"Go tell that long tongued liar. Go and tell that midnight rider. Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter, tell 'em that Gods gonna cut 'em down."  Johnny Cash 'Gods gonna cut ya down'

Jonah sat in the darkness of the cabin, his legs stretched out on the sofa and his hands behind his head. He had a clear view of the door from here and he was waiting on it to swing open.

Joe was lounging at the table, munching on a biscuit she had gotten from her saddlebags earlier in the day. Jonah knew that while she looked relaxed and at ease, she would be ready to fight in an instant if the need arose.

Jonah’s blood was pumping hard as he listened to Scarlett and Harmon speaking outside. His anger grew with every laugh he heard escape that whores mouth.

The door creaked open but Jonah knew that sitting in the dark, Harmon and Scarlett would not see he and Joe.

The sound of a match being struck and then the illumination of the tiny flame filled the cabin and Jonah was able to make out Scarlett, her painted lips teasing the skin of Harmon’s neck as the man lit a lamp beside the door.

Jonah smiled when Harmon’s eyes fell on him and the man made a choking sound as he shoved Scarlett away.

“Hello there, you two. Long time no see. You’re both looking well.” Jonah stated as he sat up on the sofa.

Scarlett gasped and covered her chest with her hand as she turned and her gaze met Jonah’s.

Jonah looked into those big brown eyes and all but snarled as he stood.

“What are you doing in our home?!” Harmon demanded and Jonah saw his hand edge closer to the rifle that had been leaning against the wall.

“I wouldn’t grab that shooter, friend.” Jonah warned with a tiny shake of his head. “I can promise you right now that you won’t have time to fire off a shot before you and your wife are both lying dead.”

Jonah saw Scarlett swallow hard and tears filled her eyes even as Harmon dropped his hand away from the rifle.

“Jonah, I thought you were dead.” Scarlett whispered.

“I think what you mean is that you hoped I was dead.” Jonah countered with a snort. “It didn’t go your way this time, darlin’. You have your own little wanted poster now.”

“She does?” Harmon snapped. Jonah nodded.

“Not just her. You do too.” Jonah reached in his pocket and pulled them out before handing them to Harmon. As Harmon was reading them, Joe cleared her throat from the table, causing Scarlett to jump and turn in her direction.

“You!” Scarlett snarled.

“Well a nice how do you do to you too.” Joe said with a smile. “Ain’t ya gonna bat them purty lashes fer me?”

“Who the hell is that?” Harmon demanded of his wife and Scarlett glared at Joe.

“The reason that bastard is still alive.” she spat. “Joe must have saved him.”

Jonah crossed his arms over his chest as Joe walked over to stand beside him.

“Yep, I did. Me, Bart and Reb. You didn’t think we’d just let y’all set our friend up and then carry on with yer lives did ya?” Joe asked.

“Now we’re taking you both to the authorities so you can pay for your crimes.” Jonah informed them as he grabbed a length of rope from the small table beside the sofa.

“I don’t think you are!” Harmon shot back as he once again reached for his rifle.

“Harmon stop!” Scarlett cried out as she shoved him roughly away from the rifle he’d been trying to grab.

Jonah grumbled as he holstered his revolver. “She just saved you from a bullet to the brain.” Jonah informed the man. “Now I done kicked your ass once, Harmon, and I won’t hesitate to do it again. Get over here and put them hands behind your back so I can tie them up.”

“Scarlett, why don’t ya toss down that derringer ya told us ya always carry in them skirts of your’n.” Joe added with a nod in Scarlett’s direction as she held her revolver on the woman. Scarlett reached into her pocket and Joe clicked her tongue. “Do it real slow like. Of course ya oughta go ahead and try to kill me so as I can just shoot you and get all this over with real quick.”

Jonah ensured the ropes were tight around Harmon’s wrists and then he quickly checked the man for more weapons. He didn’t carry a revolver on his hips but he had a boot knife which Jonah relieved him of.

“You will not tie me up!” Scarlett spat at Joe as took the gun from Scarlett’s hand, tossed it on the sofa and then held up her own bit of rope.

“Yes she will.” Jonah argued. “Trust me you’d rather it was her than me.”

“Jonah, please!” Scarlett begged as she rushed forward and grabbed Jonah by the front of his shirt. Her brown eyes were wide and searching as they looked up at him. “This is all Harmon’s fault. It was all his idea! I had no choice but to go along with him all these years. You have no idea what a monster he is.”

