"Thank G.o.d. Send him up here, will you? I want to talk to him."

Lisa patted Adam on the arm and stood up. "Sure. I'll go get him."

A few minutes later, Adam heard footsteps on the stairs. Gabrio appeared at the doorway. Hollow half circles darkened the area below his eyes, eyes that radiated a wariness so ingrained that Adam wondered if it would ever go away.

"Come in," Adam said.

Still the kid stood there, uneasiness shouting from every muscle in his body. His gaze went to the bandage on Adam's head. Gabrio rolled his eyes heavenward for a moment, his chest heaving with a harsh breath.

"Oh, man. I'm so sorry about what happened. I should have stopped them. I should have-"

"No. You couldn't have."

"I should have done something. Anything but let them . . ." Tears filled his eyes. "Anything but let them shoot you."

"Come here," Adam said.

Gabrio paused, his lips tight, and even from across the room Adam could see him trembling. Slowly he walked toward the bed.

Adam sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "Sit down for a minute, okay?"

Gabrio looked down at the overstuffed chair.

"It's okay," Adam said. "Just sit."

The kid sat down, his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped in front of him, refusing to meet Adam's eyes.

"Listen to me," Adam said. "You couldn't have stopped them. If you'd tried to, you would have gotten both of us killed. You did exactly what you should have."

The kid just stared at his lap, shaking his head slowly.

"Gabrio."

Slowly he looked up.

"It was one of the bravest things I've ever seen any man do," Adam said. "You saved my life. I'll never be able to repay you for that."

Adam held out his hand. Gabrio looked down at it, as if he hadn't the faintest idea what to do. Adam continued to hold his hand out until finally Gabrio reached out hesitantly and shook it.

"I'm sorry for what Ivan did," Gabrio said, his voice quivering.

"You're not your brother. You don't have to apologize for anything he's done."

Gabrio nodded a little, falling silent.

Adam could tell Gabrio still didn't fully believe anything he was being told and years might pa.s.s before he found the capacity to trust anyone. But even though he had a long road ahead of him, at least the worst was over. At least now he'd have a chance at a decent life, and Adam was going to do everything he could to make sure he got one.

Sera parked her car in front of her house and got out, blinking against the late afternoon sun streaming through the windshield. Hurrying inside, she found Lisa and Dave waiting in her living room.

"Where's Gabrio?" she asked.

"Upstairs with Adam," Lisa said.

Sera was overcome by a flood of emotion, so grateful for what they'd done that she could hardly put it into words. "Thank you. Both of you. I don't know what I'd have done without you." Her eyes filled with tears. She put her arms around Lisa and gave her a hug, then did the same to Dave.

"No doubt about it," she told him, sniffing a little. "I'll be putting in your application for sainthood the minute we get to San Antonio."

He smiled. "I'd have settled for angel wings."

Lisa stole a glance at Dave, and Sera could tell that her contention that he was just a friend wasn't even close to the truth. There was something so real, so telling, in Lisa's gaze-admiration, attraction, appreciation, all those things that signaled just how much this man meant to her.

Friends, maybe. But that certainly wasn't all.

"Okay," Dave said. "We need to get out of here." He turned to Lisa. "Take one of the cars, drive out, and get the plane ready to take off. I'll get everyone packed up here. By the time we get there, you'll have the plane ready and we can leave." He turned to Sera. "Do you have your things together?"

Sera nodded. "Everything's packed and sitting by the back door."

"Do you have some extra blankets we could bring along?" Lisa asked. "The heater in this plane isn't the best, and Adam needs to stay warm."

"I'll get them right now." Sera walked to the stairs, then turned back suddenly. "Oh! The ponies! If I'm going to be gone for a while, I need to turn them out to pasture."

Dave held up his palm. "You get the blankets. I'll turn the ponies out."

"There's a twenty-acre pasture with a stock pond to the west of the barn. They can stay there for the time being."

"Okay. Then meet me at the back door and we'll load up."

Sera nodded. As Dave and Lisa went to the back door, Sera went up the stairs into one of her guest bedrooms and fished through a closet to find two blankets they could take along, grabbing an extra pillow at the same time.

She came back down the stairs and had almost reached the bottom when she heard a knock on her front door. She jerked to a halt, her hand tightening on the banister.

Three more loud raps.

Who could that be?

She prayed it wasn't a woman in labor. She couldn't deal with that now.

Trotting down the final two stairs, she spilled the blankets and pillow onto the sofa, then walked toward the front door, stopping first to peer through the curtains to the porch.

Ivan.

A chill of fear swept through her. She knew he'd be angry that she'd left, but she never for a moment imagined that he'd follow her to her house. What if he saw Adam or Gabrio? Or even Dave and Lisa? What would he do?

He'll go away. Just say nothing, and he'll go away.

He beat on the door again.

Sera squeezed her eyes closed, willing him to leave. For a moment, she heard nothing. Then she saw the doork.n.o.b turn.

She gasped softly, unable to remember if she'd locked the door or not. She felt a call for help rising in her chest, but she stifled it immediately. It would only bring Gabrio down the stairs, and if Ivan happened to get inside she had no idea what he might do if he saw his brother here. She stood there, immobilized by panic, watching as the k.n.o.b twisted ninety degrees. Then the door clattered in its frame.

Yes. Thank G.o.d. It's locked.

