It was difficult to decide whether or not it was a good thing or a bad thing that Cisco had been surrounded by his brothers and their women when he got the ridiculous ransom phone call. In one way, it would have been far better for Cisco to be alone when he got the call. He could easily imagine going in by himself and extracting Melody from this ridiculous situation. He would have been quiet. In and out in no time at all, and to hell with that scrawny little drug addict if he got in the way.

“Where did you say the building was?” Laredo muttered as he let his car inch along the street in front of Melody’s apartment complex.

Behind them, whoever hadn’t fit in Laredo’s car had piled into Darren’s huge company truck. This, unfortunately, included Joe Hernandez, who was currently almost passed out in the passenger seat of Laredo’s car. The old man had started to snore, which almost lent a comical kind of flavor to this entire fiasco.

“It’s right there.” Cisco pointed to the squat building. “Just park here.”

Laredo elbowed their father. “Hey! You stay and watch the cars. Got it?”

Joe might have said yes. He might also have been telling them to take a flying leap off a cliff. It was difficult to say under the circumstances. But it didn’t really matter anyway. Cisco got out of the backseat. Aria tumbled out behind him. Laredo grabbed her hand and held tight. Cisco could not believe that his brother had let the woman come along, but Maggie was here and Darren didn’t seem to mind that. Perhaps Cisco was the only one that felt like it was inappropriate to bring a bunch of women to a gunfight. Except it wasn’t a gunfight.

Jesse, Maggie, and Darren all got out of his vehicle. Jesse was waving at Cisco and pointed to the building for confirmation. Cisco sighed and gave her the thumbs-up. This was turning into quite the circus. He could only hope that the entourage would not somehow scare Ryan the skinny drug addict into doing something stupid.

“Stop right there!”

Cisco and the rest of the Hernandez family froze. They were in the small strip of what might be considered “yard” out in front of Melody’s apartment building. There were a few trees here. It was pretty dark. Only the barest line of light was still visible on the horizon. The sky was a deep bruised purple and the streetlights were on. Unfortunately, there was only one streetlight working in front of the building. Most of the yard lay in deep, inky shadows.

Cisco peered into the darkness and tried to see who had spoken. The voice had been male but high-pitched and nervous. Cisco moved to the front of the pack of Hernandez family and held up his hands. He wanted them to know that he wasn’t armed, at least not in the usual way.

“Where is Melody?” Cisco used his courtroom voice, clear, concise, and no nonsense.

“She’s right here.” The tall, skinny man that Cisco remembered from the previous evening’s adventure with Allie stepped out of the shadows. “Allie’s got a hold of her, and she’s got a knife. So, if you don’t hand over the money right now, Allie is going to kill Melody.”

Laredo snorted. From his other side, Aria’s low grunt did not make it seem as though she believed this threat either. But it was Jesse who spoke. “Are you trying to tell me that you think that woman is going to kill her friend just because you tell her to?”

“What’s her name?” Maggie whispered to Cisco. It occurred to Cisco that Maggie actually had a degree in psychology and was a licensed school guidance counselor.

“Allie,” Cisco murmured back.

“Allie?” Maggie called out. “Are you really sure you want to hurt your friend? I cannot even begin to imagine how tough life is right now, but doesn’t it seem like it would be worse without Melody in it? Wouldn’t you miss her? The two of you have been really close. You know all each other’s secrets. That’s not an easy thing to just give up.”

“Shut up!” Ryan snarled at Maggie. “Don’t talk to her. Allie. Don’t listen!”

“Allie?” Maggie said, still in that calm, sweet-as-sugar voice. “It’s okay to be afraid of him. But after tonight, he’s not going to be able to hurt you anymore anyway.”

“You’re lying!” Ryan lunged toward Maggie, but Laredo and Darren were already there. The solid sight of their bulk was enough to make Ryan dance back out of reach. “She’s lying to you, Allie! Don’t listen!”

