[fic] Red West III. - Chapter twenty
Title: Red West III.
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: Vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Disclaimer: This story uses the real names and appearances of certain Japanese artists. Everything else is just a fanfiction (unfortunately) and result of my imagination.
Beta-reading:
atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.
Author´s Note: Here you go with no 20...
I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.
Each chapter is posted on my LJ in advance.
Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven // Chapter eight // Chapter nine // Chapter ten // Chapter eleven // Chapter twelve // Chapter thirteeen // Chapter fourteen // Chapter fifteen // Chapter sixteen // Chapter seventeen // Chapter eighteen // Chapter nineteen //
Breakthroughs
After calm lunch with the Brices, it was as if Kame stepped into a completely different world, when he walked through the batwing doors. It seemed that in need of celebrating the purification of their souls, the honorable Bozeman citizens gathered in Harada´s Saloon in even greater numbers than was usual for Sunday afternoons.
As he walked to the bar, none of those who were present in the church that morning made an impression of being bothered about burdening themselves with exactly those sins against which their dear Reverend had warned them. It made him wonder what meaning those people saw in going there and listening to lengthy sermons at all.
Koki, with beer foam decorating his chin, waved at him from the middle of noisy circle. A large number of his fellow miners were occupying the two biggest tables, obviously eager to waste their latest wage on alcohol and saloon girls. Kame greeted him back and then focused on the guests sitting on the bar stools. Just as he had suspected, he found Jin at the distant edge of the counter.
Back at home, Kame fully agreed when his lover proposed they should give themselves some reward for bearing the reverend´s ´bullshit talk´, but in contrary to their previous agreement, Jin had started pampering himself somewhat early.
Kame put the small, carefully wrapped package in front of his drinking boyfriend and then took the seat next to him.
“Mrs. Brice sends this,” he reacted to Jin´s questioning look. “They expected you to show up as well,” he added reproachfully.
“Sorry… I completely forgot,” Jin murmured a little abashed and reached for his beer again.
“I figured,” Kame sighed and nodded at Harada, who just took notice of his arrival and raised an empty tankard in the obvious question.
“I wasn´t drinking here all that time, you know,” Jin informed him defensively. “Cora needed help with something…”
*
“Well, well… Who do I see here?” Jin´s employer commented his arrival to the brothel quite gleefully, as she raised her head from stitching the rich red dress. “You got bored with praising the God so quickly?”
“Don´t even remind me,” Jin grunted and dropped into the armchair next to her. “I almost fell asleep while standing.”
Cora giggled at his annoyed expression: “I can imagine. I just knew praying was nothing for you.”
He grinned: “I´d rather do something useful with my time. Don´t you need anything?”
She eyed him amused: “Actually, if you don´t mind women´s work, you can help Dana with the laundry. She´s in the backyard.”
“Great!” at that moment, Jin would accept even cleaning the latrines, if it helped him to take his mind off the morning mass. “Anything´s better than bowing to that bighead in black.”
Cora raised her eyebrows: “No way! How disrespectful of you, Jin!” she gasped for a breath in pretended outrage.
Jin snorted: “Don´t play games with me. I know you don´t think anything better about that man than I do.”
“You got me,” she admitted, already laughing openly. “Do you really call the reverend that?”
“No,” Jin snickered. “But we should give him a nickname… What about ´Vile Raven´?”
“I think that´s awfully accurate,” Cora praised him highly.
“What can I say? He´s just asking for it,” Jin stated and got to his feet. “Well, I´ll find Dana then.”
“All right… And don´t you dare to come back here once you´re done. You´ve got a day off, remember?” she reminded him with a smile.
“Roger that,” Jin parted with her saluting, making the woman laugh again.
*
The freshly washed beddings were fluttering in the wind on the long strings all across the yard. Jin came out of the door and looked around, searching for the female figure between them.
“Dana?” he called, not seeing the girl anywhere. “Dana!”
There was no direct answer, but he caught some shifting sounds on his left and followed them. Pushing one duvet cover aside, he found the blonde squatting near the wall. She was clutching her stomach with both hands, a painful expression distorting her pretty face.
“Dana!” Jin reached out and squeezed her shoulder worriedly.
She looked up to him: “Ah… Jin. Hello.”
“What happened to you?”
The girl breathed out heavily, grabbed his offered arm and slowly stood up with his help: “It´s nothing serious.”
“Really?” Jin frowned. “You seem to be in pain…”
Dana shook her head: “It will pass. Don´t worry.”
“How can you tell?” he opposed persistently. “I´ll rather take you to Dr. Best to look at you.”
“Jin, wait,” the tired girl even smiled this time. “You´re sweet, but it´s just the usual, woman´s monthly thing, okay?”
Jin froze. He stared at Dana embarrassed for a while and then hastily released his grip around her arms: “Sorry.”
“No, no, it´s fine. I´m quite flattered you care,” Dana winked at him, still a little paler than usually, but with her mood improving quickly. “It´s clear to me why the boss likes you so much,” she said while straightening her skirt.
Jin looked at her surprised: “What are you talking about?”
“Come on, Cora treats you better than anyone else in this dirty town.”
“I don´t think so…” he tried to deny faintly what he had already noticed as well.
Dana rolled her eyes: “Don´t pretend that you don´t see it. All the girls know already… We even made a bet, actually.”
That awoke Jin´s curiosity: “What kind of bet?”
“Well…” Dana looked around and then stepped closer, so that her sweet fragrance literally flooded his nose and whispered into his ear: “About how long it´ll take before she takes you to her bed. And for free. You know what I mean…” she added huskily, shortly pressing her breasts over his arm, before she pulled away.
Jin was not sure if Dana´s statement surprised him or not, but he couldn´t deny being pleased about it. Nevertheless, he chuckled in disbelief: “Hold your horses, girl. That´s not gonna happen.”
Dana crossed hands on her chest, making the lower part of her bare neck a very, very alluring sight. Damn, he didn´t think he would be so horny after that passionate morning with Kame…
“Why? Don´t you like her?” the girl asked provocatively.
Jin forced himself to raise his eyes back to her face: “That´s not it… Cora´s a beautiful woman, but… She´s also my boss and I intend to keep our relationship that way.”
“Oh, okay,” reacting on that, Dana´s cheeky eyes examined him from head to toes and back. “Then… In case you forgot, I´m not,” she said teasingly.
“What do you mean?”
“This,” Dana stepped close to him once again, stood on her tiptoes and then pressed a soft kiss on his cheek. “I´m not your boss…” she whispered as she moved to his lips.
Jin was so surprised that he couldn´t even dodge, when Dana gave him a damn hot and lustful kiss. When he didn´t push her away it encouraged Dana to go further and she slipped out with her tongue, teasing him playfully. Feeling quite heated, Jin finally gathered himself enough to pull away, but Dana retreated herself, just before he opened his eyes.
Her breath tickled his ear, as she spoke again: “Just a small reminder to a handsome bodyguard.”
*
“Jin? Jin!”
He flinched under the close, sharp look of hazel eyes. He realized that he got completely lost in thoughts about what had happened on the backyard of Cora´s place. Well, the truth was that it had been long since he was with any woman and he really enjoyed Dana´s warm, affectionate closeness. But now, it felt like Kame could literally see that kissing scene inside his head, which was far less enjoyable.
Damn, I haven´t felt guilty about liking that kiss until now…
“What?” he asked a little hoarsely.
His boyfriend´s eyebrows knitted in a suspicious frown: “What do you mean by ´what´? You didn´t listen to me at all.”
Jin cleared his throat nervously: “Sorry… What did you say?”
“That you don´t need to explain yourself to me,” Kame replied and thanked Harada for the beer, which just landed in front of him.
Hearing that, Jin´s conscience squeezed his stomach sharply. No matter that they had already discussed this sensitive issue, and his reaction matched up with what they had agreed upon, he should have pulled away from Dana sooner.
“Though, I´m not so sure about it now,” Kame continued quietly. “Did something happen?”
“No! Not at all,” Jin assured him.
