Double the Trouble (Texas Trouble 3) (18 page)

"Okay honey, I don't like how close he's parked to us.  Don't get out, crank the car right now and back up then swing around and put about twenty yards between us and him.  Park so we can leave fast if we need to,
and so we can use the car for cover, if he decides to start shooting.
" Gabe told her calmly.
  This was going down the way he wanted it to go down, not
the way
Jake Johnson
wanted it
.

Karlie cranked up the car and revved it, then put it in reverse and looked over her shoulder to back up.  She had to pivot a couple of times to get around the big truck, but she did it
,
and
then parked
the way he'd told her to with
the doors fac
ing
the truck
,
before
they got out, but left the doors open and in front of them
.
  "Stay behind that door, sugar, no matter what happens, unless you have to run.  Remember what Tommy told you about where to go, we'll meet there
,
if I'm behind you.
  If something happens, don't look back, just run like hell, and I'll find you.
"

He watched as Jake Johnson opened the door of the truck and shove something in the back of his jeans then
he got out and
slammed it.  His square jaw was tense and his big beefy arms flexed.  Then
Gabe
saw Katie walk around the back of the truck, her hat pulled low over her eyes.  He saw that her body was shaking
, and her legs were wobbly. 
Karlie whimpered on the other side of the car, and he glanced a warning at her.

Jake sidled over to
Katie
and yanked her beside him, then he yelled at Karlie, "Give me the dog bitch, and you can have your sister back."
  Gabe saw his eyes dart around the parking lot,
then when he spotted the patrol car, they narrowed and he said,
"Why'd you call the cops? 
You
stole
my
fucking dog, I should have you arrested
."

Gabe saw him tighten his grip on Katie's arm
, and he heard her moan, then h
er knees gave out
.  She recovered and
stood up
, then
yanked
her arm
away from him to rub it
, before moving a few steps behind him just out of his reach
.
  Gabe was glad she was smart enough to put some space between herself and the man, it would give her running room, if she needed it.

When Karlie picked that time to yell,
"You're not getting him back, Jake.  He's not your dog anymore.  I called the lawyers and told them you weren't taking care of him, that you'd kicked him.  He's mine now
,
"
Gabe cringed wishing she'd have waited for a few minutes.

T
he big bruiser's face got fiery red and he
let out a roar then
reached behind him at the same time Katie dove
behind him
.  She struggled back there a second, then
crawled to the other side of him
, pushed
up to her feet
then took off
running toward the Lincoln.  Jake Johnson was right behind her and tackled her on the gravel
, as her arm swung in an arc and she went down, but managed to throw the big gun she had in her hand toward them
.  It
landed
between the car and where Jake had Katie pinned to the ground.

"Get the gun, Karlie
!
" Gabe yelled then ran
around the car
toward Jake
, who had turned Katie
over and was straddling her
,
with his fist raised to hit her
.
  Katie had her arms crossed across her face and was sobbing hysterically. 

Taking a flying leap, Gabe
knocked the man off of Katie, then straddled him and started pummeling him in the face.  His rage was so complete he had no idea what was going on around him, he just kept punching
the bastard
in the face like a machine, until Cole
and Tommy came
up behind him and pulled him off of Jake Johnson.
 

When he looked down at him and saw the bloody mess he'd made of the asshole's face, Gabe was amazed, then he looked at his fists and saw they were bloody and torn up too.  He clenched them a couple of times and pain shot up his wrist.  He'd probably broken a finger or two, he thought.
 
Gabe wiped his hands off on
the man's
shirt then stood up and said,
"That's how it feels to get your ass beat by someone your own size, asshole
," then he kicked him in the leg and added, "
Remember that when you feel like hitting a woman again
, you fucking coward
."

All Jake Johnson did was moan and roll to his side
, then
cover his head with his arms.  Gabe took out his pistol from the shoulder holster, and Cole put his hand on Gabe's arm, "He's down man, and unarmed," he told him.

"
As much as I'd enjoy shooting this S.O.B., t
hat's not why I pulled my gun..." Gabe
told Cole,
his purpose for pulling the gun was to
make sure the bastard didn't follow them back to the Rockin' D.  Tommy didn't need his kind of trouble there
, o
r a
ny kind
for that matter, h
e had a small child to protect.  Turning toward the truck, Gabe
aimed at the
front tire then
squeezed off a round,
before doing
the same with a back tire.
  The truck leaned to t
he side as the tires deflated.

"Now, you figure out how you're going to get out of here, asshole.  If I ever see you around Katie or Karlie again, that bullet will be in your sorry ass
,
instead of your truck
,
"
he told the bully, then looked over at Karlie who was standing by her car with the gun hanging limply at her side
.  Her eyes were wide and she
had a big smile on her beautiful face
, and gratitude in her eyes
. 

