It was getting late and the saloon was emptying out. The only ones left were the Seven, who were seated at the corner table quietly sipping their whiskey and talking amongst themselves. Chris and Vin had just returned from escorting a prisoner to Ridge City to stand trial for murder and were relieved to finally be back home after having been gone over a week.
"So how was your trip? Must have gone okay since you made it back earlier than you thought ya would," Buck commented as he finished off the whiskey in his glass and reached for the bottle to pour himself another.
"Quiet. Never even met anyone else on the trail," Chris answered, leaning back in his chair wearily. "I think everyone's staying near shelter because of the weather. It's been way too calm for this time of year and everybody's expectin' a big storm to hit any time."
"So how were things here? Anything we should know about?" Vin asked, glancing around the table at the others.
Buck leaned back in his chair and looked thoughtful. "Well, let's see... Nathan set Mr. Anderson's broken arm after his wife threw a fryin' pan at him... she caught him drinkin' behind the barn again." Everyone shared a quiet laugh over that one. Poor Mr. Anderson could hardly breathe without his wife getting madder than a wet hen over it.
"Couple of little brawls here and there, but nothin' too serious. That's about it." Buck shrugged and glanced at the others to see if they had anything to add.
JD glanced over at Ezra who was quietly sipping his whiskey. "Well... Ezra did have a little trouble with a card sharp."
Chris and Vin looked at Ezra expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate.
Ezra frowned at JD and shook his head slightly. "It was nothin' I assure you, gentlemen. The miscreant was cheating, I politely pointed that fact out to him and he returned my money and left."
JD scowled at him and then spoke to Chris. "Yeah, he left all right. After threatening to 'get' Ezra for accusing him of cheating. And he sure looked like he meant it, too."
"I gotta admit Ezra, I agree with JD. That man was definitely a mite upset with you," Buck added, glancing at the gambler. "And he was big, Chris. Taller'n me n' three times as heavy. I wouldn't want to mess with him. Good thing Ezra keeps that derringer up his sleeve or things could've gotten nasty."
"He was all bluff, I assure you." Ezra drained the last of the whiskey from his glass and stood up. "Well, since none of you gentlemen are in the mood for a game, I think I will retire to my room early for a change."
"Early?" Nathan looked at the gambler in surprise. "Heck, Ezra, it's almost two o'clock."
"I know, Mr. Jackson. Much earlier than my usual bedtime." Ezra smiled slightly at Nathan, retrieved his coat and hat from the back of the chair and headed for the stairs.
Chris watched Ezra climb the stairs to his room over the saloon and then spoke to the others quietly. "You sure this incident with Ezra and that card sharp is over or should we be expectin' trouble?"
Buck and JD shared a thoughtful look and then Buck said, "I don't rightly know, Chris. He sure was mad, and if he did come back for him and caught him off guard, he'd probably wipe the floor with him. Hell, he made about four of Ezra. One of the biggest men I've ever seen. And mean lookin', too. There was just somethin' about his eyes... gave me the shivers."
JD nodded in agreement. "He sure looked serious when he said he was gonna get Ezra, too. I think maybe we should all kinda watch his back, at least for a little while."
"You might be right, JD. We'll have to make sure one of us sticks close to him for the next week or so, just to be on the safe side," Chris said as he headed for the door. "He'll be all right for tonight but whoever's here first in the morning, make sure you keep an eye on him when he comes down. We'll work out some kind of schedule tomorrow, but for God's sake, don't tell Ezra. You know how he'd react to being babysat."
"Brother Ezra would definitely not take kindly to the notion that he needed looked after," Josiah agreed as they all headed home to get some sleep.
Ezra walked slowly down the hall to his room. He noticed that two of the lamps had not been lit that evening, leaving the hall shrouded in darkness. He shook his head as he fumbled in the dark for the doorknob. I'll have to speak to someone about that in the morning, he thought to himself. He turned the knob and just as he started to push the door open, he sensed someone moving toward him out of the shadows. He glanced up, but before he could react he was shoved hard from behind, propelling him through the door and into his room. Ezra had left a lamp burning on the night table beside his bed and caught a glimpse of the huge man he had caught cheating at poker a few days before... just before the man's fist connected with a devastating blow to the gambler's jaw. Ezra was thrown back into the arms of the man who had shoved him and was lowered, unconscious, to the floor.
