Carter
Authors: Kathi S. Barton
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, organizations, or person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
World Castle Publishing, LLC
Pensacola, Florida
Copyright © Kathi S. Barton 2015
Hardback ISBN: 9781629892689
Print ISBN: 9781629892696
eBook ISBN: 9781629892702
First Edition World Castle Publishing, LLC June 29, 2015
http://www.worldcastlepublishing.com
Licensing Notes
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.
Cover: Karen Fuller
Editor: Eric Johnston
Editor: Maxine Bringenberg
Murph sat as still as her wounds would allow her to. She hurt. Not just from the bullet that was still lodged in her belly, but from the other wounds she’d gotten when she tried to get away. Where the hell were the police when you needed them? Then she smiled. She was the fucking police. But as the man who’d shot her in the first place moved by her again, she held her breath and waited for him to turn and see her.
“Listen, Murphy. If you just come on out in the open, things will go a good deal better for you.” He laughed. “I mean, I might be persuaded to just kill you now, instead of later when I’m done with you. I’d love to fuck you so hard you won’t think of how badly I’ve shot you to hell and back.”
Dane Murphy wanted to let him end her, but she knew that was the coward’s way out. She’d been on that end of her life and wasn’t too keen on going back to being a doormat. Not for the last five years and not ever again. Besides, she had someone who needed her, and she wasn’t going to give up that easily.
Taking her hand away from her belly, she looked at her blood as it not just spilled out on the ground but seemed to be running in a steady stream as she sat there. When Conrad Snyder, her would-be killer, moved away again, Murph knew she was close to dying. There simply wasn’t anything left in her. When someone touched her mind, she nearly begged him to come and get her, but he spoke before she could.
Hey, remember a long, long time ago when we were in…what the hell is wrong? Where are you? Mother fuck, is that bastard there with you now? Tell me, Murph. So help me, I’m going to kill him this time.
Leave it to Rider to demand rather than to be calm.
Nah. Dad is dead. But it’s not him this time, sad but true. I’m dying, Rider. So nice of you to be with me when I do. I so didn’t want to die all by myself.
He cursed again.
You’re pretty good at that. I never realized that until now.
Shut up and tell me where you are.
She said nothing to him, smiling for the first time in a good long time.
All right. Tell me where you are so I can come and get you.
I’m somewhere in Ohio. Right now it eludes me as to the name of the streets I was running down when the man with the gun was shooting at me.
She felt the blood pour from her more and moaned.
There’s no time to come here. Just…I’m glad that you called or whatever this is called.
I’m coming to get you. A friend of mine is helping me. And Thomas. You remember Thomas, don’t you?
She said that she’d not had the pleasure of meeting him.
He’s got some scary shit going on.
Rider, just stay back out of this. I know that’s the same as telling you to fucking do it, but really, this guy is out to kill me…well, he wants to see me dead, and I’d sooner not have to worry about you joining me in the afterlife. I do have someone I need for you to go and take care of—
The shadow over her made her move away, but Rider said her name and she tried to focus on his face. When he lifted her up in his arms, her body just seemed to let go and she screamed out her pain. He was talking to her when she calmed a little.
“Where is he?” She told the other man, who she assumed was Thomas, she had no idea. “Do you have anything with his scent on it? Like did you touch him?”
“I’m well aware what having his scent means. And in the event that you haven’t noticed, he shot me, not hung around for a tea and crumpet party.” The pain of being moved took her breath away, and she tried to breathe through the pain. “I think if I throw up right now, I’m going to die. I will anyway, but I was wondering if you could take me somewhere that they could lessen the pain.”
Thomas laughed, and Rider glared at him. Closing her eyes, she tried not to laugh at the sight of them being pissy with each other. She opened her eyes when someone said her name, and looked blurrily at the man in front of her.
“Hello, my dear. My name is Danny Hudson. I’m a doctor to the leap. They brought you here instead of the hospital. They seem to think that whoever did this might want to finish the job they started.” She nodded. Talking was too much effort, but he seemed to understand her just fine. “I’m going to give you something for the pain, and then we’re going to operate on you, all right?”
