Luke followed him close on his heels around the house toward the back where he tried to grab one of the tied-up horses.
That’s where Luke found Alvarez, with a rope around his neck, tied up like a dog right there with all the horses. When Alvarez lifted his face, recognizing Luke, his reaction was instant. He pushed out his leg just as Ezra ran past him.
“Argh! You bastard!” Ezra yelled as he stumbled and fell to his knees.
Luke jumped onto his back, immediately gaining the upper hand as he pulled Ezra’s arm behind his back, wedging it in with his knee. Ezra fell forward face first into the mud and horse droppings. His blond hair was caked in it and he screamed bloody murder as Luke rolled him on his back, bringing his other arm forward, shackling him with a set of solid iron handcuffs.
Luke rushed to free Alvarez from his rope ties, grabbing him by the shoulders, happy to see him.
“Are you all right, Al?” Luke asked. The older man nodded, clearly shaken but smiling widely as he took Luke in.
“I thought I was done for!” Alvarez choked, visibly moved, and the two embraced in a quick hug. Then Luke handed him a pistol so he’d be able to defend himself in all the chaos around them.
“Keep to the south, you’ll find Madelaine and our horses there! You’ll be safe!” Luke told him but Alvarez laughed, cracking his neck as he cocked the gun.
“And miss out on all the fun? No way!” Alvarez exclaimed as he straightened his back and ran after one of the thieves trying to get away. Luke watched for a second as Alvarez smacked the man clean over the back of his head, knocking him out cold, before he went after the next.
Luke was about to pick Ezra up off the ground when he got jumped by one of the gang members. He managed to throw the other man off, and after a short scuffle, he apprehended him, tying the rope he’d just cut off of Alvarez around his wrists.
Things wound down a little after several long minutes, and as Luke picked up Ezra a second time, dragging him with him toward the front of the house, he saw that his men had captured most of Ezra’s. Some stragglers had escaped, but the rest surrendered. It was almost a clean victory.
As Luke dragged Ezra in front of the firepit, he saw Caleb taking care of Phineas, who had woken up from being knocked out. Luke pushed Ezra to his knees, who cried out in pain at being handled so roughly.
“You will regret this!” Ezra yelled at him. “You will all regret this! I am a powerful businessman! I have money, andI have connections! You will all feel the consequences! You haven’t seen anything yet!”
His voice lost its threat toward the end when he ran out of air.
“You mean the money you stole from all of the people in the region? Are you even aware what the punishment for murder is around here?” Luke challenged him. Ezra’s face went pale, but he still tried.
“I never murdered anybody!” he screamed. “You have no proof!”
“We have enough evidence to link you to at least five murders over the span of eight years!” Caleb injected. “You are done, Ezra Blackthorn!”
“Impossible!” Ezra yelled arrogantly. “I never laid a finger on anybody…!”
“No! You paid us to do it!” Lucas screamed from the side, and when Luke turned toward the tall trapper, he couldn’t help but smile. “I should have never gotten involved with you!” Lucas spit to one side as he glared at Ezra. “I can prove it,” he added, turning to Luke.
Ezra fell silent, obviously seething with anger. None of that was relevant when Luke heard Madelaine call his name asshe ran toward him. Luke let go of Ezra, who barely managed to save his face from slamming on the ground a second time. He turned to Madelaine, and she jumped right into his arms.
“Are you hurt?” she asked, searching his face with a worried expression. Luke shook his head.
“Never felt better,” he said, and it was the truth.
Timothy joined them, and he helped pick up Ezra, who was still yelling and screaming.
Madelaine pulled away from Luke, and he watched as she walked over to Phineas, who had his wrists in handcuffs on his back, and was held up by Caleb. Surprisingly, Phineas smiled a devilish grin when she approached him.
“This isn’t over, Maddie,” Phineas said to her. “You won’t win this. The ranch is mine…”
“May God forgive me,” Madelaine said and then slapped him so hard Phineas stopped speaking and stared at her in bewilderment. “The ranch is mine, and you will never again step foot on it! I hope God forgives you for what you have done while you sit in jail!” she said between gritted teeth. “Whatever the Lord decides to do with you, it’s in His hands now, and you are no longer my concern,” she said coldly.
Since everybody was apprehended, Luke and the others could finally relax. When Alvarez walked around the corner, breathless but smiling, the world was right again. They had won.
However, what happened next would shatter Luke’s world into a million pieces.
Ezra began yelling random Biblical verses, all taken out of context, none making any sense. “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me,” he screamed. “All things are possible with God!”
In a twisted turn of fate, Ezra spun around to Timothy and managed to grab one of his revolvers, pulling it out of its holster while simultaneously kicking his opponent so hard with one leg that Timothy stumbled backwards, falling over a rock and onto the ground.
