Chapter 55

Arthur’s hideaway sat on a moderate-sized compound. A steel-grill gate at the front protected it from intruders. It was one of those modern affairs–placed more for aesthetic purposes rather than safety. Anyone determined to invade the place wouldn't have a hard time jumping over it. If one looked closer, though, one would see a small break in the concrete wall, partly hidden by foliage. It would make jumping over the fence unnecessary. Arthur, it seemed, wasn't very particular with security.

A waning half-moon gave enough illumination for Angelo and Martin to see the way. The lone house was dark and looked abandoned, yet the SUV parked in the carport gave its true condition away. Martin crouched outside the break in the wall, his trained eyes scanning the area for threats. If Arthur was not working alone, he also wasn’t working with many. Had Martin been in charge of this operation, he would’ve stationed armed guards on every corner of the house. This could also be a temporary holding place before moving on to their final destination. Martin considered themselves lucky indeed for finding it so soon. Had they been tardy by even a day, Arthur would already have moved, and they’d have no idea where he’d gone to. Satisfied with his findings, Martin turned back on his heels and gestured to Angelo. Angelo nodded and ran to him with the stealth of a panther–quick and silent. He may not have trained for this sort of thing, yet he moved like he did.

“Can we go in now?” Angelo asked, breathless.

“Yes, but keep behind me and don’t go off without telling me, okay?” Martin answered.

Angelo nodded, impatient to get the show going. His heart was thumping so hard he could hear the blood flowing through his veins. Seeing Martin go through the break in the wall, he took a few deep breaths and followed suit.

This is it! No turning back. I will get Gabriel and Louisa out – no matter what it takes!

He crouched low, careful to keep to the sides. The shadows created by the tall perimeter wall served as his camouflage. They had assumed Arthur was already inside since he left the coffee shop way before they did. The eerie silence within and without the house told him otherwise.

Where could that bastard have gone to? Getting reinforcements? Oh, god! I hope not or this will turn bloody!

As if to answer his question, the sound of tires crunching on the dirt road beyond broke the silence. A single beam of light swerved into the front gate accompanied by the insistent blaring of a horn. Angelo felt two strong hands grabbing at him, pulling him back behind a thick hedge. And he saw, coming out of the front porch, a short, thickset man. He ran to the gate and worked the barrel lock. After he pulled one of the panels back, the black motorcycle sped through. He stopped before the steps of the porch and took off his helmet, tossing it to the other man.

Arthur!

Angelo’s blood boiled at the sight of the bastard. He was about to jump out from behind the hedge to confront the rat, but Martin pulled him back. He tried to shrug off the other man’s hand, but it wouldn't budge. Martin shook his head, his forefinger pressed against his lips. Frustrated though he was, Angelo understood Martin’s silent plea. They had to wait a little bit longer. They didn’t know how many men Arthur had nor did they know where Gabriel and Louisa were being held. Until they established either or both of the two, they could not make their presence known. Angelo sat back on his heels, his whole body vibrating with a myriad of emotions. He didn’t know how long he could remain passive. His whole body was crying out for retaliation and his fury screamed for release. But he would be jeopardizing the fate of two people if he acted with reckless abandon.

Turning his attention back to the two men, recognizing the shorter one. He cursed to himself as he realized the man was one of the farmhands at the Hacienda Constantina.

So, that was how Arthur kept tabs on Louisa. He had somehow acquired a spy!

The two were in deep discussion, but Angelo was too far away to listen in. Arthur looked agitated, talking with angry gestures at the house.

After a few seconds, both Arthur and the man went running up the steps and into the house. Martin tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw the PI instructing him to follow. He nodded and followed Martin without a word. When they were near the house, Martin stopped and turned to him. He pressed a finger against his lips again in warning. Angelo’s heightened senses picked up what Martin had heard. Someone was coming!

The figure almost passed them when it stopped and started to backtrack. It moved away from the shadows, the moonlight catching its silhouette in a flash. The brief glimpse was more than enough for Angelo. Jumping out from behind the hedge, he grabbed at the figure’s slim waist and clamped his hand around its mouth.

“Louie! It’s me, Angelo. Don’t scream, please,” he whispered against Louisa’s ear. The stiff figure in his arms slumped against his chest then spun around and pulled him in a tight embrace.

