FULL CIRCLE
With her skirts lifted well above the height of propriety, Mary ran faster than ever before. But Ella was here and she was the one behind the attack on her son. Mary skidded to a stop.
Chris stood in the alleyway, his gun aimed at Ella's worthless heart.
Breathing hard, Mary watched as he prepared to end the threat to their lives once and for all. She knew she should do something to stop Chris. He was going to gun down a person in cold blood and she could be made to testify against him. He could hang for it. Could she live with the guilt of being responsible for his death? Still....
What if she did try to stop him? What if Ella got away again? Could she live with the knowledge that she let Ella get away - again? What if Ella did escape and managed to get to Billy? Would Mary do anything less than Chris was about to do in that circumstance?
And it wasn't like Ella was unarmed. She could shoot Chris at any moment. Holding her breath, Mary flinched at the sound of Chris cocking his gun. Stilling the cascade of questions running in her mind, she waited for the blast of the gun.
But he didn't fire at her. Instead, he spun away from her.
Shocked, Mary began to follow Chris' gesture when movement in her peripheral vision caused her to stop.
Ella lifted her gun.
Mary didn't think - she fired.
Vin froze as he saw Chris close in on his family's killer. And as always, the tracker followed closely in the gunslinger's shadow to watch his friend's back. He held back a moment when he saw Chris confront Ella. Watching the two of them, he wondered what Chris would do. Chris had once loved this woman. How had her love for Chris twisted her into the creature
she now was? Vin most of all appreciated what the emotion could drive a person to do but for Ella the line between passion and obsession had become unimaginably terrifying.
Neither Chris nor Ella were aware of his presence while they spoke. He was almost tempted to try to hear the harsh words Chris was obviously saying since the man's body language was a mixture of attack and fury. Once again, Vin was glad that he had never been unfortunate enough to incur Chris' wrath. It was like tempting the devil to come get you. He shifted his steely gaze away from Chris to Ella because she was indeed the one to watch.
She was a beast of facets, with each ray of light aimed upon her darkened soul producing a new danger, a new aspect they had not previously anticipated. At the moment she appeared to be the fly caught in the web but with every fiber of his being, Vin knew Ella would turn the tables on Chris at the first opportunity.
That opportunity came as expected with a momentary distraction that took Chris' attention away from her. Suddenly, she had a gun in her hand. Vin sucked in his breath, raised his gun to take aim and told himself that this was going to be one shot he would not miss. He had promised Chris that he would find her but the promise he made to himself was far more final.
And he always kept his promises.
Three shots echoed.
Jeb fell to the earth, dead by Larabee's bullet.
Ella also fell. The wound in her arm didn't bleed much because the bullet in her heart had stopped all blood flow.
Vin and Mary stood by Chris' side. The others slowly gathered around Ella's body.
"It's finally over," Buck announced quietly.
Chris said nothing. He stared at Ella lying dead at his feet and wanted to feel relieved at that fact but he could not. When Jeb had come up behind him, he had little choice but to turn his back on her, cursing himself a fool as soon as he done it because obviously she would be armed. A woman like Ella was like a coiled serpent, she would never be anywhere
defenseless. He had turned around and dispatched Jeb allowing Vin the opportunity to save his life and kill Ella for him. He should have been grateful for that but he was not.
A part of him wanted to finish her off himself, while another questioned the morality of shooting a woman. 'For the last time Larabee,' Chris told himself, 'that was not a woman.' She might have been one once but the creature who had paid Fowler to murder his family, who had been prepared to kill his best friends in the world and threaten the life of the one woman who could make his anguish go away, was certainly not a woman. He had
trouble even conceiving Ella as human. He watched her blood soak into the dirt, not convinced that she had suffered enough. He wanted to make her scream and beg for her life as she had made him wish to destroy his own following Sarah and Adam's demise.
He hated himself for being angry with Vin for robbing him of the opportunity to make Ella suffer but he could not help it. He stared at the tracker momentarily, drawing an expression of puzzlement from Vin who could not understand why he was being treated to a harsh glare from his friend when the one who was rightfully deserving it was dead on the ground before
them. Chris got a hollow feeling in his stomach when he realized that Vin had noticed his gaze; yet, he could do nothing more right now than walk away.
Vin stared at him in confusion, trying to understand what he had done. Chris was angry at him and a part of him felt outraged at that. He had killed Ella for Chris. Why would that make the gunslinger so angry with him? It came to him like a splash of cold water over his face and when his eyes met Chris', the light of understanding filtered into his mind explaining
everything. The answer shook him inwardly. It was damage that he had no idea how to fix. When he was aiming at Ella, preparing to kill her, he had thought of everything that she had done to the man he called his best friend and felt no doubts as to what he was about to do. She deserved to die and he did not mind pulling the trigger.
