Page 55 of Rocky

“Cool.” I ended the call and glanced at Rue. Her eyes were glued to her phone. “I wonder what this is about.”

“I think I know,” she whispered.

“How would you know?”

She pressed her phone screen, and a video began to play.

“A body of a man was found floating in Onyx City River this afternoon. It was mistakenly reported to be the body of Deacon Lewis. If you recall, Deacon was reported missing by his family about six months ago. His family was called in to view the body, and an unreliable news media source incorrectly posted on social media that it was Mr. Lewis. I can’t stress how important it is for the media to have all the facts before publishing stories.Although it wasn’t our station that published this information, we deeply apologize to Mr. Lewis’s family.”

“Do you think?—”

“There is nothing to attach us to his death. Deacon had a long list of enemies, and I wasn’t known to be one of them.”

“What about?—”

“What’s the rule, baby?”

“Never ask you anything about that night.”

The night we found Rue in that cabin, I killed Deacon and his two buddies with a single gunshot to the middle of their foreheads. While I burned their bodies, Russell, Semiyon, and Joe dug a ten-foot grave where we dropped their remains.

I wasn’t new to this. I’d been killing bitch ass niggas since I was sixteen years old and had hundreds of bodies on me. I had the police force on my side, but I also knew what the fuck I was doing and covered my tracks.

“Get out of your head, Rue, and stop stressing my baby girl out.”

“I’m sorry. Sometimes, I?—”

“When you get home, pack a bag. It’s time for us to get the suite. I got just the right thing to take your mind off the bullshit.”

Her lips curled into a smile, and her eyes widened.

“Don’t tease me, Rock. Are you for real?”

“I wouldn’t play with your pregnant, horny ass like that. Make sure you tell Rose she’s opening the shop, and ask Daisy to take Briar to school.”

She clapped her hands and squealed with delight. I couldn’t believe I had turned her out like that. Rue acted like regular sex just didn’t do it for her anymore, even though I still had her ass climbing the walls.

The tension in the car lightened, and by the time we made it to our destination, she was back to normal. I helped her get out of my truck and walked her to the passenger side of Russell’s car.

“You make sure you’re ready when I get back,” I told her before pressing my lips against hers.

“I’m always ready. You just remember what the doctor said, and make sure you bring your bag of goodies.”

“Since y’all are playing kissy face, I’m going inside to use the bathroom,” Rose announced.

“I have to go too, but I was trying to wait until we got home. You know I hate public restrooms.”

“Girl, you know your bladder ain’t worth a damn. C’mon.”

She huffed but followed her sister. Russell and I walked in behind them, but Rose held back, and I ended up next to Rue.

Suddenly, the lights popped on and we heard, “Surprise!”

“Oh my God!” Rue screamed, pushing me in front of her.

It took her a moment to gather herself and feel safe enough to step around me.

“Surprise, Mommy!” Briar popped up from the corner and ran to hug her.

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