Chapter 17
TW- Character Death
Yes, we're up to this part in the series
Such a great episode but so sad at the same time.
The feeling of a wet, cold nose against her cheek stirred Maddie slightly from her sleep. 'Go away…' She mumbled as she pushed Bubbles away from her, trying to get back to sleep. 'Go on.'
Despite her protests, the kitten wouldn't give up, purring loudly as she rubbed her body against the girl's face. With a sigh the teen rolled over, pulling the covers over her head. 'Let me sleep.'
Not about to give up, Bubbles crawled in beneath the covers up to her face once more. 'Bubbles…' She groaned as the kitten began to lick her cheek. There was no getting back to sleep now… 'Okay, okay. I'm up.'
With effort she sat up, the kitten jumping down from her bed and ran to her feed bowl. 'Yes, yes. You'll get breakfast soon-' She winced as she stood, still feeling the effects of last night's discipline. The room swam for a moment and she held onto her bed head to steady her, waiting for it to pass.
A few deep breaths later and she gingerly stretched, her aching muscles protesting. She couldn't even remember what it had been for but one thing was for sure; it had been her fault.
Every time Robert laid a hand on his daughter, it was accompanied with telling her it was her fault and that he didn't like having to punish her. Years of hearing that had drilled into her mind it was normal, she hadn't questioned it until only a few weeks ago. Now though, those doubts were gone, replaced instead by the words he spoke to her. You're worthless. You are nothing. You did wrong and must be punished.
Checking the time on her phone, panic seized her. It was almost eleven! She had slept through each one of her alarms. She was supposed to riding the property with Bonham-
She frowned, seeing he had sent her a message at seven in the morning. Had to go into town, be back around ten. Continue with normal duties until I get back.
'He's going to be mad I'm late…' She said with a sigh as she turned her screen off. Bubbles meowed softly, sitting beside her bowl and she chuckled softly. 'Yes, I'm coming.'
After her kitten had been fed, Maddie cautiously peeked out from her room. The house was quiet and empty, her fathers bedroom vacant. It looked like he had already left for the day for which she was most grateful. Sleeping in late would have been another bad thing in his books.
A soak in the bathtub with epsom salts did wonders for her aching and bruised body, her muscles feeling a lot better as she stepped out to dry off. After applying cream to her open wounds she dressed in her work clothes and headed back to her room. Grabbing what she needed, she made sure that her kitten had what she needed for the day then set out to the barn.
Skylar was pacing around her stable as she walked in, the mare neighing loudly when she came through the door. 'I know, I overslept. Sorry sweetheart.' The mare's haynet was long empty, as were her water buckets. 'You'll have to eat over at the Walker's, okay?'
Letting the mare drink as she tacked her up they were soon ready and on their way. So far Bonham hadn't called or messaged to see where she was but she didn't want to push her luck any further, asking Skylar to canter.
Before long they arrived at the gate connecting the two properties together and she dismounted, frowning. That's not how I left it last night… She frowned, seeing that the lock had been looped through the wrong chain link. Unless it was. It must be because I'm tired and I'm forgetting things… Yes, that's it.
After making sure the gate was secured behind herself, she mounted once more and continued the rest of the way to the ranch. As she rode into the yard, she looked around with surprise. It was quiet, too quiet. She noticed while dismounting that none of the horses had been turned out to pasture and frowned. Bonham must still be in town.
Untacking and turning Skylar out, she set to work on her usual chores. The horses that needed to be turned out she took out to pasture then started feeding and watering the ones that stayed in. Stall mucking was next, the teen doing both her own work and the extra that hadn't been taken care of. By the time that she had finished, it was early afternoon and still she hadn't seen anyone. Her stomach growled too, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since her small dinner the night before and after a moment of debating, decided she'd head up to the house and see if Abeline could make her a sandwich or something.
Quite a few cars were parked out front as she walked up the drive and onto the sidewalk. 'They must have visitors…' She wondered out loud but didn't give it anymore thought and continued on her way to the door. She knocked then stood back to wait for it to be answered.
