Ethan and Grayson rode into Devils Fork around midnight and led their horses to the stable. Ethan knew it was only a few more hours of riding until he reached his father's hideout at the old fort and if they kept riding they'd get there at dawn. Ethan wanted to have the cover of darkness when he rode in so they were going to stay here in Devil's Fork until dark fell the next day and then make their way to the fort.

"You better take good care of my Annabelle." Grayson said to the young stable hand. "She'll tell me if you don't, kid, and then there will be hell to pay."

"Yeah, mister, sure. I'll take care of your horse." The boy said. Grayson puffed up angrily.

"Her names Annabelle, dammit." he bellowed. The stable hand looked over at Ethan to see if this man was serious but Ethan just shrugged and threw his saddlebags and the pelts he'd collected over the last two days over his shoulder.

"Sure mister. I'll take care of Annabelle." the boy said. Grayson grabbed his own saddlebags and glared at the boy.

"And mind how you rub her down boy! I'm a jealous man." he said and before the boy could respond to this Grayson turned and walked out of the stable.

"Is he serious, mister?" the boy asked Ethan. Ethan shrugged.

"Just don't rub his horse the wrong way and I guess we won't have to find out." he replied and followed Grayson out the door. They took their stuff to the hotel and Grayson rented both of them a room on the second floor. Ethan didn't like the first floor because it was too easy for outlaws to come through the windows and he didn't want the third floor because you couldn't jump out the window if somebody came through your door.

"I don't know about you, kid, but I'm feeling a bit thirsty." Grayson said. Ethan nodded. He'd made some money over the last two weeks by shooting coyotes and deer and selling their pelts in towns when they stopped. He had some more to sell but the general store was closed till morning.

"Sure I could use a drink." Ethan replied. He pulled his bandana off his neck and tied it around his face so all that was visible beneath his hat were his eyes.

"What the hell you doing, kid?" Grayson asked with a laugh.

"Might be some folks around here that would recognize me." Ethan replied. "Folks that would be real surprised to see me looking so healthy."

"Alive you mean." Grayson countered. Ethan shrugged.

"I figure it's better if I make myself a little harder to recognize." Grayson nodded and the two men walked down the dusty road to the saloon. They ordered two whiskeys and then walked to a back corner where the shadows were dark enough Ethan could pull his bandana down without fear of being recognized.

They sat there in silence for a long while scanning the saloon and Ethan's eyes fell on four men he recognized. Dusty, Zachary, Pete and Freddy, his fathers men. Men that had helped his father hold him, Caroline and Jasmine. Men that had stood by and laughed as his father had forced Caroline to shoot him and then stood by and allowed him to kill little Jasmine anyway. In Ethan's mind they were men that deserved to die.

"Mitchell wants all of us to meet up at the fort tomorrow. Tommy and Blue are already out there with him along with Franks and Doomer. Mitchell says he's got a job for us up in Pikes Basin. They got a new bank and their sheriff is real green." Dusty said.

"Sounds good to me. I've about went through my earnings from the last job." Pete said before letting out a loud belch.

"He should be easier to be around now that Ethan is dead. Won't be so much tension." Zachary agreed.

"And seeing as how Mitchell finally killed that brown haired bitch he was so hung up on we won't have that to worry about either." Dusty added. Pete looked surprised as he held up his empty glass and signaled for a saloon girl to bring him another.

"Did he finally kill that whore?" he asked. Ethan was staring hard at the men and his heart was lying in pieces right next to his worn out boots on the dusty saloon floor. Caroline could not be dead. If she was dead then his life was over. The thought of holding her in his arms again was the only thing keeping his head on straight. If she was gone then he didn't have any reason to fight the darkness inside of him.

"They talking about your woman?" Grayson whispered. Ethan nodded slowly.

"I was over at the fort the other day and didn't see no sign of her anywhere and usually he parades her around like a damned trophy. I noticed the last time I saw her about a week ago that she looked like she'd had the hell beat out of her. I'm sure by now he'd have gotten tired of her and finally killed her off." Dusty replied.

