Love's Sweet Revenge (20 page)

“You illegally carried a gun to this event, and you used it to deliberately blow a man's brains out when you already had him down!” Harley answered weakly, sweat breaking out on his forehead.

“Get one thing straight, Wicks,” Jake sneered. “I am never
without
a gun! And when I think it's right to use it, I'll
use
it!” He shoved the man backward, using the barrel of his gun still pressed to Harley's cheek. Wicks stumbled and fell on his rump. “Now,” Jake told him, “I'm going up to Lloyd, and you'd better pray he doesn't die, because if he does, you'll see a side of me that hasn't shown itself in thirty years, except when Mike Holt and about eighteen other men kidnapped my daughter back in Oklahoma! A lot of men died the day I found her, and I'll kill again if anyone comes to that room to try to take me out of there! Got that?”

Wicks nervously rubbed at a sore cheek. “I'll leave you alone…for now. But I may well arrest you for taking the law into your own hands…again.”

Jake coldly stared him down, then turned and walked out of the room to find his son.

Randy stood at the balcony outside Lloyd's room. The doors to the ballroom below were open, and she'd heard every word Jake had said. She knew he meant them. She watched him storm across the lobby and head up the stairs, his .44 still in his hand. When he reached Lloyd's room, he looked at Randy, and at that moment, she didn't know him. He stood there with blood staining the front of his shirt as it flowed down his chest from the shoulder wound, but he didn't seem to care. Randy realized he was too angry and devastated to even notice the pain.

“Come into the room with me,” he said gruffly, “and lock the door behind you.” He turned away and went into Lloyd's room. Randy followed, not sure whom to mourn the most: her son…or her husband.

* * *

Jeff Trubridge looked over the top of his spectacles to see his secretary standing in front of him, holding a piece of paper. Jeff recognized the yellow note as a wire.

“I think you need to see this,” the young man told him.

Frowning, Jeff took the wire and read it.

Lloyd Harkner shot in cold blood at a cattlemen's ball in Denver. Might not live. Jake Harkner took down the shooter, Mike Holt, with a shot point blank to the forehead. In spite of warrants for his arrest, Harkner is holed up in a hotel room with his son and doctors.

It was signed by Liam Davis, a fellow reporter for a Denver newspaper called
The Evening Post
.

“Oh my God,” Jeff exclaimed softly. “Not Lloyd! Not Lloyd!” A lump rose in his throat, and he fought tears.

“A picture came through also,” his secretary told him. He handed Jeff a picture of Jake holding a gun on someone. “That's a Denver prosecutor,” the man explained. “They say Jake is holed up in Lloyd's room at the Brown Palace and is threatening to shoot anyone who tries to come and arrest him.”

Jeff closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. It took him a moment to find his voice. “Get me Attorney Peter Brown on the phone, will you?” he finally asked. “I think we need to go to Denver.” He paused, his shoulders jerking in a sob. “Jake is going to need some legal help, and I want to be there if”—his voice caught in his throat—“if his son dies.”

“Yes, sir,” the young man answered.

This is going to kill Jake
, Jeff thought.
He'll never survive if Lloyd dies.
He couldn't help the sudden tears. He'd never admired a man more than he admired Jake Harkner. Lloyd, too. And Randy. Poor Randy!

Memories flooded over him like a waterfall. He'd never seen a father and son who were closer than Jake and Lloyd Harkner. He didn't need to wonder what this was doing to Jake…to the whole family.

“Attorney Brown is on the phone, sir,” his secretary told him. “Over at my desk.”

Jeff was surprised at how weak his legs suddenly felt when he stood up. He had to hold on to the desk for a moment before walking over to the phone. He picked up the base in his left hand and put the horn of the phone to his ear. “Peter?”

“Yes. What is it, Jeff?”

“It's…Jake.”

“Jesus, what's happened?”

“Lloyd's been shot…and Jake killed the shooter. I have a feeling he could be in a lot of trouble. I think we should go to Denver.”

“For God's sake, yes! Is Randy all right?”

Jeff grinned through tears. He'd expected the question, coming from Peter. “I have no idea. I'm sure she's a mess. A person can only take so much. Same for Jake.”

“Make the arrangements. I'll meet you at the train station tomorrow morning.”

