Cera's Place (25 page)

The stranger’s words made Cera’s stomach roll with revulsion.
She aimed her gun at his heart, but then pointed the sight at his shoulder instead. When the bullet hit its mark, his scream of pain and surprise made her smile.

“What the hell?” The man dropped his weapon to clutch his bleeding shoulder.

As she stood from behind the bushes and aimed again, Li dived for the dropped gun. Defeated, the man took off running toward the vineyard. Li quickly fired off two more shots and started to follow.

“Don’t, Li! If he meets up with his buddies, they’ll kill you. We need to get inside with the others.” She bent down beside Hu. “Everything’s fine, now, honey. You’re safe.” Cera pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and wiped the girl’s tear-stained cheeks. “But we need to move—now!”

With Cera leading the way, Li helped Hu back into the bedroom. As she was about to open the bedroom door, they heard the sound of running feet coming fast down the hallway. Putting her finger to her lips, she motioned for Li to stand behind the door with Hu. She took a few steps back and raised her gun. Holding her breath, she watched the knob turn. When Jake and Isaac stumbled into the room, fighting each other to be the first one through the door, she laughed in relief.

“Are you all right?” Jake asked. “We heard gunshots.”

“We’re all fine.” Cera nodded in the direction of Hu and Li. “Let’s stop in my room for the scroll and then get back to the library.”

*******

“He must have been a scout,” Jake explained, after hearing their story.

“You should have shot him dead, Cera,” Sonya admonished, looking away from her post at one of the library windows. “He would have shown you no mercy.”

“I wasn’t being kind,” Cera explained. “I was hoping he would go down and we could get some information out of him.”

“I plan on aiming to kill,” Sonya announced, her face void of emotion.

Cera frowned at her friend. “Killing’s a hard business. Have you ever done it?”

“I’ve done what I had to do to survive.” Sonya returned to staring out the window.

A chill ran down Cera’s spine. Out of all the women who had worked for her over the years, Sonya was by far the most reticent. She opened her mouth to say more, but then changed her mind. “Is everything set in here?” she asked the others.

While she was gone, the men had overturned a large mahogany desk and two long oak tables to provide cover. A few panes of glass had been knocked out of the windows to allow for shooting. At Ginger’s insistence, the women had made a run to the kitchen for food and water.

“We’ve done all we can,” Jake replied. “Now we wait for Biggs and his men to make the next move.”

“What if one of us snuck out and brought back help?” Mary Beth suggested. “Madame Tessa, how long would it take to reach the nearest authorities?”

“Several hours, I’m afraid, and that’s only if the sheriff isn’t traveling. I think we are on our own.”

Jake moved to the window next to Sonya’s. “Trying to get by Biggs is too dangerous. That scout got here quicker than I expected. By this time, they have the house surrounded. I think they’ll keep out of sight for a while, but no doubt, they are already in position. We have to stay here—all of us.”

Cera looked down at the scroll in her hands and then around the room. “I think we’d better hide this.”

“Will a safe be sufficient? I have one hidden behind that bookshelf.” Tessa pointed to the opposite side of the room.

Cera managed a smile. “That will be perfect.”

The hours ticked by as they waited. Jake sat against a wall, alternating between watching the windows and the door. Every so often, he checked his gun. As Cera paced back and forth, she stole glances at him, amazed at how calm he appeared. He was an officer again and didn’t even realize it.

Catching her eye, he smiled. “Sit down and rest for awhile. You look exhausted.” When she collapsed beside him, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You need to rest or you won’t be any good when the time comes.”

“Is that what they taught you in the war?”

He shrugged. “It’s common sense. You rest when you can. You fight when you have to.”

“Jake…” Cera hesitated, afraid to ask the question her mind kept screaming. “What are our chances of beating Biggs? Honestly, tell me what you think.” When he looked away, unable to meet her eyes, she knew before he spoke the answer.

“Not good. I counted twelve men and you can bet they’re all good with a gun, but I’ve been in worse spots. We have a chance. We just have to be smart.”

