Jarrod had some business he needed to attend to in Stockton, so he caught a train the next day with plans to return to San Francisco as soon as possible. He would need to rendezvous with Fielder and set up the bust. The train ride home to Stockton was splendid. Jarrod hadn't been so relaxed and cheerful for months - all he could think about was this blasted mission coming to an end very soon.

And then he walked in on Audra and her discovery in his room.

What a fool I was to hide that stuff in the house, much less in such a juvenile manner! he chided himself as he followed Audra downstairs to the billiard room. He should have known it would eventually be discovered. Jarrod had been buying opium from Preston, which Jarrod would dump in the river on his ride home. The last transaction he'd made with Preston was on that morning he had been accompanied by Nick. Unable to carry out his river routine, Jarrod had concealed the bag along with some notes he'd taken after the conversation with Preston in a book he'd hollowed out as a child to hide love letters. In his hurry to get to San Francisco for Miles' dinner, he had left home without properly disposing of the opium and papers.

Suddenly things weren't going so well. He hadn't planned on this eleventh-hour altercation in the billiard room. The shove he'd given Audra was much more forceful than Jarrod had intended, and he was afraid he'd really hurt her. Before he could tell one way or the other, Jarrod found he had an entirely new problem on his hands as he looked up from the floor at his youngest brother. Jarrod knew he'd deserved to be decked by Heath, and he hated himself for what he had to do.

As he feigned a vengeful retaliation, he was wildly wondering how was he going to get out of this without Heath killing him. Jarrod had never seen his brother driven by such rage. By contrast, Jarrod was only half-heartedly acting out a part. Jarrod knew he was going to get the raw end of this deal and was of the mind to run from the room, but he knew he couldn't. He would have to see this through.

What a relief it was to look over and finally find Nick holding Heath back. He had been afraid Heath was on the verge of knocking him out, and he knew he'd have to get away as soon as possible. He had to attend to some crisis management, and he didn't need both of his fit rancher brothers descending upon him. Luckily, they let him go.

And now what was he going to do? He had hoped beyond hope that nobody in the family would gain any substantial knowledge of his operation. Why did it have to be Audra? Jarrod had wanted to melt from the compassion and fear he had seen in his sister's eyes, but he had maintained his severe exterior convincingly enough that he had almost physically hurt her. Jarrod didn't feel so bad that Heath had nearly beaten him unconscious.

As Jarrod gingerly mounted his horse and rode back toward town, he fortified himself with thoughts of this all ending soon. No matter what, he was determined that he would find a way to accomplish the mission as quickly as possible.

He wasn't quite sure what he was going to do to keep his family from blowing this whole thing, but his immediate concern was to get to his office and clean himself up. He managed to get near his office without anyone noticing him, but then he rounded a corner and almost ran smack into Agent Fielder.

"What the hell happened to you?" Fielder exclaimed.

"What're you doing here?" Jarrod replied, just as surprised.

"You get cleaned up and meet me in that storage shed behind Crandall's General Store," Fielder ordered and then disappeared around the corner.

Jarrod was relieved that no one had witnessed their exchange. He was also relieved at his good fortune that the government agent was in town. He desperately needed Fielder's help with the latest turn of events.

There was only so much that Jarrod could do to make himself presentable. The blood washed away, but the marks remained. Since Heath was right-handed, Jarrod had a whopper of a bruise developing on the left side of his face. Jarrod inconspicuously made his way to the storage house as quickly as he could. Fielder was already there when Jarrod arrived.

"Did all go well on your last trip?" He immediately asked as Jarrod slipped in.

"Very well, as a matter of fact. I've already set up a major meeting for next week, which could be a possible bust. I was going to get with you in a couple of days to figure it all out. Why are you in Stockton?"

"I've been keeping an eye on Preston."

"He's not on to me, is he?" Jarrod was startled. What else could go wrong? he thought, anxiety rising.

"No, not at all. He had been going to San Francisco on an unusually frequent basis, and I just wanted to make sure nothing adverse was going on. As it turns out, he was just campaigning for you to get on the inside with Decker." Fielder grinned. "Apparently the fellow really likes you."

"Yeah, and they all really like my money," Jarrod retorted.

"Well, apparently somebody doesn't like you," Fielder remarked, giving Jarrod's battered face a closer look.