He was probably a way too fast with that reply, because Kame stared at him for a long while, before he seemed to refrain from further questions and reached for his beer.
Jin breathed a stealthy sigh of relief. He didn´t want to tell Kame about Dana, at least not yet. After all, they had agreed that he would start treating women in a way, which was about to be expected from any other man in town. It didn´t mean anything and there was no reason for hurting his lover´s feelings with something so insignificant. At least, that was how Jin justified it to himself.
Silently, Jin watched as Kame raised the tankard to take a few gulps. The sight of his tongue licking the remaining liquid from his lips flooded Jin´s stomach with hot, pleasant tingling. It seemed that thanks to Dana he turned a bit oversensitive to certain things. To suppress his sudden desire to be alone with Kame, he wanted to drink more, but found his own tankard empty. Impatiently, he gestured at Harada to bring him one more.
“So, what about the Brices? How are they?” he asked, intending to change topic to something safer.
Kame didn´t look at him when he replied: “They´re doing fine.”
Jin recognized that slightly aggrieved tone and it made him even more determined to improve the younger one´s mood.
“So, I guess they approve of those stupid Masses…”
Kame nodded pensively: “Yes, Mr. Brice and his wife won´t say a bad word about the reverend. On the other hand, Lena refuses to talk about him at all.”
“Good,” Jin appreciated right away. “She has better perception of what people are like then. I´ll whole-heartedly welcome her in our team.”
Kame chuckled bitterly: “Teaming up sounds nice, but I doubt there´ll be any more of us. It definitely seems that the reverend believes it´s his primary mission to redeem us all from awful sins and he´s got quite a persuasive ability to help him in that.”
Jin snorted scornfully: “Just let him try. I´m even looking forward to give him a proper reason to call me a dirty sinner.”
Kame gave him a not very pleasant look and Jin´s sneer broke.
“Don´t look at me like that, Kazuya... We both agreed on that, didn´t we?” he reminded the younger one quietly.
“We did,” Kame confirmed coldly. “And from some reason I´ve got the feeling you´ve already used the opportunity.”
Jin´s black conscience was back right away. Suddenly, he really hated lying to Kame before. He should have expected that his boyfriend would see right through it. But he just could not bring himself to admit it right away.
“How did you come up with this?” he eyed him tensely. “Nothing important happened.”
“But something did, right?” Kame figured swiftly.
Jin sighed heavily in defeat: “Yes.”
His smart lover just kept looking at him motionlessly. Naturally, Jin was not able to withstand it for long.
“I thought one of the girls was in pain and I wanted to take her to doc. But she was okay and… She kissed me,” Jin finally admitted, sputtering next words as quickly as possible. “It was nothing, really, she was just grateful for my concern.”
“So, why didn´t you want to tell me?” Kame asked with an unreadable expression.
“Why the hell do you think?” Jin whispered urgently. “Why should I bother you with this?”
“It´s no bother telling me the truth.”
Jin returned Kame´s serious look in tense silence.
“You´re right… I´m sorry.”
“It´s okay,” Kame assured him softly, but he could see it - that hint of sadness in his eyes.
Jin cursed wordlessly in his mind. So much for improving his boyfriend´s mood.
“Fucking Reverend,” he murmured aloud upset, in need to take his irritation out on someone. “He just brings troubles we don´t need.”
“We´ll handle it, Jin,” Kame reacted, his hands squeezing the tankard. “The thing is, we must be careful about it, but we will.”
“Yeah…” Jin agreed darkly. “For example, I bet he´s hiding some dark dirty secret. Let´s find it out and kick his ass back to where he came from.”
“That´s… actually a very tempting idea,” Kame admitted.
“I´ll definitely have my ears and eyes ready for any gossip related to him,” Jin promised and sent another meaningful look toward Harada, who was apparently quite busy. “I don´t get it, really. How could you endure that crap in the church till the end?”
Only now, Kame focused his unusually dark eyes on him: “You shouldn´t have left, Jin. It just makes him notice you more.”
“Wrong,” he objected. “I had to leave, otherwise I´d have puked.”
Sighing, Kame stared at the surface of the remaining beer for a while, before speaking again with his voice lowered: “Believe me, I know exactly what you mean. Nevertheless, you should still…”
But Jin didn´t let him continue: “I won´t listen to anyone telling shit about things I love doing with you during the night,” he stated relentlessly.
His words made Kame shut his mouth with almost audible sound. With no new beer in sight, Jin tapped his fingers over the counter impatiently.
A bit flustered, Kame looked around inconspicuously, making sure guests in the saloon were not paying them any attention, before leaning a little closer to him: “Jin… I like when you say something like this, but make sure no one else hears it as well, okay?” he urged on him with faint blush on his cheeks.
Jin eyed Kame´s face, purposely letting his eyes fall down his body and then back up: “You seem embarrassed, Kazuya,” he noted with pretended surprise.
“Jin!”
Actually, it was no wonder Kame was like that at the moment. Just remembering the very morning before that stupid Mass, when he bent Kame over the kitchen table and made him moan loudly, brought the sudden desire in Jin´s lower parts. And it seemed that he finally found something with what he could drag Kame´s thoughts away from their previous discussion.
Jin let the mischievous smirk appear on his face: “What´s up with this outraged reaction? The dirty talk is the only thing I can practice with you anywhere. Don´t you dare to take it from me.”
Finally, Kame could not help but chuckle and he shook his head in disbelief: “Just how could I do it?”
“Well… If you promise you´d actually do something dirty with me, that might make me stop talking about it,” Jin reacted with a meaningful smile.
Kame almost choked on the last sip of beer. After he stopped coughing, he gave Jin a piercing and a little agitated look.
“With such a tone, you really make me wonder just what level of dirty things there´re on you mind…”
“Will you dare to guess?” Jin challenged him.
His teasing finally provoked Kame enough to join him.
“No. It will be more practical if we go outside. I´ll let you show me instead.”
***
Danny reached the very end of main corridor and briefly knocked on the door, which still faintly smelled like a freshly cut-down tree. When a voice called from within, he entered the room with a greeting on his lips.
Curiously, he looked around, noticing that the salon was already fully furnished and completely ready to fulfill the demanding requirements of his employer. For the most part, it was also to his merit that the new house was suitable for use and living so quickly and he allowed himself to feel a bit of satisfaction that practically everything requested by Mr. Cameron was achieved in the end.
He remained standing in front of the luxurious desk made of mahogany wood, probably the most expensive equipment in the room.
“You wanted to see me, sir?”
“Yes, Danny…” Cameron Henderson put the latest copy of Avant Courier aside and got up. “Sit down,” he gestured to one of the empty armchairs near the currently cool and dark fireplace. “Do you want something to drink?”
Danny´s jaw almost literally dropped. Mr. Cameron didn´t drink alcohol often and not at all with his employees. Since he was expecting some new orders and definitely not an invitation like that, he gaped at his boss for a while, before he was able to shake off his surprise: “No… I´m good, sir. Thank you.”
“All right,” Mr. Cameron waited until Danny sat down, but he himself remained standing behind the second armchair, his expression serious. “I need your help in a little… sensitive matter.”
Danny thought that this situation was getting weirder each second. Why would Mr. Cameron ask for something so politely, when all he had to do was to give him a command?
“Of course,” he nodded. “I´m listening.”
“Actually, I´d like to discuss something with you,” only now, Mr. Cameron made use of the other comfortable seat and leant forward to him. “Tell me everything you know, or even think about Kamenashi and Akanishi.”
Hearing the request, it was as if a heavy stone fell into Danny´s stomach.
“But… We´ve already talked about them before, sir,” he reminded him of their previous discussions awkwardly.
“No,” Mr. Cameron dismissed his objection. “You just mentioned the usual and well-known facts and most of them I could figure out myself. That´s far from enough information which I need to hear from you.”
Danny gulped down in an attempt to clear his tight throat. Even the soft armchair didn´t feel so comfortable anymore.
“Mr. Cameron, why do you think I know the first thing about those two?”