Mary Beth switched places with Ginger as lookout at one of the windows. Grabbing a piece of bread, she sat beside David behind an overturned couch. She ripped the bread in half, offering him a piece. “Why don’t they attack us, Jake? All this waiting is driving me crazy!”

Jake’s laugh was humorless. “That’s the idea, but it will be dark soon. Then the waiting will be over.”

Mary Beth dropped the curtain she clutched, her eyes widening. “You think they’ll come for us at nighttime?”

He nodded. “That’s what I would do.”

No one talked as the shadows in the room lengthened. When forced to light a lamp, Jake replaced Mary Beth at the window. Silently, everyone went to his or her pre-assigned place. Tessa, Isaac, and Cera crouched behind a barricade of desks and tables as the main line in front of the library’s door. Jake, David, and Li covered the windows. The rest of the women had the job of reloading the empty guns and getting them to the others as fast as possible.

As the library clock struck nine, the dogs outside began barking frantically. Jake pressed his face against the glass. Raising his gun, he cocked the trigger.

“There!” David shouted. “Do you see him by that small grove of trees to the left? He’s running toward the house!”

Jake aimed and fired through the hole in his window. The man screamed once, clutched his chest, and fell to the ground. Gunfire erupted from the garden, spraying the library windows. Jumping to the side, Jake, David, and Li shielded their faces from the flying glass. When the intruders stopped to reload, the men emptied their guns into the darkness.

“Concentrate on those trees to the left and the bushes on the far right,” Jake ordered.

“I’m out!” David yelled. Ginger rushed over and exchanged guns with him. Her hands shook as she worked to reload the spent weapon.

As they continued to shoot blindly at the garden, a few more screams came from the bushes before all went quiet. Jake scanned the room. “Is everyone all right?”

The group nodded in reply.

“Now what?” Ginger’s voice came out in a strained whisper.

“Now, I suspect they are in the house and figuring out the best way to get at us,” Jake answered.

“What should we do?” Mary Beth asked.

“As Sonya so eloquently suggested earlier, we get ready to shoot to kill,” Tessa replied, cocking her rifle’s hammer out of the safety position.

Only a few minutes passed before footsteps and a pool of light stopped outside the library door. No one moved when the doorknob jiggled against its lock. Muffled voices came from the hallway, and then the door shook as someone or something rammed it. Hu gasped, burying her face in her hands. Without taking her eyes off the door, Cera motioned at Ginger to go to Hu. Complying, Ginger wrapped her arms around the sobbing woman and pulled her behind an overturned table. The door shook again, but when it held firm, the footsteps retreated.

Mary Beth sighed in relief. “Is that it? Did they leave?”

Jake closed his eyes for the briefest second, before replying, “Don’t count on it.”

Reading the concern on his face, Cera swallowed hard. “You know what they are going to do next—don’t you?”

Crunching broken glass under his boots, Jake moved to one of the windows without answering. He peered out into the darkness, swearing under his breath in frustration.

Cera followed him to the window. Grabbing his arm, she made him face her. “What are they going to do next?”

He gathered her in his arms. Kissing her forehead and then her jaw, he whispered in her ear, “Fire. If it were me, I would do fire next.”

At his words, Cera’s body jerked, her hand clutching at the front of his shirt.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered. “We’ll figure something out.”

She nodded. Turning back to the group, she forced herself to remain calm. “Well, is everyone ready for round two? Check your guns, please.”

“Cera, what…” Isaac began, but her eyes stopped his question.

They didn’t have to wait long before dragging sounds came from the hallway. Jake pulled at the window curtains until the rods crashed to the floor. Handing the curtains to Cera, he nodded toward the door. Understanding, she jammed the material in the crack between the floor and the bottom of the door.

“Oh, my God, tell me this isn’t happening!” Ginger cried as she watched Cera. “They’re going to burn us out?”

As if in answer to Ginger’s question, they heard the sound of breaking glass and then footsteps retreating from the door.