“Angelo! Thank God, oh, thank God!” Louisa cried as she trembled against him.

Angelo breathed in the sweet scent of her hair, enclosing her soft body in a warm embrace. He wanted to keep her in his arms until she felt safe, until she regained her calm, until forever if she would allow. But they were not out of danger yet. And they hadn’t found Gabriel either. His heart ached to break this moment but had to. He pulled her from him and looked into her eyes.

“Have you seen Gabriel? Is he okay?”

“Yes, I’ve seen him. And he seemed okay,” Louisa replied.

Angelo breathed a sigh of relief, the tense muscles in his arms and neck relaxing at last.

“Why isn’t he with you? Where is he?”

“We tried to escape together. He had a wound on his head, but the bleeding had stopped. I saw a window, and I jumped out. He was right behind me, but he disappeared,” Louisa said in a rush. “He should've jumped. I told him it was easy. He said okay. I jumped first. But he didn’t! He disappeared, Angelo. When I turned back, he was not there!”

“Louie! Louie! Calm down. We’ll get to him, okay? Okay?” Angelo gripped both of Louisa’s hands and kissed her fingers. It calmed her a bit and she slumped against his chest again.

“They hit him on the head, Angelo. He was bleeding. What if he lost consciousness again?”

“We’ll get to him, don’t you worry. We’ll figure it out, okay?”

Then, Martin was pulling them back into the shadows and behind the hedge. They heard a loud bellow from within the house, then more shouting.

“Has Arthur come back?” Louisa whirled at Angelo, her face a deathly pale. Angelo nodded.

“Yes, we saw him come in. How many men do you think are inside the house?"

“I’m not sure. I heard two men, but it doesn’t mean they’re all he’s got!”

“No, that’s about it. He doesn’t seem very concerned about security. If he had more, he would’ve stationed them out here, used them as lookouts,” Martin said.

“What do we do now? Arthur must've already found Louise's missing,” Angelo asked, keeping an arm around Louisa.

“We have to get her out of here, first. Then we can come back and look for Gabriel.”

Martin’s response wasn’t what Louisa wanted to hear and she strained against Angelo’s hold.

“No! No! I can’t leave without him. We have to get him out first. I know where he is, we can get to him. Angelo, please,” Louisa cried, clutching at Angelo’s shirt sleeve.

Angelo’s heart clenched, finally realizing how much Louisa loved his eldest brother. Before he could respond a commotion from the house forced them to look up at one of the windows on the second floor. Louisa would've screamed had it not been for Angelo’s quick reflexes. He clamped his hand against Louisa’s mouth yet again and pulled her back deeper into the shadows. Leaning almost half-way out the window was Gabriel. A sneering Arthur was holding Gabriel by the rope around his neck.

“Louie! Louie! I know you’re somewhere out there. You left something behind, sweetheart. Care to come back for it, or should I throw it out this window?” Arthur’s voice rang. The compound, being set near a cliff, was devoid of nearby neighbors. No one would hear the commotion.

Angelo felt Louisa struggling against his hold. To prevent her from doing anything foolish, he wrapped an arm around her waist and kept the other one on her mouth. The sight of Gabriel drove his adrenaline to dangerous heights. Still, Angelo held on to his calm and focused his attention on his brother. Even from this distance, and the dim light of the moon, he could see Gabriel was conscious. And he could almost hear his brother’s brain ticking as it assessed the situation. Gabriel tilted his head a little and for one brief moment their eyes ‘locked’. He couldn’t tell if Gabriel was actually looking at him, but Angelo felt his eyes and it was enough. Somehow, Gabriel knew he was there.

“Give it up, Arthur. Can’t you see she’s gone! She didn’t even know I was here. And even if she did, she didn’t care. Or if she did, she must've gone out to get the authorities,” Gabriel’s voice was clear and sure.

Angelo could even detect a touch of amusement in his tone. Gabriel was not one bit afraid of Arthur. It gave Angelo the assurance he needed. Gabriel was telling Angelo that he could handle Arthur.

“You’re better off letting me go, mate. Let’s go about our separate ways and I’ll forget about this. What do you say to that, eh?”

