"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at lunch?" She snarled.

She spit the word lunch out so hotly that I barely contained the urge to laugh.

It wouldn't do to make her think I was making fun of her.

"So...it turns out you're right and I'm wrong. My sisters are b.i.t.c.hes," I explained reluctantly.

I still loved them, but it made me disappointed that they'd act like that. They weren't raised to be mean.

Rue physically wilted when I said that and her head hung. "I'm sorry."

I blinked, surprised that she'd be apologizing when she clearly wasn't in the wrong.

"What are you sorry about?" I wondered.

Nonnie stood and folded the blanket in her arms. "Brianne was just leaving. Would you be a sweetheart and walk my daughter out to her car?"

I smiled sadly at Rue before turning to her Nonnie. "Sure thing, Nonnie. I'll walk her out. You have a good night now, okay?"

"Yes, dear boy. Have a good night now. I love you!" Nonnie said loudly as we were walking out the door.

"I love you too, Nonnie!" I yelled over my shoulder.

We walked in silence down the hall of the nursing home and, for once in my life, I didn't know what to say.

"You're quiet," Rue said as we pushed out of the front doors to the parking lot.

"I feel like I had my head in the clouds. It doesn't sit well with me. And I've had a pretty exciting day," I sighed.

She stopped and turned to me. "What happened?"

"I don't really want to talk about it right now," I tried.

She looked at me incredulously. "You're kidding, right?"

I closed my eyes. "I quit my job."

Her mouth dropped open comically, and I lifted my hand to touch the bottom of her chin, closing it.

"What the f.u.c.k, Mikhail? Why'd you quit the job you just got?" She yelled loudly and waved her hands in the air.

I took a deep breath and then explained.

She sat down heavily on the bench outside the front doors. "I just don't believe it. What the h.e.l.l is wrong with this case? First last night and now this."

"I tried to get into contact with Loki, but he never got back to me. He's working a case that's hot right now, and I didn't want to keep bothering him. Can you tell me about it?" I asked as I took a seat at her side.

She leaned into my shoulder, and I lifted my arm to wrap it around her shoulders, pulling her in close.

"I'm sure you can get the information yourself just as easily, but I'll tell you anyway," she said quietly, and then started to explain.

I closed my eyes as I listened.

The entire situation sounded f.u.c.ked, and I told her so. "That's f.u.c.ked."

She snorted. "Eloquently put, but right on, nonetheless. The whole situation is screwy, and has been since I did the rape kit."

I lifted my free hand that wasn't around her shoulders and rubbed my eyes. "I guess I need to talk to Loki first, tell him what happened. Maybe he can shine some light on the whole situation."

She leaned into me harder before she stood as a yellow cab pulled into the parking lot. "I've got to go check on Audrey. I haven't heard from her, and she isn't answering my calls."

I grimaced. Tunnel had been in a rage the last couple times I'd seen him. So much so that I wasn't really sure I wanted her going over to his house without me.

"You could've called me, I'd have given you a ride," I said dryly.

"You were supposed to be at lunch with those lovely sisters of yours," she quipped.

"Shut up and go get on my bike," I sighed.

She giggled and stood, walking over to my bike. "Sir, yes, sir!"

"Smarta.s.s," I muttered as I too mounted the bike.

Chapter 15.

What if when we die, the light at the end of the tunnel is really just another v.a.g.i.n.a?

-Food for thought Rue "There's a cat in that tree," I said pointing up to the tree above our heads.

All the men looked up and Tunnel cursed. "Motherf.u.c.kin' cat. I told that woman she didn't need a cat. She asked for the cat, I told her I didn't like cats, and we compromised and got a cat."

The men chuckled, breaking the tension that was palpable in the air around us, and I giggled.

We were standing outside of Tunnel's house and I was explaining the case I was about to testify on to them.

There were currently six very large, very annoyed men standing around me. Each and every one of them had their arms crossed over their ma.s.sive chests as they listened to my recounting of the story.

However, to be truthful, this was a sore subject right now since one of The Dixie Warden's own had recently suffered at the hands of a rapist.

Audrey was doing very well considering it'd only been just a few short days ago.

Tunnel, on the other hand, was not.

He was still just as p.i.s.sed now as he was three days ago.

And now the poor cat was about to take the brunt of Tunnel's mood.

"It's not that far up. Cleo, give me a boost," I said as I walked up to the tree.

Then I realized just what I'd said and rethought it. "Never mind, I'll-eep!"