"That would be my brother," Jarrod winced as he shifted positions. "Listen, I ran into a little bit of trouble this afternoon, and I need your help. . . ."

Jarrod quickly explained Audra's unfortunate discovery and his fears that the family would rally and by doing so interfere with the operation.

"I should've known this would happen," Jarrod groaned as he concluded his account. "The Barkleys are a stubborn bunch."

"What your family needs, Barkley, is a distraction. A distraction that would last just long enough to free you to wrap this whole thing up."

"What do you have in mind?"

"A kidnapping."

"What?"

"If we could manage to get your sister kidnapped quickly enough, perhaps she wouldn't have the time to tell the rest of the family what she found," Fielder was thinking out loud.

"What?" Jarrod couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Fielder snapped out of his thoughts and focused on Jarrod. "Okay, I've got it. You tell Preston what has happened and get him and his boys to kidnap her -"

"Are you out of your mind? Do you know Ed Preston? There's no way I'm gonna let him and his henchmen get their hands on Audra! Good God, there's no telling what they'd do!" Jarrod's mind was on overdrive. "If they didn't hurt her, they could insist that I do as some kind of demented loyalty test-"

"Okay, okay," Fielder interjected. "Calm down-"

"I will not calm down! Do you realize what I've already done? I've turned my entire family against me with a vengeance and ruined my career, and I will not - I repeat, will not - allow you to endanger my sister's life! You find some other way of carrying this out or I'll -" Jarrod's voice was rising.

"Okay! Okay!" Fielder hissed back. "Keep it down!"

"I mean it, Fielder--" Jarrod's voice was quieter but not any calmer.

"I know, Barkley!" Fielder responded. "Don't worry! I have another idea. Look, I've got some contacts in the area I could get to carry this off. They could keep her just long enough for you to do your thing. So do you think your sister will have already told everybody about what she found?"

"She was pretty hysterical by the time I left. But if I know her like I think I do, she'll take a while to calm down from the fight and then think through how to best tell them."

"Let's hope so."

"Regardless of that," Jarrod commented, doubt still weighing heavily in his voice, "how would this be a distraction? The first person they'd come after would be me."

"We'll get you out of here very quickly and keep you hidden until the meeting with Decker and gang."

"I'm not sure Decker would still be willing to meet with me. He's been discreet about his business all along and this'll attract a lot of press, which will follow me around."

"A stipulation in the ransom note will be that the family contact absolutely no one about the kidnapping - no press, no authorities. I think we can convince them to keep it to themselves," Fielder explained. "Don't you think your family will concentrate their efforts on finding Audra instead of you?"

"Oh, I think they can manage both. They'll definitely enlist other people's help to find Audra," Jarrod replied.

"So what? They'll still keep it quiet. And they won't find her - or you."

"Let's hope so."

Fortunately, Jarrod knew his sister well. She had finally calmed down after witnessing Heath and Jarrod's brutal fight, but she refused to give the family any details about her and Jarrod's argument. True to her oldest brother's predictions, Audra wanted to consider how to break the alarming news of Jarrod's opium addiction to the rest of the family. She even decided to sleep on it.

And it was while she was trying to sleep that a shadowy figure entered her bedroom, slipped to her bedside, and covered her mouth and nose with a chloroform-doused handkerchief. By the time the family happened upon the ransom note and discovered Audra was missing, she was very far away from home - as was Jarrod.

Chapter 7

Jarrod hurried down from the train, hoping he wouldn't run into anyone of any significance, namely his brothers. True to his word, Fielder had made arrangements to whisk Jarrod away before Audra's kidnapping. Jarrod had spent the previous five days at a government safehouse fifty miles up the coast from San Francisco, where he and Fielder were able to plan out the details of the upcoming meeting with Decker. Jarrod was satisfied with the reports that Audra was fine and that nothing had leaked to the press about her kidnapping.

Now Jarrod had returned to San Francisco to prepare for the crucial meeting to take place in a couple of hours. He just needed to stop by his office and grab a few things, and then it was off to Chinatown to meet Decker and cronies in an opium den's back room. Jarrod managed to make it halfway between the train depot and his office, as well as light a cigarette before he saw anyone he knew.

