“You ready for the stampede?” Will teased as he stood by the door as if to jump out of the way the moment he unlocked it.

 

Rachel snorted. It had been three days since anyone had been in the bar other than the staff, Pam, Jules or one of the members of the cleaning crew. “Be careful you don’t get trampled.” It was gallows humor, but it was the only way to find anything funny in this. Jules was almost ready to make his move against Todd, and it was a good thing. Yesterday she had received her loan approval, but she was frozen at the moment. Proceeding with the expansion with the way things were now would be financial suicide. If things didn’t turn around soon, she was going to lose Tim, Angie or Rachel, or maybe all three. She had cut their hours back to only four hours a night to reserve what cash she had. Everyone was hanging tough with her, but for how much longer she didn’t know. If she could pull He’s Not Here out of this tailspin, then whoever was left at Christmas was getting a hell of a nice bonus.

 

“I heard from the Dallas PD today,” he said just to make conversation.

 

“And?” she asked hopefully.

 

“They want me to come up for an interview. I can’t image them wanting to do that unless they were at least considering me.”

 

“That’s great news!”

 

“Yeah. It had been so long since I sent in the resume that I was beginning to wonder if anything was going to come of it.”

 

“I’m very happy for you, Will. Really.”

 

“I bet you are,” he teased. “You’d probably like to move back into your own house.”

 

She smiled. “I guess. I’m pretty happy with the way things are right now, though.”

 

“I know. Jules is a great guy. I like him. I like him a lot. You should hold onto him, tight, with both hands.”

 

“I am. What about Pam? What will you do if you move to Dallas?”

 

“I don’t know. Nothing to start with. See her on the weekends and when I can. But… who knows. Maybe she would like to live in Dallas. It’s not like Dallas doesn’t have eye doctors.”

 

“No… but if she leaves here, then we won’t have one.”

 

“I know. That’s what makes it tough. She told me she couldn’t leave until she could find someone to take over her practice.”

 

“Do you love her?”

 

Will smiled sheepishly. “Yeah. I think I do. I think she at least likes me too.”

 

“Then you will find a way.”

 

“I know. I have to get the job first. And I haven’t given up on that idea of managing a restaurant either.”

 

“I think that is on hold for a while.”

 

“I know. But maybe next week, after Jules purges Forsaken 99, things will get back to normal.”

 

“Next week? That close?”

 

“I think so. It is going to be one hell of a bloody fight, and he asked me to be there, to speak to the rest of the club. But I think he is going to be able to do it. Todd is pissing off everyone except his few core people. It’s like the rest of the club doesn’t exist anymore.”

 

“I’m worried about Jules.”

 

“Don’t. He’s got this. He’s a natural leader. The rest of the club is coming around about Todd. Jules just had a lot of history to overcome. ”

 

“I hope you’re right.”

 

“Hey! It’s me!”

 

“I know… that’s what worries me,” she grinned. “Will you do me a favor?”

 

“Sure.”

 

“Will you change the bulb in the storage room? That flickering makes me want to puke every time I go in there.”

 

“Okay, I can do that. You have any extra bulbs?”

 

“Not unless they are in the storage room. Take the truck and run to the store if you need to.” Rachel looked around at the empty bar. “I think I can handle it.”

 

Will chuckled. “If you’re sure you don’t need any help.”

 

“Just go. Get the bar’s credit card out of the desk. But don’t buy anything else!” she called to his retreating back.

 

***

 

“I’m back,” Will called as he entered from the back. The bar was just as empty as when he left. “They will be delivering all the new appliances tomorrow. Did you know you only had a fifteen-thousand dollar limit on that card?”

 

Rachel paused in her wiping of the bar to glare at him. “If you bought anything other light bulbs, I’m taking it out of your pay.”

 

Will chuckled and held up the two fluorescent bulbs. “I’ll put the receipt on your desk. If you hear a crash in a few minutes, that will just be me falling off the ladder. Nothing to worry about.”

 

She giggled. “You want some help?”

 

“Nah… I got it. You mind the store. Who knows, someone may get lost and wander in.”

 

“You think you’re funny… but you’re not.”

 

Will chuckled again. “I know. But it’s almost over now.”

 

***

 

Rachel looked up when the front door opened and her eyes went wide as the man brought up an ugly looking rifle. She ducked behind the bar as the man opened up, riddling the bar with automatic gunfire.

 

She was down on her hands and knees as bullets ripped around her, glass containers shattering behind her, cutting her with falling glass and drenching her in bourbon, scotch, and other liquors.

 

There is a moment of silence then she heard the machine gun open up again, but this time the wooden bar between her and the gunman wasn’t being ventilated with flying bullets. She popped up from behind the bar, shotgun in hand, and saw Will on the floor. Her heart nearly stopped, but before she could react, the gunman swung her way again.

 

She ducked down again and scurried along behind the bar as the man hosed the bar down where she had popped up. As she approached the end of the bar, she saw Will sit up, grimacing in pain with the wounds in his leg and arm. He switched hands with the gun and pulled the trigger three, four, five times in quick succession.