“You know at least Kamenashi much longer than me,” his boss insisted. “And you had personal dealings with them a couple of times. Not to mention you were there in the quarry when Grenet captured and tortured those two. You surely have an opinion about them.”
“Well, when you put it this way, then yes,” Danny admitted unwillingly. “I guess I have.”
Mr. Cameron kept looking in his eyes for a while, before he leant back and reached for the bottle of Scotch whiskey on the small table. Danny sheepishly watched his boss as he poured two drinks.
“Here you go,” Mr. Cameron pressed the glass into Danny´s hand relentlessly. “That might help you remember.”
Danny stared at the alluring liquid, realizing that his previous refusal was swiftly forgotten and he didn´t dare to protest again. He got used to obey his boss to the word, but yet - he didn´t want to answer him now. His inner, unspoken reluctance to cause Kamenashi and Akanishi troubles kept growing stronger ever since they had arrived to Bozeman.
He sipped a bit of the alcohol to buy some time: “I… I don´t know where to start, sir.”
“Never mind, I will ask you specific questions then,” Mr. Cameron decided. “In your opinion, what is Kamenashi like? You surely saw him at work, with his friends, his mother… As what kind of person he strikes you?”
Such a direct question really made Danny remember a lot of opportunities when he encountered Kazuya Kamenashi. And there were not many bad things he could say about him. If any at all.
“I think he´s honest and hard-working,” he began to talk slowly, more sure with each word. “Also brave, almost fearless. Nothing Math did back then could scare him. Only…”
“Only he breaks if those he cares about are in danger, right?” Mr. Cameron finished when he hesitated.
Danny nodded: “When their house in town was burnt down and his mother was dying, he´d have shot Math if that Brice´s girl wouldn´t stop him. And when Akanishi was about to get hurt, he was willing to do anything to protect him. Literally anything…”
“And you admire him for that.”
The voice of his boss was calm, but Danny was not completely sure what he could afford to say: “Well, if I may speak honestly…”
“Go ahead, that´s what I asked you to do.”
He took a breath, feeling the sudden urge to get his thoughts out: “Then yes, I admire him in a way. Even though I don´t understand him, especially his obsession with Indians. It´s like he´s voluntarily burying himself in troubles because of them.”
“Good point,” nodded his boss and emptied his glass in one slow go. “What´s his relationship with that blonde girl?”
“Lena Brice? As far as I know she´s head over heels for him, but Kamenashi treats her only as a younger sister.”
“Anyone else he´s close to in the city?”
On that, Danny shrugged: “Maybe his former employer Harada? That grumpy man seems to have a soft spot for him. I don´t know about anyone else.”
“When you saw him with Black Riders, did you notice anything different about his behavior?”
Danny slowly shook his head, suddenly feeling nervous: “I wasn´t in any contact with them, sir. I just saw them from far away, when they got Math. I…”
“Stop lying, Danny.”
Danny clenched the glass in his hands, looking up: “Sir?”
“I let you get away with it before and I won´t be drawing any consequences for you even now, but I need you to tell me the truth,” Mr. Cameron emphasized. “You negotiated with them, didn´t you? You betrayed Grenet back then. You were not able to avenge yourself for how he mistreated you, so you let them do it for you.”
A chill ran down Danny´s spine. How the hell could his boss know that? It seemed that he believed his explanation back then, about what happened when Math made that foolish attempt to achieve his revenge.
I should have known I wouldn´t be able to fool Mr. Cameron even in this, Danny thought cheerlessly.
His young subordinate fell silent and motionless. His tense expression revealed that Cameron´s assumption hit the bull´s eye.
“I got to know you already, Danny,” he spoke again strictly. “I figured it out a long time ago.”
Danny straightened his back, the look in his eyes suddenly hardened: “Then there´s nothing more I can say to this matter, sir,” he stated in a surprisingly determined and cold voice.
Well, well… My errand boy seems to be growing up a bit, Cameron evaluated Danny´s reaction to himself.
“Even that´s enough for me,” Cameron assumed lightly. “What about Akanishi then? What do you think of him?”
It took a while before Danny spoke this time, obviously even less willing to talk than on the beginning of their conversation.
“A stubborn and reckless fellow. He seems a little hotheaded to me, but he´s also a great rider and shooter.”
“Any acquaintances in Bozeman?”
“The girls at Cora´s place like him, and he seems to be on good terms with Dr. Best.”
“What about him and the Riders? Will you tell me the same fairy tale as in Kamenashi´s case?”
Danny frowned: “As I said, I know nothing about his or Kamenashi´s connection with that Colorado gang, except that Akanishi´s brother is leading them.”
Unfortunately, it really seemed he would not get anything more specific out of Danny on this topic. Therefore Cameron decided to proceed to the main issue.
“All right. And what do you think about those two in general?”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“I´ll ask more clearly then. Are they really just such good buddies or do they shove their dicks into each other´s ass?”
Danny stared at him. For the first time ever since Cameron had hired him the boy seemed to be actually angry at him.
“Well, Danny? I asked you a question.”
“Math thought so…” he spoke finally.
“What did he think?”
“That they are lovers.”
From that Cameron realized - so, that was what Danny didn´t like - the way he described their presumed actual relation. Maybe the boy even envied them. After what he had been through with that disgusting bastard Grenet, who would be surprised?
“And what do you think?” Cameron pressed on. “Are they?”
Danny put the unfinished drink aside on the table and took a breath: “Is that why you talked to the reverend about them?” he asked quietly.
This time, his answer made Cameron upset. To his surprise, it seemed that Danny McFly gathered some of his previous cheekiness back. And that was not a development to his satisfaction.
“That´s not an answer, Danny,” he reacted frowning.
Basically everything Danny had said matched with what he thought about those two himself. He just wondered if the boy perceived something more thanks to his previous experiences. Partially, Cameron achieved what he wanted to confirm with this talk. But still, it was not enough and moreover - it revealed that his errand boy was not as submissive as he seemed to be.
“Why do you even care about such a thing?” Danny asked, his eyes shining with unexpected defiance.
Cameron stared him, this time showing his discontent clearly: “You´re not here to ask question, but to answer mine.”
To his discontent, Danny got up on his feet: “I´m sorry, sir. But I simply don´t know what they´re to each other and I won´t speculate. I´ve just told you everything I knew. Please, allow me to leave.”
Cameron couldn´t help but smirk. Such a reaction was enough of a confirmation to him. Danny was aware that Kamenashi and Akanishi were closer than friends and for some reason was determined to protect that information. There was no point in pushing him any further. But at the same time, young McFly didn´t need to realize that his reaction betrayed his true opinion.
“All right. A new order then - you´ll keep an eye on them until you know. Is that clear?”
At first, Cameron thought Danny would refuse, but in the end the boy nodded unwillingly: “Yes, sir.”
***
A numerous group of Indians on domesticated mustangs galloped through the prairie waving the long spears and bows. Every now and then, they encouraged themselves with loud whoops, which could be heard even on the top of the steep, rocky slope.
John Walker kept watching them until he was sure about the direction the red hunters were heading. Only then, he retreated from his observation point, crouching carefully first, before he assumed it was far enough from the edge for him not to be seen.
After the short walk between the thorny bushes and small trees, he returned to the spot where he had left his traveling companion. His horse was standing there calmly, not really caring about his surroundings. The other was snorting a bit nervously, since one of his legs was just being checked by the woman with long, dark brown hair falling over her shoulder. She was leaning over the horseshoe, holding the animal´s leg surprisingly skillfully, and cleaning it with a short twig.
It was the third time John saw Augusta with her hair loose. She had rich, slightly wavy hair with just a few strings of gray in them. It was a shame that she used to tie them up in the proper bun most of the time. Only recently, she seemed to be more relaxed, especially now when they were travelling in saddles.