Cleo lifted me as if I was the lightest of feathers.

Straight the f.u.c.k up and over his head.

"You'd be really good at cheerleading," I gasped breathlessly.

"Right, cause I'd fit my shoulders in one of those uniforms for sure," he said dryly.

I snorted. "That's a good visual. I was really just saying that you'd be able to pick girls up easily," I said. "Two more inches up."

I moved two more inches, and was able to get the cat off the lowest branch.

She was a cutie. Mostly black with white patches on her feet, nose, and the end of her tail; she reminded me of a cat I used to have when I was younger.

Although, Flower, my old cat, was the devil.

She was not very nice, and as it turned out, neither was this one.

As soon as my hand made it around her belly, she flipped a switch.

One moment she was sweet and thankful for me getting to her, and the next she was attacking my hand and drawing blood.

"Motherhumper- you stupid b.i.t.c.h!" I hissed, drawing my hand away quickly.

Too late, though. I could feel the blood running down my arm as I reached forward and grabbed the little heifer by the scruff of the neck, hauling her down regardless of her spitting and hissing.

"Here," I said hanging the cat over open air. "Take this little wh.o.r.e before I drop her."

Tunnel came up and grabbed the cat from my hand, being extra cautious now that he'd seen what his cat could do.

"f.u.c.ker," Tunnel grumbled as he took the cat much the same as I had done before handing him over, and walked inside with him.

Cleo lowered me to the ground just as his cell phone rang, but he didn't answer it.

Instead, he lowered me down and then walked me over to the steps at the front of the house.

Pushing me down gently until I sat on my bottom, he pulled my injured hand into both of his and inspected it. "Doesn't look too bad," he rumbled.

I shook my head. "Nah, it's just burning. It won't be that bad by tomorrow."

"Yeah," he said as he leaned over and kissed the top of my head. "f.u.c.ker deserves to die for hurting you."

"It was just a cat, Cleo," I said teasingly.

"I don't care if it's a kitten or a motherf.u.c.kin' Yetti, it hurts you, it deserves to die," he growled.

I giggled. "A Yetti? When was the last time you saw one of those just hanging around?"

The bad thing was, was that he looked completely serious.

He'd kill a little cat because it scratched me...for real?

"You think I'm kidding, don't you?" He asked with a raised brow.

I shook my head. "No, I know you're completely serious. I just wish you'd chill. Nothing's going to hurt me."

"Says the person who got her place vandalized, and a message on her car that said if she didn't withdraw her testimony, her face would look as bad as her car," Loki muttered from behind me.

I blinked and turned my body until I was half turned to look at him. "It said that?"

He looked at me peculiarly. "The cops didn't tell you?"

I shook my head. "No. It was still dark and I avoided looking at it. Now I'm pretty sure I should've just looked at it."

"Here, Mina said to give this to you. Sorry she can't come out. She's pretty sure she has the flu or something," Tunnel muttered as he extended a couple Band-Aid's and alcohol wipes.

I giggled as I reached for the offerings, then rolled my eyes as the man at my side took them from me instead.

He opened the alcohol wipes before methodically wiping my hand and arm clean of the blood. "This is ugly," he muttered.

I looked down at the cuts and bite marks. "It's not too bad. She was just scared."

He grumbled something under his breath, and although I didn't hear it very clearly, I was fairly positive it had something to do with "gator bait."

"Silas called. He asked me to tell you that he wants you to stop by later on your way home from here," Tunnel said as he came to a stop at the swing connected to the porch's ceiling and sat down.

"Okay," Cleo agreed. "Thanks."

"Why didn't he just call you?" I wondered as he started placing Batman Band-Aids over my various cuts.

"My phone's not behaving. It's been out of whack for going on a week now and doesn't even work most of the time. That's why I haven't called you. The charger I have for work doesn't work right, either," he said as he placed the last Band-Aid on.

So that was why he hadn't been calling me. Huh. I guess that was a good enough excuse. "I'd been wondering where you were."

"Just work. Or what used to be work. Don't know what they're going to do in two days when my shift's back up again. Mac is still out. He has pneumonia now, and all the other shifts have been putting in just as much work as I have," Cleo said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in close to his side.

I leaned into him, laying my head on his shoulder. "What are you going to do with all your free time?"

He shrugged. "Dunno. Guess we'll see. I'm sure Silas has something for me to do; if anything else, I can always pull a couple of shifts at Halligans and Handcuffs."