Hawke awoke before dawn the next morning and slipped silently out of the bed without waking Lily. He pulled on his clothes and strapped on his knives before walking out of the bedroom. His footsteps did not make a sound as he went into Jacks room and stood over the boys bed.

He clamped his hand over Jacks' mouth and Jacks eyes flew open and in the blink of an eye the barrel of his revolver was pressed into Hawke's temple. Hawke nodded approvingly and Jack rolled his eyes and sat his gun back down on the bed when he recognized him. Hawke removed his hand and Jack sat up quickly.

"What was that all about?" Jack demanded. Hawke narrowed his eyes.

"Quiet." he said. "We don't want to wake the ladies." Jack looked out the window and saw that it was still dark.

"What are you doing?" he whispered much more quietly.

"I am going to go kill Nathan. He is arriving today and I am going to be waiting at his home. I am taking Wolf with me and you are to stay here at the cabin and look out for the woman." Jack just nodded. He had known since the day he had arrived that this day was coming. There were some things that a man just could not forgive another man for and he reckoned that Nathan had crossed that line with Hawke.

"You can count on me, Hawke." he replied. Hawke nodded.

"I know I can." Without another word Hawke turned and left the room. Jack never heard a single sound to signal that Hawke had left the cabin but when he rose from his bed and looked out the window he could see the man slipping silently into the woods with Wolf right beside him.

888

The smell of dead livestock hung heavy in the air around the cabin and Wolf looked around warily. Hawke walked into the cabin and Wolf stopped in the doorway and whined.

"Wolf, come." Hawke said sternly and Wolf only hesitated a second longer before walking into the cabin. Hawke walked to the kitchen table where Nathan's coffee still sat cold and forgotten in its stained ceramic cup. Hawke felt his blood boil anew as fresh anger surged through his veins at the sight of the dried black stain on the wooden floor beside the table.

An image of Lily covered in blood and half dead while she lay curled up in the bed the day Nathan had left flashed through his mind and he clenched his fists. He sat down at the table and prepared himself for the long wait.

888

It was around noon when the stage finally pulled into Great Valley Nathan stepped down onto the boardwalk and stretched out his legs. He thought momentarily about going to the café in town for some lunch but it had been one long month since he had felt Lily's soft body beneath his own and he was eager to get home and have her in their bed.

He was about to walk down to the livery, where he had left his horse stabled while he had been gone when a voice called out behind him.

"Nathan." Nathan turned and saw the stage office owner Percy Jenkins motioning for him. Nathan forced a smile onto his face and walked over.

"What do you need Percy? I'm eager to get home to my wife." Percy nodded.

"I was wanting to talk to you about your wife." Nathan felt his defenses raise.

"What about her?" he asked. Percy motioned for Nathan to follow him inside and he did.

"I hate to have to be the one to tell you this but your wife is not at home" Percy said while fighting to hide his satisfied smirk. He had finally found a way to put that stupid savage Hawke in his place.

"Where is she?" Nathan demanded. He felt a moment of panic and wondered if maybe he had beaten her too hard the last time and had killed her.

"You asked for it to happen really." Percy said shuffling some papers on his desk. "I mean leaving that lawless savage to look out for her."

"Hawke? What did he do?" Nathan asked as anger began to set in. He would kill that good for nothing animal if he harmed a single hair on Lily's ignorant head. Percy shook his head sadly.

"He stole your woman, friend." he replied. "She's been living with him since you left and he's even had her dressed up like a savage." Nathan saw red.

"Living with him?" he yelled as spit flew from his lips. Percy was taken aback for a moment at the transformation that had come over the mans face. Gone was the boyish looking good natured man. His face was now contorted and ugly with rage.

"I just thought you had a right to know." Percy said matter of factly. Nathan did not say another word to Percy before he turned and stormed from the stage office. How could his wife and his friend do this to him? Of course he should not be surprised. He should have known better than to trust a savage and a slut. He would teach them what happened when you betrayed Nathan Yeary. No one who had done so in the past had lived to talk about it.

"I need a gun." Nathan snapped as he walked into the gunsmith shop. The store keep nodded.

"Revolver or rifle?" he asked.

"That one." Nathan said pointing to a large six shooter hanging on the wall.

"This here's a .45 long Colt. It's a good gun for bears." he said pulling the gun down from the wall. Nathan tested the weight of the gun in his hands and smiled.

"This will be perfect." he said.

"Do you need ammo as well?" Nathan nodded and paid the man for both before walking from the shop. He took the time to load the gun and then stuck it in the waistband of his black traveling suit pants and walked to the livery to get his horse.

He would ride to Hawke's cabin and he would make both of them pay for the betrayal and the humiliation they had caused him… Everyone in town was probably laughing about the fact that Lily had left him for someone no better than an animal. Once Nathan was done with Lily and Hawke today, he would be the only one laughing.