 

The machine gun roared, and Will fell back with a splash of blood on his neck… then it was quiet. After a moment she popped up from behind the bar again and looked around. The gunman was lying on the floor, his chest a mass of blood. As she started to go to Will, the gunman moved weakly, as if he were trying to roll over and get to his feet. She hurried from behind the bar and pumped three rounds from the shotgun into him… and he stopped struggling.

 

She turned and ran to Will, dropping to her knees and sliding to a stop. She had never seen so much blood. “Don’t move Will,” she whimpered as she ran to retrieve her phone from behind the bar. Grabbing a handful of bar towels she ran back to Will as she tried to dial 911 with shaking hands.

 

“Come on!” she screamed at the phone as it rang and rang… and rang. She punched the speaker button and dropped the phone onto the floor as she pressed the towels to Will’s neck.

 

“I’m sorry,” Will whispered.

 

“Shhh…” she sobbed. “It’s going to be okay!”

 

He shook his head slowly.

 

“911 emergency,” the phone finally said.

 

“There’s been a shooting!” Rachel cried, still holding the towels to Will’s neck as they turned red with his blood. “394 Rideout! Hurry! He’s bleeding badly!”

 

“Try to stop the bleeding,” the calm voice said. “There have been a number of shootings. I will dispatch emergency medical, but it may be some time before they can respond. Do you have some towels? Anything that you can use to stop the bleeding?”

 

“I’m trying!” she screamed. She wanted to throw the phone across the room, but she had to keep the towels pressed tight to his neck. “He’s hit in the neck and I can’t stop it!”

 

“I am rerouting emergency medical! Keep the pressure on the wound! Is the door unlocked?”

 

“Yes! Have them hurry! Please!”

 

“Units are responding. They will be there as soon as they can. Keep pressure on the wound. Do not move him. I have to go to handle other calls, but an emergency medical unit is responding to your location,” the woman said then was gone.

 

“Will?” she asked softly. He was still breathing, she could see his chest rising and falling rapidly, but he was unconscious. “Will!” she screamed. “Wake up Will, please! Please, Will… please,” she begged, her tears blurring her vision as she watched her brother die.

 

***

 

She was still holding him eight minutes later when EMS burst into her bar, slowing only slightly as they charged past the gunman. One look at his face and chest confirmed he was beyond the help of mortal man.

 

“Let me help,” the woman said as he pulled Rachel’s hands away from the blood soaked towels. “Shit… looks like the carotid.” She placed her fingers against his neck. “How long?”

 

“I don’t know…” Rachel whispered as she rocked back and forth with Will’s head in her lap. “He’s dead. I couldn’t stop the bleeding.”

 

The woman looked at Rachel with sadness in her eyes. “There was nothing you could do. Nothing anyone could do. If we had been here when it happened we might not have been able to save him. You did all you could. Are you hearing what I’m saying?”

 

Rachel nodded.

 

“Someone will be here soon to help you. But we have to go, okay? We might can save someone else. I’m so sorry.”

 

***

 

Rachel didn’t even know the police had arrived until the Deputy Sheriff crouched in front of her. She was still on the floor with Will, holding his head, her pants soaked with his blood.

 

“Ms. Wallace? I’m Deputy Sheriff William Holloway. I’m sorry for your loss ma’am, but I need to speak with you,” the man said as the cell phone on the floor began to ring.

 

“William? That’s my brother’s name,” Rachel said softly as she pushed the hair off his forehead.

 

“This is your brother?”

 

“Yes. William Devon Wallace. He goes by Will.”

 

“The country corner will be here in a few minutes. Are you injured, Ms. Wallace?”

 

Rachel shook her head.

 

“Is there anything I can get you? Anything I can help you with?”

 

Rachel shook her head again as she rocked, stroking Will’s hair.

 

“Can you answer a couple of questions for me, Ms. Wallace?” Holloway asked. She nodded. “Is that the gunman over there?” Another nod. “Can you tell we what happened?”

 

Rachel sniffed. “He came in and just started shooting. I ducked behind the bar. Will was in the back, changing a light bulb. I wonder if he got finished?”

 

“Is that the weapon you killed the gunman with?” Holloway asked.

 

Rachel looked to where Holloway was looking. “No. That’s Will’s. He shot him.”

 

“Was there another weapon involved?”

 

“He shot Will, but he was still moving. I shot him with my shotgun.”

 

“Where’s the shotgun, Ms. Wallace?”

 

“I don’t know… behind the bar I think. On the floor.”

 

Holloway rose and looked behind the bar as the bar phone began to ring. He returned Rachel and crouched down in front of her again. “You said the gunman was still alive when you shot him?”

 

“He was trying to get up. But Will was bleeding so badly… I had to stop the bleeding.”

 

“I understand Ms. Wallace. You did the right thing. Is there someone I can call for you?”

 

“Jules.”

