An Outlaw's Silence (manxman)(second story in The Crane Gang series)

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

Zachariah stepped out of the livery with his horse saddled and ready. Craig was still sleeping but Zachariah was done waiting for help that was taking too long to arrive.

Wyatt had been gone for five full days and they had been the longest and most miserable five days of Zachariah's life. He had begun to accept the fact that his sister was probably going to die, or at the very least, be a broken woman and never the same as she had once been. But to think they'd do the same to Wyatt....

It was unbearable.

And it was all Zachariah's fault.

He ever should have let Wyatt go alone to the shower.

Hell he never should have let Wyatt come along at all. He had known from the beginning that it would be dangerous. He had known there would be a chance that Wyatt would die. What Zachariah hadn't planned on, what he hadn't seen coming, was that along the way he'd fall in love with the silent outlaw. Zachariah had never imagined that Wyatt would come to matter so completely.

He was going to go get his man back.

Zachariah had started the mission alone and he would finish it alone. Zachariah had always worked better on his own. From the corral a horse whinnied loudly. A glance in that direction revealed Wyatt's antisocial Appaloosa staring hard at him and stomping her hoof.

Pain twisted in Zachariah's gut as he remembered the night Wyatt had returned with the horse and the pride he had beamed with.

Zachariah walked to the corral and reached out his hand. He patted the agitated mare on the neck. Surprise filled him when she leaned into his touch instead of snapping at him.

"I'm gonna go get him and bring him back," Zachariah assured her. "I promise you that."

He turned away and hopped onto the saddle of his black gelding. He started down the road but stopped suddenly when three figures on horseback turned the corner and started his way.

Instantly Zachariah recognized the Crane Gang.

***

Wyatt's pain grew by the day. He'd been hoping that he'd manage to gather a bit of strength to aid him in freeing Eleanor and himself but the opposite was holding true.

He'd been tied up in a dark, dirt-floored cellar for what had to have been days and days after traveling several days to reach their destination. He hadn't seen Eleanor since arriving but he had seen Clint. The man showed up quite often with other men in tow and they would beat him, kick him and hurl insults at him.

Wyatt had no idea if help was coming and, in a way, he hoped it wasn't. He didn't want Zachariah or Craig to die just to save his life... or Eleanor's. Wyatt wanted to get himself and the lady out of this mess without endangering anyone else... he just wasn't quite sure how.

A rat poked its nose out of a hole in the dirt wall and squeaked quietly before scurrying out into the open and dragging a piece of moldy bread to the corner. Wyatt watched the rat gnaw at the rotten food with its yellowed teeth and felt his own stomach growl.

Food wasn't something these bastards seemed to think Wyatt needed much of. The scraps they'd tossed his way hadn't done much to ease his hunger during his time here and, just now, Wyatt would settle for stealing that hunk of moldy bread from that hungry rat.