John had thought that such a journey would be very unpleasant for the lady, who was used to comfort, but Augusta was obviously enjoying the ride no matter how difficult the road ahead turned out. She also laughed sweetly at his witty remarks, much more than he thought they actually deserved. All that together made her a fascinating woman in his eyes, especially with that hair…
When Augusta let the hoof go, patted the horse in a calming manner and noticed his presence, only then John realized he was standing there motionlessly, just watching her all that time. Fortunately, Augusta didn´t seem to realize it.
“John… I didn´t hear you coming back.”
He cleared his throat: “I´m sorry, I didn´t mean to scare you.”
“No, it´s all right... Did you find anything out?”
John walked to his horse as he replied: “Well, those Indians are apparently on the hunt and they headed east. We should be fine.”
“That´s good,” Augusta nodded. “Should we continue then?”
“Yes, for a little while,” he agreed, glancing up at the cloudy sky. “But we should be already looking for some convenient place to spend the night.”
Pulling on the reins, Augusta led her horse closer to him: “Oh, yes… Probably our last one under the open sky, right?” she said in a somewhat surrendered tone.
John looked at her only shortly, finding the woman´s expression serious and… sad?
“Well, if this good weather lasts and nothing else gets in our way, then yes - tomorrow evening, you should rest in some comfortable, warm beds already.”
Augusta sighed and her eyes became distant: “I do not miss luxury as much as I had expected…”
Well, he didn´t miss it either, especially in her company. Actually, John realized that he hated the idea of being among other people again. But on the other hand, especially because of these kind of thoughts, they could not arrive to the civilization soon enough. It was harder for John to control himself each day…
“Well, let´s go then,” he rather disrupted their shared moment of silence, mounted his horse and grabbed the reins of hers, so that Augusta could get into the saddle safely as well.
*
Damn it, just why didn´t I go the opposite way? John groaned in his mind two hours later, as he found himself confronted with the charming view.
The good thing was that they had found a good spot and secured it for the night soon enough. But they didn´t talk much and there was almost tangible tension between him and Augusta. And from some reason, John considered it not very wise to try to do something about it.
They set up camp and then Augusta left to take care of her evening hygiene, while he started gathering dry wood for a campfire to keep them warm. The nights in the wild were getting much colder very quickly.
John was not in a good mood, when he arrived at that small pond with arms full of wood. How could he be, when Augusta reminded him this was probably the last night they would spend together alone?
He really enjoyed travelling with her, despite that he could not get close to her, or touch her, even if it was what he wanted to do the most the whole time spent with her. He had to endure. It was his duty as a gentlemen and her guard. He could not misuse the situation. He would not be able to look at himself then.
He had strongly believed that there was only this one last night in front of him and then his self-torture would be over. But now… He came upon this.
The soft waves splashing over the naked skin, some of the woman´s curves blurred by the water, but still visible more than enough. No matter the growing shadows of the upcoming night, John was enchanted by the view of a naked woman kneeling in the shallow water.
He didn´t mean to spy on her, not at all. He really didn´t realize his steps headed in the same direction as did Augusta´s before. Or maybe, he didn´t want to realize that. He didn´t think that…
Why did she even get undressed? Isn´t it too cold for that?
Augusta Tabor splashed her face one more time before straightening up and returning to the shore with a couple of quick but careful steps. Her wet skin was very pale in contrast with the dark surroundings and her body…
John turned away in panic, rushing into the nearest tree. Half of the sticks in his hands fell down to the ground. He suppressed a loud curse and froze, hoping that the noise would go unnoticed…
“Hello? Anyone´s there?” Augusta´s alerted voice confirmed him the very opposite.
Shit…
“John, is that you?” she sounded quite frightened now.
Between the low branches, he glanced in the direction of that ten-time-cursed pond again. Augusta Tabor was standing there all wet and naked, pressing the small towel against her breasts. And her pose was a bit weird, as if she was trying to relieve one of her legs.
Damn it all…
With his face averted, John stepped from behind the tree to let Augusta see him and raised one hand apologetically.
“Yes, it´s me… I´m sorry, I didn´t mean to… I´m really sorry.”
There was a short silence, which squeezed his throat.
“I´m glad it´s you and not any gangster,” Augusta stated then shakily.
John felt even more embarrassed now, unable to move. Something rustled, probably when the woman grabbed her clothes.
He took a slow breath: “Well, I´m gonna leave you to finish things up,” and he turned away quickly, before his heart could persuade him to act differently.
“John, wait, please…” Augusta´s voice was suddenly really nervous. “I think I stabbed something in my foot…”
He stared into space, hearing own pulse throbbing in his ears: “Oh… How bad is it?”
“I can walk, just… Can you help me gather my things?”
Most of all, he just wanted to run away from her as far as was only possible. But he couldn´t, not when she pleaded that way…
Feeling stiff like a stone, he put the dry sticks down: “Yes, of course.”
Augusta cleared her throat: “You… you can turn around now.”
And he did, but kept his eyes low, almost afraid to look her in the eye. Augusta was sitting there in light shirt and underskirt, holding one of her feet up.
John had to order his legs to move. He snatched the coat from the pile of her remaining clothes nearby, approached her small figure and draped it around her shoulders.
“Here. You don´t want to catch a cold.”
Augusta turned to him, her eyes sinking into his.
“I´m not cold,” she whispered. “Not with you around.”
She said it so quietly he might have persuaded himself that he overheard. If not being for the rest of her signs. Her words, her eyes and her body - all of it were telling him something he was afraid to admit. That she might have felt a bit of what he felt towards her. Which was a damn foolish hope.
John´s hands squeezed Augusta´s shoulders without him having any will in it.
“You should not talk like this, Ma´am,” he muttered with all his muscles cramped.
“John…”
He couldn´t handle it anymore and cut her short rudely: “Let me see that.”
Squatting in front of her, he gently took Augusta´s leg and pulled it a little closer to see her wound better. Her skin was cold and in comparison with his, her foot was tiny, hardened by the long travels, but still very feminine. And tense, just as his whole body.
“It doesn’t seem anything is stuck in it, but you´re bleeding. Do you have a handkerchief or something like that?”
Without a word, a soft fabric appeared in front of his eyes.
“Good,” John wrapped and tied it around her foot carefully. “This should hold at least until we get back.”
*
Augusta was limping slightly, so they reached their camp only when it already got dark. She was watching him all the time he was preparing a fire; John felt her eyes and could not tell if it made him nervous or excited.
And also, he could not make himself to break that uncomfortable silence between them. In the end, he didn´t have to, because Augusta did.
“Why don´t you look at me properly, John?”
That quiet question came out somewhat shakily, but clearly.
Everything inside him squeezed so hard he was not able to answer right away. He remained squatting near the fire, his hands outstretched forward.
“Am I so disgusting to you?”
John dropped the wood outside the fireplace in shock over that question. He looked at Augusta, his eyes wide. She was sitting there by the fire, the long hair framing her pale face and her eyes shiny with tears.
What the hell did I make her think about me?
“What?” he exhaled sharply. “How did you come up with that? Of course not! You are…!”
John stopped himself in the last second. Augusta kept looking at him with such an expression that he felt like the most horrible man under the sun. She was wrapped in a thick blanket, yet she was visibly trembling. He gulped down heavily, still searching for more proper words.
“John… What am I to you?” Augusta asked with her voice awfully tight.
That was it. He could not lie to himself or to her anymore. Not when she asked him like this.
First, John threw the wood to where it belonged and walked around the fire to sit next to her. Even while staring into the hot flames, he felt her eyes upon himself.
“Do you want to hear the truth, Mrs. Tabor?”
A shaky exhalation soothed his cheek, as she turned to him: “I request nothing else of you now, Captain.”
John took a deep breath: “To me, you´re an amazing woman, who attracts me more every day. Even though I know that I can´t have you…”
“And who says you can´t?” she interrupted him softly.
Feeling his heart up in his throat, John dared to look at her. That incredible woman was so close that he could feel her warm breath. The anxiety from her face was gone, there was only expectation and also… something else.
“Augusta…” he breathed out, his eyes involuntarily slipping down to her lips.
“Just do it, John,” she encouraged him huskily.