“Too late for that. Just tell me…where is Rider? He’s my only friend.” Murph must have faded out a bit because the next time she opened her eyes, Rider was there with a surgeon. And he didn’t look old enough to vote despite the scrubs and mask. “Money. I gave it to you. It’s all in a will. The only person I know.”
“You’re going to be fine. Just let them do their work.” When he started to move away, she said his name again. “Murph, you’re going to be just fine. These doctors will fix you up better than new. I promise.”
“Dad isn’t dead. I lied to you.” He nodded, telling her he knew that. “You have to take the money from me and use it for evil. Promise me. You said you would.”
“I promise.” She faded again and opened her eyes as he was talking to someone behind her. “Murph, stop fighting the drugs and let them work on you.”
She was too weak to fight any more and let them take her away. She didn’t even dream and she knew she was gone, and let death take her. That was it, or she’d just been given the best drugs on the street. Nothing had worked this well when she’d been hurt before. But she’d forgotten to tell Rider what she needed from him more than anything in the world. And now it was too late. Hopefully her attorney would do his job.
~~~
Rider tried not to pace again. It was pissing off the rest of the family, yet he found that he just couldn’t sit still. Damn it, what the fuck was taking so long? He looked at his mom when she told him to sit down. He sat, but not for long. He had to move. Do something.
“How long have you known her?” Rider tried to wrap his mind around his mom’s question. There was never a time that he didn’t know Murph, it seemed. “I’m assuming that you two are not mates.”
“No. She’s…we were in college together. But she’s a lot younger than me. Eleven years, to be exact. She was taking some pretty hefty classes and I was skimming along on the least I could do.” Rider grinned, remembering when she’d taken him on. “I was in class, snoring, when someone nudged me. I never knew who it was until this little bitty thing met me out on the lawn after class. Man, she was pissed off. Tore into me like I’d done something to her by napping.”
“You should have been paying attention. Good for her pointing that out to you.” Rider nodded. “But she did more than that, didn’t she? What on earth did she do that has that smile on your face?”
“She hit me. Not girly-like either, but square in the nose with her fist. Then she tossed me over her shoulder and onto the ground so quickly that I never saw it coming.” His mom laughed. “Yeah, at the time I didn’t think it was so funny. But she’d taken me on and told me in no uncertain terms how I was going to conduct myself in class from now on. That some people—she, she said—had paid a good deal of money to learn something, and I wasn’t fucking it up for her.”
“Your second year.” Rider asked his mom what she meant. “When she hit you, you were in your second year. Before Christmas. She straightened you out for me and your grades improved.”
“That’s right.” He sat back on the couch and smiled at the memory. “She’s brilliant—I mean off the charts brilliant—and her education was really important to her. I tried to be mad at her for what she’d done to me, but all I could think of was that she’d taken me on. At the time, I thought of myself as a big deal. She put me in my place.”
“Good for her.” Rider nodded. “And she can contact you? How? Were you and her…were you and she…? Rider, how did you know she was hurt?”
“I didn’t. Not at all. She’s good at that too, and no, I didn’t sleep with her. She was…it was too weird. But we did hang out together until she left college. We were close in other ways, but not sexually.” His mom nodded. “As for her talking to me, I don’t know. She’d been able to do it forever, she told me, to other beings. Humans, too, she told me, and that’s when I figured out it was because she was using a great deal more of her brain than most people did their mouths. Like I said, she’s smart.”
Rider watched the nurses coming and going and his brothers, the single ones, flirting with them. Misha wasn’t there but home with his wife, and Thomas was coming back soon. He was being prepared for his crowning and he’d not been able to leave again.
