Scarcely two hours later, six determined men rode out of town with a single purpose in mind.
Chris Larabee led the group, forcing himself to keep an tight rein on his need to race ahead to save his little sister. He knew that when the time came, he would need all the back-up these men would provide.
One of the many things out of the ordinary on this ride was the fact that Buck had chosen to ride at Chris' left, a position Vin normally occupied. With thoughts much akin to Larabee's running through his head, he remembered Julian as a young girl back in Illinois. She had been the child everyone referred to as "energetic". Julian was into everything; running, riding, even learning to shoot with her brother and his best friend. Chris and Julian's parents had taken her behavior in stride, proud of the way their eldest child watched out for the 'baby' of the family. The idyllic home life was one that he had pretended he was a part of, one he could escape to when his real home, a brothel, was 'occupied' for the night. A home that never failed to welcome him into it, with people that didn't care if Buck was the son of a prostitute. That was, until the day Mr. and Mrs. Larabee were killed.
Buck remembered that day well. The trio had been out riding that day with Julian sitting in front of Chris holding the reins. By the time they had returned in the late afternoon, they found their parents were gone. Chris had thought they had gone into town for supplies. The next morning, however, brought news of the fatal carriage accident. Julian, barely seven at the time, was sent east to live with a distant relative neither Julian nor Chris had ever met. The courts deciding that her brother wasn't an "appropriate role model for a young lady". Twenty-one year old Chris tried to fight it, but to no avail. Heartbroken, he was forced to send her back East, away from all she knew and loved. Within a year, Julian was living in some boarding school and Chris had moved west with his new wife.
The day that he went with Chris to put her on the train East was the last day Buck had seen Julian. He had almost forgotten about the girl after so many years. Chris never brought her up in conversation and Buck, being who he was, never talked about her either. 'Must be around thirteen years now.' he thought. And then, about two weeks ago, Chris told him about a letter he had just gotten telling him that Julian was coming out west to see her brother. Now, just days later, that same girl he had shown how to load a rifle and went skinny dipping with, was in the hands of those outlaws.
After laying days in a comatose state, Ezra found himself unable to rest. The pain that had invaded his body during waking hours now invaded his dreams as well. Whenever his eyelids drooped close, all he could see was the body of the dead man wearing glasses and the young girl that kept him alive for those few days after he'd been dumped in the cell.
No, he corrected himself, she was no young girl. Even in his semi-conscious state Ezra had noticed her various charms. He was a man, after all. And she was a beautiful, fully grown woman who tended him with true compassion. During those fevered hours, she cradled his aching head in her lap, mopping his forehead with the little cool water she'd been given, trying to comfort him to the best of her ability.
On the third day of his captivity, Ezra had finally been well enough to talk to the girl. But, instead of learning what he could about her, he was forced to witness the terrible things that their captors committed against the defenseless girl. The southerner was beside himself at his inability to do anything to save her from the hell she was now enduring. Remembering those horrid moments brought a cold resolve to his heart. For perhaps the first time since he met Chris Larabee, he truly understood the vengeance that Chris so desperately sought.