Forbidden love for a Barkley

Part Thirteen:

"Ci sarà Sangue!"

Carmine Mangano Sr found out what all happened to Stefania and has now vowed to make Nick pay dearly or in his words make him "The late Nick Barkley". Meanwhile, after it all sank in, Nick started blaming himself and later on, trashed his entire room plus tore his pillow to shreds before going into the parlor room. Jarrod caught up with him, discovered that he was staring at a piece of paper, and took it once Nick left the parlor room. Fast forward two days later, Fred interrogated Leonard and ended up letting him go before going over to Barkley Ranch to explain everything. To say Nick was displeased would be an understatement. Infuriated and wanting to crush skulls would fit him to a perfect "T". He grabbed his gun belt and was just about to go when Victoria talked him down and took the gun belt. Despite that, Nick left and was gone for a long time. As the Barkleys were wondering where he could've gone off, there was a knock at the door. Jarrod answered it and a woman was standing there. The questions that remain are: Where did Nick go? Who was the woman at the door? Where was Carmine Sr? Will Carmine Sr and Nick cross paths? Will Nick become 'The late Nick Barkley'? Stay tuned and find out!

Author's Note: I do NOT own The Big Valley or its characters. I ONLY own this fic and the characters of: Stefania Mangano, Carmine Mangano Sr, Leonard Barkley, Seth & his gang, and the Mangano family.

WARNING/TRIGGER WARNING: Two characters are going to be hurt; one badly beaten and the other, a possible abduction or a hint at abduction. Rated 'T' for a reason.

(Flashback to part 12)

It had been two days since the attack and after waiting & waiting, Leonard Barkley returned to Stockton, got questioned twice the first day he arrived, and was now in the sheriff's office being questioned again by Fred as he was named the mastermind of it all. It had been going on two hours since the third round of questioning started and Leonard was not having any of it.

"You've been on my tail for going on two wasted hours and for two lousy days getting the same answers over and over and over again until I am practically blue in the face! First I get a telegram telling me to come all the way from Modesto to Stockton, because of a little attack and right after I had returned to Modesto at that after being in French Camp and passing through both Ripon & Salida. The second I get home, I get that telegram summoning me back up to Stockton. Right away, I get back on my horse and do just that. Yeah, don't give me a chance to sit down, rest, and relax! Then, once I get here, I'm treated like the scum of the earth! Don't you know who I am?!" Leonard sounded very snooty and acted like he had something better to do.

"Sit down, Barkley!" Fred ordered.

"I won't sit down! You have no right to hold me like this and treat me with the utmost disrespect! I am a Barkley for God's sake and I demand better treatment!" Leonard slapped Fred's desk.

"You threatened Nick Barkley, your nephew, in regards to a young lady named Stefania Mangano, whom you started to dislike the mere second after you met her, according to Jarrod, your other nephew. In fact, don't the words: "I'm warning you, Nick! You bring dishonor and disgrace to the Barkley name, you'll live to regret it!" ring any bells?" Fred looked him dead in the eyes.

"This is ridiculous! I say one measly little thing and get interrogated by the sheriff! You're joking!" Leonard scoffed and started laughing.

"Barkley, this is no laughing matter and it is not one measly little thing. You threatened Nick one day and the next day, Miss Mangano endures pure hell. Plus, to top it off, Seth McMahon and his bunch name you as the mastermind & you and I both know that assault, battery, and rape are serious crimes. Now, I highly doubt you would want to keep laughing." Fred was in no mood for nonsense, not even from a Barkley and the look in his eye said it all.

"Of course I know those are serious crimes. I know what happened is no laughing matter and I hope the poor dear recovers. However, I don't even know who Seth McMahon is or any of his buddies, so why would I mastermind something for people I do not even know? Plus, so I said what I said to Nick, but it was just one of those things you say to your kid or sibling or niece/nephew when they act up." Leonard turned away from Fred and had his back to him, "Besides, what I said to Nick has got nothing to do with the attack on that woman."

"You could've aired out your dislike for her in the saloon and the wrong ears heard it!" Fred told him.