“I was asking her to be my date to the crowning. I’d not thought of her in years, but when I was unpacking one of the boxes that Thomas gave me, I found an old picture of her and I together at something.” He remembered the night well and smiled at it. “She and I had a pact back then. If we were in a desperate way, we could call on the other to use as a shield. A date, I guess. I was asking her to go to Thomas’s thing.”
“Do you know who shot her?” He told her that he didn’t. “But she was close to dying. That’s why you had her brought here. Do you even know what she does for a living? For all you know, she could be a drug dealer and it went down badly.”
Rider stared at his mom. “You and Hannah need to stop watching so many of those drama things. You’re sounding as bad as she is. And I’m pretty sure that she’s become the cop she wanted to be even back then. She would be the best at it, too. Nothing but black and white for her.”
Danny coming down the hall made him stand up. He looked worried but not stressed, an expression that the man wore daily. When Danny asked them to sit down, he looked like he might fall over instead of simply sitting with them.
“She’s a stubborn little thing, isn’t she?” Rider said she was. “I have her sedated for now, but I have to tell you, had that surgeon from your brother’s place not been there, she’d be dead and not recuperating right now. He did most of the work, and frankly, I was glad to give her over to him. She’s…like I said, stubborn.”
“What happened?” Carter was standing next to his chair when he asked. “I mean, if you had her under, what could she have done to upset you so much?”
“She was under, then not. Then under again. I’ve never seen anyone who could fight off drugs like she can. It must burn through her system like it does us.” Rider nodded, and Danny looked at Carter as he continued. “I’m thinking that whoever shot her wanted her to suffer. The angle of the bullet we took out of her was from close, too close for him to have only hurt her and not killed her right off. You know what I mean?”
Carter nodded but said nothing more. His mom talked softly to Danny, mostly asking about his family as Rider tried to reach out to Murph again. When Carter stood up he did as well, and followed him down the hall and out of the building.
“I have to go away for a few days.” Rider nodded. “I’m sort of…I need some time on my own. I’ll meet you at the castle.”
Carter left him standing there as he walked away. He’d been doing that a lot lately. Just disappearing for days on end, only to return when they needed him. Today he’d wanted to talk to him about it, but this thing with Murph had put him off. He reached for Misha to let him know of his concerns.
I’ve noticed it too. I mean, he’s been acting all weird since we came back from the mission with the children all those months ago. What do you suppose it is?
Rider remembered that search. The bus load of children that had been overloaded and had fallen into a ravine.
You think he might need to get his head together?
I think we all need that, but there is just too much going on right now.
Rider had seen an increase in crimes over the past several months that had made him start carrying a gun.
He said that he needed time on his own. Isn’t his apartment in some building that is nearly empty of other people right now because it’s brand new?
He bought the building. I didn’t know that until a few weeks ago. And he said he’s in no hurry to have it filled.
Rider was more worried now than he’d been before
. He’s never been one to have a lot of friends. Not to say he doesn’t have them, but he’s always been a loner.
Yeah, I know, but even you think this is different.
Misha agreed and asked about Murph
. She’s doing well now. I don’t think she might have made it had we taken her to the hospital. She was as close to death as I’ve ever seen anyone. Danny said someone shot her from close range, like he wanted her to hurt.
I’m going to have some things looked into about her. Not the public kind of looking, but just general. Anything I should know about the two of you that I might find out?
Rider told him what he knew.
Good, that’ll help. Also, I’m having the building and this house upgraded with security. I don’t want anyone coming in and catching us off guard. And Hannah has been looking into some retinal scanning for us. You’ll have to get with her to set it up so you can get in. I think it’s a great idea.
He told him he thought so as well. Then he went back into the hospital to wait. It wasn’t any better now than it had been before talking to Misha. Murph had been a great memory in his life, more than he’d thought of until right this minute.
Rider thought of all the things they’d done together. None of it bad, but not much he’d like his family to find out about either. Mostly it was just goofing off, but then they’d both been a good deal younger and Murph had…he thought she’d needed him. But he now knew that he was the one that had needed her. Then he remembered Murph’s dad and contacted Misha again.