"Not quite so high and mighty now, are you Mr. Standish," said the rough looking man who had pushed Ezra into the room. He swiftly removed all of the gambler's weapons and personal belongings, including the money he found stuffed in his left boot. This was his payment for helping the card sharp. 'Not bad for just a half-hour's work' he thought as he slipped Ezra's ruby ring and the roll of bills into his pocket. Not bad at all.
The large man bent down and easily picked Ezra's limp body up, slinging him over his shoulder. Then they hurried down the back stairs of the saloon to the alley where two horses were saddled and ready to go. Ezra was lifted into the saddle of one of the horses and tied securely in place.
The huge man struggled onto his horse and then looked down at his accomplice who handed him the reins to Ezra's mount.
"Do you need me for anything else, Mr. Parker?" The smaller man looked around nervously, wanting to leave before they were spotted.
"No, you can go, Randall. Just make sure you show up at the cabin in two days like we planned, or I will come looking for you." The other man nodded and ran off down the alley. Then Parker looked back at Ezra's still unconscious form and smiled. This young man was definitely going to regret crossing Robert T. Parker. He laughed quietly and led the horses behind the buildings to the edge of town, urging them into a gallop as they reached the open road heading west.
It had begun to rain sometime during the night and was still coming down fairly heavy when Buck made his way to the saloon shortly after seven the next morning.
"Whooee, it's nasty out there," he announced as he entered the saloon. Shaking the water off his hat, he walked toward the table where Nathan and Josiah already sat enjoying their breakfast.
"I know. It's turnin' colder, too." Nathan commented as he looked up at Buck. "Bet this is gonna turn to snow any time now."
"Wouldn't be surprised," Buck took a seat at the table and poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot sitting there.
"Well, it had to turn sooner or later, it is February after all," Josiah slid his now empty cup over for Buck to refill.
Buck turned back from giving the barmaid his order and nodded at Josiah, "I reckon that's so, but it sure wouldn't have hurt my feelings none if it had just stayed warm all winter."
The three men spent the remainder of the morning in the saloon playing cards and talking. There wasn't much else to do on such a miserable day. Hell, even the usual assortment of drunks weren't venturing out in this weather.
Chris and Vin wandered in around noon, having finished their patrol. Removing their rain gear, they headed over to the table where Nathan, Josiah and Buck were still whiling away their time playing poker.
"Pretty quiet in here today," Chris commented as he sat down, poured himself a glass of whiskey and passed the bottle to Vin.
"Been like that all mornin'," Buck responded. "Not many folks wanna come out in this rain."
Vin glanced around the bar and frowned. "Ezra been down yet?"
"Naw, but he should be comin' down soon. This is about the time he usually drags his butt out of bed." Buck threw his cards down in disgust and glared at Josiah. "Playin' you is gettin' to be almost as bad as playin' Ezra."
"Why thank you, Buck. I'll take that as a compliment." The preacher shot his friends a satisfied grin as he added the pot to his growing pile of winnings.
"Maybe you oughta go check on Ezra, Buck," Chris suggested, glancing up the stairs.
"Oh, no... not me! Disturbin' Ezra before he's ready to get up can be a downright dangerous thing to do," Buck answered, shaking his head. "He's meaner than a grizzly if he's... "
Buck stopped as JD came running through the doors and hurried over to the others. He was dripping water on everyone, but was too agitated to notice.
"I think we got trouble. Look at this," he announced as he handed Chris a wanted poster. "I was over at the telegraph talkin' to Jimmy, and this just came in."
Chris glanced at the poster. "Yeah, so who's this?"
Buck leaned over and took the poster from Chris then swore softly, "Damn... "
Chris and Vin looked at him, waiting for an explanation. "Well, who is he?"
"It's that card sharp Ezra had trouble with. Says here his name is Robert Parker and he's wanted for the kidnapping and murder of ten people in four different states." Buck read further and his face paled. "It says he beat and tortured them for weeks before he finally killed 'em."
The six men looked at each other nervously. Chris rose and headed up the stairs to Ezra's room, the others right behind him. They all froze when they reached his room and saw the door hanging open.
"Damn it!" Chris exclaimed bitterly when they entered the room and noticed Ezra's bed, which obviously hadn't been slept in... and his coat and hat lying in a heap on the floor. Vin took one look and pushed past the others to race down the back stairs. He was standing in the rain, staring intently at the ground and scowling when the others emerged from the saloon.
"Nothin'. Damn rain's washed any tracks that were here away." Vin walked back and forth in the alley trying to find some clue, anything which would tell them what direction to start looking.
The others looked at Chris and shivered involuntarily at the look in his eyes. "I should've set up a watch over him last night," the man in black said angrily.