"Oh, I could've aired it out to a fellow patron or even the bartender while I was drunk and I could've been sitting next to McMahon or one of his buddies without knowing it. McMahon or somebody could've been sitting next or near to me and heard me airing it all out, but...but my dear sheriff, I wasn't even at the saloon. I told you where I was. Now, you check that out." Leonard walked over to the window and looked out of it, before turning his attention back to Fred and pointing at him.

"I've checked it out from others, but I needed to hear it from your mouth." Fred replied.

"Then, either you charge me for being the mastermind of the assault and rape on that girl and do it right now or I'm gonna walk out of here." Leonard stuck out his chest.

Fred didn't say anything and just sighed, before slapping his desk.

"If you sentence me to prison, you'll be sentencing the wrong man and if you hang me, you'll be hanging the wrong man. Like I said, I'm a Barkley and I will not stand for a kangaroo court all, because of a measly thing I said." Leonard took out a cigar and a match, struck the match on his boot, and lit the cigar.

"I don't care that you're a Barkley. Nobody is above the law, not even the Barkleys. As long as you're here and on the list of suspects, you'll be treated like everyone else." Fred stood up and was almost nose-to-nose with Leonard.

Leonard didn't say anything, only looked at Fred, cigar hanging out of his mouth and what appeared to be a smirk, starting to form in the corner of his opened mouth.

*Meanwhile, at Barkley Ranch*

The rest of the Barkleys had since found out what had happened to Stefania and were growing concerned about Nick as he was totally withdrawn from everyone and everything. Nick had skipped all meals and was pulling the extremely rare move of shirking his ranch duties due to having zero appetite for food, the inability to focus on anything else, and the weight of what happened to Stefania still on his shoulders. Today, he was in the parlor room, sitting exactly where he had been sitting two days prior, holding the note, the lock of Stefania's hair, and her earring in his glove covered right hand. Oddly enough, he was wearing the same color clothing Jarrod had worn when he sat there holding Beth's necklace after her murder. He was mirroring Jarrod with the exception of his signature black leather gloves. The feeling of guilt was still within him, but anger had completely taken over by now. That being said, his anger was not only directed at Leonard, Seth, or the others, but Nick was also very angry with himself. He felt that he had broken a promise to Stefania and was very much to blame for that. In fact, after thinking long and hard, he started fully understand why Carmine Mangano Sr hated him so much. What he didn't know was that Carmine found out about the rape and was on the hunt for him. As he continued to sit in total silence and stare at nothing in particular, the sound of hoof beats could be heard which was followed by knocking at the front door. Victoria descended from the stairs and opened the door.

"Fred." Victoria greeted.

"Victoria." Fred took his hat off.

"Come in." Victoria took Fred's hand and shut the door after he walked in.

"I'm sorry I didn't come here sooner, but I just got through talking to your brother-in-law Leonard." Fred had a somber tone to his voice.

"It's alright. We understand." Victoria told him.

"Is Nick here?" Fred looked around.

Before Victoria could respond, Nick came stomping into the main foyer.

"Physically, I'm here, Fred. Emotionally, I'm not." Nick put his hands on his hips.

"I understand, Nick. However, I'm glad you're here, because I uh I wanted to explain to you about your uncle." Fred walked over to Nick.

"Has he talked yet?!" Nick asked.

"Well, he didn't confess to anything, if that's what you mean." Fred replied.

"That's EXACTLY what I mean!" Nick had balls of fire in his eyes and the tone of his voice made it known.

"Nick, I had to let him go. I had no other choice." Fred swallowed hard.

"What in the damn hell do you mean by that? What the hell does that mean?!" Nick was angrily huffing, the angry breathing sounds coming from his flared nostrils.

"Your uncle said he was in French Camp and passed through Ripon and Salida on his way back to Modesto." Fred told him.

"He's a damn liar!" Nick shook his head.

"I checked out his story and there are people around those parts who saw him there." Fred replied.

"He could've stopped at the saloon and met up with McMahon & his bunch, gave them the okay to do what they did, and high tailed it within just a few minutes in order to cover his butt!" Nick said all of that very fast.

"He stopped at the bar and said he got a little drunk. He could've been running his mouth to any patron within an earshot & McMahon and his bunch probably just happened to be sitting close by and eavesdropping." Fred insisted.

