seem to have hit it off."

The two three-year-olds were talking and giggling. they glanced up at their fathers then returned to their conversation. Gabriel laughed. "They certainly are getting along."

Renee walked into the dining room with Parker. Orla followed behind her. "Tis a beautiful home ye have."

After cleaning up the table, the two families went into the living room. Amie and Niamh laid on the floor, scribbling in a coloring book. Aidan and Allanah played together with their stacking blocks, and Parker slept. An hour later Amie walked over to Renee. "Mama, tired."

"All right, baby. Let's put you to sleep. Her three younger siblings were already in bed, and Meghan was in her room reading. Jake and Orla took Niamh and returned to the hotel. Once the kitchen was cleaned up from dinner, Gabriel and Renee went upstairs. His body was still recovering, and he instantly fell asleep.

*******

"Gabriel, your shoulder is improving. Another couple weeks of therapy, and it should be close to normal again," Dr. Granur told Gabriel.

"It still feels stiff sometimes, and I've been doing these exercises for a month now."

The doctor seemed thoughtful for a moment. "Try icing it for twenty minutes every night. That might help relieve the stiffness."

Once they were in the car, Renee pulled out of the parking lot and started home. Halfway there, her cellphone rang. Gabriel answered it. "Hello? Okay, Jason, we'll be right there."

"What is it?" Renee asked when he hung up.

"We gotta get back to the hospital. Dakota's having the baby."

Renee pulled off of the road, turned around, and started back. Gabriel stayed in the waiting room while Renee went into the delivery room with Dakota and Jason. Renee stood on one side of her friend while Jason stood on the other. Several hours later Jason handed their blanket-wrapped daughter to her mother. Renee smiled down at them and smiled. "You did good, Kota. You did good."

She exited the room with Jason and the doctor, giving mother and daughter time to bond. Jason collapsed against the wall, sinking to the floor with an awed expression on his face. "How can you women go through that time after time?"

"If it wasn't for you men, we wouldn't have to," Renee joked.

"She's so strong," Jason thought out loud. "So strong and beautiful."

"Your daughter will be too."

Jason smiled. "Rebecca Rose."

"How are they, brother?" Jason looked up when he heard Ian's voice.

"Beautiful, strong."

Gabriel laughed from behind Ian. "Jason. you have the same awe- struck look on your face you always tell me I do after one of mine has been born."

Darvi slipped into the room to see her sister and niece, and Renee turned to Gabriel. "We should be getting home. You need to rest."

"Congratulations, Jason."

"Thank you for being in there for her, Renee."

"Hey, I promised I would be, didn't I? I don't go back on promises to friends."

"Be careful and have a good night."

"We will," Renee replied with a laugh. They always warned them to be careful, but she wasn't worried. Orlinsky was dead. Burgess had been committed to a mental hospital. None of the interrogating officers had believed him when he told them Sara's bracelet had changed into a gauntlet and sword. He had tried attacking one of the officers and was sent to the maximum security institution. Dante had left town. He hadn't been spotted, and the White Bulls's activities had seemed to die down. No, she wasn't worried,

When they pulled up to the house, something played at the back of Renee's mind. She couldn't bring it to the front, but something seemed a bit off. The door was shut, the porch light on. The light in the living room remained on. Renee could see Seth sitting on the couch, probably with the television on. Nothing seemed to be off, but still there was something. Trying to shake away the feeling, she went to the other side of the car and helped Gabriel out.

He grinned at her. "You know, I can do that myself."

She nodded her head, still preoccupied. The house seemed silent, almost dead. Is that what was wrong? 'No,' she told herself. The kids would be in bed by now. She saw Seth on the couch. Maybe he had turned off the television and fallen asleep there. What was wrong? She couldn't see anything. It wasn't until her hand turned the door knob that she thought of it. The blinds were up, and Seth always lowered them at night. It was something he seemed to do without even thinking. In the past three years, there hadn't been one night when he forgot to. That could only mean that something was wrong. It was too late now. They were already walking inside.

She walked further into the house and saw Seth laying on the couch with his head hanging over the edge. Blood dripped to the floor. No one else was in the room. Gabriel started to run to his grandfather.

"Gabe, wait," Renee cried, but he didn't pay any attention.

He put two fingers to the old man's neck, feeling for a pulse. He was so intent on checking to make sure his grandfather was alive that Renee's scream was the only thing to warn him of the man coming up behind him until an arm wrapped around his neck.

The man jerked him from his feet. His eyes darted around the room, but he could only hear a struggle coming from behind. He knew what was happening though. "Let her go," he managed to say through the man's suffocating hold.

The two men threw their captives to the floor, and Gabriel cried out in pain when his shoulder struck the hard surface. The men just chuckled.

Gabriel started over to Seth again. He needed to help him. A boot in his side stopped him. Groaning, he looked around. The man closest to him grinned sinisterly. Pain shot through Gabriel's side, and he feared he'd broken a rib.

"I wouldn't worry about him," the man said. "He's dead. Just like you will be soon."

Gabriel's eyes hardened. He had felt a pulse, a weak one, but it was still there. He wouldn't give up on his grandfather yet. The blood dripped from the back of his head. One of the men must have hit him on the head with their gun. How they had snuck up on the old man he didn't know. He also didn't know if there was any other damage.

Jack Cochrane saw the thoughts running through Gabriel's head. The old man had to be dead, he told himself. He had hit him pretty hard when they came on him, dozing. He had fought back though, and Thomas Jackson managed to take a swipe at him with his knife. The gash on his arm hadn't stopped the man though. He kept fighting. Ed Cummings swung his rifle at the side of Seth's head. that had been the final blow before the old man finally went down. He couldn't still be alive after all that, along with the other blows from their fists. Could he? they had all heard the butt of Cummings's gun crack the old man's skull.

