Breaking Jacob (2nd in Breaking Series)

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

"I hate trains. I'd rather ride two weeks straight on a horse's back than for three hours in a damn train," Brody grumbled as he, Jacob and Ellie stepped off the train and onto the crowded platform in San Antonio.

"That's all you've done is complain. And here you've always said I was the complainer in the family," Jacob said with a grin.

Brody glared at him and then rested his hand on the handle of his revolver, "I still say we should have left your woman at home."

Jacob glanced at Ellie standing beside him. She looked so small in this crowd. He feared her petite body would get swallowed up by the huge mass of bodies, so he wrapped his arm around her shoulders to keep her close to him as they made their way out of the train station.

"It's my sister that he has, Brody. I have a right to be here," Ellie replied as she laid her hand over the derringer pistol tucked in the waistband of her skirt. "I can handle myself. I promise."

"A woman's place is not in the middle of danger," Brody argued. Jacob snorted, "Don't let your wife hear you say that."

Brody shrugged, "Her ass is at home, isn't it? There's no way I was letting her ass come along. She knows her damned place," he said gruffly. Jacob saw through Brody's tough façade. Liz had told him once that Brody still woke up most nights, crying out and reaching for her as he dreamed about the day she had died and the horrible months that had followed.

"You love her and you know it," Jacob countered with a smile.

Brody shrugged, "Never said I didn't." He looked around them, "So Ellie, where do we go?"

"The house is probably the best bet at this time of day. He won't go to the saloon until later tonight," she replied.

Brody nodded and motioned ahead of them, "Lead the way."

Ellie walked in front of the two brothers and led them down the cobblestone streets lined with shops, stores and homes on either side. After a long walk they finally came to a home on an abandoned side street. It was a dull blue with a dirty white door and dying flowers filled the window boxes.

"Charming place," Brody muttered.

"Let's just get this over with," Jacob urged with his hand on his gun. His stomach was churning. He hated conflict. He normally avoided it at all costs and to now be running headfirst into it had him nervous and uneasy. He looked at Ellie and saw her own fear and it gave him the strength to stand up straighter and shake off some of his nervousness.

Ellie stepped up to the door and knocked several times. They stood there a while in the Texas heat, listening to all the sounds of the crowded city before the door was finally opened. The person that answered it was a boy caught in the middle the transition from boyhood to manhood. He was probably seventeen and when he saw Ellie a huge smile came to his smooth, thin face.

"You're back!" he exclaimed as he threw his arms around her in a tight hug. Then he noticed Jacob and Brody standing behind her and he stepped back, "Who are they?"

"Jacob and Brody Atkinson," Ellie replied.

The boy's eyes fell on their badges and he sent an accusing glare at Ellie, "You brought the law here! What are you trying to do? Get us all locked up? Otis will kill you!"

'Not if I kill him first," Brody said calmly causing the boy to swallow hard.

Ellie snapped her fingers to bring his attention back to her, "Nick, I need to come in and get my things. I'm done working for Otis. I also need to know where he is keeping my sister."