"You think he really killed your woman?" Grayson whispered. Ethan couldn't form a response. His brain seemed to have shut down all except for the part that controlled his trigger finger. Without a word of warning Ethan stood and pulled his revolver, firing two shots straight into the hearts of Pete and Zachary who fell to the ground dead.

Dusty yelled and he and Freddy jumped to their feet and tipped the table over so they could take cover behind it. Ethan fired two more shots into the wooden table and heard Freddy yell in pain as one of the bullets went through.

"Who the hell are you?" Dusty yelled as he fired a blind shot in Ethan's direction. Everyone else in the saloon quickly cleared out except for Grayson who was ducked down in the corner.

"You know who the hell I am. Now stand up and face me like a man, you son of a bitch." Ethan replied calmly.

"Ethan is that you?" Dusty asked as he stood up straight. "I thought you were dead! Surely you ain't gonna kill me. We was friends." he said holstering his gun. Dusty knew Ethan didn't kill men who wouldn't draw on him… Then again Pete and Zachary were lying dead on the floor and Freddy was quickly bleeding to death from the hole in his gut so maybe Pete shouldn't have put his gun away so quickly.

"Yeah, we was friends." Ethan replied and then he fired a single shot into Pete's head.

"Damn kid. You are good." Grayson said walking over. Ethan didn't reply. Instead he walked around the table to where Freddy was lying in a pool of his own blood.

"Hey there, Freddy. How long has it been since you all stood around and watched me be executed after we'd rode together for ten years?" Freddy's eyes widened as he looked up at Ethan. Ethan kicked Freddy's gun away from him when he saw his bloody hand reaching for it.

"You're dead, Ethan. We all saw her shoot you." Freddy said his voice weak and wet sounding as the blood gathered in his lungs.

"Guess you're fixing to get killed by a dead man then aren't you?" Ethan asked.

"Don't kill me, Ethan I never did nothing to that girl. Help me get to the doc"

"There ain't no help for you, Freddy. You're dead with or without another bullet from me." Ethan replied.

"Dammit Ethan! Are you a ghost or something?"

"Yea that's exactly what I am." Ethan replied as he holstered his revolver. Truthfully he was a ghost. Now that he knew Caroline was dead he was just a ghost of a man with nothing to live for other than revenge. Ethan walked away from Freddy and Grayson followed quickly behind him.

"Kill me, Ethan! Don't let me die slow!" Freddy yelled. Ethan stopped. He figured he owed it to Freddy to kill him quickly since they had been friends years ago. He pulled his gun, fired one quick shot into Freddy's head and then continued on his way.

"Do you think your woman is really dead?" Grayson asked as they walked into the hotel. Ethan nodded.

"My father wouldn't have kept her alive forever. If they said she's dead then I ain't got no choice but to believe it." Ethan replied in a voice that was so cold and empty it made Grayson shiver.

"I'm sorry, kid." he replied.

"Tomorrow morning I'm riding to the fort. I'll wear the bandana, hide my face, change my voice and tell him I'm there to join up with him. Once I'm inside I'll kill that son of a bitch once and for all."

"You'll need help." Grayson replied. "Them men said your pa's got four other men with him. I know you're good with them guns you got but a little back up never hurt nobody."

"I don't want nobody else getting killed for me, Grayson. I ain't got no plans of living past tomorrow and I don't rightly care just as long my father don't live past tomorrow either."

"That ain't no way to talk, kid. You gotta have something in life to live for." Grayson scolded. Ethan shook his head.

"Not without her. She's the one damn person in my entire life that ever called me a good man. She trusted me and I let her down. Without her I ain't got nothing." The two men stood in the hallway in silence for several long minutes before finally Grayson spoke up.

"I'm riding with you, kid. I don't know nothing about good men and bad men. I think we all got a little of both in us. But I know that anybody that can kill that pretty little girl I buried nearly a month ago don't deserve to be breathing the same air as the rest of us." Ethan nodded.

