COCHISE

When we took this job, I knew that when it ended—the cowboy would take a few extra demons home with him. He's a tough SOB—the toughest I know—but this shit gets to him. These kids. It's bad enough witnessing the aftermath of their abuse, what it does to them in the long run... but losing them is worse. The cowboy lost one, to no fault of his own. But he will “own” that blame nonetheless and carry it home. The rest will be up to Axel. He's good for Clint. He tames the cowboy's demons.



CLINT

My Egyptian brother has protected me for years—even at the beginning when he pretended to despise me. We don't talk about his protective nature over me, it's just there. But I see it, feel it—and it bonds us tighter as brothers. It doesn't exist because he thinks me weak. I know better than anyone that he feels safest when I have his back. And vice versa. He knows this horror show with these kids messes me up. It burrows in, takes root, and torments me. Who would've thought I'd ever give a damn to this degree? Not me. Not Cochise. Not anyone who knew me before. But I'm not the only one affected by these missions to hell. I'm not the only one who has changed. Cochise has collected his fair share of demons as well... he just deals with them differently. He encountered demons during his venture outside the prison—and he sent them back to hell. But he didn't come back from it untouched. He came back attached—to three siblings with nowhere to go, no one to turn to. I'm not the only one who gives a damn. You wouldn't know it by looking at him—a man whose presence alone strikes terror into the hearts of his enemies—but his heart is huge and gold through and through.


*BONUS FOLLOW-UP NOVELLA INCLUDED - "A LITTLE LOST"

Back home again, the men, their families, and old and new friends congregate to celebrate their homecoming and the success of a “job” well done. But amidst the rejoicing lingers a bittersweet sense of victory as Clint and Cochise consider the fate of the rescued children and families at the border.