Jeff hung up the phone. As far as he was concerned, he couldn't get to Denver fast enough.

“The man won't leave the room.” Dr. Cook had agreed to speak with reporters outside Lloyd's room at the Brown Palace. “He isn't talking, and he rarely lets go of Lloyd's hand.”

“Is he still carrying that gun?” one of the reporters asked.

“He most certainly is, and I believe him when he says he'll use it on anyone who tries to come in there after him. The man is devastated. His mental state isn't good.”

Amid gasps and shaking heads, reporters rapidly scribbled on pads of paper.

“Wasn't Jake wounded, too?” someone asked.

“Yes, but it's just a flesh wound at the top of his left shoulder. I stitched it up. He refused pain medication when I stitched his wound because he was afraid the law would come in and take advantage if I put him to sleep. He just gritted his teeth and let me stitch him up. He's one tough man.”

“How is Lloyd?” another asked. “Will he live?”

A very tired Dr. Cook rubbed at the back of his neck. “I honestly don't know. I did the best I could—went in through his side and removed a bullet lodged near his spine. It missed vital pulmonary veins, and luckily, his heart, but that area of the spine controls a lot of body movement. It could affect his ability to walk or to use his arms or maybe even his ability to speak. He's breathing on his own, so that's a good sign. He had a collapsed lung, and it's been extremely painful for him to bring it back up. He seems to still be in a lot of pain, but he hasn't truly regained full consciousness yet, so it's difficult to tell just how much damage has been done. Jake has had to hold him down a few times to keep him from thrashing around from the pain. Too much movement could make the injury worse.”

“Do you think Harkner would shoot one of us if we tried to go in there?”

Dr. Cook glanced at the young reporter who'd asked the foolish question. “You willing to try finding out?”

The reporter swallowed. “I guess not.”

“Smart decision.” Cook rubbed at his eyes. “I have to say that Jake Harkner practically worships that son of his. For all his ruthlessness, I can already see the kind of family man he is. The agony in his eyes is heartbreaking. Mrs. Harkner isn't in any better shape. For the last two nights they have both just stayed right by their son's bedside, along with Lloyd's wife and his sister. All of you should leave or at least get away from this door, so the women can come and go without you harassing them with questions. Both Lloyd's wife and his sister are carrying, and this has been dangerously traumatic for them. I finally convinced them to go lie down in another room, so that's where they are now, but they will want to come back here at times to check on Lloyd, so all of you stay out of their way. Jake's son-in-law is a doctor, and he's in his own room now tending to the two women. I'm leaving for a while to go home and clean up and change, but I'll be back. I'd suggest for your own health that all of you clear out of here. Jake Harkner is still in a dangerous mood, and he's getting tired of all of you milling around out here. He could start shooting through that door at any time, believe me, so leave. If you don't, I'll get the police to
make
you leave.”

“Are they going to arrest Jake?” another asked.

“How would I know that? I haven't been out there in the streets to find out. You're the ones who would know something like that. Why don't you go talk to the prosecutor and police chief?”

Brian came out of his and Evie's room, where Katie was sleeping in an extra bed brought in for her so Brian could tend to her and Evie both. He shoved one of the reporters aside. “Get out of here! Go on! All of you get out of here! Nothing is going to happen any time soon, so if you don't want to get shot, get the hell out of here!”

The reporters finally began to disperse, and Cook told Brian he was leaving for a while but would be back. “You need some rest, too,” he said.

“I'm more concerned about my in-laws and my wife,” Brian answered wearily. He knocked on the door. “Jake, it's Brian. I'm coming in.”

A couple of remaining reporters tried to peek inside as Brian slipped through the door, but he quickly closed it before they could see anything. Brian walked up to Randy, who sat in her usual spot—a chair beside the bed. Her head and shoulders were reclined on the side of the bed, and she had hold of Lloyd's hand, while Jake sat on the opposite side, holding Lloyd's other hand. He glanced at Brian with dark, bloodshot eyes. “Did you get rid of those sonsofbitches outside the door?”

“Most of them.”

“When you go back out, you tell them that I'm going to take a look myself soon, and if there is one stranger standing out there, he'll be shot.”

Brian sighed, touching Randy's shoulder. “I'll tell them.”

