Ezra shot to his feet, yelling, “Please excuse me for a moment, gentlemen. This won’t take long.” The seasoned gambler raced to the batwing doors, withdrawing his revolver. All the while he was thinking he didn’t care what it was, nothing was going to see him leave the game. NOTHING! This time, the others would have to deal with whatever disturbance was befalling Four Corners without him. After all, this wasn’t about some game for a trifling amount of money - or even a game for a hell of a lot of money. This was Ezra’s chance at a new life. Surely he deserved that chance. The others would understand.

Ezra peered outside and what he saw did his heart glad. Josiah and Buck were dragging two men toward the jailhouse and J.D. and Nathan were rushing out to join Chris in the middle of the street. Clearly, his partners had everything under control.

Standish returned to the game and smiled apologetically. “Now, where did we leave off?”

“I’m in,” the next man around the table announced, adding another fifty dollars to the pot. Ezra’s fertile mind began calculating the size of the reward should everyone stay in the game. He just couldn’t believe this was happening. God was smiling on him today. A match like this usually only presented in high class gambling establishments where a man had to pay to enter. The men around the table were miners who had found some gold and had come into town to celebrate. Thankfully, they had more money than sense and very shortly their money would be Ezra’s.

The next man around the table sighed, shook his head and placed his cards face down. “Too rich for me,” he muttered. That left only three others and Ezra.

Standish studied his hand. He couldn’t be beaten, he was certain of that. Again, he allowed himself a brief glance at the mound of money in the middle of the table. In his mind, he could see himself standing in his new establishment in San Francisco, dressed in the finest clothes. Never again would he sleep on the ground, take his turn on watch, or be interrupted to deal with other people’s pathetic problems. The days of a dollar a day plus room and board in a rat-infested boarding house were about to end.

Behind Ezra, the batwing doors swung open. Standish didn’t turn, but he cursed quietly knowing it would be a summons. Not this time. No matter what it was, it didn’t rate with Ezra’s new life in San Francisco.

“I’m out,” the next card player stated.

Heavy boots crashed against the wooden boards and came to a stop directly next to Ezra. Standish didn’t look sideways, though he recognised the fact it was Buck. “I am sorry, Mr. Wilmington, but I am in the middle of something rather interesting at the moment. Please pass on my regrets to Mr. Larabee. I shall join you all as soon as an opportune moment presents itself.”

“I’m in,” another of the miners stated, tossing his notes into the pot.

Buck didn’t move and he didn’t speak. Ezra could feel his fellow regulator glaring down at him. With a snort of consternation, Ezra raised his eyes to Buck’s face. There, he saw something very disturbing. “Buck?”

“Vin’s in trouble.” After delivering the line, Buck turned and headed for the door. Ezra dumped his cards on the table, shoved his chair back and raced after his partner.

“Mr. Standish? Mr. Standish? What about the game?” The words were delivered to swinging doors.

**********

A shot echoed in the small grove of trees twenty minutes ride from Four Corners. “Tanner!”

Ringo had worked himself into a frenzy. He was pacing back and forth over the spot where the cat had attacked Vin - only a few feet from where the injured man was hidden. The experienced tracker was furious that a man as badly hurt as Tanner could outwit him like this. He’d followed each of the false trails until they petered out and then returned to the site where they all appeared to emanate. There was no true trail beyond this point, which meant Tanner had to be close by. Tracks don’t lie. Ringo’s bounty was here somewhere.

“Tanner!” The roar was followed by another shot. “That one hit you low on the chin.” Ringo had tacked a wanted poster displaying Vin’s image to a tree and was taking shots at it. “Give it up, Vin. I know you’re hurt. You can’t survive out here on your own with that bullet in you. If I don’t find you, you’ll end up torn apart by animals. We’ve both seen that. May even do it while you’re still alive. If you give yourself up to me, I’ll make sure you get a decent burial. I give you my word.” Ringo waited, hoping Tanner would just throw in the towel. Bounties in the past had. Their spirit’s broken, they had simply given themselves up, too tired to continue the fight.

“You’ve got nobody who’s going to come looking for you, Vin. It’s just you and me and time’s on my side.”

**********

When Buck and Ezra raced out into the street, the others had already collected the horses.

