FULL CIRCLE
JD nearly whooped. Instead, he just grinned. The increase in gunfire told JD that the rest of the Seven were back in town. "Chris' here." He nearly sagged against the wall in relief.
Billy's eyes lit up. As did Mrs. Potter's. They had faith in their peace keepers, and now wasn't the exception.
JD grinned at their exuberant expressions, then frowned, glancing out the windows once more before making up his mind. He needed to get out there and help. He couldn't just hide in the Potter's store!
Jeb fired, again and again, but somehow neither the demon horse nor its devil master went down. So he turned and ran.
JD nearly collided head first with Josiah and Mary as they painfully made their way into the store. He took one look at the older man's arm and pulled them into the safety of the Potter's store. He knew Mrs. Potter had medical supplies. He glanced at the editor. "Miz Travis, I gotta. . . ."
Mary nodded. "Go."
JD smiled, then pressed one of his guns into her hand. He couldn't leave them there without any defense. "Use it if you have to," he ordered, then was gone.
Josiah grinned fiercely as Mary Travis fussed over his wounds, a gun in her hand. He had no doubt she'd use it; ah, she was as much one to ride the river with as the boy who'd become such a promising man.
'God, watch over John Dunne,' he prayed. 'And all of my brothers.' His eyes took in Mrs. Travis, her head bowed over his arm, her golden hair all loose from the attack, her clothing rumpled and torn, yet she was every inch the lady, ready to kill to protect them and her son.
'God bless her, Lord, and protect her from the evil that has besieged us.'
As Mary found a cloth and wiped blood from his face and head with one tender hand, Josiah thought that Brother Chris had two women to steer by now. One was this golden woman, with the light about her face. She'd brought them all together with her courage, and he knew they all considered her theirs in a way, just as knights of old might be sworn to a lady. And this gracious lady gave life, encouraged then, tended them, drove them crazy on
occasion, and prayed for them. She was an inspiration to them all. The time might not be right for them to come together, but he knew that Larabee loved her and she loved him, even if they never spoke of it.
He sighed and Mary smiled at him. Then there was The Other, the bitch, as dark with hatred as Mary Travis was alight with life and hope. Ella's so-called love for the dark gunman was a cruel corrupting influence that had nearly taken them all down. In a way, Mary had given them life as a gift, life in a brotherhood of protection for one small town. But Ella's desire for Larabee brought death. One light lady, one dark woman - he couldn't call her a lady, although he usually had great respect for women. No, he couldn't call Ella, who had killed an innocent and loving woman and child and destroyed Chris Larabee, he couldn't call her a lady. She wasn't even worthy to be called woman, for she was a destroyer.
He wanted to rush into the street, but Buck had taught him better. Speaking of Buck. . . where was he? JD peaked over the barrels, following the bandits' gunfire. There! His eyes widened. "Buck! Behind you!" Close enough to see, too far away to shoot! Goddamnit! He ran anyway, desperate to save his friend.
"You ain't listening to me, are you, God?"
The attackers were everywhere! Like swarms of flies, they were everywhere! Breaking windows, shooting at everything that moved.
Where the hell was JD?
And Josiah?
Before he could look for his missing friends, Buck saw two of the assailants heading for him. Buck clenched his teeth as he dove from his horse, catching one of the attackers by the shoulders. He could have sworn he felt the air move as Ezra went flying at the other one.
'Damn gambler's as bad as JD! Thinks he can fly!'
Buck slugged the one nearest him. "Where's JD and Josiah?"
"I. . .," Ezra lashed out with his foot, "have no idea, Mr. Wilmington!" One last punch sent his attacker down. Just as he turned his attention to the newspaper office where the center of the altercation appeared to be, Ezra heard JD's yell.
"Buck! Behind you!"
The warning came almost too late.
Buck whirled, bringing his arms up, hissing as the knife slashed through skin and muscle. His attacker raised the blade again, aiming for his heart.
Hearing the call, Ezra immediately whipped around, triggering his sleeve gun as he moved. Upon seeing Buck under attack by knife, Ezra did not hesitate to finish the attacker by gun. One shot was all that was required.
Buck grinned through the pain. He had never been so glad to see the conman in all of his life. "Thanks, pard."
"Any time, Mr. Wilmington. Any time." Ezra touched his two fingers to his hat brim in the salute that was particularly his and once again turned towards the Clarion's offices. He identified Chris and Vin but didn't immediately see Nathan, JD or Josiah. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a glint of metal just as he heard the sound of a gun shot.
JD sagged against a post in relief. Thank God for Ezra!
Ooooff!
The tracker dispatched his current attacker with ease, then glanced up. What he saw chilled him to the bone. 'Shit!' He'd never run so fast.
He saw her.
In the midst of the violent chaos, he'd spotted her.
Nathan glanced up, then he ran faster than he had ever run in his life. Launching himself at JD, he prayed that he wasn't too late. He knew he wasn't when he felt the bullet embed itself in his shoulder. He gritted his teeth against the pain.
Pain exploded in his side as a heavy body slammed into his. JD rolled, untangling himself, then raising his gun. He stopped cold when he realized who it was. "Nathan?" Then he saw the red stain that was growing on Nathan's shirt. He immediately tore his shirt sleeve off, pressing it against Nathan's shoulder. "What the hell was that?"
Nathan's teeth were still clenched as he spoke. "Some jackass was about to shoot ya in the back." 'Lord, if we lost JD, Buck wouldn't be far behind and that just 'bout kill Chris. I had no choice but to git him fore he got JD.'
JD smiled his thanks even as he tightened the makeshift bandage on the healer's shoulder. He thought it funny, him, doctorin' the doctor. When he said so, Nathan laughed. JD grinned. Even in the midst of battle, they could laugh. It didn't get any better than this!
