"Sit down. Dortea, get on with it," Judge Judy snapped.

"Somebody didn't get any last night," Cleo muttered under his breath.

I elbowed him, causing a gush of air to escape him.

He turned and glared at me. I could feel his gaze as it burned a hole in the side of my face.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, inadvertently b.u.mping Loki's shoulder.

Why I had to sit in between the two of them was beyond me, but if that's what I had to do to make the two of them comfortable, then so be it.

Dortea stood from her chair, and walked until she stood just in front of the judge's bench. "I'd like to call Rue Loden to the stand. The SANE, or s.e.xual a.s.sault nurse examiner, who was the first one to speak with Vanessa about the case."

I stood, nervousness making my legs shake, and walked up to the front.

However, not before Cleo grabbed the back of my thigh and gave me a rea.s.suring squeeze.

I patted his hand, letting him know I had it under control.

Walking up to the stand, I ignored the whispered conversations as best as I could.

I still heard the muttered comment of 'he's hot. Wonder why he's with her.'

I would've loved to respond, but Judge Judy AKA Snow White, probably wouldn't like me going all Southern on whatever b.i.t.c.h had just said that, in her courtroom.

Doing the usual, I stood behind the wooden barrier that was directly beside the Judge's bench, and placed my hand on the bible.

"Do you swear to tell the truth," the bailiff began.

I missed the rest of what was said, and barely managed an 'I do' because my eyes caught on Cleo.

His gaze held mine, and all the nervousness I was feeling evaporated.

He wouldn't let anything happen to me. I was sure of it.

Rue It all started out good.

Then it wasn't.

Brendan's lawyer was a beast.

He was tall, broad, and unforgiving.

He was cute for an older man, but any and all appeal was lost as soon as he started questioning me.

"Can you walk me through the routine, just one more time, Ms. Loden?" Mr. Masterson asked.

I don't think he meant it to come out sounding so harsh, but it did.

He made me feel like I was a low life criminal, and I wasn't. I was a law-abiding citizen who only wanted to make a difference.

That was why I was a SANE nurse.

They needed me when they were most vulnerable.

Sure, most of the time they were just bulls.h.i.t cases, but every once in a while, like with Audrey, I helped.

Which was why I pulled my big girl panties up, and explained it one more time.

"As I said," I sighed. "I was called in to work a case on the night of April 7. I walked into the room, started speaking with Vanessa, and started collecting what little evidence there was."

"And what do you mean by, 'what little of it there was?'" Mr. Masterson asked, eyes pinning me in place.

My leg was shaking a mile a minute, but I answered the intimidating man despite my growing ire.

"I mean there was very little, if any, evidence. There was no tearing," I explained, holding up one finger. "There was no bruising," I said holding up the second. "There was no s.e.m.e.n. There were no fibers. Vanessa didn't even want to press charges, but her father was standing outside the door ranting. So she did anyway."

Once I got that last sentence out, a small smile tipped up the corner of the stoic lawyer's lips. "I see. And what was the father doing during this time?"

"He was on the phone with the DA's office, from what I could tell. He was ranting and raving about turning this," I said, gesturing to the room as a whole with my hand. "Town upside down, and selling off every property he owned if someone, somewhere, didn't 'fix' this.'"

A grumbled oath from someone in the crowd had my heart beating a little faster.

I knew it was Vanessa's father.

I just knew that if I looked over at him right now, he'd flay the skin from my body with the intensity of his anger.

"Anyway, like I said, she told me that she said 'no' but she also told me she was playing a game with the young man. However, towards the end she 'actually meant it' even though in the beginning she was just saying no because that's what they'd agreed upon before they made the contract," I explained.

Mr. Masterson's eyes zeroed in on me. "Contract?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"So you're telling me that Vanessa admitted that the two of them had a contract?" He asked slowly.

I nodded. "Yes," I agreed.

"Hmmm," he hummed. "I think that's all. No further questions."

I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders as I got down from the stand and made my way back to my seat.

I kept my head down, refusing to look at Vanessa's father's eyes, even though I knew he was still glaring daggers at me.

Once I sat, I leaned into Cleo, resting my head on his shoulder as the DA called the next witness to the stand.

"You did good, sweet girl," Cleo murmured against my head.

"Thank you," I whispered back. "I did."

He laughed.

"Yeah, no self-doubt there," he teased.

I agreed, albeit silently.

I wasn't a big fan of contempt of court, and based on the glare I was receiving from Judge Judy, it wouldn't be long before her patience failed her.

Giving him one last kiss on the cheek, I laid my head down on his shoulder and promptly fell asleep.

Chapter 20.

I'm sorry for what I said when you tried to wake me up. I don't control that me.

-Rue to Cleo Rue I awoke from my nap when my pillow slid out from under me.

I'd been drifting in and out while my head laid pillowed on Cleo's thigh. He, Torren and Loki spoke quietly about the day, allowing me the sleep I so desperately needed.

Channing was on her way over with food, Bodacious BBQ, to be exact, and we were all just waiting.

They'd come to my place since the workers had started on Cleo's house that morning. It was in the process of having a full overhaul, including a built in generator, and a brand new security system.

I'd volunteered to go somewhere else, but everyone, except me that was, agreed that I'd had a long day and I needed to be around my own things.

Secretly, I thought it was because if something did happen, they didn't want blood on their carpet.

The voices that had been floating around my subconscious in my asleep/waking state drifted away, and I fell back to sleep without thought.

The next time I woke was to a sharp pinching sensation in my leg.

I sat up only to fall backwards as whatever was in the needle that was currently embedded in my leg took effect.

My brain got sluggish, and my arms only worked long enough for me to push myself up completely, propping myself up on the arm of the couch.

My limbs refused to work, and my heart started to pound as Vanessa dropped down to her haunches in front of me.

"What are you doing here?" I slurred.

"How hard is it to not testify?" The young girl hissed.

Vanessa White looked ghastly.

I looked at her with wariness. Would she slit my throat with that knife? Stab me?

I could see why she was using a knife, though.

Anything louder would alert the men in the other room of what was happening.

What had she given me anyway?

My eyes were getting heavy, and I couldn't even open my mouth to protest.

She'd played the part of a thankful victim well.

Cleo must've just let her right on in and not even thought twice.

h.e.l.l, I wouldn't have questioned her wanting to see me either.

While I watched her pace back and forth across the room, I focused on raising my arm.

Just a little bit.

There was a gla.s.s jar of marbles on the side table.

The jar wouldn't shatter if it hit the floor, but it would make a h.e.l.l of a noise.

Maybe if I could just knock it off, Cleo would come in here.

"I mean, how many ways did I have to tell you to stop?" The young girl hissed without looking at me or what I was trying to do.

My hand rose in slow degrees.

A millimeter at a time until finally I had it resting against the base of the jar.

It was heavy. Really heavy.

"Then daddy wouldn't let me drop the case, and my poor boyfriend was just hung out there to dry," she whined.

If I could lift my arm right now, I'd have smacked her.

My fingers inched closer and closer. All the while I prayed I'd make it.