“What trouble has Mr. Tanner found?” Ezra asked with artificial indifference as he climbed into the saddle.

“Bounty hunters,” J.D. shouted as the group dug their spurs in. The six riders bolted out of Four Corners desperate to reach Vin before it was too late.

On the trail, the others filled Ezra in on the details Josiah had terrified out of Symonds and Walker. In a nutshell, Vin had been shot leaving Miner’s Gully more than seven hours earlier; there was a third bounty hunter on his trail and Vin was on foot. All in all, things couldn’t be much worse.

Chris started to pull away from the rest of the group, the gunfighter driving his horse to do the impossible. Twenty minutes was too long... too far. The helplessness attacking Chris was a physical pain causing his chest to constrict. He was actually finding breathing difficult as he drowned in emotion.

Larabee had seen the look on Nathan’s face when the healer had examined Peso. Even Chris knew it was a lot of blood. Seven hours without help. All of the anxiety he’d been harbouring now made sense. Vin had been in trouble. Chris cursed himself for not listening to his instincts and acting sooner. He’d promised Vin he’d watch his back. For the second time in his life he hadn’t been there when he was needed by someone he... Larabee swallowed, the rest of the thought snagged on a single word... cared. Cared?

“Come on!” Larabee bellowed at his flagging horse.

*********

“You haven’t got anybody, Tanner. No one’s going to miss you or come looking for you. Let’s face it, you don‘t have a reason to live.”

Vin lay listening. Despite the onset of hyperthermia, he was still able to process the words. Ringo was right, or at least, he would have been a couple of months ago. Now, everything was different. Vin did have people who would miss him. Men who would come looking for him if he didn’t return by dark - men who had gone out of their way to convince him not to ride alone. The moment they had learned of the bounty on his head, they hadn’t fallen all over themselves to collect the money. Rather, they had started acting like a pack of old she wolves, determined to protect him.

“Tanner! I’m not lying about making sure you get a decent burial. I just want the five hundred dollars. You’ll lay out here and rot if I leave without you. There’s no way you’ll make it to the next town on foot. Not in your condition. No one will care if you die out here like some half starved animal.”

The boys would care and they’d come, Vin assured himself. Chris wouldn’t give up until he found him. Vin’s mind drifted again as his consciousness faltered. He’d never had friends like Chris and the others - men he could count on. They were six strangers he trusted his life with and Vin hadn’t truly trusted anyone before… not since he was a child.

His thoughts rolled to Chris alone. He and Chris shared a unique friendship. Larabee made no demands and understood Tanner’s need to be alone at times. Vin was grateful for that, but there was more. Since Chris had shot Eli Joe, Vin had become conscious of just how close he and Larabee had become. A sense of responsibility for each other had developed. Vin couldn’t remember a time when he had felt that towards anyone. That was why he had decided to move on. Ties like that could get a man killed. It wasn’t his own life he was concerned about, but Chris’. Tanner had no doubt that Larabee would place himself between a bullet and his friend. Vin couldn’t let that happen.

“Tanner!” Another shot at the wanted poster. “Got you in the right cheek!” Ringo waited, listening. It had become obvious that his taunts were falling on deaf ears. His bounty had no intention of giving ‘it’self up. “Fine, Tanner. I’ll just sit here, wait for you to die and follow the smell to your decomposing corpse… I know you can hear me. I tell you, I’ve never come across anyone as capable as you, Vin. You’re here somewhere. Somewhere close.” The last sentence was whispered as Ringo again searched his surroundings with all of his senses. He’d looked everywhere. All of the tracks lead to this spot with a few false trails leading off in different directions. Vin Tanner had to be here, but where?

**********

Chris strained his ears. He could be mistaken, but he thought he’d just heard a shot. “Come on!“ he yelled at his horse.

Ahead, the grove of trees came into view.

“There!” J.D. yelled. The youngest member of the group was scared. He’d watched as Vin had been tied to his horse in Four Corners only a few days earlier, unable to believe that his partners were letting it happen. Of course, that wasn’t actually the case, but J.D. hadn’t known that at the time. Vin was his friend and there was no way anyone was taking him to hang. J.D. didn’t care who it was.

Now, all of the same anxiety was bubbling in his stomach. Like Chris, the time that had passed since Vin had been shot had J.D. worried. Seven hours. Since being in the west, he’d seen men die within minutes of being shot, bleeding to death before Nathan could help them.

