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My mouth dropped open. “No! I didn’t know you’ve been here this long.”
“Yep. Wonderful years, every single one of them.” A dimple appeared in her left cheek as her grin grew. “This job saved my life, you know?”
All the times I’d been out here riding, not once had Laramie opened up about her past. I had the feeling it was a rare occurrence, like Hale-Bopp’s comet passing over the Earth every couple of millenniums. Zipping my lips shut, I leaned back against the stalls and hoped she would continue her story.
“I had a ranch in Texas,” she said, concentrating on the motion of her broom. “Right on the Mexican border. Nothing huge, you know? But people from all over the country knew about my horses. They’d come for miles to get their hands on my fillies. I bred the best.”
Of that fact, I wasn’t surprised. Laramie knew horses better than most people knew the back of their own hand. She seemed to prefer them over humans. I counted myself lucky to be one of the few within her confidence.
“But my property drew unwanted attention, too.” She leaned on her broomstick and looked up at me. Sorrow filled her face. “I’ll never forget the day they showed up. Big F-350 pickups with engines that roared. There were six of them with guns and a bald man who did all the talking. They were going to run drugs across my ranch and cut me in on a tiny percentage of the profit. That was the price for my silence.”
My mouth fell open. “Did they threaten you?”
“Didn’t have to. I was a Texan. We didn’t just carry our guns around for show. I knew these guys were the same and they’d use them on me if I didn’t comply.”
My hands felt clammy against the hard plastic of the broom. I rubbed them against my pants to shake off the dread Laramie’s story had given me.
“I’m sorry to say that I gave into that fear,” she went on. “Didn’t even argue with them. I continued my work on the ranch and turned a blind eye whenever they brought a shipment in. The next day, a wad of cash would appear in my mailbox. It was that way for months. I can’t tell you how it felt to be so powerless. To feel like nothing was in my control. Like I had to bow to those drug-rats, bringing their poison onto my land and trying to pay me off. It was awful.”
Something nudged me forcefully in the back and I turned to see Reba, finished with her apple and back for more. I scratched under her chin and thought about Laramie’s story. Never in a million years would I’ve guessed she’d take crap from anyone. She was a stubborn lady—not a person to mess with. The fact that she’d let those drug runners bulldoze her over was sobering.
“How did it end?” I asked.
She ran a hand through her short wavy hair, dislodging a piece of hay. “In violence, as these things often do. I’d finally gotten up the gall to face them one day. They’d just brought across a shipment and I was expecting a payment that day. So, I waited by the mailbox for two hours before they showed up. Three of them, in their big pickup, with sunglasses so dark I couldn’t see their faces. I shoved a paper bag with all of their money through the driver’s window and told them I wasn’t having it anymore. They weren’t very happy, to say the least.”
She laughed, although I could hear a hint of sadness in her voice. Reba’s lips plucked at my ponytail, demanding my attention. I’d abandoned her under the story’s thrall.
“What did they do?” I asked, unsure I wanted to hear the answer.
“When they saw I couldn’t be bought out, they decided to teach me a lesson.” Pain crossed Laramie’s forehead and her eyes went dull with the memory. “I had two favorite stallions and my five dams. They’d just given birth that spring. It was going to be an especially good group. They shot ‘em dead, every last one of them. Made me watch it, too.”
I gasped. Nothing could’ve broken Laramie’s heart more than to see her horses get executed one by one. She carried the pain with her still, deep within her eyes.
“When they were done, they turned on me,” she said, wiping a tear from her cheek. “I knew I was going to die. These men were evil. They had no qualms about killing people who got in their way. Lucky for me, some new clients I was expecting that day showed up early. Drove all the way from South Dakota to see my herd. They took down those drug lords with their silver blades. Never seen anybody move so fast. It hurt my eyes to follow them.”
The Nephilim didn’t usually like to get into human affairs, but there was no way they’d sit back and watch someone be murdered. I was grateful to the ones who’d shown up in time to save Laramie. I couldn’t imagine the manor without her.
“When all was said and done, they packed up my remaining horses and brought me here,” Laramie added with a sad smile. “I didn’t have any family left. Nothing for me in Texas. And we knew I couldn’t stay there. It was an easy choice. One that I’m thankful for every day.”
She hung up the broomstick and went to drag a bale of hay down the aisle. I watched her, although my mind felt a million miles away. Laramie’s story felt an awful lot like mine. I felt powerless, too. Except there was no Nephilim warrior to come to my rescue. And the episodes were getting worse.
“Just hang in there, kid.” I looked up to see Laramie watching me, her dark eyes unblinking. It was like she could read my mind. “Things will get better.”
On my lips, I wore a grateful smile. But inside my heart, I doubted that things would end up quite so well for me.
Chapter Nine
The afternoon had been set aside for the big competition. Most of the warriors had been convinced to participate and it had quickly grown into a large attraction for the rest of us. It was a welcome distraction and I was determined to let go of my problems for the entire day. I had my friends to cheer for and that was all I would worry about.
After an impromptu opening ceremony hosted by Noah Brown himself, they began the competition with a bang—hand to hand combat. It was a favorite event of most of the warriors. A time for skill and strength to combine.
“Are you nervous?” I asked Gabe.
He was bouncing on his feet next to me, waving his arms to warm up his muscles.
“Nah...”
His gaze traveled to the giant square ring that had been built on the green expanse of the lawn. The bleachers that surrounded it were filled with Nephilim. News had spread quickly about the little diversion. Pretty much everyone was in attendance.