When the door opened, it wasn't by anyone she had been expecting to see. It was the gentleman who had been visiting with her father the night before. 'Well well well, I wondered when you would show up. Your Daddy said you worked here.'
She swallowed back the lump of fear in her throat. 'Afternoon sir. I'm sorry, I didn't realize the Walkers had guests here. I'll be on my way-'
He caught her shoulder, not letting her go. 'Now that you are here, you're not going anywhere. Come on, inside.'
'Get your hands off me.' Maddie growled, shivers running up her spine. Something was wrong, dreadfully wrong. Where was Bonham and Abeline? What on earth was this man doing here? 'I have work to finish in the barn.'
'Oh, that can wait.' He replied, tightening his hold on her as she tried to get away. 'I insist.'
'No.'
'Your father said you were a tough one-'
Before he could finish the sentence, Maddie latched onto his hand with her teeth and bit down as hard as she could. The man let go with a howl of pain and she took the opportunity to bolt. Her heart was pounding as she fled, hearing shouts come from Clint then men running after her and she forced her aching legs to go faster.
As she neared the barn something hit her legs hard that caused her to fall, winding her for a moment. Going to get up, she rolled over to find the barrel of a rifle pointed at her face. Oh crap.
'Put your hands up.'
Deciding it was in her best interest not to argue with the business end of a gun, she slowly did as she was told. The man from the night before and another man with rifles walked over to her, Maddie glaring at him.
Clint motioned for the man to step aside then grabbed hold of the girl's shirt and pulled her upright. 'You little bitch, you're going to pay for that little trick of yours…' Punching her in the face he dropped her back onto the ground, laying it into her with his boot until she lay gasping for air. He knelt down beside her, grabbing hold of her shirt again. 'Should have done what you were told.'
'You… bastard.' If her body wasn't sore before, it sure was now. He felt her down, finding her phone in her back pocket and took it from her.
'Can't have you calling the cops on us now, can we?'
'When Cordell gets here-'
'Oh, Cordell won't be back here for sometime. He's out robbing a bank.' Clint placed her phone into his pocket, pulling his pistol on her. 'You try anything, I won't hesitate blowing your pretty brains out. Get up.'
Slowly Maddie rose to her feet, eyes watching both of them carefully. Her muscles protested as she went to walk forward but the muzzle of his pistol in her back and his hand on her shoulder encouraged her along. Her nose was bleeding freely from being punched and she pinched it shut gently to get it to stop, her light pink work shirt already stained with her blood.
'Look who has come to join our little 'get to know you' session.' Clint said as he pushed the girl into the dining room. 'Had a little trouble convincing her it was in her best interest to do as she was told.'
'Yeah, and you can still go to hell for all I care.' Maddie hissed, anger flickering in her brown eyes as he forced her to sit down across from Abeline. Her hands were tied around the back of the chair, her ribs and shoulders protesting as blood still dripped from her nose. 'Bastard.'
'Maddie, don't make this any worse.' Abeline begged.
'Yeah, listen to the little lady, Maddie.' He replied as he took a seat beside her. 'I wasn't expecting any more company to come walking in on us but here you are.'
'Yeah, here I am.' She growled, hoping her nose would stop bleeding soon. She turned to him, ignoring the looks on Abeline and Bonham's faces. 'So, I'm going to take a wild guess. You're some kind of bloody idiot.'
'Maddie Stanton, you wound me.'
'Good, tell the devil I said hi when you meet him.'
'You wanting another go around, do you?'
'Maddie-' Bonham cautioned.
She didn't bother heading to his warning. 'My mother warned me about lowlife bastards like you, you don't scare me.' The muzzle of his pistol was pushed into her temple and she glared at him.
'You know what…' He decided after a moment. 'Little bitch like you isn't worth wasting a bullet on.'
Thank God. Bonham breathed inwardly with relief, hoping she could read in his expression she needed to be quiet. Her eyes met his for a moment and she turned away, blood still trickling from her nose.