"Well, heck Chris, even Ezra didn't take this guy seriously," Buck said, trying to ease the guilt he saw growing in Chris' eyes... the same guilt that he knew each one of them was feeling.
"Ezra wouldn't've told us even if he was worried," Nathan said, glancing at Vin as he walked up shaking his head.
"No sign of 'im at all. Now what are we gonna do?" he asked, looking worriedly at Chris.
"We start searching. We'll fan out and cover the area around Four Corners first. Stop at every farm or ranch you come to and ask everyone you meet if they've seen him. If we don't get any sign of him that way, we'll have to start checking the other towns," Chris ordered as he looked at each of his men. "And if you do hear anything, get the rest of us before you take off after 'im. One person going in alone would probably just get himself and Ezra killed. We'll meet back here before dark."
Everyone headed to the livery to saddle their horses. Chris put a hand out and stopped JD as he turned to go. "JD, I want you to stay here in town."
"Stay here?! Why do I... " JD started to protest but Chris stopped him.
"Now listen. We need someone here in case Ezra is able to make it back. And besides, you can hit all the houses and stores in town. Ask everyone if they've seen him and have them keep a look out for him or that Parker fella."
Chris noticed JD's dejected but resigned look. "And if this doesn't work and we have to start hitting the other towns, I'll have someone else stay here and you can go."
JD looked at Chris for a minute then nodded. "All right. I guess someone needs to be here, but I sure wish it wasn't me." He started toward Mrs. Potter's store then stopped and looked back at the gunslinger. "I sure hope you find him, Chris... before that guy has a chance to do anything to 'im."
Chris just nodded and headed for the livery. He knew the same thing was running through all their minds... the words from the wanted poster. Beaten and tortured for weeks. How long did they have before it would be too late for Ezra?
Ezra regained his senses gradually. He felt the first drops of rain hit his face and stirred slightly. Then the movement of his horse and the sensation of being cold entered his subconscious. Slowly he raised himself into a sitting position and blearily looked around. He saw the huge form of Parker on the horse in front of him; he had the reins and was ponying Ezra's horse. The gambler started to speak but the pain that shot through his jaw when he opened his mouth caused him to close it again quickly. He tried to raise his hands to his face, but found they were bound to the saddle horn. Ezra tugged, testing the bindings but was unable to move them at all. In fact, they were so tight he was beginning to lose the feeling in his hands all together. The weather had worsened considerably in just the short time Ezra had been conscious. The rain was coming down much harder, plastering his hair to his head and thoroughly soaking his clothes. On top of that, the wind was really starting to pick up. The gambler began to shiver uncontrollably as the cold seeped into his bones.
Parker glanced back and saw Ezra was awake. The big man slowed his horse and drew Ezra's up beside him. He could see the gambler shivering and smiled at the pain and anger he saw in the green eyes that glared back at him. "Enjoying this fine weather, Mr. Standish?" Ezra merely stared at him, the pain in his jaw keeping him from responding with the biting retort that was on the tip of his tongue. "What's the matter, jaw a little sore?"
Suddenly the larger man's hand shot out and grabbed Ezra's face in a powerful grip, forcing an involuntary groan of pain from the smaller man. Ezra gripped the saddle horn with numb fingers and tried to ignore the waves of agony washing over him. Parker released him with a vicious shove, causing the conman's head to whip back and wrenching another small moan from his lips. Ezra fought to stay awake but the pain and the cold combined to pull him back into the blackness and he slumped once more over his horse.
Parker stared at the unconscious man and laughed, enjoying his misery. "That's right, rest while you can Mr. Standish. You're going to need all your strength soon. This is only a small taste of what I have planned for you."
After checking to make sure Ezra was still tied securely to the saddle, he urged the horses into a gallop. He was anxious to get to the cabin he'd prepared and get the game he had planned for his prisoner underway.
JD had gone to every store and house in town with no luck. No one had seen either Ezra or the man in the wanted poster. He headed slowly back to the saloon, trying desperately to think of somewhere else he could look, anything else he could do to help find him. He was really worried about the gambler and hated not knowing if he was all right or not. There was only about another hour of daylight left... maybe one of the others would return with some good news. Or better yet, with Ezra himself.
Vin was about a mile from Four Corners when he heard someone riding up hard behind him. He pulled his horse to a stop and waited for Chris to catch up, hoping the gunslinger had some news about Ezra's whereabouts. Vin himself had found absolutely nothing... no tracks, no clues, nothing. It was as if Ezra and Parker had vanished into thin air. And he could see by Chris' face that he hadn't fared any better. Chris looked expectantly at Vin as he rode up, but the bounty hunter merely shook his head.