“Am I really lying?” An edge crept into Maggie’s voice. “Abusers like you keep their victims isolated and afraid. They try to take away their self-esteem and make them think that nobody cares. Then they put them in horrible positions where they have to choose between the abuser and their friends. Just like you’re doing.” Maggie snorted. “Does it bother you to know you’re not special, Ryan?”

Cisco fisted his hands at his sides. His eyes had adjusted to the deep shadows, and he could see the outline of Melody standing there with Allie. Allie was holding a knife to Melody’s throat. But there was no reason that Melody couldn’t move. Why wasn’t she fighting? Why wasn’t she trying to escape?

“Enough of this crap,” Cisco muttered. “Allie, let her go. You’re not going to kill her. Let her go so you don’t wind up in jail for this asshole.”

Behind him, Cisco heard Maggie give a little groan. Apparently, Cisco had just broken protocol in a hostage or de-escalation situation. Cisco didn’t care. He wanted Melody out of here, and that was all he cared about.

“You’re Cisco?” Ryan pointed to Cisco with his hand. The way he was stabbing his index finger and thumb in the air made it seem like he was—in his head—pretending he had a weapon in hand.

“Yes.” Cisco stepped forward. Behind him, he could actually feel his brothers leaning forward in a threatening pose.

“Did you bring the money?”

“No. Why would I?”

That seemed to absolutely stump Ryan. The man’s face went totally slack for like five seconds. That was enough. Cisco pounced. He grabbed Ryan’s outstretched hand. Folding the man’s thumb down toward his wrist, he bent the arm into a chicken wing position. From there, Cisco used his superior height and weight to force Ryan to the ground.

“Anyone got a belt?” Cisco grunted.

Seconds later, Laredo was handing him a very nice and probably very expensive belt. Cisco had visions of hogtying steers as a youth. He made a loop, wound it around the man’s hands, and then bent him in half to pull one foot into the binding. Cisco had neatly tied up their villain, and now all they had to do was get the knife away from Allie.

“Allie, no!” Maggie gasped.

There was a scream. Cisco leaped to his feet and spun around just as Melody went down on her knees. Her hands were up against her neck, and there was blood. He could smell the coppery taint in the air and see the dark fluid seeping through her fingers.

“Darren!” Cisco shouted. “Darren, get a medic or something! Shit! Darren!”

Cisco felt as though he were ten years old again yelling for his brothers to come and help him stop the bleeding on a ranch animal they were supposed to be caring for. But this was more. It was worse. It was Melody.

“Baby, let us see!” Cisco grabbed her hands and pulled them away just as Darren put someone’s wool suit jacket up against her neck like a compress.

Maggie was already on the phone with the paramedics. Cisco could hear her. Then he pointed to Allie. The woman was obviously going into shock. She was staring at the bloody knife in her hand and screaming at the top of her lungs. Doors were slamming open inside the surrounding apartment buildings as the residents came to see what was happening on their front lawn.

Laredo was in fine form snarling at everyone to back off as Darren and Cisco tried to get a handle on the bleeding. Aria ran toward Allie. She drew back her fist and popped the woman right in the chin. To everyone’s relief, Allie crumpled to the ground and was silent.

“Thank God!” Darren muttered as he tried to keep steady pressure on Melody’s neck. “You’re going to be fine, Melody. Just fine. Try to stay awake. All right?”

Cisco cradled her body in his lap as he listened to the sirens wailing in the distance. He held her close and tried not to notice how cold she was. Her body felt unnaturally light. He was reminded of how little she ate on a daily basis and how emaciated she tended to get because of her lack of funds to pay for basic necessities like food. What if there just wasn’t enough of her to fight for her life? What if she was just too unhealthy from neglect and malnutrition? What if he could not help her and never could have?

The feeling of helplessness washing over him was horrible. Impotent rage left its mark on his soul. He would not allow her life to end like this! It was so blatantly unfair. Things were just about to turn around for her. They were going to find out what had happened to the tax money. She was going to get a house. She would own it and the contents. The land would provide a tidy little lease income for her that would allow her to go to school and have the real career she had talked about. She just had to live through this horrible mistake!