Gabe
smiled grimly, then
walked over to her and pulled her into his arms for a heated kiss.
  When he let her go, he looked around for Katie to make sure she was okay, and saw her in Tommy Tucker's arms sobbing into his shirtfront.  Tommy held her tightly, and didn't look like he minded holding her at all.

"Katie did he hurt you?" Gabe yelled over to her and she shook her head.  He sure intimidated the hell out of her, that was obvious, but
Gabe
couldn't arrest the bastard for that
.  Katie
had taken his gun from him, so he
'd say he
was trying to recover his property
.  She hadn't let Jake pull the gun on them first
,
so that wasn't going
to fly for a charge either. 

Hell, what Gabe had done
to the bastard
was borderline assault
.  E
ven though he was defending Katie,
he'd been excessive for sure,
so he felt like the best thing they could do was get the hell out of here. 
He didn't think Jake Johnson had the balls to call the
Amarillo
police
,
after what he
'd done
. 
Hopefully the beating and the warning would keep
him
away from the twins
, but
Gabe had a bad feeling though this wasn't the last time they'd see Johnson.
 

Gabe squeezed Karlie's shoulders then looked at Cole and Tommy and said, "Let's go back to the ranch and regroup."

They all went back to their vehicles and left
, leaving
Jake Johnson laying
in the gravel parking lot moaning.

When they got back to the Rockin' D, Tommy broke out his special stash of Kentucky Bourbon and passed out glasses.  Karlie had gone to get his first aid kit so she could doctor up Gabe's hands, they looked awful.  But not as awful as Jake's face did, she thought. 

The beating had been
brutal, it was barbaric, but nobody deserved it more than Jake Johnson
did
. He'd terrorized her for months, and he'd finally gotten his comeuppance by the man Karlie was afraid she was quickly falling in love with.
  Gabe Kelly was a good man, he was honest, dependable and he kept his promises.  It didn't
hurt t
hat he
so hot he
set her
panties
on fire with just a glance, either.
 

Karlie just hoped he kept his promise tonight, because she was way beyond ready to taste that fire.
A chill of anticipation skittered along her spine at the thought.

After she found the first aid kit
in the bathroom where Tommy had told her it would be,
Karlie
headed back to the living room where everyone was talking.  Gabe was seated on the huge buttery soft sofa
,
with his head leaned against the back and his eyes closed.  Sitting down beside him she gently took one of his hands in hers
and rubbed her thumb along his, then brought it to her mouth and kissed it. 

Gabe opened one eye and looked at her, and the corner of his lips kicked up in a sexy grin.
  "Do I get a sponge bath too?" he mumbled softly, his deep voice rumbling along her nerve endings.

All the heat in her body pooled in places south and she swallowed, then nodded, "You can have
anything
thing you want,
sugar
."

She heard a growl rumble in his chest
,
then he pulled his hand away to put it behind her neck and
drag
her to him for a heated kiss.  When he released her, her breathing was erratic and her heart beat like a hummingbird in her chest.  Noticing the stark quiet in the room, she glanced around and saw every
one
staring at them
with
face-splitting grins...even
Dixie
, who'd evidently gotten over her anger at her daddy and wanted to be a part of the excitement
, was smiling
.

Cole's lips twitched and he drawled,
"If that's part of the nursing services can I be next
?"
then
he
flinched and put his hand to his neck
.
"I think I pulled a muscle in my neck
watching the action
."

"Sabrina's going to
break
your neck, if I tell her what you just said," Gabe grated, then told hi
s brother-in-law with a heated look
, "If I don't do it for you first
,
"
as
Karlie went to work on his hands.

Throwing back his head, Cole laughed and the others joined him, even Katie
,
who
Karlie
guessed
was starting to feel better, both
from
the whiskey and the undivided attention Tommy Tucker seemed to be giving her.  She was sitting next to him on the love seat and he had his arm over her shoulders.
 
Dixie
was sitting on the arm of the love seat by him.
 

Suddenly,
Dixie
hopped down and ran over to Karlie then asked with excitement in her brown eyes, "Can I take Sarge for a walk?  He looks kinda sad, like he needs some lovin'."

Karlie
looked down
at Sarge who was sitting by her feet, he did look kinda sad...maybe jealous even, which made her want to laugh.  She
looked
back
up at
Dixie
and smiled
.
"He does need some lovin', and since you're one of his favorite people, I can't think of anyone better to give it to him.  Thanks,
Dixie
," she told her then added protectively, "Ya'll stay close to the house though, don't wander off.
"