“Why you stupid….” Harmon growled as he stepped forward but Jonah shoved the man backward with one hand, causing him to fall into the arm chair.

“That’s Jonah’s way of askin’ ya to have a seat.” Joe cut in with a chuckle. “Now give me those hands, tramp… I mean, Scarlett. Sorry, I ain’t very good with names.”

Scarlett ignored Joe and continued to grasp Jonah’s shirt and look up at him.

“Please, Jonah… We had something special. I felt it too just the same as you did! I didn’t want to rob that bank! I didn’t want to turn on you but Harmon would have killed me if I hadn’t done as he’d wanted. You have to believe me.”

Jonah sighed and grabbed her wrists with one calloused hand before yanking her hands from his shirt roughly.

“Ow! Jonah, you’re hurting me!” Scarlett whimpered. Jonah didn’t releases his hold on her, instead he gripped her wrists tighter.

“I don’t have to do anything for you, Scarlett. You are a whore. An adulteress. A married woman who lies, cheats and uses men to get what she wants and then smiles at them as they lie on the dirt dying and she rides off into the sunset with her husband. You’ll get no sympathy from me.”

Scarlett began to cry as Jonah yanked her hands behind her back and allowed Joe to tie her wrists tightly.

“Where are you taking us?” Harmon asked as Joe and Jonah led them out the door and back into the darkness outside.

“To hell.” Joe replied gruffly and Jonah found himself chuckling at the look of horror that Scarlett and Harmon shared.

To Jonah’s surprise Bart and Reb were waiting beside Harmon and Scarlett’s cart with Joe and Jonah’s horses from the woods.

“We followed ‘em back from town.” Reb replied in answer to Jonah’s questioning look. “They really aren’t that bright for hardened bank robbers.”

“You don’t have to be bright when you’re conning mush brained fools like your friend there.” Harmon countered with a haughty sneer and Jonah felt his temper snap.

His fist shot out and caught Harmon hard in the jaw and the man went down without so much as a moan. Becoming just a crumpled heap on the ground.

“Jonah, listen to me, please…!” Scarlett began again as she stepped over her husbands unconscious body.

Jonah’s eyes widened with shock when Joe’s fist came out and caught the woman hard in the temple and she too fell to the ground, landing unconscious on top of her husband.

“Damn, Joe….” Bart mumbled and Joe just shrugged as she adjusted her gun belt on her hips.

“The damn woman was getting on my damned nerves. She was a beggin’ worse than that ol’ hound dog my pa used to have.”

“Well we got ‘em, Jonah.” Reb said with a grin as he patted Jonah on the back. “Now what?”

“Now we take ‘em to Barbadine.” Jonah replied. “And their money.” he added, pointed toward Copper’s saddlebags, in which Joe had stowed the sacks of money they’d found earlier in the day.

“All the way back to Barbadine?!” Reb demanded incredulously. “Why that’ll forever and I reckon we’ve earned at least some of that money!”

“It won’t take any longer than a month and less than that if we catch a train and take it part of the way. We’ll take the quickest route to get there.” Jonah argued. “And nobody deserves that money except the hardworking folks it was stolen from.”

“Well let’s get going then, Deputy Do-Good.” Bart mumbled grumpily. Then he grinned. “Turns out Miss Sara Miller was really a Missus and let’s just say that her husband ain’t none too pleased about that kiss she gave me after our supper.” Bart informed them and Jonah rolled his eyes.

“We’re about done with this and then we can all get back to our lives.” he said, not bothering to add that he had no idea what life he had to get back to. A life of wandering he supposed. A life of living out of saddlebags and taking care of himself. “I’ll sure be glad to get away from y’alls faces for a while.” he added jokingly and he frowned when Joe slammed an unconscious Scarlett’s limp body roughly into the back of the cart with a lot more force than was necessary.

Before he could ask her what was wrong she swung herself up into the saddle of her horse.

“Well come along then, everybody. I ain’t a bit tired and the moon is bright enough to give us a bit of light. Let’s cover some damned miles.” she snapped.

“How we gonna keep them under control all the way to Barbadine?” Bart asked as he climbed into the cart to take the first shift in driving.

Reb chuckled as he reached into his saddlebags and pulled out something wrapped in soft linen. He unwrapped the glass jar full of liquid and his blue eye sparkled with amusement.

“Just pour ya a bit of this on a rag, hold it against their nose real easy like and they’ll sleep like babies fer hours.”

“I still say it’s more fun to just knock ‘em in the head every time they start to moan.” Joe countered and Jonah laughed and tried to catch her eye but she turned her head quickly and seemed to make a point of ignoring him.