“Spread out! And watch out for the bounty hunter!” Chris ordered as the group came upon the area the captured bounty hunters had described. Buck and Chris rode down the outside on the left and Ezra and Josiah the right. J.D. and Nathan entered the group of trees from the front.

“Nathan?” J.D. panted as his horse slowed to negotiate the change of vegetation.

“What?” Jackson’s voice was controlled but the twang of concern was evident.

J.D. swallowed, his wide eyes flicking to his friend. “What chance has he… I mean…”

“Let’s find him first and worry about that later. VIN!” Nathan shouted. “Vin, it’s us.”

“VIN!” J.D. yelled, adding his voice to the call. “Vin, we’ve come for you!”

**********

Ringo paused to listen. Voices? The sound of hoofs. The bounty hunter cursed passionately. He’d told Symonds a dozen times not to shoot his mouth off about the bounties they were chasing. By the look of it, the young man had done it again and now Ringo had competition.

“More bounty hunters coming, Tanner. Give up to me and I’ll make sure you die quickly.”

**********

More bounty hunters. Vin felt his world collapse. Up until this point, he’d honestly thought he had a chance of getting out of this, but that was impossible now. Even if Ringo gave up the search, others wouldn’t.

Tanner hadn’t actually taken the time to thank his friend, but he hadn’t needed to. Larabee understood. Vin knew that with certainty - didn’t he?

**********

Ringo intensified his search, actually kicking into bushes and slashing the undergrowth with his long handled knife. Abruptly, he froze. There were more than a couple of voices, now. At least four and they were calling Vin Tanner’s name. Calling his name? With horror, Ringo realized that the newcomers weren’t bounty hunters. They had to be friends of Tanner who had come looking for him.

The bounty hunter paused, trying decide what he should do. The voices were getting closer. Ringo swore and gave the area one last scan before heading away from the approaching men. “This ain’t over, Tanner,” he vowed.

**********

Vin was aware that the rustling and shouting around him had stopped. Had Ringo moved on?

The injured man contemplated getting up and trying to make his way to Four Corners, but he was too weak and too ill. The violent shaking of his body, which had been hidden by the wind blowing the leaves that carpeted the ground, was a signal he was losing the battle. He had cold sickness. Soon he would lose consciousness and die. No longer was he aware of the pain. Numbness had settled over him. He felt cold and incredibly tired.

Vin’s foggy mind detected the sound of someone entering the area close to him. Another bounty hunter following his tracks he decided wearily. As Vin succumbed to the unconsciousness calling him, three shots were fired into the air.

**********

Chris heard the signal and ran in the direction of the shots, weaving between the trees and vegetation. A high pitched whistle sounded several times, drawing the others to the correct spot. Finally, Josiah’s voice resounded. “Here! Over here!”

Chris burst through the trees at the same time as most of the others. Josiah was standing in a small clearing about ten foot square.

Sanchez pointed to the ground. “The grounds trampled flat. Someone did a lot of walking on this spot. There's blood, too. Small drops everywhere.”

“I followed some clear tracks to here,” J.D. added. Vin had been teaching him. J.D. was a good student and Vin a patient teacher and thus the boy had learned quickly.

“Someone spent a lot of time here,” Nathan mused.

“Yeah, but how do we know it was Vin?” J.D. asked.

“Mr. Tanner has failed to answer our cries, which means he isn’t here, or is unable to respond.”

“You mean the bounty hunter may have found him?” J.D. clarified. The other possibility was too terrifying to contemplate.

“They may have gone. Ridden out before we arrived,” Josiah suggested.

“I heard a shot as we approached,” Buck disagreed. “Someone was here then.”

“True, but… my God!” Ezra exclaimed. The others turned to see what had startled the gambler. On a tree behind them was a poster of Vin with five bullet holes in it.

A stunned silence settled over the group as reality crashed into place. The poster was a terrifying warning of what may have happened to their friend. Chris strode across to the piece of paper and ripped it from the tree, crushing it in his fist. The rage he felt was festering and seeking release. His entire body was trembling with raw emotion.

“That would have been for Vin’s benefit,” Josiah stated quietly, eyeing Chris with concern. “To break his spirit.”

