Chapter Six

Red stared at him in shock, hardly able to believe what she'd just heard. Paid to kill?

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I ain't like the other two. Not no more, anyway. I don't do freebies an' ya don't look like no threat ta me." Lester sat back and winced, reaching behind him to touch his lower back. When he brought his hand up again it was slippery with fresh blood. He blinked at it and grumbled under his breath. "Goddammit."

"Holy crap! What the hell happened to you? What happened to your brother's eyes? Why is your other brother passed out? Whose blood are you covered in? Is it yours? Why don't you call an ambulance?" The questions came out all in a torrent. Red was horrified by the sight of so much gore. He looked like the floor of an abattoir. Lester pursed his lips for a moment and his eyes flashed. He looked absolutely lethal. Red fell wisely and reflexively silent.

"I got shot in the spine. Darwin got shot in the neck. I'm covered in a whole lotta people's blood, don't rightly know whose exactly. But this here on my fingers is all mine." He rubbed his fingers together, and the light from the desk lamp gleamed on his glasses. "I ain't gonna die. Been hurt worse 'n this an' it didn't happen. Takes a helluva lot more ta kill a Tremor. We ain't like regular folk."

"What's a Tremor?"

"I am. An' my brothers. My name's Lester Tremor. You ask a whole lot o' questions fer a complete stranger who's imposin' on my mercy right about now."

"I didn't mean to impose on – "

"Yer imposin'. My brothers an' me had a real difficult goddamn day, a triumphant but bloody night, we're all still high as shit on the speed we take ta keep us sharp an' fearless on a hit. I'm tired an' the pain's startin' ta creep up on me, an' I would sure appreciate it if you'd cut me some fuckin' slack. Sound good?"

"But I'm not…"

"Yer in my bed."

Red bit her lip, feeling as though she was about to start crying again. Slowly, she lay back down.

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't know where else to go. I…I dragged myself here through the rain. I'm hurting too. I'm starving. I'm scared. Your fiancé is the first person to treat me like a fellow human being in a very long time. I don't mean to sound ungrateful or anything like it. I'm just curious because I've never seen so much…so much b-blood in all my life. You scare the shit out of me."

Lester sighed, nodding once, then began to unstrap his body armor. The Velcro sounded loud in the still room. As he removed each piece, he dropped it to the side of the dresser in a small white plastic laundry bin. His muscular chest was clean, but he was sweaty and red and abraded in places. Everywhere the body armor didn't cover was streaked and sticky with blood. Boldly, Lester stripped down to his underwear, leaning from one side to the other to tug off his pants.

Red was a little embarrassed. She averted her eyes and tried to focus on the ceiling instead, wiping at the tears on her cheeks with the heel of her palm.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Yeah. Move the fuck over. I gotta lay down so Tsugi kin patch me up."

"Are you…are you seriously suggesting that we lay here in bed together?"

Lester openly glared at her now, and his eyes were glaciers.

"No offense, baby girl, but even if I was in peak condition I kinda doubt you'd be in fer a rough night. You ain't my type, Imma tell ya that right now." He looked her over with scorn. "Yer clumsy, ya talk too much, yer a sissy an' yer chubby."

Red felt her fact grow hot, and she struggled to sit up. "I beg your pardon! Size ten is NOT chubby! That's just damn insulting! I'm curvy!"

He shooed her over and heaved himself onto the bed, grunting from the effort.

"Oh-ho, curvy is it? That what them feminine-empowerment types 'er callin' it now? Lemme ask you somethin'. When was the last time you used them arms ta lift anythin' more taxin' than an espresso at Starbucks or a goddamn cell phone? You get them scrawny-ass calf muscles workin' the stairmaster at the gym once or twice a motherfuckin' month, or from chasin' yer own food through the forest?" He rolled over onto his stomach and pillowed his shaved head on his folded arms, blinking up at her a few times, then closing his powder-blue eyes. "Yer a soft little citified thing who ain't got no business livin' this far out. Yer kind aughta stick closer ta civilization er else shit like what happened ta yer leg is gonna weed yer DNA outta the goddamn gene pool."

Red couldn't believe how insulting he was being. Her face flushed, and angry tears spilled down her cheeks again. With great effort, she rolled onto her side away from him and faced the wall, fuming.

"I think I hate you."

Lester sighed, nestling in to get comfortable. "That's fine. Hell, look on the bright side. Just think how many calories ya burned draggin' yer pale ass here."

"Oh my God!"

The door opened a short while later, and Tsugi slipped back in. She knelt down beside her fiancé, checking his back.

"There's a bullet lodged in there. Should I…"

"Goddamn right, darlin'. Get the forceps. You check on Darwin? How is he?"

"He's awake, Les. Jeeves is passed out completely. I flushed out and put cold compresses on his eyes, they'll be fine soon enough. Darwin's neck injury was just a graze, thank goodness. He can't speak very well. Hardly at all."

