Chapter 12 #2
“Sure, man. I’ll give him back.”
“Fuck. You will?”
“Yeah. Sounds like too much drama for me. Where can we meet for the drop?”
“Redlight. Where you took him from me.”
“Too public.”
“Nah, I got a back room there. I can do whatever I want.”
“And how do I know you won’t shoot me or have your men jump me?”
He laughs. “Guess you don’t.”
“We need a neutral location.” Whisper slides a piece of paper toward me with words scrawled on it. “How about the old quarry on Rickshaw Road?”
“Yeah, I know it. When? Tomorrow?”
“Sure. Tomorrow works. We meet at night. I’ll hand Rue over as soon as you hand over the money and the boys. Keep the drugs.”
“You coming alone?”
“Do you think I’m fucking stupid?”
“I ain’t stupid either.”
Oh yes you are. “Obviously. You don’t cause no trouble, I won’t bring no trouble.”
“Same.”
“Nine o’clock?”
“See you then.”
I end the call and lean back in the chair. “What a piece of shit. He sold Rue’s virginity to get into some organization. That’s why he’s so desperate to get him back.”
“He gave you a lot of info. He’s either dumb as fuck, too trusting, or—”
“On drugs. He sounded manic a few times.”
“Which could make him erratic.”
“Nothing we haven’t handled before.”
“True.”
“He’s bringing money and two guys with him to trade me for Rue.”
“I’m with you, and I’m sure some of the other guys can be available in case shit goes down.”
“Yeah. I have a feeling he won’t hand over the goods until he sees Rue, but there’s no way I’m bringing him.”
“Let’s have a morning meeting and get ideas on the best way to do this. We don’t get a lot of kidnapping exchange cases.”
“Or any?”
Whisper laughs darkly. “Not in my tenure.”
“Nope. We have a chance to get two people out of a mess though, and we should take it.”
“Absolutely. This Leon guy is trouble. How does someone sweet like Rue get caught up in that?”
“Bad decision. He’s new to the big city. He had no idea what he was stepping into.” I shudder. “Fuck, man. The shit Leon had planned for him is the stuff of nightmares. They probably would’ve either killed him themselves or just let him die. I’m gonna rip him apart.”
“And he’ll deserve it.” Whisper claps my shoulder. “We’ve got your back, brother.”
“I know.” Dragging a hand through my hair, I lean back in the seat. “Rue is… innocent. Naive. He doesn’t have the first clue about navigating a city like Mistone. When this is over, I’m not sure I can just turn him loose. They’ll eat him alive.”
“Maybe some time with us will be useful. He seems to have a bond with Colson too. That could help.”
“True. I know it’s not my responsibility, but what is all this worth if he just ends up in a bad situation again?”
Whisper nods. “Do you want to turn him loose?”
“Well, no, but I can’t just keep him here. We’re strangers, and I’m… me.”
“What does that mean?”
“I couldn’t give him any kind of life he deserves. Even if I wanted more, I’m not capable of it. He deserves someone who can love him and give him a normal life.”
Whisper shrugs. “It’s early days yet, man. Anything can happen. If you’d told me two years ago that Specter would be married, I would’ve laughed you out of my sight.”
I chuckle. “True.”
“And Wraith? With a fucking hockey player? Come on. No one saw that coming.”
“No. Especially considering how they met.”
“Exactly. My point is, who knows what will happen next? Maybe you and Rue will spend a few weeks or months together then go your separate ways. Maybe he’ll want to leave as soon as Leon is no longer a threat. Or maybe…” He grins at me. “Maybe you’re the next man down.”
I scoff. “Unlikely.”
“But stranger things have happened.”
I can’t even imagine it, but the thought is kind of nice. I definitely haven’t had enough of Rue yet.
“Just enjoy this while it lasts, man.”
I nod. “I will. Thanks for your help. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He salutes me. “I’ll be there.”
I leave his room and wander back to mine, leaving a message in the group chat as I walk.
Me: Need help and opinions. Meet after breakfast?
The replies flow in offering support.
Shadow: Everything okay?
Me: Yes. I need ideas about something.
Shadow: See you in the morning.
When I enter my room again, Rue is sitting up in bed using the remote to surf channels.
“Where did you go?” he asks.
“Uh, sorry. Did I wake you?”
“No. Kind of. I have trouble sleeping sometimes, you know?”
“Right. Well, I’m back.”
“Is everything okay?”
Nodding, I join him in bed, taking the remote and muting the TV. “I turned your phone on and there were messages from Leon.”
Rue frowns. “That doesn’t surprise me. What did he say?”
“Some pretty unhinged shit. I called him.”
Rue’s eyes widen. “You did? Did you talk to him?”
“I did, yes.” I take his hand in mine, dragging my fingers over his palm and marveling at the softness. He’s so pristine; unsullied by this world.
“And?” He bounces. “Tell me what happened?”
“He wants you back.”
“He does? I figured he wouldn’t really care that much.”
I have a decision to make. Be honest with him or hide the truth? I hate to be the guy to burst his bubble of innocence, but maybe the truth is better. He needs to know how bad it could’ve been.
“Listen, Rue, it was worse than you thought. He sold your virginity to someone he wants to do business with.”
Rue’s face goes blank for a few seconds, then his eyes fill with tears. “What?”
“The… party was still going to happen, and the plans were essentially the same, but it wasn’t him who was going to be the one to take you. Not first, at least.”
