A/N

A huge thank you to lacryma, your support and detailed reviews mean the world to me. I know this series wasn't popular and I'm very grateful to anyone that reads and overjoyed to the point of being a huge spazz if anyone reviews. Thank you to bess too, I would have thanked your personally but since you aren't signed up on FF I can't send you a note. I'm glad you liked the Joey and Ella picture though and I'm really flattered you decided to read my story, thank you :) I hope to hear from you again.

Well the end is near, it will be around 61-65 chapters until it's completed and I'm really going to miss this story. I've had a lot of fun writing about Joey and he has become one of my favourite characters even though I'll never fully understand him haha

Enjoy

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Joey left the room in a bloody state, knowing that no one would bat an eye to the fact that a cheap whore was dead. He opened the door and came face to face with a familiar man. John Wesley Hardin studied him a moment with his sharp, cruel eyes.

"Well if it ain't the Garza pup!" His words were unfriendly but his tone betrayed that he was pleasantly surprised at seeing the young killer before him. "I can't say I expected to see you in a place like this, you here with your little lady?" He peered into the room behind Joey. His eyes widened at the bloody scene that met his gaze and his brows knitted together in high annoyance. "You didn't kill her did ya?" His voice rose a little, betraying a hint of displeasure and shock.

Joey gave a casual glance over his shoulder. "No," he said simply, "it is just a whore." His voice expressed no more meaning than if he had been dully commenting upon the weather.

"You've made quite a mess," Hardin said with a laugh, "she not your type?" He squinted at Joey, enjoying his light teasing.

Joey glanced up at him with cool eyes, their depths clearly stating this old man's questioning was beginning to irritate him. "No."

"Well, she must've angered you bad for you to want to kill her like that, mind you women are wicked little creatures, some of 'em just deserve it." His eyes glazed over with memory and he smiled. "They sure do." He stood for a moment lost in thought, blocking Joey's way before he came back to himself. "So, where is your little lady? If yer done with her I'll take her off yer hands, took a shine to her look in Crow Town." Despite the fun he knew he could have in revealing all he really knew, Hardin was a gentleman of his word and would keep his Diamond's secret until it no longer benefited him, besides he enjoyed knowing something the Garza boy didn't about his woman.

"I left her out in the desert." Joey's voice was bored.

"Well, that wa'nt very gentlemanly of ya," Hardin said, chuckling. "You get bored of her?"

Joey gave him a lazy glance that plainly stated he would not answer that question and that Hardin was beginning to push his luck too far. "Mox Mox found her but Woodrow Call saved her." He shrugged.

"Mox Mox? He's dead; I saw his frozen corpse a few days ago on my way here." He paused.

Joey already knew this, that the Manburner was dead. He knew the effects of gunshots, studied them and the Manburner had been lung shot. Not many survived that.

"You know I should be mad at you pup, you're the reason I had to up and leave Crow Town!" His eyes sparkled a little. "Your mother took all the whores outta that place, can't say I like that woman much but she got spirit I'll give her that." He giggled. "But I can't stay where there ain't no whores, I was just starting to like that place." He clicked his tongue in over dramatic annoyance.

Joey gave him another cold glance but remained silent.

"I should be mad but I ain't, as I said you remind me of myself boy." He pursed his lips. "What are you doin' out here anyway? Thought you'd be after the next train comin' on through."

Joey again gave him a steely look and said nothing in reply; he was becoming tired of this old killer and his constant chatter.

"Never were big on talk were you?" Hardin said with a low laugh.

Joey placed his hat upon his head and made to walk past the older man, his actions firmly stating the conversation was over.

"Say…" Hardin said, making Joey stop once again. "Humor me; I bought you plenty of whiskey back in Crow Town."

Joey closed his eyes, trying to push back the anger and annoyance that was beginning to bubble inside him because this man was delaying him from where he wanted to be, waiting for Call. Why he gave Hardin the leeway to behave this way was a puzzlement to him, perhaps in some small way Joey held a speck of respect for this old man, a killer for many years and still standing.

"That little lady of yours, you shot her husband I heard."

Joey's cruel gaze looked into Hardin's face as if judging him, weighing him up somehow that made Hardin feel slightly uncomfortable. Few men had ever made John Wesley Hardin feel this way and as he looked into the young boy's eyes he felt the skin upon the back of his neck crawl at the empty bleakness they seemed to possess in their blue depths. There was no fun of youth, no excitement of life, no spark of what the future could hold… there was nothing.

"Si," Joey replied simply.

"Did you do that 'cause of her or 'cause you didn't like the man?" He licked his lips, enjoying the game. "You can tell me, killer's code ya know," he winked

Joey cast his cold gaze across the man fully, his look stating that he was trying to decide if the man before him was a fool or just crazy. Seeming to decide upon the latter he looked him squarely in the eye.