"Mary, prop me up against the window," Josiah ordered, even as he grunted in pain.
Mary only spared him a glance before once again tightening the bandage on his left arm. "Why? Josiah, you're not in any condition to help them right now."
Josiah glared at her. "I can't just sit here! I can't even see what's going on out there!"
Mary sighed, then nodded. Long seconds later, Josiah was in a safe vantage spot.
He nodded his thanks, his face grim. "You best get back to your boy."
She nodded and squeezed his arm in thanks. Gaining her feet, she quickly made it to the door. Pausing to determine the best route, her eyes widened in surprise as they fell on a form slipping into the alley across the street. "You."
The hissed word made Josiah's eyebrows jerk up in surprise. Then, before he could say a word, Mary was off like a shot - JD's gun in hand.
He could only watch as the battle continued to rage outside his window. He hefted his gun, bracing it against the window frame. It wasn't his gun hand, but it would do.
Now more than ever.
Two men were creeping up behind JD and Nathan.
He didn't have time to stop both.
'Oh, Lord,' he prayed silently. 'Help an old man to protect your children.'
Buck raised his head, glancing towards JD's direction. His eyes widened in alarm. But before he could utter a warning, Nathan was there, tackling JD out of harm's way.
"Guess I was wrong. Thank you, God!"
From where he was, he could only tell that they were both alive. He sighed in relief. That was good enough for him. Buck glanced at Standish. Following the gambler's line of sight, Buck tensed when he saw what he was aiming at.
"Ezra, no!"
But it was too late, Ezra had already fired.
From where he was, Buck had seen Josiah behind the glint of gunmetal. He sighed in relief when he heard Josiah's disgruntled voice.
"Jesus, Ezra! Tryin' to kill me, son?"
Trotting up to the window, Ezra stared at the would-be killer he had just downed to make sure he was dead. Assured that the outlaw no longer posed a threat, he looked back at the Josiah. "Mr. Sanchez, my apologies."
"Never mind!" Josiah pointed with the muzzle of his gun.
Ezra looked and immediately saw what had Josiah so concerned. He indicated with his own gun which of the two outlaws should be handled by Josiah and which by himself. With a last, "And I am not your son," thrown over his shoulder, the conman went to the aid of his beleaguered colleagues. The dropping of two bodies made the southerner smile.
JD and Nathan spun at the body landing at their feet.
Another followed a second later.
JD jumped as the body fell next to him. He snapped his gun up, only to find Ezra on the other end of it. His eyes widened when he realized that Ezra and Josiah had taken out two more. With a smile and a nod of thanks, he turned back to Nathan. It really was nice to have friends like these.
Nathan looked at the bodies, then at JD. Shaking his head, he thought, 'Thank the Lord for brothers with good aim.'
They smiled and nodded their thanks to the gambler and preacher.
Josiah knew that if he lived through this little dust-up, he'd ache like an old man come morning. He glanced over at the gambler. Man had been shooting with the best of them and not a hair was out of place. He looked more like an illustration from Godey's than a ten cent novel's hero and Josiah's heart warmed.
"Thanks, son," he muttered and grinned when he heard their gambler say, "I am still not your son, Mr. Sanchez."
Ezra's smile disappeared the moment he turned his attention back to Chris and Vin. For the first time he identified the female Chris was addressing. "What wind of Satan returned that bedlamite to our town?" Knowing that there was nothing he could do to aid Chris at this point, Ezra concentrated on making sure that his leader's back was covered -- by covering Vin's back.
For a minute he could do nothing but stare at her in mute astonishment. After so long, there she was; the person responsible for changing the course of his life with a spark of a match. She looked exactly as she did the last time they had encountered each other, when she had proudly told him what she had done in the name of her insane love for him. Even now, he still had trouble believing any of it could be possible, that a woman's love could have twisted her sanity enough to make her believe the murder of a mother and child was a necessary sacrifice to acquire him.
A kaleidoscope of images, ranging from his youth with Ella to the life he shared with Sarah and Adam followed with the noise of fire and the scream of a child burning alive, cascaded through Chris' mind. Snapping out of his immobility, time, which had crawled until now, started moving again. With a rage he did not think possible even after all that had transpired
because of this woman and further intensified by everything she had put Mary and Billy
through, Chris opened his mouth and screamed her name like a wolf howling at the moon.
"Ella!" Chris roared the word over the gunfire.
The brunette froze. Then turned.
Chris stood behind her, pistol aimed at her heart, ready to shoot, ready to split her black heart open because she deserved nothing less. She was not going to escape him, not this time, not ever again. She had already taken one family he loved away from him, he was never giving her the chance to do it again.
"Chris," she said one hand out in front of her, trying to appease. "I only did it for you. Everything was for you!"
"No." He shook his head, his eyes almost black from hatred as he answered coldly. "You did it for a lot of reasons Ella but it was never about me. What you think you know about me isn't real! It's some goddamn fantasy cooked up by your insane mind! Do you seriously look in the mirror and think that I could love something like you? You're not fit to be loved Ella. You're fit to be put out of your misery the way you'd shoot a rabid dog!" He was vicious but intentionally so, if it was possible to make her suffer even for a second, then he would take the opportunity because nothing he did to her could possibly compare to what she had done to him when she murdered his wife and child.
"But, I did it so we could be together! Don't you want us to be together?"
His smile was colder than ice. "I'd rather put a bullet in my head before I ever lower myself to you. Face it Ella, the reason I never married you is because you're nothing but a whore and I'm too good for you." He made that last remark with a little smile and cocked his gun, perfectly happy to kill her with those words being her last memory.
Her eyes slid past him.
A sound behind him.
Chris spun.