Then he rounded a corner, and there they were. Their reactions were automatic, as if they'd been rehearsed over and over in their minds. Nick and Heath began running at break-neck speed toward Jarrod, as he flung down his cigarette and took off in the opposite direction. Jarrod was able to keep them at a slight distance as he raced across the street, down a short alley and out into the next street. He lost his hat as he turned a corner. Jarrod hoped the pedestrians he was dodging would slow his brothers' pursuit just enough for him to lose them.

Blasted timing for this! he thought as he sped another block. Just a few more hours and it would all be over with!

Then a milkwagon pulled out into the street directly in front of him, forcing him to turn right down another alley. He glanced over his shoulder to confirm that they were still on his trail.

When he looked forward again he panicked to find an eight-foot fence blocking the end of the alley. Jarrod gathered his breath, released a quick burst of speed, and leapt for it. His jump landed him balanced on his stomach on the top of the fence, and he was going to have to struggle a bit to pull himself over. As he struggled, he felt a hand gather the back of his shirt right above his pants, and the next thing he knew, he was on his back looking up at the sky on the wrong side of the fence. Nick gruffly hauled Jarrod to his feet and slammed him up against the fence.

"You've always been a faster runner," Nick remarked between breaths. "But not a stronger jumper."

There was a slight pause as all three worked to catch their breaths. Jarrod desperately looked for escape and even bolted for a line between his brothers, but they slammed him back up against the fence.

Nick was seething. "You've really done it," he growled from behind his teeth.

"So why'd you do it?" Heath demanded.

"I don't care why you did it," Nick remarked, arms akimbo. "I want to know how you intend to get her back. Because you're gonna do it, you know," Nick's voice was quiet, deliberate, menacing. "You're going to tell us where she is."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jarrod replied indignantly. "You want me to tell you where who is?"

"Well, if you don't know what we're talking about," Heath said. "Why'd you take off running when you saw us coming?"

"I figured you were here to exact more punishment for that little incident with Audra in the billiard room the other day. You're obviously not here to pay a courtesy visit to your big brother."

"Speaking of Audra," Nick interjected, "Where is she? You're gonna tell us, or we're gonna kill you," he continued, quietly. Quiet was not like Nick

"I don't think that's likely," Jarrod scoffed. "You've always been one for exaggeration."

"You're right," Heath replied. "What Nick meant to say was that when we're finished with you, you'll wish you were dead."

Jarrod shifted uncomfortably and said nothing. He was still sore from the fight he'd had with Heath over a week ago, and he wasn't particularly looking forward to his anger-driven brothers having another round with him.

"Speak up, Big Brother," Nick's quiet was quickly dissipating. "You're gonna help us get Audra back."

It had been a couple of days since Jarrod had gotten a report on Audra, so he was relieved to once again receive confirmation that all was going as planned. If he could just get out of this current fix he found himself in, there would be no complications, and all this would finally end. The thought caused a smile to flicker across his lips.

Nick interpreted his brother's slight smile as meaning something else. He belted his older brother right across the mouth. The force of the blow spun Jarrod around, but the fence prevented him from losing his balance. He stood with his back to his brothers for a moment, dreading turning back around. He didn't relish the thought of being roughed-up by his rancher brothers, who were accustomed to strenuous physical work on a daily basis. He had felt Heath's strength, and even though he was able to give his youngest brother a challenging fight, Jarrod knew there was no way he could take on both of his brothers. He actually felt fear rising from the pit of his stomach.

Jarrod slowly turned around to face their fury.

"What're you and Preston's boys up to?" Nick roared, up in Jarrod's face. "What the hell are you doing?"

Let's get this over with, Jarrod thought, facing the inevitable.

"I'm afraid you just wouldn't understand," Jarrod replied in a condescending tone.

Nick shoved Jarrod back against Heath, who grabbed his arms. Jarrod struggled half-heartedly, knowing there was no way he could get away. He braced for what he knew was coming.

The first blow was to his stomach. As he gasped to regain his breath, Nick struck the left side of his face. Then the right.

And again.

The next blow was to the rib cage, which would've doubled Jarrod over had Heath not secured such a tight grip on his brother's arms.

Then Nick grasped the front of his shirt and drew Jarrod's bruised and bloodied face closer to his.

"You gonna talk, Big Brother?" Nick glared into his brother's face. "You know, I've never hated anybody quite like I hate you. What you've done to Mother and, my God, Audra! You're no Barkley - you're a filthy bastard!"