"The man was Dave Ruddabaugh… he wanted my train."

"Ruddabaugh huh!" Hardin exclaimed. "I met him once, he was irritating!" He paused as Joey made to leave once again. "But you didn't answer my question, see if it were me I'd have killed him just to get her, she is a sweet, fresh pretty thing ain't she?" He winked. "Something about her that makes men like us want some of what she's got." He gave a gruff laugh.

Joey swung back around, his blue eyes suddenly awakened out of their coldness and burning with dangerous icy fire. Hardin looked into his face, detecting the slight hardness of his jaw, a tightness of his lips. The boy was not easy to read, he normally hid his emotions well but not this time, Hardin could read him easily, the pup knew about Diamond's past and by the looks of things he hadn't been too pleased to hear any of it, so that was the reason he left her. Hardin knew Joey was now trying to decide if he was letting on more than he was saying, whether he too had once been in the girl's embrace, but Hardin would never tell, he liked to think of himself as a gentleman after all, even in it wasn't true.

Joey regained himself, reeling back the anger, deciding that John Wesley Hardin really would have to be insane to try and rile him; the old killer knew more than most what Joey was capable of.

"Si," Joey said finally, "I killed him for both reasons." He looked down at the floor before meeting Hardin's gaze again, a small smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth, giving him a cold, callous look. "I like to take things that are not mine." Without another word Joey left Hardin in the hallway.

Hardin watched after the boy for a moment before letting a gruff chuckle escape him, he had told Ella and he had been right, but she never had really listened to his advice unless he forced her. That young boy was dangerous; Hardin knew it and could see his soul was damaged beyond repair. A dark sickness ate away at him from inside, it would consume him until nothing was left but a hollow empty shell that could only feel any small spark from killing over and over, he'd seen the type before and they never lasted long, always ended up dead from the sheer need to quell that dull, unrelenting need. Still, he felt a small unpleasant tug in his gut at the knowledge that the girl wouldn't survive. He'd had a soft spot for Diamond Stella for many years and his memories of her were warm and fond. But he knew that life always dealt you fair cards in accordance to the company you kept and Hardin knew if she didn't get away from that young bandit, somewhere he couldn't find her, the Garza boy would kill her…

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Ella awoke to a warm winter's day; the sun was already creeping through the shutters. She stretched and gave a loud yawn before pulling herself into a sitting position. Her attention was caught by a slumbering figure sat in the corner, his chin rested upon his chest as he dozed. Ella gave a small laugh at his sweetness; it touched her that Doc hadn't wanted to leave her side. He had said the previous night that he was worried that she wasn't fully well and would stay until she fell asleep, it seemed his own tiredness had caught up to him quickly and he hadn't made it to his own bed.

Ella watched him sleep for a moment and smiled. She had forgotten just how much his mere presence made her smile, how safe she felt when she was with him, and she had to admit that the small spark was still there, flickering somewhere inside of her, perhaps it had been waiting for him to return and rekindle it fully… It was true that the feeling wasn't as powerful as what she felt for Joey, the love she had for Joey was all consuming, destructive and painful, while the love she hoped she could feel for Doc was warm, kind and welcoming. It promised a future, a home, happiness and a family. The temptations were hard to not pay attention to and his sweet words still rang in her mind, his soft voice speaking gently of how he would always love her…

She considered whether this was her true path, she knew that she would always ache for Joey, that she would never stop wanting him even if she wanted to do so, it was a addiction she would never escape from but she could now clearly see how it had no future, only fleeting moments, and she would be left with nothing but bitter memories. With Doc there could be so much more and she felt more certain by the minute that it would be quite easy to fall in love with him, he would make it easy and in her heart she wanted it, wanted him.

Doc stirred, suddenly shaking Ella from her thoughts. His steel blue eyes fixed upon her as he became fully awake.

"Mornin'" he said with a warm grin that seemed to light her very heart.

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Joey had found he had no reason to rush back, Call stayed in town for two more days. It was just as Joey had assumed, the old man was not up to long journeys and it had left him needing rest. Joey found that his annoyance grew daily that he had to wait for such a long amount of time; it seemed that Call kept disappointing him. In Joey's mind Call was meant to be his great adversary, the man that could beat him but wouldn't because Joey knew no one could… but this Texas Ranger was old and incapable of even shooting seven men from a good vantage point, he had been nothing but a disappointment, but then it also seemed no one else knew all these facts, not yet anyway. If Joey killed him quickly he would go down as the great bandit who had killed the famous Woodrow Call, this appealed to him greatly and so he stuck by his plan and allowed the trains he would normally be stopping to slip from his mind.

