Page 140 of Capuleto

"Why don't you bathe her instead? It might help reduce her fever, and the place would stop smelling like a pigsty." It wasn't a bad idea.

I removed her gown and the bandage from her arm. I couldn't put her under the shower with it on. I had bandages, gauze, and iodine in the place. I would treat her wound after rinsing her off.

When I uncovered the wound, Cheng and I exchanged looks. We both knew the marks a gunshot leaves. She raised her eyebrows, questioning.

"It wasn't me if that's what you're wondering."

"Her husband?"

"Could be; only Nikita knows. We'll ask her when she wakes up."

"That's not a good sign." I started undressing.

"Why don't you read your Chinese horoscope for a while and stop bothering me?" Her cheeks reddened as she saw me without my shirt.

"What are you doing?"

"You don't think I'm going to shower with my clothes on, do you? Nikita needs someone to hold her, and I doubt you can manage."

"But are you going to strip completely?"

"If my full nudity embarrasses you, don't look," I replied, pants off. "Comparisons are odious, and your compatriots have a reputation for not finding it." Jing's daughter stayed silent as my underwear joined the rest of my clothes. I didn't care if she looked at my junk or not.

I took my sister in my arms, and once inside the shower, I asked Cheng to help with the soap. I had to hold Nikita since she couldn't stand on her own.

Cheng was reluctant to wash her, so I put her between a rock and a hard place. Either she did it, or we kept the pigsty smell.

She kept muttering in Chinese. I completely ignored her. When she reached the injured arm, my sister flinched.

"Don't scrub the wound," I noted.

"I wasn't planning to. You shouldn't have taken her out of the hospital."

"I wouldn't have if things hadn't gotten complicated. Her husband knows I'm alive and was right behind me with a gun." She looked at me, scared, and stopped moving.

"And where does that leave us? Does he know about our alliance? Did he follow you?"

"No, no one knows our secret, and he couldn't have followed us; I made sure of it." Cheng's expression showed she doubted my words.

"I don't like this situation!"

"And you think I do? I'd rather be on a beach in the Caribbean, but here I am, stuck in this place with you. It is what it is. Either suck it up and deal with it, or walk out that door. I'm sure your father will be thrilled to find you."

"If I could leave, I would have already."

"Well, then you know what to do. Are you almost done? My arms are going to cramp." She ran the showerhead over Nikita's hair to rinse out the soap.

"Your sister is ready."

"Perfect, grab a couple of towels. I'm going to carry her to the sofa, and I don't want to get the floor all wet." She ran to fetch the towels. "Dry us off a bit."

"Dry you?!"

"Either that or you carry her yourself."

"I'd rather mop the entire floor than touch your pale ass."

"Suit yourself," I replied, making a mess of the floor.