“The bounty hunter stopped here and did a lot of walking around. He must have thought Vin was in this area,” Nathan broached. "And someone was bleeding."

Ezra nodded and carefully chose his words before speaking, aware that Chris was on the verge of completely losing control. “There is a chance that Vin has been captured and the bounty hunter is taking him back to Tascosa to collect the reward.”

“Or, the bounty hunter heard us coming and was scared off, which means Vin’s still hidden around here,” J.D. added, trying to remain positive.

“He hasn’t answered us,” Nathan murmured. All of the others looked at the healer with heavy hearts.

Chris, who had been lost dwelling on all possibilities, roused himself and turned to face his men. “Find him. He’s still here somewhere.” Larabee had a feeling. It wasn’t based on any of the logic his partners had been espousing, but on something he couldn’t explain. He had a feeling Vin was close by.

The other men set off in different directions, calling Vin’s name and searching relentlessly, but with dwindling hope. Nathan’s final statement summed up their own thoughts and raised the question, why? Why wasn’t Vin answering them? Unless…

Chris stood for several seconds watching the others disappear and then he dropped his gaze to the piece of paper in his fist. Slowly, he unfolded it and stared down at the eyes gazing back at him. Eyes that could look into his soul. The physical pain returned. He’d given Vin his word. He’d promised himself that he would never again go through this. He had to find Vin. He wouldn’t fail as he had last time.

Chris stuffed the poster in his pocket and surveyed the area. Why had the bounty hunter spent so much time here? Clearly he had thought Vin was here… and so did Chris. It was more than a feeling. It was a strange certainty.

Ten minutes of probing had taken Chris away from the small clearing. “Vin?” Still nothing. Larabee was beginning to have doubts, but again the feeling rose up inside him, stronger this time. He needed to return to the clearing.

Larabee walked back to the spot where the ground had been trampled and shut his eyes. Vin, where the hell are you? A strange sensation swept over Chris. A strong awareness of his friend. Larabee opened his eyes. He allowed the feeling to build as his eyes carefully swept the area for the hundredth time. His gaze stopped on a low, thick bush on his left. Chris stared at it intensely. Why was he drawn to it? Vin wasn’t hiding behind it; he’d looked several times.

The breeze buffeted Larabee as he stood and it was as he was studying the insignificant bush that he noticed that the leaves collected around the base weren’t just blowing but were trembling. Trembling?

“Oh, my God! VIN!”

**********

Ringo had left the safety of the trees and started toward Four Corners on foot when he heard the three shots. Realizing it had to be some sort of signal, he stopped and listened. Had they found Tanner?

**********

Five long strides took Chris to the bush. He dived to his knees and began digging into the leaves. Immediately, his fingers struck something soft. “VIN.” As Chris swished the leaves away, his unconscious friend materialized, his body shaking uncontrollably. “Oh, hell, NATHAN! NATHAN!”

Chris removed Vin’s hat and stared down on his friend’s deathly pale face. Vin’s lips were blue and his skin cold to touch. “Hang on, Vin. Just hang on. NATHAN!”

***********

The other regulators heard Chris’ shout of desperation and correctly guessed their leader had found their missing partner. The fact that he was shouting for Nathan was music to their ears.

“He’s alive!” J.D. cried with relief as he ploughed back toward the source of the cries.

**********

Chris dragged Vin out from under the bush and paused in horror. Leaves and dirt were clinging to his young partner’s clothes and his hair was wet and plastered to his head. The blood brushed onto his left cheek stood out in dark contrast to the pallor claiming the rest of his face. Trailing down his chest was the slash of some sort of animal.

Instinct sent Chris into action. He pulled Vin up, holding his unconscious friend close to his chest and rubbed Tanner’s arms briskly, trying to warm the freezing man. “NATHAN!”

Jackson burst through the trees and raced to Larabee’s side. He leaned over Vin and placed his hand on Tanner’s brow. “Hyperthermia. We need to get him out of those wet clothes.” Nathan turned as the others arrived. The relief that was present on their faces was stolen once they got close enough to see their friend’s condition. If it weren’t for the tremors quaking through Vin, all would have believed they were too late.

“Oh, hell,” Buck murmured.

“He’s been attacked by a cat!” Josiah exclaimed.

Ezra was speechless and J.D. found a lump had formed in his throat.

