Aces Wild (11 page)

Gabe wasn’t all that much older than Kai and practiced the same warrior arts as the kid. The difference was that he was a warrior, Kai was a brash street fighter. Gabe struck with the same contained violence that destroyed his adversaries at the poker table. He never lost his strategic focus. Relying on the moves that made him the scourge of the back alleys of Boston, Gabe was pitiless. He sidestepped or batted away each angry rush of his furious opponent. When Kai was thoroughly confused, striking blindly out of anger, not skill, Gabe turned to his particular advantage.

Trained by a Kung Fu master who included savate in his repertoire, Gabe attacked. He aimed a flurry of savage kicks at Kai’s most vulnerable body parts. Overwhelmed by the ferocity of the attack, Kai huddled helplessly trying to scuttle away from the merciless overkill.

Gabe eased up a little to give Kai the chance to concede. It was important that Kai acknowledge he was beaten, to own the defeat. A minute later, Kai rolled over in a protective ball and put up his hands, the signal for “enough”.

Gabe stepped back, watching him carefully, judging his injuries. Kai rose to his hands and knees coughing up blood. He tried to stand, but couldn’t. He sunk back down to the ground, spitting out mouthfuls of blood.

Gabe dug his bandanna out of his back pocket and sopped up water from the cistern by the horse trough. Kai managed to heave himself to a sitting position and leaned against the hitching post, the damage to his face visible in the moonlight. . His lip was split, puffy, his right eye swollen shut, but not enough to halt the tears streaming down his cheeks. Gabe knelt beside him and pressed the cold rag in his hand.

“
Here, Kai. Hold this against your eye. It’ll keep the swelling down.”

Kai tried to shove his hand away but Gabe persisted, folding the damp cloth like a bandage and held it against the kid’s face.

After several minutes Kai stopped spitting blood and leaned back against the post, holding the bandana to his face. Gabe rose to his feet.

“
Look, Kai, I don’t hit a man when he’s down, but you need to hear this. You are a hell of a fighter. You’ve got the skills. Someone taught you well. And, hell, you’re strong as an ox. Damn, you probably have thirty pounds on me. But until you learn to control your anger, you’re nothing but a schoolyard bully. Tough, brash, and easy to beat. All it takes for an accomplished fighter is to step back like I did tonight and let you beat yourself.”

He could see the kid was listening and went in for the kill.

“
That’s not good enough, Kai. You’re right. You are Ana’s first line of defense. I need you, boy. I need to count on you. I need you on my team.”

He waited for a moment. When Kai didn’t answer, he asked, “Need help getting up?

Kai shook his head and mumbled, “I’m okay. You can go.”

Gabe nodded. “Sure thing. See you in the morning.”

He walked away, but stood quietly in the shadow of the barn. He waited until Kai hoisted himself to his feet, clutching the post. After several minutes, Kai got his balance and walked unsteadily toward the big house. Gabe followed him at a discreet distance. When he was sure Kai made it inside, he headed across the courtyard to the guest house.

~~

Chapter 11

The next morning, Gabe ducked by the dining room entrance. He pretended not to hear Penelope call out to him. That’s all he’d need, he thought with a grimace, to get shanghaied by that loathsome woman. His quick glance told him all he needed to know. Ana was not at the table. He chuckled. Not surprising. From what he learned about this family in the last twenty four hours, it amazed him if Penelope could get anyone to eat with her. Or be in the same room, for that matter.

His humor died a quick death when it hit him again that Ana wasn’t there. An unfamiliar emotion gripped his chest. It felt like anxiety edging toward fear. Neither emotion was familiar. From what he sensed now, it wasn’t a feeling he would enjoy.

He headed out to the barn to look for her. To his relief he saw Clem, the ranch foreman, educating a group of bored looking stable boys on the rights and wrongs of stable mucking. The boys weren’t impressed. Gabe had to agree. What more could you learn about shoveling horseshit except to do it as fast as you can and learn to like the smell.