“Cisco?” Darren was shaking him. “Cisco! The paramedics need you out of the way. Now. Come on, little brother. Move!”

Right. Cisco stumbled to his feet. Red and blue lights flashed in the darkness. They painted horrible moving shadows on the side of the buildings and cast a sinister glow across the faces of the neighbors standing and staring at the crime scene.

“You there!” a voice shouted from behind Cisco. “Tell us what happened here!”

As soon as Cisco turned around, he knew that the Hernandez family was in trouble. Beside him, he heard Laredo curse beneath his breath. The nametag of the police officer walking toward them read ORTEGA. His partner was a guy named Officer Blevins. Both were very deeply indebted somehow to Captain Paul Weatherby, and both had a habit of harassing Hernandez family members whenever the opportunity arose.

“Well, if it isn’t the whole damn family,” Officer Ortega said sarcastically. “We even have Aria Callahan and Jesse Collins out here!”

Maggie started to say something, but Darren grabbed her arm. There was no need to push right now. Not until they got this stuff straightened out. Melody was the most important thing. They needed to get her to the hospital and get her stabilized.

Ortega gestured to Ryan, who was struggling on the ground with his hands and one foot still hogtied behind him. “So, you decided to attack these two poor people—and I do mean poor—just because they were walking out here?”

Cisco put up his hand. “Do not start with me, Ortega. Not now. Not ever. I know Captain Weatherby pays you good money under the table to be his little spies all over town. We all know it.”

Ortega made a move to speak, but the paramedics were beginning to push Melody’s stretcher toward the ambulance, and Cisco had no intention of being left behind.

Cisco pointed to Ortega. “This time there are six of us to corroborate our story. And we’re not even all employees of the Hernandez Land & Cattle Company. So, you can’t even use that for your petty excuses. When Melody is well enough to give a statement, that will be seven witnesses. If you want a real statement and a real opportunity to tie off some loose ends and solve a crime, you can look me up at the hospital and I will tell you everything you need to know.” Cisco saw the blood staining his hands and his clothes. It made him so angry he wanted to throw a punch at the idiotic policeman right now. “But so help me God, if you try and make trouble for us because of this, I will tie up your ass in court for the rest of your career.” Cisco glared at Ortega until the man fell back a physical step. “You got me?”

“Yes, sir.” Ortega nodded his head. “When your friend is out of surgery, we’ll come and find you. Good luck, sir. Thank you, sir.”

“Much. Better.”

Cisco turned and winked at Laredo. His older brother was actually smiling. It was an eerie sort of expression that totally creeped Cisco out, but it was still good. He turned and headed for the ambulance. He wanted to ride with Melody.

“Cisco!” Laredo called after him. “We’ll clear up here and meet you at the hospital. Text me when you know anything!”

“Got it!” Cisco called back.

It was so very odd to have his brothers there. They had his back in ways that nobody else ever could. Perhaps it was the shared history or just the everyday crap that came with being a Hernandez. Who knew? But right now, Cisco was willing to admit that it was comforting to have them here. He could trust them to make sure the investigation went in the right direction. He had no worries that they would stab him in the back. And for once he didn’t worry that somehow this would eventually get held over his head. Why had he worried about that so much? They were all in the same boat. Everything that seemed to happen was almost too insane for belief. That was just the way it was.

“You riding along, sir?” The paramedic was about to close the back door of the ambulance.

“Yes, I am!” Cisco took a leap for the back of the vehicle and hauled himself inside. He knew he had to stay out of the way no matter what. “Is she going to be all right?”

Cisco took Melody’s hand and gently touched the veins standing out on the back of her knuckles. Her skin was so dry, and her veins were big and bulging. She looked like an ad for fighting hunger.

“She’s really dehydrated.” A paramedic was already running an IV. “We’ll get some fluids in her, and that should help. I believe the knife missed all of the important stuff. It will just take some healing and some rest for her to be back to normal.”

Not normal. It was all Cisco could promise himself. She was not going to be back to normal. Her life was going to be better than that. He was going to make sure of it.