On the third day Joey looked through his telescope towards the town as he had done for the past two days, he felt his skin prickle with excitement as his gaze rested upon Call's ambling form. From the way he moved Joey could tell he had some kind of problem with his limbs, they were stiff and it took some time for the muscles to warm up, an old man in Ojinaga had suffered from the same affliction and it always grew worse In colder weather. It seemed the ranger had recovered and would be riding out that day, Joey was glad, he was tired of waiting. His patience was long and he could wait for many hours or even days to get what he wished, but he was also young and the impatience of youth tugged uncomfortably at him in such situations.

Call was walking with a blonde haired gringo woman, she was pretty but had a roughness about her that Joey instantly disliked, she seemed almost uncouth in her movements and manners. Joey watched them both with interest. Perhaps this woman was the Captain's woman, he considered trying to kidnap and kill her in the same way he had killed Bentio, and, allowing her to crawl back to Call, he would make sure the old man found her body - or perhaps he could silently slip into the town during the night and slit her throat in a similar manner to the whore he had killed a few nights ago. The thoughts were appealing but a wise voice warned him not to discount Call yet, he may seem old but there was an air about him, an aura that spoke of danger, knowledge and experience. He would wait for his time and then Joey would take it, he knew he would bring an end to this old man's life, he felt no impatience for it to be done, he only felt a slight flurry of excitement.

Joey really wanted to travel back to Ojinaga and finish the task he had set himself, so that he could finally be free. After he had done that he would kill the rest of Call's posse and he knew he would take some pleasure in killing the shaggy blonde haired man…

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It did not take Call long to sort his belongings and mount his horse. Joey watched his departure with surprise, not at how adept and quick the man was getting his gear together but for the fact that Call was talking to the gringo woman at length, it seemed he was arguing with her. Finally Call seemed to win and the woman stormed off back in the direction of the hotel. Joey watched as Call mounted his horse and then he too got into his saddle and made ready to follow the old Texas Ranger. Joey could normally read people well, perhaps not as well as John Wesley Hardin, who seemed to have a gift for such things, but he was good at guessing people's emotions if they were strong and he had gotten the impression that Call was not too attached to that woman he had left back at in the town, but then many men acted such a way to their sweethearts or wives… Joey supposed he would never learn the truth, but of course he didn't really care.

Call rode for the whole day until his horse began to slow to a leisurely trot. He chose a small thicket of trees and brush to make camp. Joey dismounted a good way from him and watched him again as he made a fire and cooked a meal. After watching the old ranger for a little while Joey rode back the way he had come for a short distance and found himself a good place to make camp, he would rise before dawn and tomorrow would be the day the old man would die, the plan was already forming fully within his mind. Perhaps it was rather a crude old Apache trick and he supposed many rangers would not be fooled by it but Joey was aware the old man's eyes were failing him and it gave him the upper hand. He knew he could have thought of a better a way, a way that would need much planning and thinking, but Joey did not feel he had the time, he did not want to linger longer than he had to, he felt he had more important business to attend to. He mulled over the ideas in his head as he ate some bread and dried beef. If Ella had gone back to Ojinaga, which Joey believed would be the truth, then all he would have to do was wait and watch, she would be at his mother's house, he knew his mother would have taken her back in, whores always stuck together… Ella would be helping with chores as she always did to earn her keep and Joey could easily sneak into the village unseen, he could take her while she was hanging out washing, gathering food or many other small things… he liked this idea and smiled smugly to himself. Then once he had her he would bind and gag her and take her up to his cave, it would be awkward to lug another person up there but he knew he could do the task, if she made it hard he would beat her until she did as she was bidden.

She would see his best kept secret, all his treasures within, things that many men searched and longed for, he could see her awe struck face in his mind's eye and smiled again. But the main question still stood, how would he kill her once he had her? He could easily recall her face, her features and her expressions, he had to admit that she was beautiful, her eyes in particular. He liked the way they seemed to change colour from a deep, dark brown when she was sorrowful to a light dancing brown when she was pleased or happy. It only seemed right that he should kill her in his cave, she was a treasure just like any other after all, he'd taken her by force from her previous owner whether she knew this fact or not, he had planned for her to come to him, he supposed if she hadn't come willingly he would have taken her anyway, he was used to getting what he wanted…

Perhaps he would wrap her in the beautiful cream silk sheets he had stored for something special, she could stay in his cave as one of his pretty trinkets until he no longer wished her to be there, until he tired of looking at her or decay ate away her beauty. He could throw her off the cliff near his cave then, where he would one day soon also throw Teresa and Rafael to their deaths…

He couldn't decide on the method to bring an end to the young girl's life but he kept hoping it would come to him. He had thought of choking her, breaking her neck with his foot, a strong stamp would create the desired effect. He could slit her throat or slide his knife under one of her main arteries and pull sharply until it was severed and the blood poured in gushing torrents until she was empty… but nothing felt right, nothing seemed good enough. He supposed once he had her in his cave he would know…