"Damn... " The gunslinger swore softly, looking away. The guilt was eating at him, and he knew he was going to have a hard time dealing with it if they didn't find Ezra in time.
Vin knew what his friend was feeling because the same guilt was gnawing at him. If it was any one of them but Ezra they probably would have posted a guard on them last night. But the conman was so damned independent you tended to forget he could be vulnerable, too. And now he was probably in some serious trouble with no one to back him up.
"We'll find 'im, Chris. Somebody has to have seen or heard somethin'. Maybe the others had better luck," Vin said, trying to reassure the gunslinger... and himself.
Chris looked at the tracker, started to say something but then only nodded and spurred his horse toward town. Vin followed behind, eager to get to the saloon and see what the others had found out.
Buck, Josiah and Nathan had all made it back to town within a few minutes of each other. JD was waiting for them in the saloon and each time one of them entered he looked up hopefully, only to be disappointed once more. They were all sitting around their usual table when Chris and Vin came in. No one had to ask... the looks on their faces said it all. They grabbed a couple of glasses and another bottle of whiskey from the bar and joined the other men. Everyone stared morosely at Ezra's conspicuously empty chair.
"What are we gonna do now?" JD sounded near tears. He had become really fond of Ezra over the last few months. The gambler had shown him a lot of patience... more than any of the others, even Buck. He was always willing to listen and usually took the time to help try and solve his problems. He couldn't believe there was nothing they could do to help him when he needed it. "Who knows what that guy is doing to him! We can't just sit here!"
"JD, there isn't much we can do right now. We're just gonna have to hope Ezra makes it through the night okay, and we'll get back out there lookin' tomorrow. We're not givin' up on 'im." Buck assured the younger man.
"That's right," Chris said, his voice hard as steel. "We won't quit until we find him and bring him home." The gunslinger didn't say it, but everyone was thinking the same thing. They were all praying they would be bringing him home alive.
Ezra was still unconscious when Parker led the horses out of the trees and into a clearing where a small dilapidated cabin stood. He dismounted, tethered the horses to the porch rail and approached Ezra's still form with a large knife in his hand. He reached out and quickly severed the ropes holding the gambler in the saddle, then gave him a shove that sent the smaller man tumbling to the ground. The impact brought Ezra around with a jolt. Before he could figure out what was going on, Parker had grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and jerked him to his feet. Ezra staggered, trying to stay upright, but the long cold ride coupled with the tight ropes had left his legs almost completely numb and he started to sink once more to the ground.
"Fine my friend, we'll do this the hard way." The huge man tightened his grip on Ezra's collar and dragged him painfully up the steps and into the cabin. Realizing for the first time that his hands were now free, Ezra reached up and tried to break the big man's hold on his shirt. Parker, who was still holding the knife he'd used to cut Ezra's bonds, reached up and plunged the knife into the smaller man's arm just above the elbow. Ezra gasped and would have fallen if Parker hadn't still had a grip on his shirt. The card sharp wrenched the blade out and releasing his hold on Ezra's collar, grabbed his injured arm instead. The gambler was forced to his knees by the pain and by the pressure Parker was exerting on his arm.
"Hold still while I bandage this," Parker ordered. "Can't have you bleeding to death on me... not yet anyway." He cut away part of Ezra's sleeve and wrapped it tightly around the wound, eliciting a satisfying moan from the southerner and causing his vision to dim.
"Why... are you doin' this...?" Ezra mumbled, wincing at the pain in his jaw. "You cheated me... remember?"
Parker released Ezra and let him slump to the floor. "That's right, I did. And if you were smart, you would have kept your mouth shut about it and cut your losses. I can't have people standing up to me like that, it'll ruin my reputation."
Ezra looked up at the huge man in defiance. "The only reputation you seem to have... is as a cheater... and a bad one at that."
Parker roared in anger and wrapped his hands around Ezra's throat. He smiled grimly at the look of fear in the gambler's eyes and squeezed tighter. Ezra's vision dimmed and his last conscious thought was that he was going to have to learn when to keep his mouth shut.
The card sharp felt the smaller man go limp and immediately released his hold on him. He checked to make sure he was still breathing, tied Ezra's hands behind him and tossed him onto a cot in the corner of the room. Then he left the cabin to take care of the horses, mumbling to himself as he went. "I'm going to have to control my temper, or this little game will be over much sooner than I'd hoped."