'So-' Clint stood again, walking back to the other side of the table and stood in between Abeline and Bonham. 'This here Maddie related to you at all? Sure got a touch of the Walker temper I've been seeing.' They made no comment, refusing to take his bait anymore. 'No reply? Well, I guess I'll go see how that son of yours is getting along. Real pity I had to shoot him.'
Abeline turned to Maddie after he had left the room. 'Honey, are you okay?'
'Oh, I'm fine.' She swallowed the blood that had dripped down the back of her throat. 'Mind telling me what the hell I walked in on?'
Bonham sighed heavily, wishing the girl hadn't been dragged into this. 'That guy is Clint West.'
Clint West? Oh no… She had heard about Clint West and the Rodeo Kings when they were in the news the year before, guessing after a moment it was Cordell that had been part of the arrest. 'And I thought the worst I was going to get today was you getting cross with me for being late for the cattle count.'
'Missing cattle are the least of our problems right now.'
'Well-' Finally, her nose had stopped bleeding even though it still hurt to breathe. 'What are we going to do?'
'There's nothing we can do sweetheart.' Abeline started softly. 'But we're going to get through this, okay?' The teen nodded after a moment.
'Is Liam okay?'
'He's lost a lot of blood, Stella and Augie are with him.' Bonham replied. 'You look like you took quite a beating too.'
'I'm fine, ain't nothing I can't cope with.' She had been trying to wriggle her hands free of the rope but he had tied her up tight. There was no way she was getting herself out, especially not with how her shoulder felt. 'I should have realized something was wrong when I saw those trucks outside… I could have gotten help. I'm sorry.'
'It ain't your fault honey. Okay?'
'Well-' Clint exclaimed as he returned, wrapping a bandage around his hand the teen had bitten. 'Maddie, you have a fine set of chompers. You are quite the wildcat, pitty you weren't fast enough to outrun us.' He looked at Abeline and Bonham. 'Got Maddie up to speed on what's been going on around here?'
'Yep, they have.' Maddie let back in her chair, pretending to be relaxed when all she wanted to do was panic. She could already feel a panic attack coming… Imagine he's your father, do you have a panic attack around him? No. 'What I don't understand is this. What were you doing at my house last night?'
Both Abeline and Bonham glanced at Maddie with shock, Clint smirking as he took a seat beside the teen again. 'I'm an old friend of your Daddy, he and I go way back.'
'Well, that's funny. If you both are such good friends, then why haven't I ever heard him mention you?'
'Oh, I'm sure that your Daddy hasn't mentioned a lot of things to you. Starting with his whereabouts for the past few months. You see, while you thought he was out working, he was spending time behind bars with the other criminal of this family, Hoyt.'
She looked at him, then began to laugh. 'Yeah, right. Very funny, but I'm pretty sure that today isn't April Fools. I ain't buyin it.'
'Aren't you just a little curious as to what I was talking with your father about? I can tell you it wasn't about the weather or the price of bread.'
'You know, being a criminal doesn't suit you. With your jokes, you should have been a clown.'
It's no joke sweetheart… Abeline thought, her husband catching her eyes for a moment and she looked away.
It was Clint's turn to laugh. 'I can see you are your Daddy's girl alright, stubborn to a fault. Let me tell you a story, Maddie.'
'Sorry, I'm not into fairy tales.'
'Oh, this is no fairytale you see, this is the truth. To start, your father's name isn't Robert Adams. It's Bruce Steinfield. Let me tell you what Bruce Steinfield's line of work is. He's a career criminal, just like big bad ol me. You want to know why I was at your house last night? Your Daddy is a hired killer, a hit man. I wanted him in on this job but apparently he's gotten too good for his old buddies and turned me down.'
'You're lying.'
'Come on, you had to wonder why he didn't bother contacting you while he was away.'
'What my father does is none of my business, or yours-'
A phone began to ring and Clint pulled it from his pocket. 'Looks like your Dad is calling.'
As if this couldn't get any worse… 'If I don't answer it, he's going to come looking. And unless you want extra guests-'
'You better get him off your back then.' He answered it, placing it down on the table in front of her on speaker phone.
'Uh, hey, Dad-'
'Maddie, where the hell are you?'