"That's all bull if I ever heard such bull in my life!" Nick refused to believe what Fred was saying, "He didn't have to be drunk and get himself stupid in order to start running his damned mouth! He can do that perfectly while sober! I know that just like anybody else does! He has been longtime buddies with McMahon and the others. I should know that, because they gambled together often! Leonard wanted to catch up on old times with his pals and in the midst of talking, he informed them of Stefania, gave them a description, and sicked them on her!"

"There's no proof of that, Nick! There's absolutely no proof of that! Now, your uncle is right. If he hadn't made that threat to you and if McMahon hadn't included his name in all of this, I wouldn't have had any reason to question him after sending that telegram summoning him back here for said questioning. I had to let him go." Fred explained, "Nick, you know the law just as well as the next guy, you should understand this."

"All I understand is that my good friend Stefania was assaulted, raped, and had the hell scared out of her plus, she may be carrying the child of Dodie Gunderson and Leonard Barkley, no uncle of mine as of now, ordered it to be done in a way to intimidate and scare her away all because he is a racist!" Nick raised his voice.

"Racist is quite a strong word, Nick." Fred told him.

"Then, what the hell do you call it when he says what he says about Silas, about Audra's former fiance Chotaro, about that Daphne Gubenheimer girl Eugene took a liking to, and what he said about Stefania the day before she was put through the gates of hell ten times over?! What the hell do you or anybody else call it?!" Nick started to rant.

"Nick, Leonard may be narrow minded and bigoted, but you're accusing him of something that he may not have orchestrated. These are only accusations. Not only against Leonard, but against McMahon and his bunch. I mean who knows what exactly happened? For all we know, a group of people could've used their names and Leonard's in order to copy one of the many crimes McMahon and his bunch had done in the past before they were sent away. Who knows?" Fred put his hat under his arm.

"And because they're just accusations, it doesn't mean a damn thing? Is that what you're saying? Because if you are, you're wrong, Fred! Stefania knows who attacked her, Harry the bartender can back her up when identifying them, and McMahon & his buddies have a laundry list of crimes they've committed. Assaulting and raping women is number one on that list! However, because she's Italian, it doesn't matter, right? Because she's new to our country, we can just forget about it, correct?! If she was white and American, you wouldn't doubt it for a minute that it was McMahon and his bunch who assaulted and raped her & that Leonard was the mastermind, would you?" Nick pounded his fist on the wall.

"Nick, I didn't say that. I didn't say anything of the kind. In fact, I am surprised at you insinuating such a thing when you know better than that! I'm just trying to tell you that's possible and if I may ask, for being a good friend of Miss Mangano's, you seem to care more than a good friend would." Fred scratched the back of his head.

"That's because we are more than just good friends!" Nick barked, before turning to Victoria, "Yes, mother. I admit it! Stefania and I are more than just friends, but we're taking things slowly! We wanted to wait and inform everybody in a more positive way after everybody put two and two together as a result of guess work, but since the whole world is going to hell faster than the blink of an eye, why not just admit it now?! Huh?!"

"Nick, was that really necessary?" Jarrod walked into the main foyer.

"You stay out of it, Jarrod!" Nick growled before turning back to Fred, "You're just trying to say that it is possible, huh? All you're doing is trying to excuse yourself and cover your backside for letting the mastermind of my girlfriend's assault run free along with the cold blooded perpetrators!"

"Nick!" Victoria and Jarrod shouted at the same time.

"It's alright, Victoria and Jarrod." Fred turned to them, before looking back into Nick's eyes and sighing, "Nick...I'm sorry. I'm sorry about what happened your special little lady. Truly, I am."

"And that's the end of it, huh? That's just the grand finale, right? Just forget about it and go on as if everything is all rainbows and cookies, is that it?!" Nick shouted.

"In regards to Leonard, there's nothing more I can do. In regards to McMahon and his bunch, I still have them to question." Fred replied.

"No, you don't! Not now!" Nick walked over to the table and grabbed his gun belt.

"No, Nick. No!" Victoria pleaded.

"Where did Leonard go? I'll get to him first then I'll track McMahon and his bunch down, one by one!" Nick put his black hat on and went to the front door.

"He's probably gone by now. Probably going back to Modesto as we speak. As for McMahon and everyone else, let me find and question them first." Fred told him.