And so he did.
- To be continued -
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: Vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Disclaimer: This story uses the real names and appearances of certain Japanese artists. Everything else is just a fanfiction (unfortunately) and result of my imagination.
Beta-reading:
atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.
Author´s Note: Here you go with no 20...
I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.
Each chapter is posted on my LJ in advance.
Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven // Chapter eight // Chapter nine // Chapter ten // Chapter eleven // Chapter twelve // Chapter thirteeen // Chapter fourteen // Chapter fifteen // Chapter sixteen // Chapter seventeen // Chapter eighteen // Chapter nineteen //
Breakthroughs
After calm lunch with the Brices, it was as if Kame stepped into a completely different world, when he walked through the batwing doors. It seemed that in need of celebrating the purification of their souls, the honorable Bozeman citizens gathered in Harada´s Saloon in even greater numbers than was usual for Sunday afternoons.
As he walked to the bar, none of those who were present in the church that morning made an impression of being bothered about burdening themselves with exactly those sins against which their dear Reverend had warned them. It made him wonder what meaning those people saw in going there and listening to lengthy sermons at all.
Koki, with beer foam decorating his chin, waved at him from the middle of noisy circle. A large number of his fellow miners were occupying the two biggest tables, obviously eager to waste their latest wage on alcohol and saloon girls. Kame greeted him back and then focused on the guests sitting on the bar stools. Just as he had suspected, he found Jin at the distant edge of the counter.
Back at home, Kame fully agreed when his lover proposed they should give themselves some reward for bearing the reverend´s ´bullshit talk´, but in contrary to their previous agreement, Jin had started pampering himself somewhat early.
Kame put the small, carefully wrapped package in front of his drinking boyfriend and then took the seat next to him.
“Mrs. Brice sends this,” he reacted to Jin´s questioning look. “They expected you to show up as well,” he added reproachfully.
“Sorry… I completely forgot,” Jin murmured a little abashed and reached for his beer again.
“I figured,” Kame sighed and nodded at Harada, who just took notice of his arrival and raised an empty tankard in the obvious question.
“I wasn´t drinking here all that time, you know,” Jin informed him defensively. “Cora needed help with something…”
*
“Well, well… Who do I see here?” Jin´s employer commented his arrival to the brothel quite gleefully, as she raised her head from stitching the rich red dress. “You got bored with praising the God so quickly?”
“Don´t even remind me,” Jin grunted and dropped into the armchair next to her. “I almost fell asleep while standing.”
Cora giggled at his annoyed expression: “I can imagine. I just knew praying was nothing for you.”
He grinned: “I´d rather do something useful with my time. Don´t you need anything?”
She eyed him amused: “Actually, if you don´t mind women´s work, you can help Dana with the laundry. She´s in the backyard.”
“Great!” at that moment, Jin would accept even cleaning the latrines, if it helped him to take his mind off the morning mass. “Anything´s better than bowing to that bighead in black.”
Cora raised her eyebrows: “No way! How disrespectful of you, Jin!” she gasped for a breath in pretended outrage.
Jin snorted: “Don´t play games with me. I know you don´t think anything better about that man than I do.”
“You got me,” she admitted, already laughing openly. “Do you really call the reverend that?”
“No,” Jin snickered. “But we should give him a nickname… What about ´Vile Raven´?”
“I think that´s awfully accurate,” Cora praised him highly.
“What can I say? He´s just asking for it,” Jin stated and got to his feet. “Well, I´ll find Dana then.”
“All right… And don´t you dare to come back here once you´re done. You´ve got a day off, remember?” she reminded him with a smile.
“Roger that,” Jin parted with her saluting, making the woman laugh again.
*
The freshly washed beddings were fluttering in the wind on the long strings all across the yard. Jin came out of the door and looked around, searching for the female figure between them.
“Dana?” he called, not seeing the girl anywhere. “Dana!”
There was no direct answer, but he caught some shifting sounds on his left and followed them. Pushing one duvet cover aside, he found the blonde squatting near the wall. She was clutching her stomach with both hands, a painful expression distorting her pretty face.
“Dana!” Jin reached out and squeezed her shoulder worriedly.
She looked up to him: “Ah… Jin. Hello.”
“What happened to you?”
The girl breathed out heavily, grabbed his offered arm and slowly stood up with his help: “It´s nothing serious.”
“Really?” Jin frowned. “You seem to be in pain…”
Dana shook her head: “It will pass. Don´t worry.”
“How can you tell?” he opposed persistently. “I´ll rather take you to Dr. Best to look at you.”
“Jin, wait,” the tired girl even smiled this time. “You´re sweet, but it´s just the usual, woman´s monthly thing, okay?”
Jin froze. He stared at Dana embarrassed for a while and then hastily released his grip around her arms: “Sorry.”
“No, no, it´s fine. I´m quite flattered you care,” Dana winked at him, still a little paler than usually, but with her mood improving quickly. “It´s clear to me why the boss likes you so much,” she said while straightening her skirt.
Jin looked at her surprised: “What are you talking about?”
“Come on, Cora treats you better than anyone else in this dirty town.”
“I don´t think so…” he tried to deny faintly what he had already noticed as well.
Dana rolled her eyes: “Don´t pretend that you don´t see it. All the girls know already… We even made a bet, actually.”
That awoke Jin´s curiosity: “What kind of bet?”
“Well…” Dana looked around and then stepped closer, so that her sweet fragrance literally flooded his nose and whispered into his ear: “About how long it´ll take before she takes you to her bed. And for free. You know what I mean…” she added huskily, shortly pressing her breasts over his arm, before she pulled away.
Jin was not sure if Dana´s statement surprised him or not, but he couldn´t deny being pleased about it. Nevertheless, he chuckled in disbelief: “Hold your horses, girl. That´s not gonna happen.”
Dana crossed hands on her chest, making the lower part of her bare neck a very, very alluring sight. Damn, he didn´t think he would be so horny after that passionate morning with Kame…
“Why? Don´t you like her?” the girl asked provocatively.
Jin forced himself to raise his eyes back to her face: “That´s not it… Cora´s a beautiful woman, but… She´s also my boss and I intend to keep our relationship that way.”
“Oh, okay,” reacting on that, Dana´s cheeky eyes examined him from head to toes and back. “Then… In case you forgot, I´m not,” she said teasingly.
“What do you mean?”
“This,” Dana stepped close to him once again, stood on her tiptoes and then pressed a soft kiss on his cheek. “I´m not your boss…” she whispered as she moved to his lips.
Jin was so surprised that he couldn´t even dodge, when Dana gave him a damn hot and lustful kiss. When he didn´t push her away it encouraged Dana to go further and she slipped out with her tongue, teasing him playfully. Feeling quite heated, Jin finally gathered himself enough to pull away, but Dana retreated herself, just before he opened his eyes.
Her breath tickled his ear, as she spoke again: “Just a small reminder to a handsome bodyguard.”
*
“Jin? Jin!”
He flinched under the close, sharp look of hazel eyes. He realized that he got completely lost in thoughts about what had happened on the backyard of Cora´s place. Well, the truth was that it had been long since he was with any woman and he really enjoyed Dana´s warm, affectionate closeness. But now, it felt like Kame could literally see that kissing scene inside his head, which was far less enjoyable.
Damn, I haven´t felt guilty about liking that kiss until now…
“What?” he asked a little hoarsely.
His boyfriend´s eyebrows knitted in a suspicious frown: “What do you mean by ´what´? You didn´t listen to me at all.”
Jin cleared his throat nervously: “Sorry… What did you say?”
“That you don´t need to explain yourself to me,” Kame replied and thanked Harada for the beer, which just landed in front of him.
Hearing that, Jin´s conscience squeezed his stomach sharply. No matter that they had already discussed this sensitive issue, and his reaction matched up with what they had agreed upon, he should have pulled away from Dana sooner.
“Though, I´m not so sure about it now,” Kame continued quietly. “Did something happen?”
“No! Not at all,” Jin assured him.