It had never occurred to him that Chris might wish to do the deed himself.
In retrospect, he supposed Chris could be no other way. After all, it was Chris' life that Ella destroyed by taking Sarah and Adam away from him in a symphony of fire that not only burned away his heart but left his soul a scarred husk. Why wouldn't Chris want to take out his vengeance upon the woman who had caused him so much grief, not only by the murder of his family but also by her mischief upon the new one he could possibly have in Mary and
Billy? Vin felt mortified by his ignorance; yet, he knew that if he had held back, Ella would have killed Chris.
That still did not change the fact that he had robbed Chris of his revenge and for the life of him, Vin Tanner did not know what to do about that.
Watching the silent interplay between the two men, Mary's stomach lurched. Had Ella finally succeed in death to do what she couldn't while she was alive? Had she again destroyed something dear to Chris - his relationship with Vin? Torn as to whether she should stay with Chris or follow Vin, Mary watched as the realization of what he had just done crept onto Chris' face.
He was letting Ella win.
Vin and Mary stood by Chris' side. The others slowly gathered around Ella's body.
As Nathan looked down, he was reminded of the day Chris saved his life. Now he had the chance to thank him properly. Even though Nathan hated the thought of touching evil, he bent down to feel her pulse. Without any doubts, he declared her dead.
No more could she hurt any of his family. Chris was finally free of the nightmares.
Or was he?
Only time would tell.
Nathan hoped his pronouncement gave Chris what he needed to live again.
Standing there, looking at the bitch's body, Buck knew he felt better.
'But I ain't the one whose wife and son she killed, am I?*' He quietly studied his oldest friend. 'And he don't look too happy.'
Chris' face was a harsh mask. It didn't reflect the relief Chris should have felt. It was as if Chris hadn't wanted Ella to die.
Buck frowned. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe Chris did care about her. Maybe a little. They did spend a lot of time together. Maybe that's why Chris didn't kill her the first time around.
'No. No way in hell! The lyin' bitch killed Adam and Sarah. Damn neared killed three of our friends. Had Mary kidnapped so many damn time. . . there was no way in hell Chris could still care for the murdering bitch after all that!'
'Uh oh, never mind.' He watched Chris glare at Vin. 'Looks like ol' Chris is pissed at Vin for doing the honors.' Buck shook his head. 'Stubborn fool.' Chris just couldn't leave well enough alone, could he? As far as Buck was concerned, dead was dead. It didn't matter to him who killed her. All he knew was that the one responsible for the deaths of his surrogate family and his friend's tormentor was gone.
Chris wasn't like him though. He would want to do it himself. He would have drawn it out. Made her beg for mercy before finally killing her.
Buck's frown deepened. But in getting his revenge that way, Chris would lose what soul he had left. Buck turned to glare at Larabee. 'You know what, you stubborn ass? I'm glad Vin killed her. Because killin' her that way would have made you lose your soul. It's better this way, my friend.'
He glanced at Vin, silently thanking both God and Vin.
Vin for killing Ella and saving Chris.
And God for sending them Vin.
As Buck let JD usher him to the clinic, he hoped that the bitch's death wouldn't come between his two friends.
He glanced at the blonde head near Chris.
Or between Chris and Mary.
"It's finally over."
JD heard Buck's words, but still couldn't quite believe it. This was the woman who had been causing so much grief and anger these past months? This was the woman behind he and the others being taken to the Salt Flats? All that pain, all that grief, all that trouble because of her?
And now she was dead?
He still didn't believe it.
And what's more, he couldn't believe it wasn't Chris who killed her!
After all that she had done, Chris still wasn't the one to kill her!
JD shook his head. Then glanced at the one who did kill her. The one who finally ended the reign of terror Ella Gaines had wrought over their lives – Vin.
Vin looked like he was in pain.
JD frowned. Then stared at Chris. 'Chris is mad at Vin? Why the hell is Chris mad at Vin?' JD glanced at Buck, not understanding why Chris was angry with his best friend. After all, Vin did what had to be done. He glanced at Buck again, hoping for an explanation, but the question died on his lips.
"Buck! You're hurt!" He didn't give his friend any time to protest, he simply dragged Buck towards the clinic.
JD glanced back one more time.
He didn't know why Chris was mad at Vin, but he knew they would work it out.
He just knew it.