Jarrod's head was spinning and he could barely see Nick's face through the haze of pain; however, he clearly heard his brother's words, and they made Jarrod want to break down and cry. He was so tired of this charade. He kept consciously reminding himself of the façade he had to maintain. The thought crossed his mind to make a nasty remark about Heath as a reply to Nick's last statement, but Jarrod immediately realized that was going too far. He didn't want to have to restore too many broken pieces when this was all over. As well, he had to remain conscious so he could make it to the meeting tonight. So, instead, Jarrod decided to say nothing.

The brothers stood there a few moments in silence. Nick seemed to have vented a lot of his fury and he slowly turned his back to Jarrod and leaned an arm against the fence.

"How could you do this to us, Jarrod?" He spoke quietly with his back turned. "You've destroyed yourself - you're tearing our family apart. I'll never understand this for as long as I live."

Heath released Jarrod's arms, and since he'd been depending on Heath's grip for support, Jarrod dropped to his knees.

"Tell us where Audra is," Nick said, turning back from the fence and looking down at his older brother. "Don't let her get hurt!" Jarrod's heart ached from the note of pleading and desperation in Nick's voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jarrod replied, almost mechanically.

Heath kicked Jarrod squarely in the back, sending him sprawling face first into the dust.

"You know that's a lie!" He yelled at his brother. "Lies! All you've given us is lies!"

Jarrod considered lying in the dirt for the remainder of the dispute, but Heath helped him to his feet, rather roughly at that. For the second time since he'd known him, Jarrod was seeing just how riled up his youngest brother could get. Heath had him by the front of the shirt, and he slammed Jarrod up against one of the brick buildings along the alley.

"What's the matter with you? Have you lost your mind?" he shouted, tightly gripping the front of Jarrod's shirt with both hands. He gave Jarrod a head-banging shake against the brick wall.

Jarrod figured he'd better begin defusing the situation. He couldn't take much more of a beating from his brothers, and he needed to get away as soon as possible to prepare for tonight.

"Look," he grabbed Heath's arms and stilled them. "You two wasted money on your train tickets here," Jarrod said. "I have no idea where Audra is or why you'd think I'd have anything to do with her disappearance -"

"Maybe because you've been just a little suspicious lately," Nick interrupted. "Hanging out with Ed Preston, ranting like a money-crazy fool and basically acting like a complete stranger in every way for months. We don't know who the hell you are anymore! And how interesting that you'd leave town the instant Audra disappears. I wonder what the San Francisco police would think of all this."

"That's all circumstantial, Nick," Jarrod's voice took on a business-like, attorney-at-law tone.

"I'm sure the sheriff back home would love to get his hands on you. He'd have a lot of questions to ask. Maybe we oughta deliver you to him," Heath threatened.

Jarrod's demeanor didn't betray the immense panic he was suddenly feeling. He had to get out of here right away, and now they were talking about hauling him off somewhere! He had to think fast.

"Fine! Let him question me! I have nothing more to tell him than what I've told you," Jarrod replied. "Face it, you've got nothing on me. The most expedient thing for you to do now is go home and look for Audra."

Heath released his grip on Jarrod and stepped back. Jarrod watched as his brothers stood looking at him in silence. Heath and Nick looked dejected. They were tired from expending so much energy on their anger and on chasing and pummeling Jarrod. They also knew that they were getting absolutely nowhere with him.

"May God forgive you," Nick spoke quietly as he turned to leave, "because we never will."

Jarrod watched his brothers walk away.

Chapter 8

For the second time in two weeks, Jarrod had the hopeless task of making himself presentable after being used as a punching bag. Nick and Heath had done quite a number on him. Now both sides of his face were bruised, he had a nice gash above his left eye that took forever to quit bleeding, and he couldn't breathe without pain wracking his body. How was he going to explain his ghastly appearance to Decker? He was just grateful that he had managed to get rid of his brothers in time to attempt a clean up and still make it to the meeting, although he was a few minutes late.

"You look like absolute hell," Decker declared as he watched Jarrod walk into the small back room of the opium den. Decker was seated at a table along with five Chinese men.

"Why thank you," Jarrod retorted, taking a seat beside Decker. "Seems like Senator Courtney didn't want to leave town without letting me know how he felt about my behavior at that party of his."

"You're kidding!" Decker was grinning through his amazement. "I would've never thought the ol' boy had it in him. Did he do it himself?"