He was probably a way too fast with that reply, because Kame stared at him for a long while, before he seemed to refrain from further questions and reached for his beer.
Jin breathed a stealthy sigh of relief. He didn´t want to tell Kame about Dana, at least not yet. After all, they had agreed that he would start treating women in a way, which was about to be expected from any other man in town. It didn´t mean anything and there was no reason for hurting his lover´s feelings with something so insignificant. At least, that was how Jin justified it to himself.
Silently, Jin watched as Kame raised the tankard to take a few gulps. The sight of his tongue licking the remaining liquid from his lips flooded Jin´s stomach with hot, pleasant tingling. It seemed that thanks to Dana he turned a bit oversensitive to certain things. To suppress his sudden desire to be alone with Kame, he wanted to drink more, but found his own tankard empty. Impatiently, he gestured at Harada to bring him one more.
“So, what about the Brices? How are they?” he asked, intending to change topic to something safer.
Kame didn´t look at him when he replied: “They´re doing fine.”
Jin recognized that slightly aggrieved tone and it made him even more determined to improve the younger one´s mood.
“So, I guess they approve of those stupid Masses…”
Kame nodded pensively: “Yes, Mr. Brice and his wife won´t say a bad word about the reverend. On the other hand, Lena refuses to talk about him at all.”
“Good,” Jin appreciated right away. “She has better perception of what people are like then. I´ll whole-heartedly welcome her in our team.”
Kame chuckled bitterly: “Teaming up sounds nice, but I doubt there´ll be any more of us. It definitely seems that the reverend believes it´s his primary mission to redeem us all from awful sins and he´s got quite a persuasive ability to help him in that.”
Jin snorted scornfully: “Just let him try. I´m even looking forward to give him a proper reason to call me a dirty sinner.”
Kame gave him a not very pleasant look and Jin´s sneer broke.
“Don´t look at me like that, Kazuya... We both agreed on that, didn´t we?” he reminded the younger one quietly.
“We did,” Kame confirmed coldly. “And from some reason I´ve got the feeling you´ve already used the opportunity.”
Jin´s black conscience was back right away. Suddenly, he really hated lying to Kame before. He should have expected that his boyfriend would see right through it. But he just could not bring himself to admit it right away.
“How did you come up with this?” he eyed him tensely. “Nothing important happened.”
“But something did, right?” Kame figured swiftly.
Jin sighed heavily in defeat: “Yes.”
His smart lover just kept looking at him motionlessly. Naturally, Jin was not able to withstand it for long.
“I thought one of the girls was in pain and I wanted to take her to doc. But she was okay and… She kissed me,” Jin finally admitted, sputtering next words as quickly as possible. “It was nothing, really, she was just grateful for my concern.”
“So, why didn´t you want to tell me?” Kame asked with an unreadable expression.
“Why the hell do you think?” Jin whispered urgently. “Why should I bother you with this?”
“It´s no bother telling me the truth.”
Jin returned Kame´s serious look in tense silence.
“You´re right… I´m sorry.”
“It´s okay,” Kame assured him softly, but he could see it - that hint of sadness in his eyes.
Jin cursed wordlessly in his mind. So much for improving his boyfriend´s mood.
“Fucking Reverend,” he murmured aloud upset, in need to take his irritation out on someone. “He just brings troubles we don´t need.”
“We´ll handle it, Jin,” Kame reacted, his hands squeezing the tankard. “The thing is, we must be careful about it, but we will.”
“Yeah…” Jin agreed darkly. “For example, I bet he´s hiding some dark dirty secret. Let´s find it out and kick his ass back to where he came from.”
“That´s… actually a very tempting idea,” Kame admitted.
“I´ll definitely have my ears and eyes ready for any gossip related to him,” Jin promised and sent another meaningful look toward Harada, who was apparently quite busy. “I don´t get it, really. How could you endure that crap in the church till the end?”
Only now, Kame focused his unusually dark eyes on him: “You shouldn´t have left, Jin. It just makes him notice you more.”
“Wrong,” he objected. “I had to leave, otherwise I´d have puked.”
Sighing, Kame stared at the surface of the remaining beer for a while, before speaking again with his voice lowered: “Believe me, I know exactly what you mean. Nevertheless, you should still…”
But Jin didn´t let him continue: “I won´t listen to anyone telling shit about things I love doing with you during the night,” he stated relentlessly.
His words made Kame shut his mouth with almost audible sound. With no new beer in sight, Jin tapped his fingers over the counter impatiently.
A bit flustered, Kame looked around inconspicuously, making sure guests in the saloon were not paying them any attention, before leaning a little closer to him: “Jin… I like when you say something like this, but make sure no one else hears it as well, okay?” he urged on him with faint blush on his cheeks.
Jin eyed Kame´s face, purposely letting his eyes fall down his body and then back up: “You seem embarrassed, Kazuya,” he noted with pretended surprise.
“Jin!”
Actually, it was no wonder Kame was like that at the moment. Just remembering the very morning before that stupid Mass, when he bent Kame over the kitchen table and made him moan loudly, brought the sudden desire in Jin´s lower parts. And it seemed that he finally found something with what he could drag Kame´s thoughts away from their previous discussion.
Jin let the mischievous smirk appear on his face: “What´s up with this outraged reaction? The dirty talk is the only thing I can practice with you anywhere. Don´t you dare to take it from me.”
Finally, Kame could not help but chuckle and he shook his head in disbelief: “Just how could I do it?”
“Well… If you promise you´d actually do something dirty with me, that might make me stop talking about it,” Jin reacted with a meaningful smile.
Kame almost choked on the last sip of beer. After he stopped coughing, he gave Jin a piercing and a little agitated look.
“With such a tone, you really make me wonder just what level of dirty things there´re on you mind…”
“Will you dare to guess?” Jin challenged him.
His teasing finally provoked Kame enough to join him.
“No. It will be more practical if we go outside. I´ll let you show me instead.”
***
Danny reached the very end of main corridor and briefly knocked on the door, which still faintly smelled like a freshly cut-down tree. When a voice called from within, he entered the room with a greeting on his lips.
Curiously, he looked around, noticing that the salon was already fully furnished and completely ready to fulfill the demanding requirements of his employer. For the most part, it was also to his merit that the new house was suitable for use and living so quickly and he allowed himself to feel a bit of satisfaction that practically everything requested by Mr. Cameron was achieved in the end.
He remained standing in front of the luxurious desk made of mahogany wood, probably the most expensive equipment in the room.
“You wanted to see me, sir?”
“Yes, Danny…” Cameron Henderson put the latest copy of Avant Courier aside and got up. “Sit down,” he gestured to one of the empty armchairs near the currently cool and dark fireplace. “Do you want something to drink?”
Danny´s jaw almost literally dropped. Mr. Cameron didn´t drink alcohol often and not at all with his employees. Since he was expecting some new orders and definitely not an invitation like that, he gaped at his boss for a while, before he was able to shake off his surprise: “No… I´m good, sir. Thank you.”
“All right,” Mr. Cameron waited until Danny sat down, but he himself remained standing behind the second armchair, his expression serious. “I need your help in a little… sensitive matter.”
Danny thought that this situation was getting weirder each second. Why would Mr. Cameron ask for something so politely, when all he had to do was to give him a command?
“Of course,” he nodded. “I´m listening.”
“Actually, I´d like to discuss something with you,” only now, Mr. Cameron made use of the other comfortable seat and leant forward to him. “Tell me everything you know, or even think about Kamenashi and Akanishi.”
Hearing the request, it was as if a heavy stone fell into Danny´s stomach.
“But… We´ve already talked about them before, sir,” he reminded him of their previous discussions awkwardly.
“No,” Mr. Cameron dismissed his objection. “You just mentioned the usual and well-known facts and most of them I could figure out myself. That´s far from enough information which I need to hear from you.”
Danny gulped down in an attempt to clear his tight throat. Even the soft armchair didn´t feel so comfortable anymore.
“Mr. Cameron, why do you think I know the first thing about those two?”
