Page 26 of Rue

She didn’t know what to say about that and had no idea if that was true. She had not studied what was good or bad for a baby in utero. She’d been pretending it didn’t exist.

“Move closer, Rue.”

She stayed still, hoping if she pretended she was asleep…

“Now.”

Cringing, she scooted back until her backside was against his hip.

“Get some sleep, Rue,” he sighed sleepily.

She knew she wouldn’t sleep, though, not with him in bed with her like this. It wasn’t going to happen.

He was the monster under the bed, the beast in the closet, the boogeyman under the stairs, and the goblin outside the window. All of them rolled into one, and he was real and here.

Jerking, Sailor gasped as the bed moved, then sat up quickly as Geo rolled out of bed and got up.

Mig was at the door, and light was coming in behind him.

Daylight.

She had slept.

She had slept next to Geo half the night.

He hadn’t hurt her or raped her.

He slipped out without looking back at her, whispering to Mig as they shut the door.

Getting up, she hurried to the bathroom, barely glancing at the man guarding her door. When she came out, she didn’t go back to her room. Instead, she went out front where Geo and Mig were talking.

“You need more sleep, you still hardly slept last night!” Geo told her quickly as soon as he saw her.

“Could I please go see my mom?” she asked him softly, hopefully looking up at his face. “Day has to know where she is! I’d like to see her before she passes, please? They said she has less than three months! It will be less now that she thinks she’s alone, I need her to know I didn’t…”

“Shut up,” Geo demanded. “Go back to bed or go get a shower and get dressed. I got shit to do,” he grumped, motioning her away.

Sailor sighed dismally but went and took a shower.

When she returned, Davon was out front with Justin, andthey were talking to Geo.

She hurried closer, hopeful.

“... said he won’t have it until the first,” Davon said as she sat down next to Geo and curled up under the blanket, still there. “He can’t get it any sooner. I didn’t give him the… package. Told him no money, no goods. He wasn’t happy, but we left.”

“No, you did right. I don't fuckin’ deal in credit. So where’s my shit?”

“I took it up to The Inferno, actually. I knew a man there who’d want it. Quoted him 50 thinkin’ he’d try ’n talk me down, and he just agreed,” Davon smirked, then handed Geo a thick envelope.

“This is 50?” Geo asked, his eyebrows high.

“Counted myself,” he agreed.

“Yeah, but I know you bad at math,” Geo scoffed, handing the envelope to Mig, who sat down to count it. “He say he want more at that price?”

“He didn’t say, but I can find out,” Davon shrugged.

“Day?” Sailor interrupted. “Do you know where my mom is? Where they took her?”

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