An Untold Story

I Will Protect You

I gripped Zak's black trench coat tighter as the horse entered into a canter. I could feel the ground shake as I saw Nick riding his horse cautiously behind us. Zak had saved me, but I kept asking myself as to why he did. He was an outlaw, a cowboy, a bad boy. They usually don't have a care in the world for a woman unless they're looking to get what they truly want.

Maybe that's what Zak wanted after all. My right arm snaked around Zak's waist as his body matched the gait of his horse while my left hand clutched the trench coat over my chest. I watched the ground as it shook from the horse's massive hooves. Soon, Zak and Nick had stopped their horses as they saw the lights of the town in the horizon,

-"Elizabeth?" Zak whispered before turning around in his saddle, "What did you mean when that man said, 'Blood sets the table'?"

I shook my head, "I-I don't know, Zachary. I'm quite confused myself on that."

-"What's the man's name?" Zak asked patiently.

-"Sullivan Jones. He kidnapped me back in town and took me to his plantation to meet a man named George who was talking with him about building some hotel in Nevada." I explained as if Zak had any care at the information that I was telling him, but it could be meaningful in the future? I didn't know.

All I could remember was the words that they were saying to me - how they were going to execute me at dawn, telling me every hour was getting shorter as dawn was approaching. I shivered at the thought and clenched Zak's trench coat tighter to hopefully give me warmth. My stomach rumbled, telling me that my body was going to go into starvation mode if I didn't ingest any type of food.

-"Where am I going to go?" I asked as I looked at the ground, refusing to look at Zak.

-"Where do you want to go?" Zak whispered.

-"Somewhere that I can call home, just not Tombstone." I whimpered.

-"Where do you want to go?" Zak repeated in a stern tone as his hazel eyes pierced mine. His harsh tone caused my head to shrink into my shoulders. Zak sighed heavily as he turned back around in his saddle and motioned Nick to follow him on horseback.

I didn't know where they were taking me. I immediately thought about Aaron and what he had done to me, and what Zak and Nick were capable of. I fumbled around on the hindquarters of the horse, causing its gait to jolt.

-"What are you doing?" Zak asked loudly. I didn't reply. Zak kicked his horse harder by me not responding. I wrapped my arms around his waist, holding on for dear life as his horse had a hard canter.

-"Where are we going?" I cried.

-"Somewhere safe." Zak replied with no trace of worry in his voice. We soon arrived at what looked like another plantation house, not as big and not as much land as I would have expected. Zak and Nick rode their horses into the open barn, which had a large corral in the back with just enough grass for the horses to graze on.

-"Where are we?" I asked as Zak held out his hand to help me down from his horse's hindquarters.

-"In this time, you're lucky, very lucky, that my parents live here close to Tombstone." Nick smiled as he unsaddled his horse and led it to one of the six stalls in the barn.

-"They have a beautiful home." I complimented as Nick flashed a masculine smile at me. Zak unsaddled his horse as well as I stood to the side and waited for further instructions. I looked at their beautiful horses as they stood tall and proud, "What breed of horse are they?" I asked, breaking the silence in the warm, hay filled barn.