“You know at least Kamenashi much longer than me,” his boss insisted. “And you had personal dealings with them a couple of times. Not to mention you were there in the quarry when Grenet captured and tortured those two. You surely have an opinion about them.”
“Well, when you put it this way, then yes,” Danny admitted unwillingly. “I guess I have.”
Mr. Cameron kept looking in his eyes for a while, before he leant back and reached for the bottle of Scotch whiskey on the small table. Danny sheepishly watched his boss as he poured two drinks.
“Here you go,” Mr. Cameron pressed the glass into Danny´s hand relentlessly. “That might help you remember.”
Danny stared at the alluring liquid, realizing that his previous refusal was swiftly forgotten and he didn´t dare to protest again. He got used to obey his boss to the word, but yet - he didn´t want to answer him now. His inner, unspoken reluctance to cause Kamenashi and Akanishi troubles kept growing stronger ever since they had arrived to Bozeman.
He sipped a bit of the alcohol to buy some time: “I… I don´t know where to start, sir.”
“Never mind, I will ask you specific questions then,” Mr. Cameron decided. “In your opinion, what is Kamenashi like? You surely saw him at work, with his friends, his mother… As what kind of person he strikes you?”
Such a direct question really made Danny remember a lot of opportunities when he encountered Kazuya Kamenashi. And there were not many bad things he could say about him. If any at all.
“I think he´s honest and hard-working,” he began to talk slowly, more sure with each word. “Also brave, almost fearless. Nothing Math did back then could scare him. Only…”
“Only he breaks if those he cares about are in danger, right?” Mr. Cameron finished when he hesitated.
Danny nodded: “When their house in town was burnt down and his mother was dying, he´d have shot Math if that Brice´s girl wouldn´t stop him. And when Akanishi was about to get hurt, he was willing to do anything to protect him. Literally anything…”
“And you admire him for that.”
The voice of his boss was calm, but Danny was not completely sure what he could afford to say: “Well, if I may speak honestly…”
“Go ahead, that´s what I asked you to do.”
He took a breath, feeling the sudden urge to get his thoughts out: “Then yes, I admire him in a way. Even though I don´t understand him, especially his obsession with Indians. It´s like he´s voluntarily burying himself in troubles because of them.”
“Good point,” nodded his boss and emptied his glass in one slow go. “What´s his relationship with that blonde girl?”
“Lena Brice? As far as I know she´s head over heels for him, but Kamenashi treats her only as a younger sister.”
“Anyone else he´s close to in the city?”
On that, Danny shrugged: “Maybe his former employer Harada? That grumpy man seems to have a soft spot for him. I don´t know about anyone else.”
“When you saw him with Black Riders, did you notice anything different about his behavior?”
Danny slowly shook his head, suddenly feeling nervous: “I wasn´t in any contact with them, sir. I just saw them from far away, when they got Math. I…”
“Stop lying, Danny.”
Danny clenched the glass in his hands, looking up: “Sir?”
“I let you get away with it before and I won´t be drawing any consequences for you even now, but I need you to tell me the truth,” Mr. Cameron emphasized. “You negotiated with them, didn´t you? You betrayed Grenet back then. You were not able to avenge yourself for how he mistreated you, so you let them do it for you.”
A chill ran down Danny´s spine. How the hell could his boss know that? It seemed that he believed his explanation back then, about what happened when Math made that foolish attempt to achieve his revenge.
I should have known I wouldn´t be able to fool Mr. Cameron even in this, Danny thought cheerlessly.
His young subordinate fell silent and motionless. His tense expression revealed that Cameron´s assumption hit the bull´s eye.
“I got to know you already, Danny,” he spoke again strictly. “I figured it out a long time ago.”
Danny straightened his back, the look in his eyes suddenly hardened: “Then there´s nothing more I can say to this matter, sir,” he stated in a surprisingly determined and cold voice.
Well, well… My errand boy seems to be growing up a bit, Cameron evaluated Danny´s reaction to himself.
“Even that´s enough for me,” Cameron assumed lightly. “What about Akanishi then? What do you think of him?”
It took a while before Danny spoke this time, obviously even less willing to talk than on the beginning of their conversation.
“A stubborn and reckless fellow. He seems a little hotheaded to me, but he´s also a great rider and shooter.”
“Any acquaintances in Bozeman?”
“The girls at Cora´s place like him, and he seems to be on good terms with Dr. Best.”
“What about him and the Riders? Will you tell me the same fairy tale as in Kamenashi´s case?”
Danny frowned: “As I said, I know nothing about his or Kamenashi´s connection with that Colorado gang, except that Akanishi´s brother is leading them.”
Unfortunately, it really seemed he would not get anything more specific out of Danny on this topic. Therefore Cameron decided to proceed to the main issue.
“All right. And what do you think about those two in general?”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“I´ll ask more clearly then. Are they really just such good buddies or do they shove their dicks into each other´s ass?”
Danny stared at him. For the first time ever since Cameron had hired him the boy seemed to be actually angry at him.
“Well, Danny? I asked you a question.”
“Math thought so…” he spoke finally.
“What did he think?”
“That they are lovers.”
From that Cameron realized - so, that was what Danny didn´t like - the way he described their presumed actual relation. Maybe the boy even envied them. After what he had been through with that disgusting bastard Grenet, who would be surprised?
“And what do you think?” Cameron pressed on. “Are they?”
Danny put the unfinished drink aside on the table and took a breath: “Is that why you talked to the reverend about them?” he asked quietly.
This time, his answer made Cameron upset. To his surprise, it seemed that Danny McFly gathered some of his previous cheekiness back. And that was not a development to his satisfaction.
“That´s not an answer, Danny,” he reacted frowning.
Basically everything Danny had said matched with what he thought about those two himself. He just wondered if the boy perceived something more thanks to his previous experiences. Partially, Cameron achieved what he wanted to confirm with this talk. But still, it was not enough and moreover - it revealed that his errand boy was not as submissive as he seemed to be.
“Why do you even care about such a thing?” Danny asked, his eyes shining with unexpected defiance.
Cameron stared him, this time showing his discontent clearly: “You´re not here to ask question, but to answer mine.”
To his discontent, Danny got up on his feet: “I´m sorry, sir. But I simply don´t know what they´re to each other and I won´t speculate. I´ve just told you everything I knew. Please, allow me to leave.”
Cameron couldn´t help but smirk. Such a reaction was enough of a confirmation to him. Danny was aware that Kamenashi and Akanishi were closer than friends and for some reason was determined to protect that information. There was no point in pushing him any further. But at the same time, young McFly didn´t need to realize that his reaction betrayed his true opinion.
“All right. A new order then - you´ll keep an eye on them until you know. Is that clear?”
At first, Cameron thought Danny would refuse, but in the end the boy nodded unwillingly: “Yes, sir.”
***
A numerous group of Indians on domesticated mustangs galloped through the prairie waving the long spears and bows. Every now and then, they encouraged themselves with loud whoops, which could be heard even on the top of the steep, rocky slope.
John Walker kept watching them until he was sure about the direction the red hunters were heading. Only then, he retreated from his observation point, crouching carefully first, before he assumed it was far enough from the edge for him not to be seen.
After the short walk between the thorny bushes and small trees, he returned to the spot where he had left his traveling companion. His horse was standing there calmly, not really caring about his surroundings. The other was snorting a bit nervously, since one of his legs was just being checked by the woman with long, dark brown hair falling over her shoulder. She was leaning over the horseshoe, holding the animal´s leg surprisingly skillfully, and cleaning it with a short twig.
It was the third time John saw Augusta with her hair loose. She had rich, slightly wavy hair with just a few strings of gray in them. It was a shame that she used to tie them up in the proper bun most of the time. Only recently, she seemed to be more relaxed, especially now when they were travelling in saddles.