"Yeah, but not without somebody else holding me."

Decker was obviously impressed.

"So tell me, Jarrod," Decker was still grinning. "Was Liz Courtney worth all this fuss?"

Jarrod grinned back. "She could've been!"

Everybody around the table roared with laughter. Apparently they were all well-acquainted with the newspaper account and the social aftershocks of Jarrod's scandalizing Mrs. Courtney in public.

"Well, I'm glad to see you have such a sense of humor about it," Decker added before changing the subject. "Let me introduce you to my - or should I now say our - associates."

Introductions went around the table, and the men quickly got down to business. They discussed facts and figures, with everyone especially curious about Jarrod's monetary proposals. Jarrod made a convincing show of lighting up his opium pipe and appearing to settle his nagging need for a fix. Everyone had attributed his mildly shaking hands to his need for the drug, but Jarrod knew it was from his nervousness over what was to come down that evening. He did discover, however, that the pounding in his head that lingered from the fight eased considerably after a couple of drags.

Things were progressing very smoothly and quickly - perhaps even a bit too quickly. At some point, Jarrod managed to slip his pocket watch out and check it without anyone taking notice. It was only 7:45, and the feds weren't supposed to charge in until 8:30. They had wanted to ensure enough time for all the conspirators to be present. He now wished they had moved the time up to eight o'clock as Fielder had originally suggested.

Okay, Barkley, breathe, he eased himself back from the brink of anxiety. It's gonna be alright. How he wanted this to be over with! Jarrod took another slight drag on the pipe, hoping to calm his nerves.

"So, Jarrod, do you know anything about a man named Glass?" Decker spoke off-handedly, tapping his cigar in a nearby ashtray.

Jarrod paused before he responded. Surely Preston wouldn't have been so stupid as to tell Decker he'd let me in on this.

"No, I don't believe so. Should I?" Jarrod spoke with ease, although he was still quite uneasy - regardless of the opium's magic.

"Not necessarily. He's not much of a friend of ours." Decker's companions grunted in agreement. Decker proceeded to fill Jarrod in on some of their plans for Ambassador Glass, much of which Jarrod already knew. He was happy to hear it confirmed that all the conspirators were present.

"We could use your assistance in this matter," Decker was wrapping up his narration.

"In what way, specifically?"

"We could use a few more funds to support our little plan."

"I see. Well, I'm sure I could come up with something-" Jarrod began.

"The hell you will!"

Jarrod jerked his head toward the door, expecting to see an early arrival of federal agents. His mouth dropped open when instead he found his two brothers in the doorway, brandishing pistols at the group.

Oh, dear God, Jarrod thought. Now what?

His mind was racing. Jarrod knew that every man in the room carried a concealed weapon, and there was no telling what kind of deadly martial arts maneuver would be attempted. Nick and Heath had obviously shadowed him here, and look at what he'd dragged his brothers into!

"Now, now," Decker spoke quite calmly from his seat. "What's this all about? And may I ask to whom I am speaking?"

"Ask Mr. Moneybags, there," Nick replied gruffly, motioning toward his older brother.

"Damn it, Nick," Jarrod barked. From his vantage point, he could see several of the men exchanging glances, and he thought one of them was reaching under a cushion. Jarrod was frozen. He didn't want to unleash a monster.

"Ah, yes, I remember now," Decker was saying. "You're Mr. Barkley's brothers -"

Apparently, some kind of silent signal trigger had been placed under one of the cushions, because the result of it came out of nowhere and blind-sided Nick and Heath. Before any of the other men were even out of their seats, the two younger Barkleys had been tackled and stripped of their guns. There was more than one door to the room, Jarrod realized. A secret passageway on the other side of the room had allowed a couple of employees to respond to the alarm, which Jarrod presumed to be some kind of bell rigged up in an adjacent room.

Perhaps it was best that this had happened. Nick and Heath's barging in had been a type of dry-run before the real thing at 8:30. At that time, Jarrod could prevent the alarm from being sounded. But before that, he would have to somehow find a way to keep his brothers alive for the next twenty minutes.

"Well, I suppose we have a bit of a sticky situation here, don't we?" Decker and the others had gathered around their foiled intruders, who were sitting on the floor with their backs against a wall. "Our uninvited guests have become privy to delicate information, and I have a feeling they wouldn't be able to keep our secrets."