Gabe closed in on the group and tipped his hat to Clem.

“
Morning, Clem. Know we haven’t officially met. I’m Gabe McKenna.” He stuck out his hand. Top his surprise, the wiry little man ignored it and glared at him. In a voice far from cordial, he said, “I know who you are.”

When he turned to walk away, Gabe called after him. “I’m glad that you do. Chao Li told me last night if I had questions about anything around the ranch I should go to you.”

Clem stopped at the mention of Chao’s name and stood several feet away. Hostility vibrated off his sinewy body. “What do you want?”

Gabe frowned than plunged ahead. “I’m looking for Ana. Have you seen her?”

Clem shrugged. “Not lately.”

Gabe held the man’s gaze for a long moment then said in a careful voice.

“
I see. Well, let’s put it this way, Clem. You can tell me what’s got vinegar in your craw and we can deal with it. Or the two of us can find Chao Li and see if he can figure out who or what put a stick up your ass.”

Clem’s dark suntanned face flushed. Gabe was sure it was with anger not embarrassment. While he waited for Clem to decide if he was going to answer him, Gabe took out his cigarette case and held it out to the man.

“
You smoke?”

“
Hell, yeah. What man doesn’t? But not that sissy chickenshit crap. I roll my own. That way I don’t smell like I just stepped out of a chippy joint.”

Gabe nodded. He took his time lighting his cigarette, never taking his eyes off the other man’s hard face. While the insinuation was clear, he decided not to take him on. After he took several drags and Clem had yet to answer him, Gabe decided enough was enough.

“
Let’s try this again, Clem. See if we can get a better start. Is Ana here?”

He shrugged. “Her roan’s gone.”

Gabe let a smile tweak his lips although he could feel the anger stirring in his gut. Goddanmit, he was worried about Ana and this little fucker knew where she was, he was certain.

Clem must have seen something in his expression, because he whirled on him.

“
So as you know, hotshot, there’s plenty of us around here who care about that little gal. We’ve looked out for her all her life. We aren’t about to let anyone hurt her, including the likes of you.”

Gabe took another drag on his cigarette and squinted at the angry man. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, he saw the concern in his eyes at the mention of Ana’s name.

He nodded as though Clem had reached out to him instead of putting up a higher hurdle.

“
Now we’re getting somewhere. I’m glad to know that you and others are looking out for Ana. But it’s clear you’ve made a decision about me without knowing me.”

He ignored Clem’s snort.

“
You’ve been around long enough, Clem. You know you shouldn’t believe everything you hear. Even if it’s true. Let’s get one thing straight. ‘The likes of me’ is what is going to protect Ana and, for that matter, Kai and Chao Li. I can tell by your attitude that you have an idea that there’s some bad shit going on around here and that all three of them are in danger.”

When Clem just jerked his head, his eyes narrowing further, Gabe stepped over next to the little man and glared down at him. If Clem was intimidated by the big man looming at least eight inches over him, he didn’t show it.

Gabe kept his voice calm, cool, but he was sure that Clem could feel the anger radiating off of him. “I’m gonna tell you something else, Clem. I suggest you listen up. I need everyone who cares about Ana and her brother and father on my team. Just so you know, Clem, I got a rule I live by. A man’s either with me or against me. Anyone not with me, I consider an enemy. You might want to ask around, Clem. My enemies don’t fare well.”

Gabe stepped back to give the wrangler some breathing space. His gut told him that concern for Ana and her father and brother was driving his hostility, but he didn’t give a shit. The guy could either help him or get the hell out of his way.

Clem reached in his pocket and took out his makings. It took him a full minute to pack the tobacco and roll the cigarette. When he finished, Gabe held out a match, a silent peace offering. To his relief, Clem accepted the light.

“
She left about an hour ago.”

“
Where’d she go?”

“
Where she always goes.”

When Gabe took a threatening step toward him, he amplified his response.