Relief gushed through her. A few moments pa.s.sed. Then she heard something rattling around in the lock.

What was he doing?

Seconds ticked by. The k.n.o.b turned again. This time, the door opened, and Ivan stepped into the house. Sera's heart slammed against her chest.

Their gazes met, and a drunken, malevolent expression spread across his face. "You ran out on me. Not a smart thing to do."

She raised her chin and spoke sharply. "That door was locked."

He gave her a mocking laugh. "You think a lock keeps me out?" He clicked his pocketknife shut and slid it back into his pocket, then shut the door.

"I think you'd better leave," Sera said.

"Oh, yeah? Is that what you think? How about if I tell you I'm not interested in what you think?" His gaze slid all the way down her body and back up again. "You got a couple other things I'm interested in, though."

You have to get him out of here. Now.

"We had plans," he said, moving toward her like a wolf edging toward its prey. "Remember?"

Sera was silent.

He took one threatening step after another, backing her against the sofa. "So you want to tell me why you walked out on me?"

"I'm sorry, Ivan," she said with as much of a conciliatory tone as she could manage. "I guess I'm still not feeling well. Maybe another time."

"No," he said sharply. "Not another time. Now."

When he came closer still and pressed himself against her, she felt something hard at his waist beneath his jacket.

A gun. He's got a gun.

It was all Sera could do to remain calm, to try to think, to find a way to get this man out of her house before he had the opportunity to use that gun.

Then Ivan looked to one side, his eyes narrowing with confusion. "What the h.e.l.l is that?"

Sera turned to where he was looking, and dread shuddered through her. Gabrio's bag was sitting on the floor beside the sofa.

"That's my brother's," Ivan said.

"What are you talking about?"

"My brother's bag!" Ivan said. "What the f.u.c.k is he doing here?"

"He's not here. That's not his bag."

"You think I don't know what it looks like?" Ivan glared at her. "A little young for you, isn't he?"

"Ivan, I'm telling you he's not here."

Ivan turned immediately and strode into the kitchen. "Gabrio! Where are you? Get the h.e.l.l out here!"

Ivan came back out of the kitchen and headed up the stairs. Sera raced after him. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him around. "Ivan! Stop!"

He yanked his arm from her grip and took the stairs two at a time. He hit the second floor landing and strode down the hall, screaming for Gabrio. Sera raced back through the living room, searching frantically for something to use as a weapon. Anything. Anything that would stop Ivan from going into that bedroom.

When Gabrio heard the m.u.f.fled shouts of a man downstairs, he snapped his head around, listening. But it wasn't until footsteps pounded up the stairs and the shouting became more distinct that he realized whose voice it was, and a cold, ugly fear rose inside him.

"It's Ivan," he said to Adam. "Oh, Jesus. My brother is here!"

Adam sat up suddenly. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! It's him!"

"Gabrio! Get out of here! Now! Now!"

But it was too late. A second later Ivan stormed into the room. He stopped short, staring at Adam, then swung his gaze around to Gabrio. A look of utter confusion entered his eyes.

"What the f.u.c.k is going on here?"

Gabrio heard the drunken slur in his brother's voice, that tone he'd heard so many times right before a slap to the side of his head or a backhand across the face. But those things were nothing. Nothing compared to what Ivan was going to do to him now. And what he was going to do to Adam. To everyone.

"He was alive," Gabrio said. "I couldn't let you shoot him again! Ivan, please! It's not right to do this. Can't you see that?"

Ivan's expression leapt into red-hot rage. "What the h.e.l.l you talking about? You had a job to do, and you didn't do it!"

Slowly he reached beneath his coat and pulled out a gun.

"Oh, Jesus, Ivan! Don't do this! Please Please don't do this!" don't do this!"

Ivan looked at Gabrio, his eyes cold. "I'll deal with you in a minute."

He raised his gun and pointed it directly at Adam. In that instant, Sera burst into the room behind Ivan, swinging a fireplace poker in a wide arc. She caught him in the upper arm at the same moment he pulled the trigger. A shot exploded, sailing harmlessly into the wall in an explosion of plaster. Ivan stumbled sideways and fell to his knees.

Gabrio dived at his brother, knocking him to his back and climbing on top of him. Ivan still had the gun clenched in his fist. He smacked Gabrio on the side of the head with it. Gabrio recoiled, but he was so filled with fury, so filled with hate, so filled with disgust for everything his brother was that the pain didn't even register. Ivan outweighed him by a good thirty pounds, but it didn't matter. He grabbed his brother's wrist and smacked his hand that held the gun against the floor, once, twice, until finally the weapon came loose. Gabrio grabbed it, backed away, and scrambled to his feet, pointing it at Ivan.

Ivan stood, stumbling a little, holding his palms up. "Hey, man, what the h.e.l.l is this?" He gave Gabrio a shaky smile. "You're going to shoot me? Is that it?"

"Take one step, and I will. Swear to G.o.d, Ivan. I will." Ivan laughed, but it sounded hollow. "No, you won't. I'm your brother. You won't shoot me."

Gabrio's mind felt dark and sluggish, every horrible second pa.s.sing like an hour. His hands were shaking so hard he could barely hold the weapon.

"Give me the gun, kid," Ivan said.

"Why?" Gabrio shouted. "So you can kill somebody else?"