"Alright then. Get some sleep. We'll leave first thing in the morning." They shook hands as if sealing their fate and then they both went into their separate rooms to toss and turn until morning. Both of them knowing they probably wouldn't live through the next day.

888

"Mitchell Thompson! We're interested in a job!" Grayson hollered out. It was around noon the next day and he and Ethan were sitting on their horses outside the fort. They had agreed to let Grayson do the talking figuring that even if Ethan tried to change his voice his father would recognize it.

"Mitchell's busy right now. What can I do for you men?" Franks asked looking through a tiny hole in the big wooden door of the fort.

"Well we heard some men talking in Devils Fork last night and they were saying that Mitchell Thompson was out here and looking for men to go work a job with him." Grayson replied.

"Yea and where are these men you heard talking now?" Franks asked.

"I'm afraid they're dead. They ran their mouths to the wrong bunch of fellas and got their heads blown clean off." Grayson replied as he patted Annabelle's neck.

"Shit." Franks muttered. He moved away from the door and Ethan and Grayson looked at each other and shrugged. Ethan had plenty of dynamite in his saddlebags to toss over the wall if they weren't allowed into the fort. It was several long minutes before Franks came back.

"Alright I'm opening up. But I want you boys to know that there are two other men out here with me that are armed and ready to blow you both sky high if you try anything funny." he warned.

"We ain't here to try nothing funny. We just want to make some damn money." Grayson replied. The doors were swung open wide and Grayson and Ethan rode slowly into the fort. Ethan looked around as Franks closed the door behind them.

He knew this fort like the back of his hand. It was small and there was only three buildings inside. One was a bunkhouse where the men stayed, one was a barn and the other was made of adobe bricks and this was where Mitchell stayed. Franks, Tommy and Blue walked around to stand in front of Ethan and Grayson.

"Jump down off those horses, boys." Franks said and Ethan and Grayson did.

"Her names Annabelle." Grayson muttered under his breath. Franks ignored him and turned his attention to Ethan.

"You got something to hide, friend? Take that bandana off your face." he said. Ethan shook his head and took a wide legged stance while crossing his arms over his chest.

"You ain't in no position to tell me no." Franks said angrily.

"He ain't gonna tell you nothing." Grayson cut in. "He can't talk. He don't take that bandana off because to tell you the truth his damn face is a mess. He ran into some trouble in a saloon a few years back and took a bottle across the face. Messed him up pretty bad. It ain't a pretty sight."

"I don't like it.. I wanna see your face." Franks said stepping toward him. Ethan thought he was going to have to shoot Franks, which he didn't want to do just yet because he didn't even know where his father was but just then Mitchell walked out of the big brick building.

"Leave him be, Franks. Probably doing us a favor with that bandana." he ordered. "You look more like a trapper than you do a bank robber, old man." he said to Grayson.

"Names Grayson. I need some cash and I like to kill people. I heard you're a good man to run with if you want to do both." Grayson replied. Mitchell laughed and Ethan felt his hand itching for his revolver. He was about to draw and put a bullet straight through his fathers laughing lips when he heard a familiar voice.

"Dammit, Doomer, you son of a bitch, get your hands off me! I've been walking on my own for damn near twenty years! I think I can handle it!" Caroline yelled angrily. Ethan's head whipped around to look at her and he felt the biggest sense of relief he'd ever felt in his life. Caroline was alive. He relaxed his arm. He couldn't just start a gunfight now. Caroline could be harmed. He would have to take this slow and figure out a way to get her out of here alive.

"You're a mean little bitch." Doomer yelled back. Ethan took time to look at Caroline more closely. She was chained. She had manacles around her wrists and ankles with a short chain connecting them. She was clean and had on a nice green dress. Her dark hair was long and silky down her back. But her face was a mess. She had several small scars on her cheek below her eye and her lips were busted open where someone's fist had struck them. Her bare arms were covered in bruises and he could see several bruises on her soft neck as well. He felt his blood boiling. His father would pay for each of those bruises with blood.