“I hope they didn’t use my French oil lamp,” Tessa remarked. “The Mexican ambassador gave it to me.”

Cera smiled at their hostess’ attempt at humor. She had always admired people who could laugh in the face of danger.

Jake fired two random shots out the window, ducking when several came whizzing back from the garden. “Well, that way isn’t going to work.”

When the smell of smoke seeped into the room despite the cloth barricade, Cera tried to jam the curtain tighter against the open space. “This isn’t working. We have to open the door. I’d rather take my chances with a shootout in the house than the garden.”

Jake nodded in agreement. “Men, grab a rug or curtain to smother the fire. Cera and Tessa, shoot at anything that moves outside that door. The rest of you ladies, grab a weapon and be ready to use it.”

He pulled out his leather gloves from the pocket of his duster and put them on. With his gun ready, he gripped the hot brass doorknob and opened the door. A whoosh of heat filled the room, as a wall of fire outside the door greeted them. Ignoring the heat and flames, Jake fired several shots up and down the hall. When his shots were met with silence, the other men rushed to put out the fire before it could spread into the room. They beat the flames until only a pile of half-burnt broken pieces of wood remained.

Tessa took the fireplace poker and jabbed at her ruined furniture, uncovering a wrought iron lamp base. “Damn,” she sighed.

“The French oil lamp?” Ginger asked, peering over her shoulder.

“I’m afraid so.” Turning from the charred rubble, she asked Jake, “What do you think? Do we go after them? Search the house?”

Jake wiped a sleeve across his sweaty brow. “I don’t know if splitting up is the safest thing to do, but I don’t feel like waiting here for the next assault. Do you prefer to defend or attack?”

With a lift of her chin, Tessa replied, “Definitely attack.”

The corner of Jake’s mouth rose up in a slight grimace. “Are you sure? Killing animals is one thing…”

“These men
are
wild animals, Mr. Tanner. Don’t worry about me. I will not hesitate to shoot.”

“I’ll only take volunteers. Who else wants to go?”

Sonya, Mary Beth, and Li raised their hands in unison. Cera had expected Sonya and Li, but Mary Beth with her petite stature and child-like face did not give the impression of a willing gunslinger. Also surprised, Jake looked at Cera with raised eyebrows. She shrugged in reply.

Clearing his throat, he asked, “No offense, Mary Beth, but can you even shoot a gun?”

“I can shoot very well, thank you. I’ll have you know that before making Cera’s Place my home, I traveled all over this great country. You’d be amazed at how many men don’t like a lady beating them at cards. You can count on me, Jake.”

He blew out a breath and mumbled something about wolves in sheep’s clothing, which only Cera heard. “All right then, let’s divide up the ammo and get moving.”

“Now just wait a minute,” Isaac insisted sternly. “This is ridiculous. You women aren’t going after these killers. You have to stay here.”

The women looked at Isaac and then each other. Cera squared her shoulders. “I’m sorry, Isaac. I don’t think we have any other choice. Please protect the others while we’re gone.”

Not giving up, Isaac grabbed Tessa’s hand. “It’s too dangerous!”

“I’ll be right back,” the older woman promised with a smile. She brushed her lips against his before turning to Jake to receive her instructions.

*****

Jake, Cera, and Tessa headed toward the back of the house while Li, Sonya, and Mary Beth worked their way to the front. As Cera’s group moved through the halls, they stopped every few steps, listening until Jake gave the all clear sign. With every nerve in her body jumping, Cera’s pounding heart filled her ears. When they reached the kitchen without incident, she let out a breath of relief. “Now what do we do?”

Jake pushed aside the curtain of the nearest window, allowing the moonlight to erase some of the room’s darkness. Looking outside, his body stiffened. “There’s a light coming from the storage barn. We could try to surprise whoever is in there, but it’s going to be risky getting across the open ground. There are so many places to hide in the gardens, Biggs and his men could be anywhere. You really out-did yourself, Madame, with your landscaping.”