Ezra dared not show his elation that help was on the way. After the scare he had gotten when he thought he witnessed JD going over the cliff, he was nervous about any further stalls and trying to hide his shaking hands. Ezra prayed once the men had the money, they would leave JD and him alone, even though he was not sure Wolff would be satisfied with that. His Jaguar was parked behind the cars of the other men; Ezra contemplated getting JD inside his car and escaping.

The lock popped open and the three men were occupied oohing and awing over the money.

"Did you ever see so much money, Curt?" Cousin Luke, of the missing teeth said as he greedily lifted a few piles. Mort was also sifting through the piles as well as Curt.

"One million, as you requested, Wolff," Ezra said.

Curt shifted his eyes to Ezra and the other briefcase. "Open it."

Ezra moved to hand the key to Curt and then move towards the cabin door until Mort noticed and pointed his gun at him. "Stop right there."

The second briefcase revealed the rest of the money and once again greed was reflected in the eyes of the three men.

Satisfied Ezra had kept his word, Wolff turned slowly towards him. "This almost makes up for all the grief you caused me, Standish. Almost."

Ezra heard the malice in Wolff's voice and could only pray Wolff wouldn't want to add murder to his other crimes. "Put the money in my car," Wolff ordered Luke and Mort. Wolff didn't even try to hide his hatred as he looked at Ezra. "I had a neat little setup in Vegas; and you were the one who fingered me. You, Standish. Known for your greed and good taste. And now you get a new family and you've gone soft."

"Caring about someone doesn't make you soft, Wolff," Ezra retorted. "Maybe you don't feel the same way about your brothers the way I do mine." Ezra stood his ground even as Wolff advanced menacingly towards him, acting like his name.

Ezra wanted to keep Wolff's attention off JD; keep stalling and give the others a chance to arrive.

"You shoudda seen your eyes when you thought Luke tossed baby brother off the cliff," Wolff said, his voice deceptively soft. "It almost made me cry. I almost believe you would rather go over yourself than to see him harmed. You. Ezra Standish. The most selfish man I've ever known."

Unnerved, Ezra kept his eyes on Curt. He had been badly shaken when it looked like JD had been killed. The thought of his sweet JD falling and falling . . . and Ezra jerked his thoughts away from the frightening image.

Curt noticed.

"I kept my end of the bargain," Ezra said as he put on his most persuasive tone. "Let us go. Let JD go. He can't possibly harm you."

"No, he's broken," Curt said softly backing Ezra towards the edge of the cliff. "And I want you broken, too."

Ezra had known all along that Curt wouldn't be satisfied with just the money. The flicker of hope that JD may be allowed to leave had died once he saw that JD was unresponsive. He had hoped for causing a diversion, letting JD escape.

Luke and Mort were watching maliciously as Curt slowly backed Ezra closer to the edge.

TBC