"Charming as always Doomer." she said looking over at Ethan and Grayson. Caroline felt a strange sensation come over her when she looked at the one with the bandana on his face. There was something familiar about his posture and the way he stood there staring at her. She couldn't see his eyes clearly because his hat was pulled too low. She realized that he reminded her of Ethan and she nearly let a tear slip down her cheek before blinking it away. Doomer gave a yank on her chain bringing her attention back to him.

"I was just trying to help ya walk in them a chains. You know be a gentleman." Caroline gave a harsh laugh.

"Little late for that, Doomer. Don't ya think?" she asked. Grayson chuckled while Ethan bit back his own laugh. He wasn't supposed to be able to talk, or laugh for that matter. He was happy to see that Caroline's spirit was still strong. She wasn't broken yet. "Why don't you be a real gentleman and let me out of these chains?"

"Hell no, devil woman. The last time I did that you stabbed me in the damn leg with my own damn knife!"

"Ethan was right when he said you were the dumbest son of a bitch on the face of the earth." Caroline replied while throwing her dark hair over her shoulder with a twist of her head.

"Yes but Ethan was wrong when he thought he could trust you wasn't he, little Caroline." Mitchell asked coldly. Ethan saw and recognized each emotion as it crossed Caroline's face. He hadn't seen her in nearly a month but he could still read her like a book. First there was guilt and then pain and then rage and she launched herself at Mitchell with a scream. Mitchell laughed as he caught her by her hair and held her at arms length.

"God, I love you, little Caroline. I'm keeping you forever my dear." he said. Caroline glared at him and then spit in his face. He slapped her face sharply and Ethan barely managed to contain his rage and keep his hand away from his gun. He didn't' want to risk Caroline's life. Now that he knew she was alive he wanted to get her out of here and take her back to Missouri like he'd promised. He wanted to build her that farm house in the country and grow old as her husband….. He wouldn't live long enough to get her out of this fort if he drew his revolver now.

"Say hello to our new friends, Caroline. This is Grayson and uh…" Mitchell pointed at Ethan and looked over at Grayson.

"Uh… I don't rightly no seeing as how he can't talk and can't write. I just call him Kid and he answers to it." Grayson said.

"Say hello, Caroline." Mitchell said again. Caroline curled her nose and looked at both the men.

"Hello Grayson. Hello Kid. Welcome to our humble abode. We hope you'll be happy here and on a side note I hope you both take a bullet in your asses and can't sit properly in your saddles for a month." Mitchell laughed.

"Isn't she the greatest. Full of fire this one. She's mine though. Off limits to both of you." he said giving both of the new men a firm glare. They both nodded though Grayson's seemed more heartfelt. Grayson knew this was Ethan's woman and he had no desire to piss Ethan off. Besides he was a one woman man and he done had Annabelle. He couldn't risk her getting jealous and turning her back on him.

"All right boys. Doomer, you take little Caroline for her walk. Franks, Tommy and Blue, take the new guys and show them the bunks. We're leaving in the morning. Dinner is at five." With that Mitchell walked back into the big brick building.

"Bring your horses over here." Franks said leading both men over to a small barn. "You can put em inside and give em some oats and hay." All five men walked into the barn and Ethan and Grayson quickly put their horses up.

"Get ya some rest, old girl. I know it ain't as nice a place as the one at home but please don't get too cross with me. I love ya, dear." Grayson said to Annabelle and then walked out of the barn. Franks raised his brow as he looked at Ethan.

"Does he always talk to his horse like that?" he asked. Ethan nodded.

"Is he crazy or something?" Blue asked. Ethan nodded again.

"Great. Just great. We got a damn retard and a crazy person riding with us now. Hopefully you're both good enough with a gun it'll be worth the trouble." Franks said and the three men left the barn.