She flinched at his tone, not daring to look up at the Walkers. 'I-I'm still at the Walkers.'
'And what is the time?'
She looked at the time shown on the phone, closing her eyes. Half past four. 'Four thirty sir.'
'Yes… Four thirty.' He lowered his voice back to a normal tone but one that was laced with callousness. 'What time are you supposed to be home?'
Maddie swallowed hard. 'Four o'clock sir.'
'Then why the hell aren't you home?' He roared.
The teen flinched again. 'I'm sorry Sir, Mr. Walker needs my help-'
'Maddie, get your ass home quick smart or you'll be sorry.'
The call ended, Clint returning the phone to his pocket with a smirk. 'Well Maddie, sounds like your Daddy isn't in the best of moods.'
'Yeah…' She took a glance up at Abeline then quickly looked away, unable to face her. 'Sounds like it…'
Night fell and with every passing minute, Maddie's anxiety grew. Not only was she being held hostage by some deranged crazy man hellbent on revenge, her father was angry with her too. Since her father had rung, she had been silent. Scenarios of what she might have to deal with when she arrived home ran through her mind but also wondering if Clint might have been speaking the truth about her father.
Screams came from the bedroom in the back, Maddie shuddering uncontrollably, her eyes clenched shut tightly. Clint left the room to investigate, the teen feeling sick to her stomach. She had felt nauseous all afternoon, having swallowed a lot of blood from her nosebleed. The stress and hearing Liam was just getting too much for her and she knew she couldn't fight the feeling any longer.
Her eyes flew open and she lent over to the side as far as she could, throwing up again and again onto the carpet. Finally, she stopped and was able to catch her breath for a moment.
Bonham saw she had thrown up blood, and quite a lot of it. 'God Maddie…'
'I'm sorry, I'm sorry.' She apologized, tears running down her cheeks. 'I couldn't stop myself any longer-'
Lights flooded through the windows, the sound of a car returning interrupting her.
'You should have told us you were feeling sick.' Abeline said with concern.
'And what could you have done, besides worry?' She took a deep breath, fighting back more tears. No, she wouldn't break down now, not in front of them. She couldn't stand to be more humiliated then she already had been. 'I'm fine now, it's just from that nosebleed.'
'Alrighty folks.' Clint said as he herded Stella and August back into the dining room then glanced back at them. 'Let's see if your Daddy was able to rob a bank in broad daylight.' The hired gun turned them loose and Clint dragged Maddie to her feet, leaning down next to her ear. 'If you think I'm done with you-' He held his bandaged hand up to her face. 'You've got another thing coming.'
'Maddie?'
She turned at the voice, bewilderment on her face as she saw it was Trevor. 'Trevor, what-'
'Get moving-' Clint jabbed her roughly in the ribs with his pistol, the girl almost collapsing in a heap from the pain. 'this ain't the time for polite conversation.'
As soon as Abeline was untied, she hurried over to Maddie's side and placed her arm around her, helping the teen walk out the front. 'You okay?'
'I'll be fine…' She breathed in sharply, her ribs throbbing. 'I'm okay.'
'Deal's a deal, Clint.' Cordell said as he and Hoyt walked across the lawn, then he stopped and threw the bags of cash at his feet. 'It's time to end this.'
'Is it now, Cordell?'
'Yes, it is.'
'I don't think so. Family went rouge-' He motioned to the people behind him. 'Couldn't leave well enough alone. And Maddie-'
Cordell's jaw twitched seeing the teen standing with his mother.
'Maddie here-' He grabbed her behind the back of the neck, pulling her away from Abeline. 'Maddie just had to stick her nose where it didn't belong.'
'That's enough, alright? That's enough!'
'I saw when.' Clint yelled, Maddie flinching as he jammed the muzzle of his pistol into her ribs. 'Ya'll take a hell of a lot for granted, don't you? You think it's enough? I haven't gotten what I came for.'
'Dad, they got the money.' Trevor said nervously, not liking the way this was turning out. This wasn't at all like his father had told him it would turn out like… 'There's no cops, why can't we just skip town?'