The six men met back in the saloon at dawn to make their plans and grab some breakfast. It was obvious by their weary faces that none of them had slept. Between worrying about Ezra and the noise from the escalating storm, sleep was pretty much impossible.
"So what's the plan for today?" Buck asked as he stared at his plate. He managed a few bites and then dropped his fork on the table. "Guess I'm just not hungry this mornin'."
The others did the same and looked at Chris expectantly, waiting for his orders. He stared back at them, not really sure what they should do. "Well, what do you all think? Should we spend time hitting all the other towns, or should we keep concentrating on the area around Four Corners?"
Nathan looked at the others and said, "I can't rightly see him takin' Ezra into one of the towns where someone might recognize 'im."
Vin hesitated to say what he was thinking, but it needed to be brought up. "Besides... if Parker is intendin' to torture 'im... he'd want to get him somewhere secluded, some place where no one could hear what was goin' on."
JD paled and was visibly shaken by the idea of Ezra being tortured by that mountain of a man. Buck, who didn't look much better, put a hand on the boy's shoulder to calm him. "How much searchin' are we gonna be able to get done in this storm? You can't hardly see across the street."
Josiah drained the last of the coffee from his cup. "May not be able to find anything, but we've got to at least give it a try. Ezra's out there somewhere, probably hurting... and as much as he hates this kind of weather himself, you know if it was one of us missing he'd be out there looking too."
They all nodded in agreement. Josiah's words might not have been true in the beginning, but Ezra had definitely changed since joining the group, more than any of the rest of them. He still had a hard time expressing his feelings toward the others, but they all knew how he really felt. He made it quite clear by his actions. After his one mistake at the Seminole village, he had never given them another reason to doubt his loyalty. It hadn't been easy, but he had slowly regained their trust and earned their friendship by always being there when they needed him no matter what. And now Ezra needed them. And there was no way they were going to let him down.
"Okay, we'll keep searching the woods and hills around here for any signs of a trail. Keep an eye out for any old cabins, caves... anyplace Parker might have holed up with Ezra. We'll meet back here before dark. And keep an eye on the weather, if this storm gets much worse I want you all to hightail it back here. Nathan, I want you to stay here and get your supplies ready. When we do find him, he's probably going to be needing some doctoring and I want you here to take care of 'im." Chris looked at each of them, hating to send them out in the storm, but knowing he had no choice. They needed to find Ezra soon... he had a bad feeling time was running out for the gambler.
The rain had changed to snow by morning and it was really starting to pile up. Parker looked out at the swirling flakes and smiled knowing the storm would probably keep Standish's friends from looking for him. Ezra had only woken once briefly during the night. He'd struggled against the ropes that held him and hoarsely uttered a few choice curses at his captor demanding to be released until Parker had angrily rushed at the southerner and backhanded him, slamming his head against the wall and knocking him out.
Parker left the window and went to check on Standish. Seeing he was still unconscious, he decided that now was a good time to get everything ready for the cocky gambler's next lesson in humility. He picked up the satchel he'd brought to the cabin the day before and walked over to the cot. Parker stared at the large dark bruise that ran the length of the man's jaw and the bruises that now ringed his throat and smiled. He raised the smaller man up, untied his hands and removed his vest, suspenders and shirt. The gambler moaned slightly but didn't waken. Then he checked under the bandage on Ezra's arm and saw the wound was red and swollen, but had finally stopped bleeding. After retying the bandage, he opened the satchel. The first thing he removed from the bag was a leather belt that buckled in the back and had two leather handcuffs attached by short bands to its sides. He strapped it around Ezra's waist, placing his wrists in the cuffs and fastening them securely. He could only move his hands a few inches up or down now and would not be able to reach the next piece of specially made equipment Parker pulled from the satchel. It was a wide leather strap with thick padding that he intended to use to blindfold Ezra. When it was fastened in place, it would fit tightly over his eyes blocking out all light. But first he wanted him awake. He wanted to see the look in his eyes just before he put the blindfold on him.
Parker lightly slapped Ezra's face. "Standish! Come on, I need you awake for this."
Ezra stirred slightly and his eyelids fluttered open. He stared up at the man towering over him, trying to remember where he was and what was happening. Parker jerked him into a sitting position and held him there until the gambler seemed to regain his senses. Then he released him and stepped back, watching with a satisfied smirk as Ezra discovered the handcuffs. He jerked on the leather binding his wrists and winced at the pain that shot through his wounded arm. Struggling to rise off the cot, he stopped suddenly when he looked up and saw the card sharp dangling the leather strap in front of him. Swallowing painfully, he whispered, "What, if I may inquire, is that?"