“Our bedrolls and saddle blankets,” Nathan ordered, briskly. Without argument, Josiah raced off to collect them.

“Someone help me get some of the saddles!” J.D. shouted.

“Why?” Buck asked, watching the boy bolt off into the bush.

“We can lay him on them. Keep him off the wet ground,” the young man shouted back.

“Good thinking, Kid.” The pair disappeared.

Ezra dropped beside Chris, his face a mask of dismay. “He buried himself.” Standish couldn’t believe it. He could think of nothing worse. How desperate had Vin been to resort to that? “He was laying only feet from us,” the gambler whispered, realizing how close they had come to missing their injured friend completely.

“Ezra, help me,” Nathan ordered, tugging at Vin’s buckskin coat which was clinging to his clammy skin. Together the two men set about peeling it, Vin’s shirt, undershirt and trousers off him.

Ezra’s stomach turned. It was clear that the slash was deep, down to the bone. “My God,” Standish murmured.

As Tanner’s other wound was revealed, both men paused, shocked.

“It’s been cauterised,” Ezra gasped.

Chris cursed passionately. He’d seen the procedure used in the army. It was the cruellest thing he’d ever witnessed.

“The bounty hunter?” Ezra asked.

“I doubt it. I don‘t reckon a bounty hunter would have cared if he bled to death and he would have but for this,” Nathan pointed out.

“He did it himself,” Ezra murmured in a daze.

“Come on,” Nathan growled, snapping his friend back to work.

Chris was only vaguely aware of the other regulators. His attention was wholly on Vin whom he still held. After Vin’s coat was yanked from him, he slumped back against Chris. Larabee could feel the dreadful tremors racking Tanner’s trim frame. The gunfighter couldn’t believe the alarming state his friend was in. He could only imagine what the injured man had gone through in the last seven hours.

Tanner’s neck jerked limply as Nathan and Ezra battled to free him from the rest of his wet clothes. Chris placed his hand on the back of the unconscious man’s head to minimize the trauma. Again, the hardened gunfighter shook his head, appalled by the condition his friend was in.

As Ezra and Nathan finished stripping Vin, Josiah arrived with blankets which the trio used to dry the injured man, careful not to touch the claw mark or wound above his hip. All the while, Chris held his friend, using his own body warmth to heat his freezing companion.

As soon as he was dry, Vin’s shaking eased. By the time J.D. and Buck reappeared under a mountain of saddles, the shaking had died to patchy tremors.

“Lay them out beside him. Okay, Chris. We should be able to move him.”

Together, the six men lifted Vin and transferred him onto the uneven and uncomfortable mattress, but at least it was dry. Quickly, Nathan directed the others to wrap Tanner in the unused blankets.

The others watched as Nathan began doing a thorough examination, starting with the slash.

“Big cat,” Buck murmured.

“It’s deep but his ribs protected everything important. It’ll need to be bathed in carbolic to stop any infection.” Jackson’s mumbles were for himself, not the others. “A few stiches there. You are one lucky man, Vin Tanner. Breathing‘s a bit ragged.”

“Nathan?” J.D. whispered, praying for the miracle he felt was needed to save his friend. He and the others had stepped half a pace back out of the healer’s way. Only Chris didn’t move. Larabee remained at Tanner’s side, his eyes on Jackson.

“Give me a minute. I have to examine that bullet wound.”

“Shouldn’t you leave it until we get him home?” Josiah asked.

“Can’t afford to,” Nathan murmured, pulling the blankets apart. Gently, he fingered the raw, swollen, charred skin and cursed. “Bullet’s still in there. It has to come out.”

“But…”

“Ain’t no buts about it!” Nathan snapped. The bullet couldn’t stay in any longer. Already blood poisoning may be developing.

“He’s too weak,” Chris stated, quietly.

“I know he’s weak, Chris, but if I don’t get that out of him he won’t have a chance.”

Josiah opened Nathan’s bag and handed the healer a bottle of carbolic. Both wounds would need to be cleaned. Josiah knew the procedure. He’d helped Nathan too many times to count, but never on such a close friend.

“Nathan, is there anything we can do?” J.D. pleaded. He had the dreadful feeling Vin wasn’t going to make it. He’d seen men who looked better lose their life.