Decker gazed over at the eldest Barkley. Jarrod could tell that he was being sized up. He was going to have to convince his cohorts that he had nothing to do with his brothers' intrusion.

"So what do you suggest we do about this, Mr. Barkley?" Decker asked coolly.

"It's pretty obvious," Jarrod replied equally as coolly. His level tone surprised himself. "We'll have to kill them."

When Decker saw the genuine reactions of shock the captives gave their older brother, he was immediately more at ease. Both Nick and Heath were speechlessly staring up at Jarrod from the floor with astonished expressions.

Jarrod forced himself to laugh.

"Don't look so shocked, Nick," Jarrod nudged his brother with his boot, opium pipe clenched between his teeth. "I distinctly remember telling you to stay out of my business or that you would get hurt. You can't say you weren't warned."

Jarrod could tell that his brothers were searching him - his face, his eyes - for an indication from him that there was more to this than what appeared. Jarrod was careful to remain expressionless. He needed their genuine disbelief and anxiety to continue convincing Decker.

Decker was no fool. He also saw the silent communication from the brothers and was satisfied to see that it was all one-sided.

"How could you . . ." Heath's protest trailed off as he watched Jarrod pull out his pistol and open its chamber, checking to make sure it was fully loaded.

"How could I what, Heath?" Jarrod looked from his gun down to his youngest brother. "Blow away my own flesh and blood? Very easily, I'm finding. That old adage about blood being thicker than water is true, but blood certainly isn't thicker than the fibers of a dollar bill."

Decker and company were thoroughly amused by the exchange. Now if only I can somehow keep this going, Jarrod thought. His worst fear at this point was that someone would suggest they go somewhere else right away to carry out his proposal. Jarrod estimated that he had to stall for another fifteen minutes - that is, if Fielder and his boys were punctual.

For the seemingly hundredth time in the past three months, Nick's shock had dissolved into anger. Only this time his anger was extremely serious, and it was overwhelming any hurt that remained from his older brother's betrayals.

"You're gonna burn in hell for this, Jarrod Barkley," he growled. "There won't be a soul on this Earth who'll cut you down from the hangman's rope."

"I find your imagery interesting," Jarrod commented as he seated himself on the table. "It's entirely possible that hell won't figure into my future at all. My Buddhist friends here would contend that I'll just receive the ill effects of my tarnished karma in a later life. And hopefully it will be a much later life."

Jarrod could see that his cultural references were quite appealing to most of his audience. They were tittering among themselves, and Decker was also quite entertained but was starting to show tell-tale signs of restlessness.

From looking at Jarrod's relaxed posture, no one would have guessed that he was breaking out into a cold sweat. I've got to keep everybody in this room.

"Come on," Decker headed for the door. "Let's get outta here and take care of these two."

Jarrod hopped up from the table and moved toward his brothers with a few of Decker's businessmen.

Dear God, I need one of Fielder's infernal distractions.

He grabbed one of Nick's arms and helped the others haul Nick up off the floor. As he did so, Jarrod reached back behind Nick where no one could see, and pinched Nick's side as hard as he could.

As Jarrod had desperately hoped, Nick's reaction was instantaneous. His younger brother had always reacted involuntarily and violently to being pinched. Nick forcefully swung his arm back and knocked several of the others off balance. Jarrod took this opportunity to tackle Nick, which he was hoping would deter any gunfire at his brother.

"Take it easy," Jarrod hissed in his brother's ear as they hit the floor. This completely confused Nick, and Jarrod didn't have much trouble keeping him pinned. Jarrod was relieved that he had created enough excitement to draw Decker back into the room with the others. Decker drew the door shut behind himself and a slight commotion ensued, as everyone began discussing what to do.

Luckily, Jarrod didn't have to think up another infernal distraction. Just then the door flew open and the room was suddenly swarming with agents. Jarrod reached up from the floor and grabbed the ankle of a man who was diving for the alarm, sufficiently tripping him up and preventing any further outside interference. The element of surprise in the bust hindered almost all retaliation, and there was relatively little gunfire, with only one of the Chinese businessmen getting wounded.

It was over as quickly as it had started, and Jarrod found himself still on top of Nick, keeping him pinned to the floor. A quick survey confirmed that Heath was fine and next to the doorway. Jarrod then looked back at Nick, who was staring up at him in utter bewilderment.

