Note: This follows Nightmares, Connected and Siren's Call. Thanks to all my WONDERFUL list sibs on The Magnificent Two for all their support. Thanks KS for helping me through this series and for the beta. Thank you Jo Ann for cracking the whip... um... for your encouragement is what I meant <g>. Love you guys!!

Ezra Standish had never had to be honest with anyone. At least, not like Vin was wanting him to be. Maybe that's one of the reasons he fell in love with Vin Tanner. Vin challenged his every belief and desire.

"Vin I..." Ezra stopped to clear his throat of the lump that was making this confession very difficult for him. He rested his head back against the wall as he closed his eyes.

"No, Ezra, I want to see your eyes. To know that you're telling me the truth. That your not hidin' anything from me. Please baby, I need this."

Swallowing hard, Ezra looked the sharpshooter in the eye. His soul not shielded for once. He was laying it bare for his lover to tear apart if he so wished.

"I have only made the mistake of loving one other person in my life." Taking a deep breath he dove of the cliff of truth, "I told him I loved him and the next day there was a note on the pillow next to me, saying he had found a good, honest man to love him. Not some self indulgent bastard that was never around enough to make it worth while."

Vin pulled Ezra close, holding the man he cherished above all else. He couldn't stand the pain he was causing his gambler but he wanted, no, he needed to know everything if he was going to fight for this love and for this man that held his soul.

"Is that why you won't stay the whole night with me? Is this why you left the other night when I asked you to stay?"

Ezra tightened his hold on the tracker, "That night when you asked me to stay, I had a nightmare. You asked me to stay and I did. The next morning there was a note next to me saying you had found a better man in Chris and were sorry that you had ever gotten involved with me."

Vin pushed Ezra away from him as he got up. He was angry at this person who had hurt his gambler so much and angry at Ezra for not telling him sooner.

"You've lumped me in with this bastard that hurt you! What did...." his words were cut off as both their beepers and cellphones went of at the same time.

Both opened their phones barking into the receiver. As Ezra listened to Josiah, his heart breaking, he had been right about his lover. Taking one last look at his lover, he walked down to the elevator and punched the button for the parking garage. He would answer the siren's call after he helped his friends one last time. He just needed to make sure his lover came out of this unharmed one last time, then he would seek peace for his weary soul.

Vin turned back around to find Ezra had left. The anger was suddenly replaced with a deep seated fear as he realized how Ezra took his anger, as confirmation. Oh God!?! What had he done!?!

Vin rushed to the elevator hoping to catch up with his lover. Not finding him there, he got into an elevator going to the garage. He hung his head in shame and despair when he saw he was too late to tell Ezra that he did love him and reassure his southerner that he was not leaving him for anyone or anything. Now it would have to wait until the bust was over.

He smashed his fist into the wall furious with himself, he knew how Ezra took things wrong. Flexing his throbbing hand as he walked to his jeep and climbed in. If he hurried maybe he could talk to Ez before he went in. He had always hated for them to part on bad terms. He knew he couldn't handle it if something happened to one of them, leaving the other burdened with guilt. He had to see Ezra before this went down.

The End

To be continued in Chance Meetings