“Shut up! Shut up!” Arthur hollered, tugging at the rope around Gabriel’s neck. Gabriel did not resist and was actually grinning when Arthur almost toppled backward. In anger, Arthur retaliated and pushed Gabriel back against the windowsill. Half of his body was now dangling out the window. Gabriel was baiting Arthur, Angelo realized.

He’s trying to buy us time! He wants us to find Louie and get her out. Gabriel is telling us he can take care of himself!

“He knows we’re here, but he doesn’t know we already have Louie,” Angelo whispered back to Martin.

“How can you tell?” Martin shifted in his perch and craned his neck to look at Gabriel.

“I just know. He looked this way; I felt his eyes. He knows we're here."

“Then we have to get Louisa out of here fast so we can come back for him. I don’t think Arthur is going to hold up much longer. He’s starting to panic,” Martin replied.

Angelo nodded and turned back to Louisa.

“Louie, Gabriel knows we’re here and he’s trying to buy us time to get out. Miguel is outside waiting for us. I will take you to him, and you have to promise to stay there and not come back here. No matter what you hear,” Angelo felt Louisa nodding against his chest. He pulled his hand away from her mouth and turned her to face him.

“We have to make a run for it, but stay behind me, okay?”

“Okay, but promise me you’ll be coming back for Gabriel.”

Angelo nodded and kissed her brows.

“Of course I will, Louie. In case you’ve forgotten, he’s my brother and I will not let anything bad happen to him.” Louisa smiled at Angelo before hugging him. Then, she pushed back, and her face held the determination that was so characteristic of her.

“I’m ready. Let’s go.” She said, her hands clasping at the strap of the bag she had slung across her chest.

“I will stay here and keep an eye on Gabriel. In case I’m not here when you come back, it means that I’d gone inside. Don’t follow me. Stay here and wait for my signal,” Martin whispered to Angelo.

Angelo wanted to say that he couldn’t let Martin go inside without him. But Martin, being an investigator, had more training in these types of situations. He would do fine even without their help.

Angelo gave Martin one final nod and maneuvered Louisa towards the breach in the wall. They were a few steps away from it when Angelo heard the distinct click of a pistol lock. He froze in place and slowly raised his arms above his head in a clear gesture of surrender. He glanced at Louisa, afraid she would panic at the sight of a gun. What he saw fascinated and scared him at the same time. Her eyes were mere slits, while her lips were holding back a feral snarl. She wasn’t afraid, she was mad!

“Anselmo? You bastard! Are you a part of this?”

“Turn around and move away from the Señorita,” Angelo heard the man say. He turned around in slow increments, careful not to make any sudden moves that might stir up the man. From the corner of his eye, he saw Louisa's face turning a furious red.

“Okay, everyone take it easy. I’m unarmed.” Angelo raised his arms higher to show the truth of his words. The man called Anselmo was much shorter than him. And even with his bulging biceps and wide chest, Angelo was confident he could take him down. His main concern now was the gun in the man’s shaking hand. Anselmo didn't appear used to this kind of work. He was nervous. And a nervous man with a gun made for a bad combination. Angelo must find a way to deprive Anselmo of that gun.

“Señorita, please come with me. I will take you to Señorito Arthur. He’s waiting for you inside,” Anselmo said.

“What is wrong with you, Anselmo? Have we done you ill? You’ve been with us all these years and yet here you are pointing a gun at me!” Louisa snapped at the older man, her hands clenching and unclenching at her sides.

“Señorita, I will explain everything later. And I’m sorry about this. But for now, please, come with me. I promise I won’t hurt you,” Anselmo took a tentative step towards Louisa, his gun still pointed at Angelo. But before he could take another step, Louisa lunged at him and delivered a vicious blow to his nose. It caused the burly man to stagger backward. He was not prepared for the hellcat unleashed upon him.

Angelo’s heart jumped to his throat at Louisa’s unexpected move. He was too surprised it took him a few seconds to react. It was only when he saw Louisa pummeling the man with her balled fists that he recovered and jumped into the fray. His main goal was to wrestle the gun away from Anselmo. Still, Louisa’s safety was foremost in his mind. When the gun went off, he made sure his body was shielding hers, hoping it was enough to protect the woman he loved.