"No!" Nick put his hand on the doorknob.

"Now Nick, you listen to me and you listen real good. I'm happy for you and Stefania & that you two are taking things slowly. That being said, I don't know her too well, as we only met on your father's birthday, but I do know that like your father, Stefania won't want vigilante justice." Victoria started.

"How do you know, mother? How do you know that Stefania won't want them to be dealt justice Barkley style and how do you know father wouldn't have wanted that?! How do you even know?!" Nick took his gun out, cocked it, and put it back in his gun belt.

"I know this, because I said the same thing to Jarrod when Beth was killed and after your father was murdered, I had to be told the same thing. Knowing what I knew those times and after meeting Stefania, I know vengeance isn't what she wants. From what I saw and from the way you talk about her, she cares about you just as much as you do for her. Don't destroy the beginning of the beautiful thing you two are taking slowly by destroying yourself." Victoria put one hand on Nick's arm and rubbed it before taking the gunbelt out of his other hand.

Nick sighed before kicking a table leg, opening the door, and leaving, slamming the door shut on his way out.

"Poor Nick." Fred had a look of concern on his face, bowed his head, and shook it.

"The only other time he got this way was after Tom was murdered." Victoria had a sympathetic look on her face.

*A few minutes later*

While Victoria and everyone else were wondering where Nick went off to and whether or not he was going to ever come home, there was a knock at the door. Jarrod stood up, made his way to the door, and opened it.

"Hello, ma'am. Are you lost?" Jarrod saw a woman standing there.

"Is this Barkley Ranch?" the woman had a thick Italian accent and spoke in English as best as she could.

"May I ask who you are, ma'am?" Jarrod smiled.

(Now)

"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Andrea Mangano. I'm the mother of Stefania Mangano." Andrea extended her hand for a handshake.

"Why hello, Mrs. Mangano. Won't you come in?" Jarrod shook Andrea's hand and showed her in.

"Is Nick Barkley here?" Andrea looked around.

"No, but the rest of his family are. I'm his brother Jarrod. In the living room, you'll meet-Oh, why don't I show you in?" Jarrod went to show Andrea into the living room only to be stopped when she gently tugged his arm.

"I can't stay here long. I need you to pass a message on to your brother Nick." Andrea's voice was a little shaky.

"Mrs. Mangano, we heard about what happened to Stefania and we cannot begin to tell you how sorry we are, even though, sorry doesn't erase any of it." Jarrod sounded somber.

"It's not your fault. It's nobody's fault except the beats who did that...to my daughter!" Andrea started weeping.

"Jarrod, what's happening?" Victoria walked into the main foyer.

"Mother, this is Mrs. Mangano, Stefania's mother. She needs to see Nick about something." Jarrod replied as he hugged Andrea and rubbed her back.

"Mrs. Mangano, it is a pleasure to meet you. I'm Victoria Barkley. Nick's mother." Victoria extended her hand.

"Ciao, Signora Barkley. A thousand apologies for...for being like this." Andrea shook Victoria's hand.

"Oh no. No, you don't have to apologize. Any mother would be in the state you are in right now. What happened to your daughter was wrong and we are deeply sorry, even though, sorry just doesn't get it." Victoria felt sorry for the woman and sympathized with her.

"That's what I need to talk to Nick about." Andrea slowly broke away from the hug and walked over to Victoria.

"Well, he'll be back sometime. You're more than welcome to wait here." Victoria offered.

"Oh no, I can't! You see..." Andrea looked around for a bit before turning her attention to Jarrod and Victoria.

"What's wrong, Mrs. Mangano? If you're feeling threatened-" Jarrod was cut off.

"It's not I who feels threatened. I'm just making sure my husband is not around here lurking." Andrea replied.

"Why would your husband be lurking around?" Victoria asked.

"My husband Carmine is angry. Very very angry." Andrea told her.

"Well, why shouldn't he be? His daughter was attacked. He has every right to be angry." Jarrod raised his eyebrows.

"No, no, you don't understand, signor Jarrod. My husband has it in his mind that Nick is the one who harmed Stefania. I know he didn't. We all do, but my husband...he is so stubborn. Stefania, my other children excluding my second son Vincent, and I have tried to talk to Carmine, but he will not listen. He seeks revenge...Nick is in danger!" Andrea had a fearful look on her face.