"That part ain't good. We need our leader ta be able ta bark orders an' snarl at us again. Heh. Imma have a look at him just as soon as I kin move around, make sure he's healin' proper. He's awake, you say? How awake?"

"Fading in and out. I kissed his forehead and he called me mother instead of grabbing my ass."

Lester chuckled, and Red rolled over again to stare at the two of them.

"I can't believe you're laughing at a man who has been shot in the neck instead of taking him to a hospital. What if he dies? Are you going to bury him in the yard with a backhoe?"

Tsugi giggled delicately, sitting down in the chair beside the bed. Her cool, gentle hands caressed Lester's back, and Red could not help but stare at the awful hole in his flesh. At the puffy skin and the glint of the slim forceps that Tsugi was slowly lowering into the wound. Lester gripped the blankets grimly and clenched his jaw.

"Doesn't that hurt?"

"Nope…feels great…I just always do this when I'm about ta fuckin' climax…AH! Goddammit, Tsugi!"

"Sorry, love. It's out. You're bleeding, hold still."

She grabbed a bottle of disinfectant and irrigated the wound, then placed several pads of clean gauze over it and taped it firmly in place with efficiency. Without thinking, Red reached out and grabbed Lester's hand. His fingers closed over hers, and he shut his eyes.

"Are you okay, Lester?"

"Hell, it'll be fine. Mind yer business." He told her, sounding weary. A few minutes passed in silence, and then his eyes wearily opened. "Tsugi."

"Yes?"

"We…gotta feed this girl. An' get her some goddamn decent clothes. Give her cash, too. A couple blankets, oil lamps, fuel, anythin' she needs. But you see her home before Darwin or Jeeves catch her here."

Tsugi cleaned and bandaged Lester while he wearily bore it in silence, then brought over the bowl of warm water again, and a fresh cloth. Red watched as she gently bathed the blood from her lover's body, helping him to roll over so that she could tenderly wipe down both sides. There was a soft intimacy to the way she touched him, her cool elegant hands passing over the powerful body of the good ol' boy as though she were an exotic thousand-dollar-a-night masseuse and he'd just hit the lotto. But that wasn't the case. This woman, this Asian goddess with the liquid dark eyes and the bearing of a fashion model, was actually in love with and engaged to the short bald redneck with the foul mouth and the shocking blue eyes on the bed.

"How…um…did you two…" Red trailed off. Lester's eyes opened, and he sighed.

"On a hit. I'd taken a couple bullets after clearin' the target an' I was down. He had a lot more guards than I was led ta believe. Sumbitches had me cornered in a burned-out basement, ain't no way o' getting' around 'em. I crawled behind a cement partition an' slipped in my last clip, getting' ready ta go out in a blaze o' glory like a good Tremor should. But then somethin' happened." His eyes grew far away, and above him Tsugi smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"My team knew about the hit and wanted to steal the leftovers. Let them do the heavy blasting and then we'd sweep in and nail any lesser targets, collect weapons, cash, technology, the works."

"Heh. Vultures." Lester chuckled. Tsugi shook her head, teasingly pinching his earlobe.

"Opportunists. It's a dirty world out there, darling. Someone has to clean it up." She leaned down and kissed his shoulder, and he grumbled contentedly. Tsugi continued, "Tremors work together, for the most part. That is known throughout the assassin's underworld. The Brothers are a package deal. But our sources told us that Jeeves and Darwin were in Atlanta. Imagine my shock when I whipped around a corner to find this strapping lad on the floor in a puddle of his own blood. My partners were killing off the drug lord's entourage, and I made a snap decision to help Lester get out of there. What can I say? When you look into your soulmate's eyes for the first time…you know."

Lester leaned up, and a small smile lifted the corners of his mouth. His Asian princess bent down to kiss him, and Red looked away.

She didn't believe in soulmates. Not anymore.

Tsugi helped her out of bed after Lester was cared for, and with the other woman's help Red was able to limp down the hall and into the kitchen on a pair of worn crutches. She sat in a chair while Tsugi quickly filled a duffel bag with candles, two towel-wrapped hurricane lamps, four bottles of lamp oil, canned goods and powdered milk and sugar and tea and coffee. Three folded woolen blankets rolled up tight and tucked into the bottom. A few pairs of Darwin's pants from the laundry room and a few of his shirts from a pile on the coffee table.

Red's stomach growled loudly, but she tried not to look at the pot of what was presumably pasta on the stove. Tsugi glanced up and her eyes softened. She grabbed a plate from the table and immediately filled it with spaghetti and meat sauce, balancing three thick pieces of homemade garlic bread on the edge. She set the feast down in front of Red, who could have died of gratitude. She speared a meatball with her fork and bit into it immediately. The resultant sting of a burned tongue forced her to blow on the next mouthful, gingerly testing it with her lips before eating. Tsugi shook her head and poured a tall glass of whole milk.