Randy looked up at Brian with eyes puffy from crying. “Brian! How is Evie?” She got to her feet and embraced him.

“She's better. I held her as she slept for a while. That helped.”

“At least she has you,” Randy told him as he let go of her.

“I'm worried about you and Jake. You both need to get out of here and get some
real
rest and get some food in your stomachs.”

“I'm not going anywhere!” Jake spoke up.

Brian sighed, keeping hold of Randy's arm. “Jake, you have to believe Lloyd will get through this, and if he does, he's going to need his father for a lot of things. You won't be any good to him if you continue not to eat or sleep. You're killing yourself.”

“That obviously doesn't matter.”

“Doesn't it? Don't forget you have a beautiful daughter who needs and loves you. You're breaking her heart behaving this way, let alone her watching you blow a man's brains out. And you have grandchildren who will need their grandfather, especially if Lloyd doesn't make it. And you have a
wife
who needs you. You aren't the only one suffering, Jake.”

Jake let go of Lloyd's hand and rubbed at the back of his neck. “I should have seen it coming. I should have spotted that sonofabitch sneaking in! This all comes back to the same thing…
me
! Jake Harkner—the man who brings trouble and heartache every place he goes!”

“It only goes as far as that bastard Mike Holt.”

“Who hated me and Lloyd. We
knew
he could be around. I never should have taken it for granted that just because it was a closed-invitation event that Holt couldn't have found a way in.” He rose, picking up his gun and walking to a window. “All the things I've been through in this life, I should have died a hundred times over, yet here I stand while it's my
son
who's dying, and my daughter lies in the next room, suffering ungodly memories after seeing one of those bastards who raped her. And all…because of who her
father
is!” He turned and glared at Brian. The Jake he'd become gave Brian chills. “You should have let me die of pneumonia back at that prison all those years ago.”

“I saved you for
Evie
!” Brian barked. “My wife loves and needs her father. She thinks the world of you, Jake. Lloyd isn't your only child, and you know what a soft-hearted angel she is. It's killing her, the way you're behaving. She's been in here with her brother, constantly praying, not just for him, but for
you
. She hasn't said much, because you're like a stick of old, damp dynamite right now, the kind that explodes way too easily. I don't like what this is doing to my wife after what she and I have already been through, especially in her condition. I don't often speak up to you, but I feel I
have
to now, because Evie wants to come in here and talk to you, Jake. She won't sleep well until she does, so you're going to
let
her talk to you, and you are
not
going to behave like the bastard outlaw you used to be! You're going to behave like the father you are
now
—the good man she still calls Daddy.”

Their gazes held, and for a moment, Brian thought he'd gone too far. This was not the Jake Harkner he knew or had ever known. He'd never been around Jake when he was a man wanted for bank robbery and gun running and God knew what else. At the moment, he couldn't imagine that his mother-in-law had seen through the man he was looking at now. He'd only known the Jake that Evie worshipped as her father, the Jake who loved with great passion—almost too much passion. That's what had brought him to where he was now, a man devastated by the possibility of losing the son who was his life's blood.

Jake sank back into the chair beside Lloyd's bed. “Go ahead and send her in.”

“I don't want her to see Jake the outlaw when she comes in here, Jake.”

Jake reached for a cigarette on a table beside him. “I'll do my best,” he told Brian with obvious sarcasm in his voice. He lit a cigarette, and Brian moved an arm around Randy. “Come on, Mom. Get out of here for a little while. Get cleaned up and change. Pepper is out in the hallway. He wants to talk to you.” He looked at Jake. “In case you hadn't noticed, your wife also needs you. Lloyd is
her
son, too.”

“Brian, don't,” Randy protested. “I'll be all right.”

“No, you
won't
—not without Jake's support. You're suffering, too. You need each other.”

“We're
all
suffering,” Randy told him wearily. “Let it go for now. I'll go talk to Pepper.”

Brain cast Jake a warning look and started to leave.

“Randy.” Jake spoke her name with a tone of agony. “I'm…sorry.” He didn't look at her. He just sat there staring at his .44. “I know…” He didn't finish. “I just…can't right now.
Lo siento. Favor perdóname.
”

“I know, Jake. I'm here. You come for me…or you send for me. I'm here.” Her voice choked, and she hurried out.