"Mrs. Mangano, where is Mr. Mangano now?" Jarrod's eyes got big.

"I don't know. He hasn't come home for a couple days. He's riding our white mule Ignazio and looking around for Nick. I tried to get here as quickly as I could, but I was also trying to not be discovered by Carmine. If Carmine saw me coming here, that would really send him over the edge." Andrea explained while wiping tears away.

"Nick is probably out where he and Stefania first met. I think he calls that place: 'La valle del paradiso, della tranquillità e dell'amore' which in Italian means: 'The Valley of Paradise, Tranquility, and Love'." Heath chimed in.

"Oh, you know Italian?" Andrea was a little impressed at Heath speaking a teeny bit of the Italian language.

"No, ma'am. I'm just merely repeating what brother Nick told me. I think Stefania is teaching him some of the Italian language." Heath replied.

"Oh, that Stefania. Always teaching you Americans our language." Andrea smiled a little, clearly proud of her daughter only to start weeping again.

"Ma'am, did I say something offensive?" Heath was a bit taken aback.

"Heath, this is Mrs. Mangano. Stefania's mother." Jarrod told him.

"Oh." Heath nodded before extending his hand, "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Mangano. I'm Heath Barkley. Nick's brother."

Before Andrea could say anything, another door opened and a thud could be heard.

"What was that?" Victoria looked around.

Audra was heard screaming which caused everyone to run towards the back door. Once they got there, a badly beaten and unconscious Eugene was seen laying in front of her.

"Eugene! What happened?" Jarrod knelt down beside his baby brother and held him.

"What happened, young man?" Andrea had a concerned look on her face.

"There...There-" Eugene was starting to come to and his voice was hoarse.

Jarrod picked him up and carried him over to the couch. After setting him down, he started getting him situated.

"I'll go get some water and a towel." Audra said before going off to get said things.

"Eugene, slowly tell us, what on Earth happened to you? Please." Victoria was on the brink of tears.

"Young man, what happened to you?" Andrea asked.

"There were...men...men shouting...shouting...'Ci sarà sangue!' about two or three times while...while-while they...worked me...over." Eugene winced and rubbed his bruised forehead, "Whatever 'Ci sarà sangue!' means, they yelled it while working me over."

"It's Italian for: 'There will be blood'. Young man, were any of the men riding on a white mule?" Andrea started to have a bad feeling that she knew who was responsible.

"No, ma'am. Just a few men who kept saying: 'Ci sarà sangue!' and in English: 'Down with Nick Barkley!', 'To hell with the white man!',& 'Nick Barkley, your backside is grass!' among others. They...thought I was...Nick." Eugene groaned.

"Carmine's friends!" Andrea whispered while shaking her head before turning to Victoria, "Signora Barkley, I am so sorry about what happened to your son."

"It's alright, Mrs. Mangano. It wasn't your fault." Victoria nodded to the woman.

"No, you do not understand. Those people who hurt him and said those things are the friends of my husband's. My husband sent them out for Nick and they got Eugene instead. I feel personally responsible for my husband doing this." Andrea's concerned sympathetic look turned into one of shame instead.

"Mrs. Mangano, nobody blames you and plus, your husband has a right to be angry about what happened to Stefania. Nobody should ever endure what she had to endure. However, your husband is going about it the wrong way just like how Nick is going about it the wrong way. Revenge is not something I imagine Stefania wants, am I right?" Victoria put a comforting hand on Andrea's shoulder.

"You are right, Signora Barkley. I told Carmine that revenge is not the answer, but he said to me that from where we come from revenge is the rule rather than the exception & in the revenge business your son Nick is next. My husband is hellbent and will not listen to any of us. He is very angry." Andrea looked at the ground before looking up at Victoria, "Well, I better be going on home."

"Mrs. Mangano, you don't have to leave right away. Nick should be back soon." Jarrod told her.

"No, no, I can't stay long. I need to get back home before my husband possibly comes by here and sees I'm here." Andrea went to the front door and left.

"I have the towel and-Where's that woman? She was here a minute ago." Audra came back into the room.