 

“Is he in your phone?” he asked as he picked up her phone.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Can you unlock your phone for me?”

 

“0523.”

 

Before he could enter the number, the corner arrived. Holloway placed the phone on the top of the bar and walked over to greet the man. “Two dead. This is the perp. Looks like he was shot several times with a .40, and at least twice with a shotgun. That’s the victim over there. Both were dead by the time EMS arrived. Poor bastard got shot in the neck.”

 

The corner shook his head. “I ain’t never seen nothing like this, Holloway.”

 

Holloway looked back at the devastated young woman holding her brother tenderly as she rocked and keened softly. “Yeah. Me either.”

 

***

 

Holloway helped Rachel to her feet so the corner could do his job. “Ms. Wallace… I need to get a…” he said and then paused as he heard angry voices outside. Another unit had arrived to help with the scene and there sounded like there was a problem outside. Over half the available sheriff units were in Vallecito de Grande. “Ms. Wallace… as I said I need… excuse me a moment.” Holloway walked to the door and as he opened it, she heard him.

 

“Rachel!” Jules’s screamed.

 

“Jules? Jules!” she called as she ran across the bar and out the door just as she saw the three sheriffs wrestle Jules to the ground. “Jules!” screamed as she dashed across the parking lot and fell to her knees beside him just as the cops cinched handcuffs on him, two of them bleeding from their faces.

 

“Will’s dead!” she cried as she clung to him, sobbing. “Why are you doing this?” she cried as she looked up at Holloway.

 

“He assaulted these two officers.”

 

Jules rolled over so he could see she was unhurt. “I just needed to see you… to make sure you were okay! I was so afraid!” he said, his face twisting as he struggled to not cry.

 

“Cut him loose,” Holloway said.

 

“But Sarge—”

 

“I said cut him loose!”

 

The officer bent down and began to unlock the cuffs. Jules didn’t even wait for the second wrist to be released before he pulled Rachel to him and held her, kissing her head over and over. “I was so afraid I had lost you. I tried to call but you didn’t answer and I thought…” He sobbed once, then pulled himself together as what she said sunk in. “Will…?”

 

“They killed him!” she cried into his chest.

 

“No… I’m so, so, sorry. I—”

 

“Please Jules… it’s not your fault. I need you now. Please don’t pull away, please!”

 

“No… I’m here. I’m here for you. I will always be here for you.” He continued to hold her with one hand as held the wrist with the cuff attached out, and the officer removed it. “I want to see him.”

 

“This way,” Holloway said.

 

Jules stopped at the first body, crouched down, and unzipped the bag. He pulled the lower lip back, looking for the mark. “Andres Cartel…” he said as he stood. He stood over the body a moment. “You mother-fucker!” he screamed as he began kicking the body as hard as he could.

 

Holloway grabbed Jules and pulled him back, away from the body. “Hey! That’s not helping her!”

 

Breathing hard, he tried to get control of himself, placing his interlinked hands on his head and pulling down hard. “No… you’re right. I’m sorry.”

 

“You need to hold it together for your lady, okay?”

 

Jules walked to Will and the corner stepped back. “I’m sorry, brother,” Jules said as he looked at Will on the floor. Rachel began to weep beside him and he couldn’t hold his grief anymore. “I failed you,” he said softly as tears rolled down his face. “I promised you nothing would happen to you… and I let you down. I let you both down.” He turned to face Rachel and pulled her to him. “I’m so sorry, babe. I should have never let him join Forsaken 99. But I swear to you… this won’t go unanswered. I will find those responsible and I will kill them. I will kill every one of them.”

 

She pulled him tighter as she gasped for breath. “Good.”

 

***

 

“It was Todd,” Jules said several hours later, his voice as cold as an arctic wind. He placed the phone on the side table.

 

“How do you know?” Rachel asked.

 

He stroked her hair. They were sitting on his couch, snuggled, as Rachel struggled with the death of her brother. She had alternately wept, raged, and held him with eerie calm. The calm times, like the one she was in now, were the most disturbing. It was as if she were waiting for Will to stop by for dinner.

 

“Ten brothers have been killed. Another one is in critical condition and has been take to the hospital in Alpine. The only brothers hit were the cleaning crew.”

 

“I thought you said it was the cartel.”

 

“They pulled the trigger… but Todd set it up. I know it. The hit is too specific. He must have found out. They killed families. Wade’s entire family is gone, his wife… his two kids. Gunned them all down at the dinner table.”

 

“My god…”

 

“I’m going to kill him for this,” Jules said, his tone brooking no argument.

 

“Why?”

 

“Because he deserves to die.”

 

“No… why would he kill the cleaning crew? Just to prevent the truth from getting out?”

 

“Probably. Trying to hold onto power.”

 

She was quiet, softly stroking his chest. “When you do… I want to be there. I want to watch his life drain away… as I watched Will’s life drain away.”

 

He didn’t answer her. She had seen enough death… and he didn’t want her to see any more.