'We didn't come for the money.'
'Then what did we come here for?' He asked
Clint looked back at his son, still holding the teen tightly by her shirt. 'I told you they needed to suffer.'
'Let Maddie go Clint.' Cordell said firmly, his tone thick with anger. 'She had nothing to do with this!'
'Oh, so this stray means something to you then Cordell?' He asked, the girl choking for air, unable to breath with him twisting the collar of her shirt. 'Well, ain't that something. You know Maddie-' He lent down next to her ear, the girl struggling for a moment as she tried to get away from him. 'Cordell here is the reason why your Daddy was behind bars in the first place.'
'Go… to hell… bastard…'
'Clint, don't do anything stupid-'
Maddie was thrown to the ground, shots ringing out as everyone ran for cover. Still trying to get air into her lungs, she was vaguely aware of someone getting her to her feet and helping her to safety.
'Maddie, you okay?' Bonham asked, setting the girl down on the ground behind a truck.
'I-I'm f-fine…' She replied, catching her breath as rifle and pistol shots rang out. 'I-I wasn't h-hit.'
'Where's Stella?' Cordell asked, joining them behind the truck after a moment.
His father looked around, finding her after a moment. 'I've got her.'
The gunfire continued, Maddie and August huddled together with each other while Abeline shielded them both with her body. Glass shattered as windows in the vehicles were broken, and with both of his hired guns dead, Clint was the only one left still shooting. A scream rang out as Cordell, Bonham and Hoyt fired at the truck he was hiding behind and after a moment, the shooting ceased.
Deafening silence followed.
They watched the truck carefully but there was no movement and after a moment, Hoyt got up from where he'd been sheltering. 'I think I got him.'
With the shooting stopped, Abeline moved back from the two teenagers, looking them both over carefully. 'You okay Augie?'
He nodded. 'I'm fine Mawline.'
'Maddie?'
She nodded, still attempting to catch her breath. 'Oh God, that was too close-''
'Sssh, it's okay.' Maddie was shaking, holding her hands over her mouth to stop herself from crying out. Gently she placed her arms around the girl, holding onto her tight. Clint throwing the girl onto the ground and shooting at her kept playing over in her mind, the only reason she was still alive was Hoyt firing at him and making him miss. 'You're okay…'
After a moment she calmed again, taking as deep a breath as her ribs would allow and wiped the tears from her cheeks. August placed a hand on her shoulder and she smiled sadly at him. 'Thanks buddy.'
'You okay now?' He questioned.
She nodded and between the two of them, they helped her get to her feet again.
'Hoyt.' Cordell saw his friend stagger unsteadily back onto the lawn, hand clutching his side and dropped the rifle as he ran to him. 'Hoyt!'
Hoyt collapsed to the ground.
'No!'
Maddie froze when she heard Abeline's scream, the family running to Hoyt. It was Cordell who reached him first, placing a hand over the wound in his stomach as the rest of the family crowded around him on the grass. She ran over, crouching down with them and her eyes widened as she saw the wound. It was bleeding profusely despite both Hoyt and Cordell trying to stem the bleeding.
'That's not good.'
Hoyt was dying.
'I love y'all.'
'No, no, don't you dare-'
Hoyt turned to Maddie, the teen kneeling beside Abeline who was holding him in her lap. 'Maddie…'
Her eyes were glistening with tears. He had saved her life, saved her from being shot and now he was the one dying. 'You saved my life.'
'You have a second chance…' He said, looking up at her. 'Don't become your father…'
Don't become your father.
She nodded. 'Promise.'
Hoyt turned to Cordell, placing his hand on his. 'We had a lot of good times, you and I…'
'Don't, don't Hoyt.'
'I always knew it'd end this way, buddy.'
'Hoyt?'
'No…' Abeline exclaimed, her voice breaking with emotion.
'Hoyt?' Cordell let out a sob, closing his friends eyes with shaking hands.
'Oh my God…'
Maddie placed an arm around Abeline as she started crying, herself in disbelief at what had just happened. The sound of a gun safety being flicked off caught their attention, everyone looking up to see Clint holding a pistol at Cordell's head.