“He told you that?”
“I got it out of him while we negotiated. I used his desperation to get information. He said he spent almost a year looking for an adult male virgin, and then he met you.”
“Oh my god. I walked right into his web. I’m so stupid.”
“Babe, I told you how I feel about that.”
“Come on, Carnage. I am. How did I not see what a horrible person he is?”
“How could you? It’s not like he was wearing a sign that said ‘rapist’ on it. A lot of people are good at hiding how fucked they are until you’re already in deep.”
Rue’s lips twist and his nose twitches until tears flood his eyes and stream down his cheeks. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
I hold one of his hands while he angrily wipes away tears with the other. “I can’t live like this anymore. You have to help me. Or maybe I should just leave Mistone. I’m not cut out for a city like this.”
I’d argue with him, but he could be right.
“When this is all over, I’ll help you. If you want to leave town, I can help with that too.
” Rubbing his hand, I continue. “I’m sorry.
I know this is upsetting, but I wanted you to understand the reality.
There are a lot of men like him in cities like this. ”
He nods, sniffing. “I’m glad you told me. I need to learn. I’m happy I found you.”
“I’m happy you did too, but, Rue, listen to me. I’m not a good man either. I’m just not the same kind of bad Leon is.”
He scoffs, rolling his eyes. “That’s not true.
You rescued a stranger and brought him into your home, took care of him, made him feel…
” His voice cracks. “Feel seen and valued. You didn’t have to do that.
You could’ve ignored me or dropped me off at a train station and sent me on my way.
Instead you’ve disrupted your life to help me. That’s not what bad people do.”
“I kill people, Rue. Don’t romanticize me.”
He nods, brushing his hair behind his ears. “I don’t know you well, obviously, but from what I’ve seen, your job is not all you are. You’re warm with your brothers and you’re amazing with me.”
“I compartmentalize when necessary, but I don’t want you to forget what I am and what I do. I want you to see me as a whole.”
“I do.” He pauses. “I have a confession to make.”
“Okay.”
“When I saw you last night, beating up that guy, it made me feel funny.”
“Funny?”
He nods. “Not sexually turned on, but, like, turned on just the same. I thought it was weirdly exciting. I thought you were a badass.”
“Is that so?”
“I’m not afraid of you, Carnage, because I know you wouldn’t hurt me, and I think it’s cool that you hurt people who hurt people.
They deserve it, and justice and karma don’t always get the job done.
If you don’t intervene, how many more people will Leon hurt?
What would’ve happened to me?” He squeezes my hand. “You haven’t scared me off.”
I don’t know how to respond to that. I shouldn’t let him get attached to me knowing the inevitable end, no matter how optimistic Whisper wants to be, but… I like his attention. I like that he sees me as so much more than just an unhinged killer.
“We should try to get some sleep.”
Rue nods, sinking under the blankets. The TV is playing a cooking show. I go to turn it off, but Rue stops me. “Can we watch until I get sleepy?”
“Sure.”
He smiles, snuggling closer to me. I smile too, enjoying his warmth and the way his body fits perfectly against mine. He’s not a lot shorter than me, but his build is much more lithe.
“When I was a kid I wanted to be a chef,” Rue says, a dreamy tone to his voice. “Well, I wanted to be a lot of things, but I always enjoyed cooking. Then I saw how much culinary school costs and knew it would never happen.”
“What other things did you want to be?”
“A hip-hop dancer.” He laughs. “An archaeologist or a museum curator. I always liked history until I saw Indiana Jones and how many gross things he had to do.”
I chuckle at that.
“When I got older, I thought it would be cool to be a life coach for LGBTQ kids. Like a counselor, but I never got my life together enough.”
“You’re still young, Rue.”
“I know, but I have too many interests and not enough focus for any of them. School was terrible because of that, and I was the weird kid so I didn’t really have any friends.”
“I can’t imagine that. You’re so fun to be with.”
He glances at me. “Thank you.”
I study his face for a moment. “If you could do anything now, what would it be?”
Rue watches the TV for a few moments before turning back to me. “I don’t know. I’ve been in survival mode for so long that I don’t dream anymore.”
“Try. Not right now, but you’re safe here, and you don’t have to leave anytime soon. So dream, Rue. Your whole life is waiting for you.”
A sweet smile blooms on his face, all his sadness falling away. “You can’t offer a guy a safe place to dream and say you’re a bad guy at the same time. The logic falls apart.”
“Fair enough.” I lean in to kiss his forehead. “You’re not stupid, Rue. You’re just inexperienced. Don’t think about constraints like money and logistics. Think about what you would do if you could. Believe in yourself.”
He nods, chewing on his bottom lip. “Tonight was fun.”
“It was for me too.”
“I want to do more. I haven’t changed my mind.”
“We’ll get there.” Brushing my thumb over his soft cheek, I consider taking my own advice.
What could we be if I didn’t think about constraints or my past?
Could I be worthy of a man like him? Could I make him happy?
My mood sours slightly and I push those thoughts away.
I’m not cut out for relationships. I’m way past the point of saving.
He might think he sees good things in me, but he’s only known me for a few days.
The longer he’s around the less enamored he’ll be.
He deserves to live his life fully and not be held down by a man like me.
We’ll have our fun and I’ll help him get back on the right track, then I’ll let him go.
It’s the right thing to do.