Brian glanced at Jake once more. “You be careful how you talk to Evie,” he warned again. He left to get Evie.

Out in the hallway, Randy found Pepper and Cole waiting for her, both with obvious sincere concern in their eyes.

“I'm going to get Evie,” Brian told Randy. “Will you be all right?”

“Yes.”

“Promise me you will go into your own room and clean up and change. I'll bring you something to help you sleep.”

“I shouldn't leave Lloyd—or Jake, for that matter.”

“Your son needs you healthy and rested, and Jake can make his own decisions. Lloyd needs
him
healthy and rested, too. I'm hoping Evie can make him see that. He usually listens to her.”

“I hope so, Brian. I want him to get out of there for a while.”

Brian left her with Pepper and Cole, both of whom stood there in the hallway, looking a bit lost. Pepper nodded to Randy. “Ma'am? We, uh, we got rid of a couple of reporters who were still hanging around.”

“We came by to see what you want us to do, Mrs. Harkner,” Cole added.

Randy walked up and hugged them. “Thank you for coming,” she told Pepper with the embrace. “Right now it makes me feel better to see someone from the J&L.” She spoke the words brokenly. “I wish we could just go home and have all of this behind us.”

When she embraced Cole, he gingerly hugged her, as if not quite sure if he should, considering the mood Jake Harkner was in. He looked at Pepper with wide eyes. Both men looked at her a bit sheepishly when she pulled away.

“Ma'am, I just… I mean, me and Cole was wonderin' if you want us to go back to the ranch and tell everybody there what's happened,” Pepper told her. “Them kids back there will be awful upset, especially the oldest ones. They might have already got the news.”

Randy glanced at the door to Lloyd's room, then pulled Pepper farther away, motioning for Cole to follow. She thought how strange it was to be relieved to see men who were likely from the outlaw world, just like Jake was. It was even stranger that she felt she could trust them implicitly. “Just the thought of the grandchildren helps my heart.” She wiped at tears with a shaking hand.

“Ma'am, you look so tired,” Cole told her. “We heard what happened and what Jake did and… God, we're awful sorry, Mrs. Harkner, for what you're goin' through. We waited a couple of days to let things calm down, but the gossip outside this hotel is pretty wild. A lot of people keep millin' around to find out what's going to happen next, and if Jake is gonna go on some kind of shootin' rampage or somethin'. Is it true, how bad Lloyd is?”

Randy broke down, and Cole and Pepper looked at each other. Pepper took her arm. “Come over and sit down on this bench here,” he told Randy, indicating a bench in the hallway. He sat down next to her. “Ma'am, Lloyd is a big, strong kid with a lot to live for. Just think of all the things Jake has been through. Lloyd is just like him, maybe even stronger, because he's got a wife and kids and a big ranch to run. Jake didn't even have them things when he was Lloyd's age.”

Randy nodded, blowing her nose into a handkerchief that was already overused. “I have to hope you're right.”

Cole folded his arms, leaning against the banister. “Mrs. Harkner, your family is one of the tightest and strongest I've ever seen. That boy will be fine. We just wanted to tell you we think we should go back to the ranch and make sure things are okay there—tell them there what's happened, and keep things goin' while Jake and Lloyd can't.”

“Yes. You should go and take care of things. You know what to do.” Randy glanced up at Cole, thinking what a good-looking man he would still be if not for his hard life and his drinking. “Cole, Jake is in a bad way. I hope Evie can get through to him.” She wiped at her eyes. “He's in such a dark place right now.” She struggled against more tears. “I think it would be good for him to see the grandchildren. It will help him remember what he has to live for even if…the worst happens.” She grasped Pepper's gnarled hand. “I want you two to go home and bring the grandchildren back here. Stephen has a right to be with his father, and it might be good for Jake to see Ben…and especially good for him to see Little Jake. I suppose the little girls should stay at the ranch. They won't understand what's happening. Teresa and Rodriguez can stay there with them. Explain everything to the other men and give them orders on what to do while we're gone. And…I can give you a note to take to the bank where Lloyd put the money from the cattle sale. He paid you and the other men, but the men at the ranch should get paid, too, and Teresa and Rodriguez. I want you to take enough to pay all of them when you get there, and leave some money for supplies. In fact, get some supplies to take back with you. I'll give you a list.”