Shadow's Stand by Sarah McCarty

that demanded retribution against any and all. Hell’s Eight had been formed under such rage. When the Mexican army had devastated their village leaving eight boys orphaned, they could have just given up and died. Instead, they’d banded together, scrabbled to stay alive and sworn revenge against the men who’d killed their families.
Not that Tracker’s and his family was anything to mourn, but Caine’s family had been. The Allens’ house had been the Ochoas’ sanctuary. There, he and Tracker had always been able to get their bruises treated, their bellies filled and, even though it had made them uncomfortable, they’d gotten a few hugs. The Allens had been the embodiment of every fairy tale Shadow had ever heard. A loving family who hugged, not hit, who laughed, not raged. Who’d open their doors to two boys who’d only had them slammed in their faces. And those people had been viciously murdered.
As Shadow had dug their graves, he’d felt the first touch of what purpose could do to rage. As he’d tossed the first shovelful of dirt on the mutilated bodies, he’d made a vow. The ones responsible would die. That vow had been picked up by each and every one of Hell’s Eight. And it had been kept.
Eventually, they’d hunted down and killed all those who had murdered their families. And in the process, they’d developed skills and a hell of a reputation. When the last man had been killed, Shadow had waited for the satisfaction to fill the hole where the rage had lived so long. It hadn’t come. There’d just been rage with no purpose. So when the Texas Rangers had offered him a job, he’d accepted, as had all of Hell’s Eight. Not because he’d wanted to uphold the laws of Texas—he had no use for any laws except those he made himself—but because rage without purpose could eat a man alive.
Hiking his sleeve over the heel of his hand, he wiped a smudge of dirt off Fei’s cheek. He didn’t want that empty rage consuming Fei from the inside out. For her, he wanted a future filled with light and love. A home like the Allens’ with a man who saw her as the best part of his day. For that to happen, this needed to be settled.
He palmed his knife. “Do you want me to kill him?”
She blinked. “I don’t know.”
“Make up your mind, but make it now. Don’t carry it around like a cancer in your gut.”
She bit her lip. “It’s not the same, killing him now.”
“As killing in the heat of the moment to defend yourself? No, it’s not, but in the end, killing is killing.”
She touched her hand to her throat. “You would really kill him for me?”
“Ask and find out.”
“What kind of man are you?”
Picking up her pack, he emptied out the last few sticks of dynamite onto the ground. “The kind you need right now.”

CHAPTER SIX
     
T HEY WERE MAKING GOOD TIME , all things considered. It was doubtful Lin had ever been on a horse before, so anything faster than a walk was likely to pitch her to the ground. He didn’t know, however, how much longer they could go on. The horses were tired. They were tired. He looked over his shoulder to see how Lin was faring.
“We need to stop,” Fei said.
Shadow held her a little tighter, remembering those moments when he’d heard the gunshots and her screams. “No, we don’t. Culbart is going to want revenge for what you did.”
“I only took revenge for what he did.”
“That’s the way it goes. Someone starts something and then someone feels the need to get even. And then that revenge begs its own retaliation.”
“He bought my cousin as if she were a bag of flour.”
“Fei!”
Shadow felt sorry for Lin, who appeared as if she wanted to sink into the ground.
“When I tried to explain the mistake, he would not release her. He laughed and said I would have to pay twice as much to get her back.”
Enough for a new beginning.
“That’s why you wanted the gold.”
“Yes. To buy her freedom and to leave.”
“Who sold her in the first place?”
It was