Buck slid his arm across his young partner’s shoulders. “Nathan knows what he’d doing, kid.”

“Josiah, I‘m going to need your help. Pass me a sponge,“ Nathan requested. He and Chris were on their knees on opposite sides of their injured companion. Josiah was crouched beside the healer and the rest of the boys were standing half a pace back ready to give assistance.

“What can I do?” Chris demanded.

Nathan glanced at the other man and saw in Larabee’s eyes a desperate need to help. “Watch his breathing for me and get ready to hold him down if he wakes.”

“That won’t be necessary,” a harsh voice yelled from behind the group. Jim Ringo hadn’t been able to let it go. Tanner was his bounty and he wasn’t about to let five hundred dollars slip through his fingers without a fight. He’d followed the sound of the men’s voices and watched hidden until he was sure they were all completely preoccupied with Tanner. Then, he had crept out of his hiding place and walked up behind the group unnoticed.

The startled regulators turned, each reaching for his weapon.

“Not a good idea,” Ringo chuckled. His two revolvers were centred on Nathan’s back. “I’ve got a hair trigger and we don’t want the doc to die, now do we?”

“Alright. Relax, boys,” Josiah ordered, releasing his gun.

One by one, the regulators’ eyes flicked to their leader, waiting for some sort of signal to direct their response. A co-ordinated move was what was needed, but Chris was beyond thinking or planning. He was consumed with rage and hatred. Buck licked his lips, knowing his friend had reached the point of no return.

Chris glared at the bounty hunter. This was the man responsible for hunting Vin down like a dog. This was the man to blame for his friend’s condition.

“Now, how about you raise your hands and move away from my bounty?” Ringo growled. “I know ‘it’ ain’t in good condition, but ‘it’s’ worth money to me dead or alive.”

‘IT’. The word caused Larabee’s grinding emotions to reach breaking point. Slowly, with his black duster blowing out behind him, Chris Larabee rose to his feet - an angel of death rising from the pits of hell.

Ringo frowned. “Now, mister, I don’t know what you’ve got in mind, but I’m pretty quick on the draw and that’s my five hundred dollars. No one’s taking it from me.”

Larabee’s men parted, rather like the Red Sea probably had for Moses, Josiah reflected later. They had recognised that their leader was going to handle this situation himself.

The gunfighter stepped over the top of Vin, moved in front of Nathan, planted his feet a shoulder’s width apart and dropped his arms to his sides.

Ringo snorted and cocked both guns as he centred them on Chris. “’It’ ain’t worth dying for, mister. ‘It’s’ just some bastard on the run. Just another bounty.“

The veins in Chris’ temples inflated. Rage pooled in his ice green eyes. ‘It‘. ‘IT’! The word repeated over and over again in his mind. Larabee’s right hand flexed.

“Wanna bet?“ The hushed threat echoed in the small clearing. Ringo’s eyes widened and his finger flexed on the trigger of one of his revolvers. Chris Larabee drew and fired in a single heart beat.

Jim Ringo crumpled to the ground, clutching at his chest, his face awash with astonishment. He hadn’t got his shot off!

“You lose.” The words were forced out through Chris’ tightly clenched jaw. He stared down at the bounty hunter for several moments before turning and dropping beside Vin. “J.D., keep an eye on that piece of garbage. ‘It’ is going to hang for the attempted murder of a deputized law officer.”

The other regulators took a few seconds to snap free from their own stunned limbo. Chris Larabee was the fastest they had ever seen. He was without peer, but this had been incredible even by his standards. His opponent had not only had his gun drawn but cocked as well.

Nathan was the first to gather himself. Briskly, he moved back into place and nodded to Chris. “Get ready to hold him down.”

Larabee leaned across Tanner and placSed his weight on the unconscious man’s shoulders. S The moment the carbolic touched the lacerated skin on Vin’s chest, his back arched and his eyes shot open. He sensed he was being held and began to fight back weakly.

“Easy, Vin. It’s us,” Nathan assured his patient. Tanner’s eyes closed and then reopened a slither, his struggles ceasing. He searched above him, trying to make sense of what was happening.

“Nathan’s got to get the bullet out,” Chris whispered, still pinning the injured man.

“No need to be worrying about him any more,” Josiah assured.