Jonah didn’t have time to worry about what was wrong with her. Right now he needed to focus on getting these two back to Barbadine without simply blowing either one of their brains out and winding up a wanted man himself.

***

Scarlett’s head was pounding and her body felt as if it had been beaten with very mean, stick wielding, dwarves as she began to awaken and felt sunlight beating against her eyelids.

Slowly she opened her eyes, just a crack, moaning at the new pain this introduced to her throbbing temples. Harmon was coming to next to her his hands secured behind his back just the same as hers were. Scarlett tried to twist her wrists to free them and nearly cried out in pain. Her wrists were raw and her fingers sticky as if they were covered in blood.

The lurching movement of the wooden cart beneath them told Scarlett that they were on the move and she struggled to remember just what in the hell was going on.

Memories came flooding back.

Jonah was alive. He had lived through being shot in Barbadine and he had come back for revenge. Now she and Harmon were tied up and being taken right back to Barbadine to pay for the crimes they’d committed.

“This is all your fault.” Harmon croaked, his eyes remaining closed.

“How do you have that figured, my darling?” Scarlett hissed. She glanced at the front of the cart as they hit a rock and her aching body was tossed sharply against the rough wooden boards beneath her.

She saw a flash of wild red hair and felt hatred fill her.

Joe Redding.

The source of every problem currently plaguing Scarlett’s life. If not for that bitch, Jonah would be dead. Scarlett had no idea that it was Joe who had actually saved the man. It had been clear to her that Joe was in love with Jonah and given the fact that the two were still riding together after all these months, Scarlett knew they were probably laying together now.

“You turned on me.” Harmon accused and Scarlett rolled her eyes as she looked back at her husband.

“I was trying to save us both. Don’t we have other things to be worried about just now than your pride?” she questioned, her throat and mouth dry and parched. Her tongue felt swollen and her words slurred as she spoke.

“You should have made sure he was dead.”

“I believe you were the one who said there was nothing to worry about and no need to go back to Barbadine.” Scarlett accused. Before Harmon could reply the cart jerked to a stop.

“Damnation, I never realized it was possible to hate something as much as I hate that damned voice of your’n.” Joe exclaimed as she jumped down and came around the cart.

Scarlett scooted her body toward the edge of the wooden cart and pushed her back up against it so she could look the hateful red haired devil in the eyes.

“What in the world did I do to you?” Scarlett demanded. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“Ya cry worse than a damn blubberin’ new born babe.” Joe snapped. “Now hush that mouth ‘fore I have Reb over there give ya bit more of his sleepy juice.”

“Sleepy juice?” Harmon asked with a frown. Joe smiled.

“Yep. I ain’t real sure what it’s called but it knocks you two flat on yer asses for hours.” Harmon and Scarlett shared a look.

“How long have we been tied up?”

“Two days.” Jonah’s voice cut in as he rode up to the cart. “Now shut the hell up or we will knock you out again.”

Scarlett glanced over at Reb and saw the man grinning and holding up a bottle as he sat on his horse.

“He’s enjoyin’ that way too much.” Joe muttered as Reb gave the bottle a little shake. Jonah nodded with agreement.

“Jonah, you don’t have to do this… We’ll give you the money. Just let us go! Don’t turn us in.” Scarlett pleaded.

“We already have your money.” Jonah assured her.

Scarlett’s mind was reeling. She knew she should put on some act… Something that would garner her Jonah’s sympathy and possibly get the man to let her go but she didn’t think it would work.

He seemed determined to see her in prison.

“Fine. We’ll sit here quietly.” Scarlett conceded, shooting a warning glare in Harmon’s direction when he opened his mouth to argue.

“Good. Let’s get moving again then. We can be at the train station sometime tomorrow if we keep going.” Jonah said and Joe nodded and hopped back up in the cart.

“Jonah, I’m hungry and thirsty.” Scarlett whispered quietly. “Do you think we could have something?”

Jonah’s gray eyes were full of so much cold hatred that Scarlett swallowed hard and pushed her body tighter against the side of the cart. Instead of replying he simply urged Copper forward and left her sitting there staring at his back.

Who in the hell was that? It certainly wasn’t the man she had fooled just a few short months ago. This was someone else. Someone dangerous. Someone hard. Someone she and Harmon would never have thought about using.

“How are we going to get out of this, dear heart?” Harmon whispered as he positioned himself beside her. Scarlett looked at him with true fear.

“I have no idea.”