"Mrs. Mangano left in a hurry. Almost afraid of what her husband would do if he saw her here." Heath took the towel and wrung it out.

"Sounds to me that Mr. Mangano is one tough and stubborn person. From what happened to Eugene, he or somebody who knows him mistook our little brother with Nick." Jarrod took the towel and started to dab Eugene's wounds on his face.

"That's horrible, Jarrod. Well, what should we do?" Audra asked.

"After we get through with Eugene here, I'm going to go out and try to find Nick before Mr. Mangano or his friends do." Jarrod continued to dab Eugene's wounds before helping him out of his shirt.

"Jarrod, I wouldn't do that. You saw the way Nick was when Fred was here. I think it is best to leave him alone." Victoria shook her head.

"Perhaps you're right, mother. You know it brings back the memory of the time Nick was injured by Pat Hyatt and father wanted revenge. Father was hellbent for Pat's head." Jarrod nodded.

"And you and I both know that Nick is just like your father. The only thing I find difficult to believe even though I am not surprised is that Leonard ordered the attack on Stefania." Victoria sighed.

"It is difficult to believe, but you have to put it into consideration since he did say disparaging things about Stefania the day before and the next day, she endures hell plus that Seth McMahon and his friends put his name into it." Jarrod pointed out.

"That's true. However, I don't think Mr. Mangano can be convinced that Nick is not the culprit. Speaking of Nick, I wonder where he is." Heath looked up at the ceiling.

*Meanwhile, somewhere with Nick*

Nick had been riding around for a long time and decided to stop at the place where he and Stefania met. He got off of Coco, sat on the ground, and leaned against the tree. He stared at nothing in particular and was going through a master plan in his mind only for it to be interrupted when he heard a voice from a distance yelling: 'Ci sarà sangue! Ci sarà sangue! Ci sarà sangue!'.

"What in the world?" Nick, slightly alarmed, stood up and looked around.

"Ci sarà sangue! Ci sarà sangue! Ci sarà sangue! (There will be blood! There will be blood! There will be blood!)" the voice kept yelling.

"Ci sarà sangue? What in the devil does that mean?" Nick whispered to himself.

"Giù con l'uomo bianco! (Down with the white man!) Giù con l'uomo bianco! (Down with the white man!) Giù con l'uomo bianco! (Down with the white man!)" another voice yelled.

"La nostra cultura non dovrà più soffrire! (Our culture shall no longer suffer!) La nostra cultura non dovrà più soffrire! (Our culture shall no longer suffer!) La nostra cultura non dovrà più soffrire! (Our culture shall no longer suffer!)" a third voice yelled.

"That all sounds like someone is yelling in Italian. I better go find the source of the noise." Nick hopped back onto Coco and rode off in the direction of the yelling.

*About a minute later*

As soon as he arrived to the place where all of the yelling came from, he got off of Coco and got behind some bushes. He peeked out just a little bit to get a good look at what appeared to be a mob of angry men. This both annoyed him and caught him off guard.

*Nick's POV*

'Why is this mob here? Oh, wait. I think I know why. Dammit, Jarrod! Probably had Fred send a posse to help me. I don't need a damned posse! I'll just go over and tell them that I work alone.'

I remember that I heard people yelling in Italian.

'Wait a minute! These may be the ones who were yelling in Italian. Ah, they won't understand me. Unless Stefania was here to be an interpreter of sorts.'

I shake my head.

'Oh, get it together, Nick! You're not here to translate! You're out to go get McMahon and his gang plus Leonard. Focus!'

I start thinking about Stefania and get a sad look on my face.

'Stefania. I haven't seen her since the day of she endured hell. Then again, why would she want to be with somebody who didn't keep a promise?! Why would anybody want to be with somebody who failed them?! Nobody would!'

I sigh.

'I hope she understands.'

*Outside of Nick's mind*

Nick was slowly starting to make his way to where the men were standing when they turned around, saw him, and started yelling all sorts of things.

"Eccolo! L'uomo bianco! (There he is! The white man!)" a man yelled after spotting Nick.

"Prendetelo! Gli faremo pagare per quello che l'uomo bianco ha fatto al nostro popolo! (Get him! We'll make him pay for what the white man has done to our people!)" another man yelled before hopping onto his horse.

