He rubbed at his left thigh, which was exactly where Jake kicked him again. The man screamed in horrific pain and rolled on the ground, holding his leg with one hand and his privates with the other. “Stop! Please…stop!” he slurred through pain, spitting more blood. “I didn’t plan on…him takin’ your wife, Jake! I can…help you find her!”
Jake reached for him, but Lloyd grabbed his arm. “Pa, wait! Maybe he knows where they plan to hole up. That could give us an advantage!”
The rest of the men surrounded Beck, and the three boys rode up with Rodriguez. Before anyone could stop him, Little Jake got off his horse and picked up a rock. He threw it directly at Beck, cracking it against his forehead. The man cried out and cringed, wrapping his arms around his head. Brian jumped off his horse and grabbed hold of Little Jake, hanging on tight as the boy struggled to get away so he could “beat up” Ronald Beck some more.
“Let Jake and Lloyd handle this!” Brian ordered his son. “We need information, Little Jake. You calm down!”
“You’re a sonofabitch!” Little Jake snarled at Beck while Brian still held him. “Grampa’s gonna kill you for hurting my grandma!”
Stephen ran up and kicked dirt on the man, and Ben came up behind him and kicked him in the rear.
“You boys get back now,” Jake told them. He walked up and shoved Beck onto his back with a booted foot, holding his foot against his throat. “You want to live?”
Blood poured from both sides of Beck’s mouth, and he kept one knee bent in an effort to protect his privates, while his left leg was sprawled out oddly sideways. “My leg! My leg!” he screamed.
“I’ll stomp on it if you don’t help us find my wife!” Jake threatened. “And I don’t want any lies!”
“I’m tellin’ the truth!” Beck nearly sobbed. “We was just supposed to burn the barn…make sure you lost a few horses and feed for…shootin’ half my hip away and blowin’ Clyde Pace’s fingers off!” He winced and groaned. “My leg!”
Lloyd walked around the other side of Beck. “We could legally hang you just for that!” Lloyd told him. “Pepper died in that fire, you bastard!”
Beck’s eyes widened. “Oh, man, we didn’t mean for nobody to die in it!”
“Too late!” Cole spoke up. “My best friend died a horrible death on account of you! If Jake don’t kill you, I’ll kill you! It won’t be the first time I’ve killed a man. Jake knows I ain’t no angel, and he won’t stop me!”
“Wait!” Beck begged, looking up at Jake in wide-eyed terror. “I can help! Jake, I didn’t mean for somebody like Pepper to die or for that Buckley kid to take your wife! That wasn’t part of the deal!”
Jake took his foot away and pulled out his .44 and cocked it before pointing it at Beck’s head. “This thing has a hair trigger, so if I think for one minute you’re bullshitting me, I’ll get all upset and might accidentally kill you!” he growled. He knelt down and shoved the gun against Beck’s cheek. “How in hell did you get mixed up with Brad Buckley?”
Beck grimaced in pain. “Gretta’s place…just before you…came to Denver and…got in that trouble.” He gritted his teeth when Jake shoved harder. “Buckley was there…with Mike Holt. Me and Clyde and…Tucker…we…got to know ’em…found out about Holt wantin’ Lloyd dead, and Buckley…he hated you. He told us about all the shit that happened…back in Oklahoma.” He tried to scooch away, his eyes wild. “Please don’t…pull that trigger! I know what you did to Mike Holt!”
Lloyd shoved a foot against Beck’s back so he couldn’t wiggle any farther away. “We know Clem Sutton was part of this!” he growled. “How in hell did you meet up with Clem? You never worked for us the same time he did.”
Jake shoved the gun harder against Beck’s cheek, and Beck cringed, making a childish squealing sound. He spit more blood.
“Goddamn it, I think some of my teeth are loose, and I think I’ve got some broken ribs,” he repeated. “And my leg—” He broke into tears. “Please don’t—” he whined.
Jake shoved the gun harder. “Fuck your leg! I’ll break your other leg if you don’t talk!”
“You’re lucky your balls are still attached to the rest of you!” Lloyd stormed. “Did my mother cry like you’re crying now? Did she beg Buckley to let her go?”