John had thought that such a journey would be very unpleasant for the lady, who was used to comfort, but Augusta was obviously enjoying the ride no matter how difficult the road ahead turned out. She also laughed sweetly at his witty remarks, much more than he thought they actually deserved. All that together made her a fascinating woman in his eyes, especially with that hair…
When Augusta let the hoof go, patted the horse in a calming manner and noticed his presence, only then John realized he was standing there motionlessly, just watching her all that time. Fortunately, Augusta didn´t seem to realize it.
“John… I didn´t hear you coming back.”
He cleared his throat: “I´m sorry, I didn´t mean to scare you.”
“No, it´s all right... Did you find anything out?”
John walked to his horse as he replied: “Well, those Indians are apparently on the hunt and they headed east. We should be fine.”
“That´s good,” Augusta nodded. “Should we continue then?”
“Yes, for a little while,” he agreed, glancing up at the cloudy sky. “But we should be already looking for some convenient place to spend the night.”
Pulling on the reins, Augusta led her horse closer to him: “Oh, yes… Probably our last one under the open sky, right?” she said in a somewhat surrendered tone.
John looked at her only shortly, finding the woman´s expression serious and… sad?
“Well, if this good weather lasts and nothing else gets in our way, then yes - tomorrow evening, you should rest in some comfortable, warm beds already.”
Augusta sighed and her eyes became distant: “I do not miss luxury as much as I had expected…”
Well, he didn´t miss it either, especially in her company. Actually, John realized that he hated the idea of being among other people again. But on the other hand, especially because of these kind of thoughts, they could not arrive to the civilization soon enough. It was harder for John to control himself each day…
“Well, let´s go then,” he rather disrupted their shared moment of silence, mounted his horse and grabbed the reins of hers, so that Augusta could get into the saddle safely as well.
*
Damn it, just why didn´t I go the opposite way? John groaned in his mind two hours later, as he found himself confronted with the charming view.
The good thing was that they had found a good spot and secured it for the night soon enough. But they didn´t talk much and there was almost tangible tension between him and Augusta. And from some reason, John considered it not very wise to try to do something about it.
They set up camp and then Augusta left to take care of her evening hygiene, while he started gathering dry wood for a campfire to keep them warm. The nights in the wild were getting much colder very quickly.
John was not in a good mood, when he arrived at that small pond with arms full of wood. How could he be, when Augusta reminded him this was probably the last night they would spend together alone?
He really enjoyed travelling with her, despite that he could not get close to her, or touch her, even if it was what he wanted to do the most the whole time spent with her. He had to endure. It was his duty as a gentlemen and her guard. He could not misuse the situation. He would not be able to look at himself then.
He had strongly believed that there was only this one last night in front of him and then his self-torture would be over. But now… He came upon this.
The soft waves splashing over the naked skin, some of the woman´s curves blurred by the water, but still visible more than enough. No matter the growing shadows of the upcoming night, John was enchanted by the view of a naked woman kneeling in the shallow water.
He didn´t mean to spy on her, not at all. He really didn´t realize his steps headed in the same direction as did Augusta´s before. Or maybe, he didn´t want to realize that. He didn´t think that…
Why did she even get undressed? Isn´t it too cold for that?
Augusta Tabor splashed her face one more time before straightening up and returning to the shore with a couple of quick but careful steps. Her wet skin was very pale in contrast with the dark surroundings and her body…
John turned away in panic, rushing into the nearest tree. Half of the sticks in his hands fell down to the ground. He suppressed a loud curse and froze, hoping that the noise would go unnoticed…
“Hello? Anyone´s there?” Augusta´s alerted voice confirmed him the very opposite.
Shit…
“John, is that you?” she sounded quite frightened now.
Between the low branches, he glanced in the direction of that ten-time-cursed pond again. Augusta Tabor was standing there all wet and naked, pressing the small towel against her breasts. And her pose was a bit weird, as if she was trying to relieve one of her legs.
Damn it all…
With his face averted, John stepped from behind the tree to let Augusta see him and raised one hand apologetically.
“Yes, it´s me… I´m sorry, I didn´t mean to… I´m really sorry.”
There was a short silence, which squeezed his throat.
“I´m glad it´s you and not any gangster,” Augusta stated then shakily.
John felt even more embarrassed now, unable to move. Something rustled, probably when the woman grabbed her clothes.
He took a slow breath: “Well, I´m gonna leave you to finish things up,” and he turned away quickly, before his heart could persuade him to act differently.
“John, wait, please…” Augusta´s voice was suddenly really nervous. “I think I stabbed something in my foot…”
He stared into space, hearing own pulse throbbing in his ears: “Oh… How bad is it?”
“I can walk, just… Can you help me gather my things?”
Most of all, he just wanted to run away from her as far as was only possible. But he couldn´t, not when she pleaded that way…
Feeling stiff like a stone, he put the dry sticks down: “Yes, of course.”
Augusta cleared her throat: “You… you can turn around now.”
And he did, but kept his eyes low, almost afraid to look her in the eye. Augusta was sitting there in light shirt and underskirt, holding one of her feet up.
John had to order his legs to move. He snatched the coat from the pile of her remaining clothes nearby, approached her small figure and draped it around her shoulders.
“Here. You don´t want to catch a cold.”
Augusta turned to him, her eyes sinking into his.
“I´m not cold,” she whispered. “Not with you around.”
She said it so quietly he might have persuaded himself that he overheard. If not being for the rest of her signs. Her words, her eyes and her body - all of it were telling him something he was afraid to admit. That she might have felt a bit of what he felt towards her. Which was a damn foolish hope.
John´s hands squeezed Augusta´s shoulders without him having any will in it.
“You should not talk like this, Ma´am,” he muttered with all his muscles cramped.
“John…”
He couldn´t handle it anymore and cut her short rudely: “Let me see that.”
Squatting in front of her, he gently took Augusta´s leg and pulled it a little closer to see her wound better. Her skin was cold and in comparison with his, her foot was tiny, hardened by the long travels, but still very feminine. And tense, just as his whole body.
“It doesn’t seem anything is stuck in it, but you´re bleeding. Do you have a handkerchief or something like that?”
Without a word, a soft fabric appeared in front of his eyes.
“Good,” John wrapped and tied it around her foot carefully. “This should hold at least until we get back.”
*
Augusta was limping slightly, so they reached their camp only when it already got dark. She was watching him all the time he was preparing a fire; John felt her eyes and could not tell if it made him nervous or excited.
And also, he could not make himself to break that uncomfortable silence between them. In the end, he didn´t have to, because Augusta did.
“Why don´t you look at me properly, John?”
That quiet question came out somewhat shakily, but clearly.
Everything inside him squeezed so hard he was not able to answer right away. He remained squatting near the fire, his hands outstretched forward.
“Am I so disgusting to you?”
John dropped the wood outside the fireplace in shock over that question. He looked at Augusta, his eyes wide. She was sitting there by the fire, the long hair framing her pale face and her eyes shiny with tears.
What the hell did I make her think about me?
“What?” he exhaled sharply. “How did you come up with that? Of course not! You are…!”
John stopped himself in the last second. Augusta kept looking at him with such an expression that he felt like the most horrible man under the sun. She was wrapped in a thick blanket, yet she was visibly trembling. He gulped down heavily, still searching for more proper words.
“John… What am I to you?” Augusta asked with her voice awfully tight.
That was it. He could not lie to himself or to her anymore. Not when she asked him like this.
First, John threw the wood to where it belonged and walked around the fire to sit next to her. Even while staring into the hot flames, he felt her eyes upon himself.
“Do you want to hear the truth, Mrs. Tabor?”
A shaky exhalation soothed his cheek, as she turned to him: “I request nothing else of you now, Captain.”
John took a deep breath: “To me, you´re an amazing woman, who attracts me more every day. Even though I know that I can´t have you…”
“And who says you can´t?” she interrupted him softly.
Feeling his heart up in his throat, John dared to look at her. That incredible woman was so close that he could feel her warm breath. The anxiety from her face was gone, there was only expectation and also… something else.
“Augusta…” he breathed out, his eyes involuntarily slipping down to her lips.
“Just do it, John,” she encouraged him huskily.
And so he did.
- To be continued -