'Needed to take one from you myself, was plannin on it bein the little lady over there-' He motioned over at Maddie. 'But funny how these things turn out. Now you know how it feels.'
'Yeah. Right, now I know.' Cordell got to his feet, the muzzle of his pistol still pressed to his forehead. 'And now I understand. I understand revenge.'
A gunshot echoed through the night, the shot having gone wide since the Ranger had taken hold of Clint's arm and disarmed him. The pistol was dropped as Cordell threw him down onto the ground, kicking him in the stomach.
Bonham, Stella and August stood as the fight continued, Maddie staying with Abeline. Hoyt's words kept repeating over and over in her mind, what he had said about her becoming her father. What had he meant? What did he know about her father that she didn't?
Had Clint West been speaking the truth about her father?
'Trevor!'
A gunshot followed Stella's scream, abruptly putting an end to the fight. Cordell stood, raising his hands and Trevor held a pistol on him.
'Go on!' Clint yelled. 'Shoot him!'
'Why didn't you come home?' Trevor asked, glancing down at his father though holding the gun steady on the Ranger.
'What? Son, I told you. He talked me out of it. He told us to stay the course.'
'He's not lying to you.' Cordell spoke up. 'Trevor, I did, for my job. For my job, I did.'
'You see that? He's manning up.'
'This is not about manning up.' He replied angrily. 'This is about humanity. Who do you want to be, Trevor? In this moment? You want to be who he expects you to be?'
'You shut up.'
Cordell ignored Clint, his eyes not leaving Trevor's 'Or you want to be me? 'Cause if it were me right now, I… I'd pull that trigger. Hell yes, I would. But you're not me. And you're not your dad.'
Micki slowly came out from behind the cover of the tree behind Trevor, her own pistol drawn on him. 'Put down the gun. Trevor-' The teenager turned to look back at her. 'Trever, let me tell you something about your mom. I met her. On her way to see you. I pulled her over 'cause she was speeding so fast, just to get to you. But think, think. Who do we really think is responsible for her death? The man who tried to stop the crime? Or the man who had killed before and wouldn't stop-'
'You're gonna trust her?' Clint shouted.
'Why didn't you stop?'
'Come on.'
'Trevor-' Micki slowly stepped closer. 'This, this all ends if you just put down your gun.'
After a moment, Trevor slowly lowered the pistol.
'Put it down, slowly, slowly.'
Clint saw a pistol within reach as the Ranger went to take the one his son had placed down, scrambling for it as the woman picked the other one up. He grabbed it, turned and went to fire then was thrown back down as another gunshot rang out.
Cordell looked over, seeing Clint lying on the ground then looked himself over. He hadn't been hit… He turned, Liam standing on the stairs of the sidewalk, revolver in hand. Liam had been the one who had fired and when he looked back at Clint, the man collapsed facedown on the gravel.
It was over.
It was finally over.
Maddie watched as Cordell hurried up the stairs,Cordell hurried up the stairs, taking hold of his brother as he began to waver and he helped him to sit down. Her eyes traveled to where Clint lay unmoving on the drive, Micki placing her arms around Trevor as the boy sobbed. Cordell held Liam against him, Stella and August sitting down with them and the Ranger wrapped his arms around his children.
It was time for her to leave.
She stood, looking at Bonham for a moment and their eyes met then he knelt down beside his wife, placing a kiss on her head. As the sirens wailed in the distance, Maddie took her leave, slipping away unnoticed by anyone. On the edge of the darkness, she stopped and turned to look back. Cordell still held his children and brothers in his arms, Bonham embraced a softly sobbing Abeline and Micki was with Trevor.
They didn't even notice her.
With the sound of the sirens getting closer, she didn't hesitate any longer and hurried off into the dark. Skylar trotted to meet her at her soft call, the teen rubbing a hand down her face as tears started rolling down her cheeks. The mare nudged her gently as she slipped the halter on then climbed up onto her bareback. 'Let's go home…' She said softly as she nudged her with her heels, horse and girl disappearing into the night.
