Ben huffed a half-laugh as Esras described Jasper. Jesus, and he'd just handed a gun over to the woman. He shook head slightly. "Damn, we sure know how to pick 'em, don't we?" he said, rhetorically. Not that he was incapable of taking a life, but he tended to be far more subtle about it - some might even consider his methods cowardly had he ever stopped to discuss them. Still, they were effective.
His main concern now, however, was very much with the living. He was still determined to be there when Delora woke up but he had no idea how he looked. Esras's offers were highly attractive. "If you could bind my ribs for now, and a couple of whatever we've got that's strongest," he conceded. "Not that I wouldn't do it again, but that bastard's taken it out of me. Worth it, though," he ended, with a slightly forced smile. He wasn't in the least concerned about what would happen to Madison in his absence. He didn't give a fuck if the man took five minutes or five hours or even five days to die. Not now.
Ben glanced sideways at Esras. "I meant everything I told him," he murmured. "I don't know how much you heard, but it was all true." He wasn't sure how Esras would take the news about Ben possibly becoming his brother in law, but there were better ways of him finding out Ben's intentions.