Vin swallowed and forced his hooded eyes to open further. Chris squeezed his shoulder. It’s okay. I’ve got your back.

Tanner murmured something but fatigue and his ragged breathing didn’t allow the words to form properly. Consciousness had not really improved his condition.

Nathan frowned. “Pull him up a bit, Chris. It’ll help him to breathe easier.”

Larabee threaded his arm under Vin’s shoulders and lifted until they were a foot and a half off the ground. Realizing he wasn’t going to be able to support his friend for long, Chris pulled Vin into him so that the injured man’s back was resting against his legs. “You weigh a tonne for a bundle of bones andS rags, Tanner,” Larabee whispered.

Vin continued to stare up at his friend with heavy lidded eyes, this comment causing the left side of his mouth to raise in a smirk. He was safe. He knew they’d come. He hadn’t been certain if they’d find him in time, but they had. All of a sudden, he had the urge to thank Chris for saving his life a few days earlier. He should have thanked him then, but he hadn’t seen the need.

“Chris…”

“Vin, I’ve got to clean that claw wound on your chest and then the one on your side before digging that bullet out. Do you think you could drink some laudanum for me?”

Chris Larabee smiled. “Whiskey? Is that what you said?”

“Hell, he’s okay,” Buck chuckled, turning to J.D. who was standing over the bounty hunter. “Vin’s asking for whiskey, Kid.”

The youngest member of the group forced a smile, knowing that his friends were trying to stay positive, but the bottom line was Vin was in a bad way. A groan at his feet caused J.D. to return his attention to the wounded bounty hunter writhing on the ground.

“Help me,” Ringo begged.

J.D. licked his lips. “Ain’t a lot I can do, mister. As soon as Nathan’s fixed Vin, he’ll see what he can do for you.”

“Gotta stop the bleeding,” Ringo panted. J.D. crouched beside the bounty hunter and frowned. The regulator pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it against the wound. Ringo cried out in pain but nodded his thanks.

“Just lay still and Nathan’ll be here soon,” J.D. assured the other. Dunne felt such disdain toward this man, but he couldn’t ignore another human being’s cry for help.

A few feet away, Nathan tipped a bottle of laudanum to Vin’s pale lips. “That’s it,” the healer soothed. “A little more.” Chris supported Vin’s head as he drank, muttering hushed words of support. Once Jackson felt his patient had had enough, he removed the bottle and picked up his sponge. “It’s gonna sting, Vin.”

Nathan exchanged a glance with Chris and then doused the sponge in the strong antiseptic before applying it to Vin’s wounds. Again, Vin’s back arched and a muffled curse was forced from him, but Chris held his friend firmly, drawing him in against his body to help steady him. Larabee leaned down and began talking to his partner quietly while Nathan continued to clean the cat swipe and the area around the bullet wound.

Vin struggled to remain focused on Chris, but the darkness calling him was insistent and promising relief.

“Nathan,” Chris called. “He’s getting weaker.”

“I know, Chris. I’m almost ready.”

“We’ll need to organise some transportation home for Mr. Tanner,” Ezra reflected, pacing a few feet away. He felt lost. All his life he had always been in control of his life and his emotions, but right at this moment he couldn’t fathom how helpless he felt.

“A wagon would be best,” Josiah suggested, taking out a scalpel for Nathan.

“Mr. Wilmington, perhaps the two of us should ride to the closet farm, now?”

“Yeah, good idea,” Buck agreed. “Anything else we can do, Nathan?” Buck asked.

Jackson now held the scalpel and was frowning. “You ready, Vin?” the healer asked.

Tanner made no reply. He had slumped against Chris, the pain draining his energy and leaving him only semi-conscious. The only thing preventing him from sliding into the painless world of nothingness was Larabee’s voice - constant and reassuring.

“Chris?” Nathan checked.

“I’ve got him.”

Ezra turned away. He didn’t want to see this. He’d seen men wounded before, so why was this affecting him so powerfully?

J.D. glanced across at his friends, noting Ezra’s reaction and Buck’s strained features. “What’s going on? Is he okay?” With J.D. distracted, Ringo saw his chance. He grabbed the revolver from J.D.’s holster and shoved the boy to the side, raising the weapon and pointing it at Chris Larabee’s back.

“Chris, look out!” Dunne screamed as he toppled.