888

"I never knew a gun had so many parts." Allie said as Jack took his gun apart so he could clean it thoroughly.

"Come sit next to me doll and I'll tell you what they all are." he replied, smiling broadly and patting the seat next to him at the table. Allie looked over at Lily who nodded and laughed lightly.

"Go ahead." she said. "I think I can handle baking the pies by myself." Allie wiped her hands on her apron and sat down next to Jack. Lily looked over at her sister and Jack and smiled. They really were a cute couple. Both of them animated and full of life.

Her mind turned to Hawke and then to Nathan and suddenly her good mood was gone. Why hadn't they heard from Nathan yet? The silence was making Hawke even more protective than usual and he hadn't even taken Jack hunting because he had wanted Jack to stay at the cabin and keep an eye on her and Allie. Lily laid her hand on her belly and tried to focus only on positive thoughts instead of negative.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and Lily wondered who could be here. Hawke did not get many visitors. She wiped her hands on her apron and walked toward the door.

"Lily wait….." Jack started but it was too late. Lily threw him a questioning look as she swung open the door. She let out a scream when she recognized Nathan's angry face and then her world went black as she felt something hard crash against her temple.

Jack and Allie both jumped up from the table as Nathan stuck his gun back in the waistband of his pants and looked down at his wife's crumpled form lying at his feet.

"Lily!" Allie screamed as she started around the table.

"Allie no!" Jack yelled and he tried to grab her arm but she twisted out of his grasp and dropped to her knees beside of her sister.

"Lily wake up. Lily!" she exclaimed while shaking her older sister gently.

"I believe she's asleep, little Allie." Nathan said with a sneer. He reached down and grabbed her by her upper arm squeezing tightly and sending pain shooting down to her fingers. "I've been wanting to get my hands on you for months." he added.

"Nathan." Allie gasped, her eyes widening with horror. Jack looked down at his gun lying useless and disassembled on the table and then back at Allie and Nathan.

"Let go of her." Jack said trying to keep the panic that he was feeling out of his voice. Nathan turned Allie in his arms and pressed her back against his chest while closing one big hand around her throat. Allie's dark eyes locked with Jack's and pleaded with him to save her as he looked on helplessly.

"No I think I will take her and my good for nothing wife with me." Nathan replied with a cold smile that did not reach his eyes. "Too bad Hawke isn't here. I guess I'll just have to settle for stealing Lily back.. Make sure to let him know that I am going to kill her VERY slowly for letting him touch her."

"You're not taking either one of them anywhere." Jack replied taking a step toward him. Nathan used his free hand to pull a knife from a hook on his belt and he pressed the cold steel blade against Allie's pale cheek, freezing Jack in his tracks.

"Don't hurt her." he pleaded.

"Jack, help me." Allie begged as large tear drops fell silently from her big eyes.

"Please don't hurt her." Jack begged again as tears of helplessness filled his own eyes.

Nathan grinned an evil grin and pressed the knife blade harder into Allie's cheek causing her to scream with pain and fear as blood trickled down her face.

"It will be so much fun to kill you and I cannot think of a better way to make your slut of a sister pay for her unfaithfulness." Jack saw red at the sight of Allie's blood. He did not even have time to think about what he was doing as he launched himself across the table.

Nathan dropped the knife and pulled his gun. The sound of the shot mingled with Allie's screams as they both filled the cabin. The force of the bullet knocked Jack backward and he struck his head hard on the corner of the table before falling unconscious to the floor.

"Jack!" Allie screamed and she struggled to get out of Nathan's vice like grip.

"Shut-up." Nathan spat as he pressed the gun against her temple. Allie bit her lip to keep from crying out in fear. "Now be a good little girl and I might let you and your sister live just a little longer."

"Where are you taking us?" Allie asked, closing her eyes so she could no longer see the blood covering Jack's shirt.

"We're going back into town and taking a stage out of Great Valley."

"You'll never get Lily away from Hawke." Allie said much more bravely then she felt. "He will hunt you down and slit your throat while you're sleeping."

"Tsk. Tsk. Such ugly words out of such a pretty girl. It won't do him any good to come after your sister if she is already dead and if you keep talking I will kill her. Now it looks like I'll have to carry her fat worthless ass out of here because of course she is being lazy and won't wake up." Allie realized in that moment that not only was Nathan mean but he seemed to be a little crazy.

"You better follow me like a good girl, Allie, or I swear to you I will stick my knife straight into your sister's black heart. Do you understand?" Allie nodded quickly and prayed that Hawke would come back and save them before it was too late for her and Lily. She tried to not even think about Jack as Nathan led her away with Lily in his arms.