"What the hell?" was all Nick could say.

Jarrod was weary by the time the debriefing concluded. As the officials scraped their chairs back and left the table, Jarrod remained seated. After a few moments, only he and Miles Courtney remained in the room.

"So just how much opium did you have to actually take in?" Miles had been itching to ask his friend for all the details of his drug experience.

"Just enough to get a little high," Jarrod replied. "And a little sick."

"No other side effects?"

"If you're asking if I developed an addiction, the answer is no," Jarrod stated. "But I can see how easily it could happen. The stuff's pretty powerful and pretty enjoyable, if you overlook the initial nausea."

"Once again, your self-discipline and restraint have served you well," Miles complimented his friend. "There aren't many other men I would have trusted with something like this. You pulled this thing off brilliantly! I can't say how much I - and the United States government - appreciate what you've done." Miles grinned at him across the table. "The President will be commending you."

Jarrod nodded, but his weariness and on-setting depression did not leave him. Miles frowned.

"You should be proud of your accomplishment, Jarrod! What's the matter?"

"Now is the time for me to face the music."

"Oh, Jarrod, I'm sure your family will understand. I'm sure they'll be proud of you."

"I wish I were so sure." Jarrod got up and left.

It had been several days since the conspiracy bust. The guilty had been carted off to various places of incarceration, and the innocent had been detained for thorough questioning. Jarrod never got an opportunity to talk to his brothers with all the flurry of activity at the opium den that night. He was going to have to stay in San Francisco a few days longer for the government debriefing, but he had hurried down to the train depot hoping to finally get a chance to speak to his brothers before they returned to Stockton.

Neither Heath nor Nick would make eye contact with Jarrod, much less speak to him. His attempts to get through to them had been answered with a brutal shove from Nick as he and Heath boarded their train. After Jarrod had picked himself up off the platform, he had simply watched their train pull away.

So now Jarrod was anticipating a similar reception from the rest of the family. His own train journey home was long. Jarrod had debated whether or not to even go home. Thoughts of catching the next train to anywhere but Stockton appealed much more to him. But he knew he had to do this. At least the long, dark ride home gave him time to think of what he would say.

When he finally walked in the front door, he found the family seated around the fireplace in the livingroom. They were talking quietly, but as they heard him come in, they all stopped talking and turned to look at him. They all seemed expressionless to Jarrod, and he couldn't gauge their feelings one way or the other. He felt the knot tighten uncomfortably in his stomach as he slowly walked across the room toward them.

He stopped directly in front of them. He'd never felt so terrified with his own family. Jarrod took a deep breath.

"I'm here to apologize to all of you. I know that I've caused each of you a lot of pain and anguish. I did what I felt was my obligation - something I had no choice but to carry out - but I know that the pain you experienced won't just disappear overnight.

"After all, I put you through unspeakable distress. Audra," Jarrod faltered as his eyes began to fill with tears. He couldn't look them in their faces any longer, so Jarrod looked down at the floor. "Audra, I'm so sorry. I wish this could have been done some other way. I did what I could to make sure you were treated well by those guys, and I didn't mean to shove you so hard that day.

"Nick and Heath, I never intended to get you in a dangerous situation. And Mother, I know I put your emotions through a wringer with all this happening to your family.

"I just hope," Jarrod cleared his throat. "I just hope you'll all eventually be able to forgive me." He paused and then looked back at everyone. "Well, if anybody wants to take a swing at me, you're certainly entitled to it. Maybe it'll make both of us feel a little better."

There was a slight pause before Nick rose from the couch and walked toward Jarrod. As he drew closer, Jarrod instinctively stepped back, anticipating Nick's taking him up on his offer. Instead, and much to Jarrod's surprise, Nick took his brother in a tight embrace.

"We're just so glad you're back, Pappy."

Suddenly, they were all gathered around, a sea of smiles, laughter, tears.

"We're so proud of you, Jarrod," Victoria exclaimed. "What you did took a tremendous amount of moral courage."

"I'm just glad to finally be reading good press on you," Audra laughed as she held up a newspaper that chronicled Jarrod's heroics.

"You oughta be an actor," Heath declared. "You had us all fooled!"

"Yeah, and I paid for it!" Jarrod retorted, rubbing the traces of his bruised face. Everyone laughed, including Jarrod, through tears of joy and relief.