Jeff Saves Her Life For Now

Jeff nods, his eyes flicking back and forth a bit. That is one difference that Bambi notices between Sam and Jeff. Jeff always has been the more cautious brother and something is troubling him. Bambi takes Jeff's hand and feels his fingers curl around hers. She feels a surge, almost as if she's leading Sam upstairs again. She has to remind herself that this is Jeff, not Sam. They go up the stairs and close the door. It's Jeff that locks it behind them and Bambi looks to him questioningly.

"Look," he says without preamble, "before I go into anything, I need to let you know this. You're not a suspect, but I think you're the next target. I know enough about who's been doing the killings to know what sort they're after. Sam died because he knew too much. He talked to you about his cases, didn't he?"

Bambi's fingers flex a little, but she forces herself to relax.

(Just for the mention of my dear little Sam, I wanted to throw him out, especially if he wanted me to betray confidence, but I held myself in, reminding myself that Jeff was always on the level. He wanted to help. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself, because another part of me just wanted to rip Jeff's clothes off. I needed to have Sam, or at least what was close enough to be him.)

"Yes," she says, "he did. He only told me a little, but he said that the Family was behind what was going on and said they might come after him."

Jeff nodded, reaching up to scratch his chin thoughtfully, the way Sam used to.

"That's what I thought," he says, "I'll need more information, but not here. Somewhere I know is safe. And I need you to do something for me."

Bambi raises an eyebrow.

"And what's that?" she asks.

"Duck," he says calmly.

Jeff's hand is already drawing his gun and Bambi does duck as he fires a shot over her shoulder. A body there's a grunt and a gurgle and a body falls out of the drapes of the windows, a neat shot straight through the heart. A better look shows it to be one of the family men.

"It's gotten worse," Jeff says, looking into Bambi's eyes, "you're in more danger here than I thought. We need to get out of here. Do you trust me?"