"I have to help him," Gabriel protested.

"No, boy. You have to die."

Renee's mind raced. She couldn't just let them shoot her husband. Her feet moved forward while she still tried to think of a plan. Then she was running. She knocked the man, who now held a gun on Gabriel, over. He fell to his knees, but recovered and sent his elbow into her stomach. She fell gasping to the floor. The other two men who had attacked Seth stepped out of the kitchen with their guns drawn. Renee tried to recover her breath. She watched in horror as the man advanced on Gabriel again. He sent his foot into her husband's stomach, then leaned down and said, "Can't kill you yet. Boss wants to see you first."

Gabriel groaned as the pain spread through his midsection. "You won't-"

"Won't what, boy?" The man hissed shoving his face into the younger man's. "Get away with this? Is that what you think?"

"You won't," Gabriel gasped.

"Yes, we will."

He aimed another kick at Gabriel, but stopped when he heard footsteps on the deck. "Gabriel? You home?" The voice called then a knock sounded.

"Sara."

"Keep your mouth shut, boy, and your wife lives a little longer," Cochrane said, grabbing Renee by her shirt and pulling her to her feet. He held the gun to her neck as he moved to the wall.

Sara knocked on the door again before the Witchblade gave her a vision. Seth, maybe dead or dying, on the couch. Gabriel on the floor, beaten and not able to move through the pain. A man holding a gun on Renee. She shook herself out of the vision. Suddenly she felt someone beside her. "Ian," she breathed.

He nodded at her and moved silently around the house.

She watched him go then kicked the door open. She only saw Seth and Gabriel in the room. Then, she heard Renee's fearful whimpering. Her eyes darted around the room, and she spotted them. Cochrane stepped away from the wall, with one arm around Renee's neck and training the gun on Sara. The other two men, Jackson and Cummings, stood just in the room.

She felt the Witchblade transform. Before she could move, Ian swept silently into the room. He moved up behind the two men by the kitchen door and grabbed their heads. With a quick snap of his wrists, he broke their necks, and their bodies slumped to the floor. Sara advanced on Cochrane, and he threw Renee towards her, making a break for the back door. Ian stopped him, grabbing his arms and twisting them behind his back. He tried to break away, but Ian's grip remained strong. Sara came up behind them and said, "You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent."

Once Sara had him handcuffed, Ian walked over to Renee and helped her to her feet. "Call an ambulance," she said. "Seth's been hurt."

Ten minutes later they heard the sirens of the ambulance and made way for the paramedics to get to Seth. they had managed to stop the bleeding from his head wounds. The one on his arm had been minor and had clotted on its own. they were still afraid they were too late though.

*******

"Gabriel, pacing's not gonna help any."

"Renee, what am I gonna do if he dies? Damn it, this is my fault."

"No, it's not, Gabe."

"Yes, it is. I searched on information on the White Bulls' bullet. That got me shot and nearly killed, you almost raped again, the both of us almost killed, and now my grandfather could be dying in there because of it. How can you say it's not my fault?"

Renee walked over to him and put her arms around him. "You were doing something for a friend. You had no idea that any of this would happen."

"But I have a family to protect. I should have thought about that before anything else."

"He's going to be fine. Seth's a fighter, you know that. He won't give up without a fight."

The doctor clearing his throat brought them out of their embrace. Their hearts dropped when they turned to face him. He did not look happy.

"How is he?" Gabriel asked, not sure he really wanted to hear the answer.

"We managed to stop the internal bleeding, but we might not have got to it in time to stop the damage."

"Which is?"

"Anything from minor to serious brain damage. We won't know the extent of the damage until he wakes up."

"When will that be?"

"I don't know," the doctor replied with a shake of his head. "It could be anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks or even months. If he ever does."

Renee supported Gabriel as his knees weakened. "He's going to be fine," she whispered as she helped him to a chair.

The doctor continued his prognosis, "Even if he does come out of the coma, it will take a while for him to recover completely. It could be years."

The doctor left them, and Gabriel tried to get up, but Renee held him in the chair. "You were lucky not to break any ribs. Now stay there."

She could tell he was hurting, could see the unshed tears in his eyes. And she knew he blamed himself. She knew what he did then. He would think it his duty to go after the man behind this. She had to try to stop him. "Gabe, you can't do this to yourself. There's nothing you could have done. There's nothing you can do."

"He's dying in there, and it's my fault! There is one thing I can do."

"I will not let you get yourself killed. It's not your fault, and you know he wouldn't want you to be doing this to yourself."

Renee held him close while his body shook, but still the tears didn't come. The doctor came back out several minutes later. "You two should go home and get some rest. There's nothing you can do here."

Renee drove home, the car wrapped in silence. When they arrived at the house, Sara met them at the door. "Thank you for staying here," Renee told her.

Sara just smiled at her then walked outside. She didn't know what to say. They were both suffering silently, trying to be strong for the other.

Without a word, Gabriel walked downstairs to his shop. Renee just collapsed on the couch. She didn't know what would happen if Seth died. Gabriel had lost the rest of his family, would he be able to handle another? Letting her head fall into her hands, she cried.

Standing on the stairs just inside the upper door, Gabriel heard his wife's soft sobs. He wanted to comfort her, but any words he said would sound hypocritical. He couldn't assure her of anything. Not that Seth would live. Not that if he died, he wouldn't go after Dante. He promised himself the opposite was true. Sliding down the wall, he let the tears slide down his cheeks.