"Perché dobbiamo prenderlo?! Abbiamo già dato una grattata a quel Nick Barkley. (Why do we need to get him?! We already gave that Nick Barkley a rub down.)" a third man asked.

"Questo è probabilmente Seth McMahon. Corrisponde alla descrizione! (This one is probably Seth McMahon. He fits the description!)" a fourth man told him.

"Massimo, Vito, Enzo, Arturo, montate in sella e andiamo a prendere Seth McMahon prima che sia troppo tardi! (Massimo, Vito, Enzo, Arturo, get mounted and let's grab Seth McMahon before it is too late!)" a fifth man barked.

"Luca, pensi che quell'uomo sia Seth McMahon? Sembra troppo alto. (Luca, do you think that man is Seth McMahon. He looks too tall.)" Massimo looked up at Nick then back at Luca.

"Sta arrivando da questa parte! (He's coming this way!)" Enzo's eyes got big when he saw that Nick was coming towards the others and him.

"Una volta che è a pochi metri, prendi lui e Arturo, tu ci lanci la corda. Poi, ci divertiremo un po' con lui. (Once he gets within a few feet, grab him and Arturo, you throw us your rope. Then, we'll have some fun with him.)" Luca ordered before getting into position.

"Non vedo l'ora di ripagarlo con la ricompensa che lui e il suo popolo meritano dopo tutto quello che hanno fatto al nostro popolo. (I can't wait to give him the pay back he and his people deserve after what all they have done to our people.)" Arturo nodded and put his hand on the rope that was on the saddle.

Once Nick got within a few feet of the men, they pounced on him. Despite his efforts to fight the men off, Nick was quickly overpowered and knocked unconscious before being hog tied & gagged by Massimo, Arturo, Enzo, and Vito. Luca went up to Coco and instructed her to go off, which she did.

*25 minutes later, back at Barkley Ranch*

Heath was outside brushing his horse's mane when the sound of hoof beats could be heard which got his attention almost immediately. He saw it was Coco, but seeing as she was all by herself, Heath grew worried about Nick and by the look on his face, one could tell he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Heath, I was just-Hey, it's Coco. What is she doing here?" Jarrod walked over to Heath.

"Jarrod, she's all by herself. Usually Nick is with her." Heath couldn't take his eyes off of Coco.

"That he is Heath. Everywhere he goes, she goes." Jarrod nodded.

"This is not a good sign." Heath shook his head.

"Nope. He never goes anywhere without Coco and she never goes anywhere without Nick." Jarrod took Coco towards the barn.

"Jarrod, this could only mean one thing." Heath followed Jarrod.

"Yeah, either Nick got hurt, fell off of Coco, or was kidnapped. Remember when that kid Danny Wiggins kidnapped Nick and sent Coco back here all by herself?" Jarrod started to remember that time for a brief moment.

"Oh, yes. You don't think he's at it again, do you?" Heath asked.

"No, because the time Coco came back, she didn't have Nick's hat on her head." Jarrod took Nick's hat off of Coco's head and looked at it, before getting bug eyed, "Heath, remember how Mrs. Mangano was telling us about how angry Mr. Mangano is?"

"Yeah." Heath nodded.

"And you know how Eugene came back bruised, bloody, and beaten just moments earlier and said men jumped him, believing he was Nick?" Jarrod started to piece everything together.

"Yes. What does-" Heath was cut off.

"You don't think those men who got to Eugene also have Nick, do you?" Jarrod turned to him and looked him dead in the eyes.

"I hope not. God only knows what they may do to Nick." Heath sighed.

"We better go and try to find him. I'll get Fred to organize a posse." Jarrod started to walk over to his horse only to be stopped when a hand tugged on his arm.

"No, Jarrod. We should tell mother first." Heath shook his head.

"Do you think that is a good idea?" Jarrod raised an eyebrow.

"Is what a good idea?" Victoria asked after walking outside and hearing Jarrod's question.

To Be Continued...

Victoria: Jarrod, what's a good idea or not a good idea?

Stefania: Why has Nick been avoiding me?

Nick: Ugh! Where am I? What happened?

Jarrod: R&R people!