“
To the canyons, the waterfall. Where she goes every day.”

“
Who was with her?”

“
No one. She always goes alone.”

Gabe didn’t try to hide his concern.

“
Fuck, Clem, you know how worried her father is and you let her go by herself up to some goddamned canyon and waterfall? Why don’t you drive a stake through my gut? Tell me next that she goes there to swim!”

“
Not always. She mostly goes to be by herself and read.”

Gabe’s exasperation boiled over.

“
And since this is something she apparently does every day, everybody and any body would know her habits. Is that what you’re telling me?”

Clem had the decency to look abashed.

Gabe persisted. “And you didn’t stop her? Suggest she wait for her brother or maybe offer to ride with her?”

Clem guffawed. Scorn laced his words. “I’ll tell you somethin’ you don’t know, Mr. “know it all” McKenna. Nobody tells Ana what to do. Her father gave up on that years ago. Her brother tries, but she frustrates him at every step. Those of us who care about her and, yeah, are worried as hell, try to go along with her, not rile her up.

Guess we’re hopin’ that she just might occasionally listen to us.”

Gabe sighed. Arguing with this tight assed gatekeeper who seemed to have Ana’s best interest at heart wasn’t going to solve anything.

“
Where’s the canyon?”

He listened to Clem’s complicated directions and was glad when he grabbed a stick and drew a map in the dirt. Looking over his shoulder, Gabe was surprised to see one of the stable boys come out of the barn leading Master, his Arabian, saddled up and ready to ride.

He threw Clem a questioning frown. The weathered ranch hand shrugged, “I thought you might want to go after her. “

Gabe mounted his horse, then nodded at Clem,

“
Thanks”

As he galloped toward the canyon, he took some small measure of pleasure knowing that he passed Clem’s qualifying test. Just hoped the bastard hadn’t endangered Ana further with his protective rituals.

~~~

Ten minutes into the canyons, Gabe understood why Ana made them her refuge. The rocky trail was challenging, but nothing a skilled rider couldn’t handle. And, hell, the view the further up he went was astonishing. The snowcapped peaks of the Sierra Madras gleamed in the distance. He swore every geological stratum stood between him and the mountains from grassy mesas to scrub covered desert to towering pine trees. The riotous colors and heady fragrance of wildflowers swamped his senses. The variety, the miles of untouched land stretching across the horizon was what he loved about California and all of the West. They were among the many reasons he left Boston and never looked back.

He looked down on Chao Li’s ranch. From the distance, he could see the way the impressive compound blended into its surroundings. He wondered how Chao had stood up to Penelope over the years. Not let her put her stamp on the place. He could imagine the arguments between the two. Somehow Chao had managed to keep Penelope from “civilizing” his compound. There were no garish buildings, no unnatural colors, just carefully conceived structures that looked like they emerged from the landscape, through God’s hand, not one sophisticated Chinese man’s vision. Hell, he could have enjoyed the ride if the knot in his gut would loosen.

The trail flattened out and Gabe thought he smelled water. The distinctive sound of water cascading over the rocky outcroppings confirmed that he was nearing the waterfall promised by Clem’s scratches in the dirt. At the same time, he heard the water, he heard voices. Ana’s voice. And men’s voices.

Gabe swallowed hard, marveling at how tension dries up your spit. The itch on the back of his neck made his nerve endings shriek. The knot in his gut tightened. He hadn’t become the most feared poker player in the west by ignoring his intuition.

Ana was in danger.

~~

Chapter 12

Ana sensed the conversation had changed. She’d managed to cover her surprise when Jake and Marty appeared from the brush. She was startled when she saw them, but more annoyed than afraid. Damn, what brought the ranch hands this far up in the canyons? Their claim that Clem sent them to seek out the mountain lions that were frightening the horses at night didn’t ring true. She didn’t contest their story. Maybe like everyone else, they needed a break from the dawn to dusk work on the second biggest spread in California. But why did they have to choose her haven, her refuge?