"When was the last time you ate properly?"

"About a month. Soup, chips, Little Debbies and candy bars. Anything I can find, really. I even have to buy the cheapest cat food, the crap that's mostly corn. Bandit hates it but we have nothing else. Do you…have you got any cat food I could take to him?"

Tsugi nodded and rose to her feet, then crossed to the cupboards beside the fridge and pulled out a 24-pack of tinned cat food and a full bag of dry. She laid them on the table and began to tuck various medical supplies into the duffel bag, watching as Red ate at an alarming pace.

"It's not going anywhere, you know. You can slow down."

"I'm sorry. I know you probably think I'm a complete pig. But I'm starving, and this is spectacular. You're an amazing cook."

"Lester made it before the boys left. I just warmed it up. He does all the cooking around here."

"Lester?"

Tsugi nodded, finally sitting down. She glanced apprehensively over her shoulder toward the still hallway, but there was silence.

"Darwin is our leader. The head of this family and the eldest brother. His word is our law and we don't acknowledge any others, really. Not even the speed limit." She laughed quietly. "Lester is the middle child. He's the one who takes care of the healing, the cooking, the bookkeeping. He's solid and quiet and brilliant, and he knows all there is to know about electronics and bombs and weaponry and where to get it. Jeeves is the baby. He's a little special, and we all love him very much."

Red nodded, swallowing a bite of bread.

"The one who injured his eyes. He carried the oldest brother to bed. He must be very strong."

Tsugi nodded.

"He's immense. Closer to seven feet than six. Heavily muscled and built for destruction. He's a tank. He also has the heart of a pussycat when he isn't working. They've all had rough lives. But Jeeves, he was horribly abused and it shows. Nightmares, and he shies away from new people. He has flashbacks and terrible headaches, which he refers to as a 'pain inside him'. When the headaches hit, we know to keep him in his room if possible and keep him calm."

"What happens if you don't?"

Tsugi bit her lip and reflexively put her hand to the wound on her neck.

"He can become…violent."

There really wasn't much to say after that. Red felt awed and frightened by the revelations. She was immensely grateful for the help and all the gifts, and as Tsugi helped her dress in a warm coat of Lester's and get her shoes back on she thanked her profusely. They began to make their slow way down the hill again, Tsugi carrying the duffel bag and the cat food. The sky was just barely starting to brighten to the east. It would be dawn soon. Bandit was probably starving by now. Red, her stomach feeling full and happy for the first time in a long time, felt in dire need of a long nap. Her injured leg throbbed and her abraded hands and knees were sore, but the painkillers she'd been given were kicking in. Tsugi moved on ahead of her, picking out the best path.

"I saw a man on the top of the ridge the other day. He was in a white t-shirt and he had an assault rifle or something. He was one of them, wasn't he." Red finally said as she limped along behind. Tsugi nodded, adjusting the cat food on her shoulder.

"That was probably Darwin. They were preparing for the hit."

There it was again, that feeling in her chest when she heard his name. Red bit her lip and concentrated on making her way down the hillside.

"What's Darwin like?"

Tsugi glanced back at her, watching her face for a moment. The little cabin was in sight now, they were almost there.

"Darwin is very intelligent. Brilliant, even. But not in a conventional way. I respect him as a man, as a killer and as a leader."

"What does he look like?"

"Bit like the others, I suppose. Dark blond hair, tattoos, a little over six feet, lean and muscular like a wolf. His eyes, though…Tremor boys have the most intense blue eyes. All three of them. Sleepy velvet blue. Bedroom eyes." Tsugi blushed, listening to herself waxing poetic. They reached the door of Red's cabin and Tsugi tried the knob, easily swinging it open. Bandit whisked under the sofa immediately, and the two women entered and closed the door. Tsugi continued, setting everything down on the table. "Just keep your head down and don't come to the house again. I'll return to check on you and bring you more supplies until you get on your feet. Will you be alright from here?"

Red nodded, looking around. "I'll be okay. Tsugi, thank you so much. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't helped me."

"You might have died, or at least spent a bad night." Tsugi shrugged, then smiled and reached into the duffel bag, taking out a small wad of cash. "Lester said to give you some money. There's a thousand dollars here. Consider it a gift. Now feed the cat, get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow if possible. Be safe, Red. You're not in the city anymore."

Red nodded and watched as her newfound friend slipped out of the door again. Then she moved to unwrap a can of cat food and open it onto a plate, setting it on the floor. Bandit squirmed out from his hiding place and dashed to it immediately, and Red slowly limped back to the bedroom, dragging the duffel bag. She changed into Darwin's clothing, which smelled faintly of Old Spice and gun oil, and laid down in her bed.

"Bedroom eyes." She whispered, and promptly fell into an exhausted and dreamless sleep.