"I just thought you would like to help me conduct a little scientific experiment. I've read that being blind heightens your other senses, so I decided we would put it to the test. This should be fun, don't you think?" Parker stood there for a moment, savoring the glimmer of fear he saw in Ezra's eyes... then he raised the blindfold and moved toward him.
Vin was combing the woods near the foothills west of town. He knew the search was pointless now because the blowing snow was making it pretty much impossible to see, but he just hated to give up. He was the tracker of the group... he should have been able to find some sign of Ezra by now. But he'd found nothing. Vin wasn't used to feeling this helpless and he hated it. Ezra had been right there for him when he had gone after Eli Joe, and he felt like he was letting his friend down now. Vin gazed off into the woods and shook his head wearily. "Damn it Ezra, where the hell are you?" Then he turned and headed reluctantly back to town. If it hadn't been for the snow that had fallen all morning, he would have seen the trail Parker and Ezra had taken through the woods... not more than twenty feet away.
Chris had given up searching and was headed back to town as well. He pulled his coat tighter around himself and thought about Ezra who hated the cold with a passion, out there somewhere without even his jacket. He knew Parker wouldn't care if the gambler froze or not. At the thought of Ezra helpless in the sadistic card sharp's clutches, a fresh wave of guilt washed over Chris. Why the hell hadn't he checked on Ezra sooner or started someone on watch over him the night before? He knew the answer, but just didn't want to admit it to himself... they all tended to leave Ezra alone because it was easier than trying to get close to him. The gambler made it clear that as far as he was concerned, this was just a working relationship... nothing more. But deep down inside, Chris knew Ezra was just afraid to let anyone behind the walls he kept up. He'd spent his whole childhood being shuffled from one unwilling relative to the next while Maude was off running some con. Never having experienced any close friendships as a child had left him totally at a loss as to how to handle them now. Ezra needed to be convinced he was a member of this family that the group was slowly evolving into, and none of them had taken the time or patience to do that. And now maybe it was too late.
Nathan was standing in the window of the saloon watching for some sign of the others. He'd made sure there was coffee and some hot food ready for their return, knowing that after a day riding in this cold they were all going to need it. Lord he hated this waiting! Several of the townspeople had stopped in to see if there was any news about Ezra and to express their concern for his welfare. Even though it would probably surprise Ezra to know it, he had earned the trust and respect of most of the people in Four Corners. They knew he had worked just as hard as the rest of the group to bring about the peace that the town was finally experiencing. Mary Travis had even stopped in offering to have telegrams sent to the neighboring towns asking for any information on the whereabouts of the gambler. Nathan told her they hadn't thought about doing that and that it seemed like a good idea, so she hurried back out and headed down to the telegraph office, wishing there was more she could do but happy to at least be doing something.
Nathan returned to his vigil at the window, straining to see through the heavily falling snow. Shortly after noon, he saw three riders coming down the street. As they rode by headed for the livery, he recognized Buck, Josiah and JD and could tell by the way they were slumped in their saddles that the news wasn't good. 'Well, there's still Chris and Vin out there, maybe they had better luck' he thought as he turned to pour coffee for the three men he knew would soon be headed for the saloon. As he turned, his eyes fell on the table where Ezra should have been seated by now; laughing and beating them all at round after round of poker. He and the gambler had gotten off to a rough start, but after all these months of working together, a mutual respect had developed between them and their feelings of friendship were now slowly growing. Nathan could see how hard Ezra was working to change and appreciated him for the effort he was making. It was too bad that he'd never told the other man just how much.
Ezra watched with dread as Parker approached with the blindfold held out in front of him. His mind was racing, trying to figure a way out of this mess. He tensed his legs as Parker drew closer, knowing he had to try something now because if his captor got that blindfold on him, there would be no chance of escape. When Parker was directly in front of him, Ezra pushed off with his legs and drove his head and shoulder into the larger man, knocking him off balance. Then Ezra whirled and dove through the window onto the porch outside, gasping as shards of glass penetrated his bare skin. He managed to get his feet under him and raced down the steps out into the snow-covered yard. Adrenalin and his desperate will to live were the only things keeping him going as he stumbled toward the cover of the trees. He could hear Parker thundering down the porch steps, shouting for him to stop. Ezra's back tensed as he ran, waiting for the bullet he knew was coming.