"So, Rock went to the party, except he was ready for them. When they had Rock cornered, his men busted into the room and killed the guys. After that, Rock stopped bullying me about prostituting. I ain't got no family, and I needed money to live, so he gave me a job selling dope. Not too many girls sell; it's mostly guys. Rock's always pretty decent to me. I'm like one of the only people who ever saved his life. He told me he'd always watch out for me after that. Doesn't change the fact that he's an asshole. I see what he does to the girls that work for him," she finished.

"Wow, that's insane. So you know Armando?" Maggie asked nervously.

"Yeah, I know all of Rock's men. Armando is a total shithead. He'll do anything to make money. He ain't got no scruples. You know what I'm sayin'? Is he the one who put you out on the street tonight?" Juju inquired.

"Yeah, he found out I was only offering hand jobs to my johns," she confessed.

The two girls sat and stared at each other. Instantaneously, they burst into laughter. The whole idea was so absurd. Armando had put her out into a blinding blizzard because she was only giving hand jobs.

"How come Rock lets you live here on your own?" Maggie asked.

"'Cause I deal. If I was hooking, he'd make me live in one of his houses. He pays me to deal, so I can afford my own place, even if it is the ugliest place on earth. So how old are you really?" Juju wanted to know.

"Fourteen," Maggie said.

"Yeah? I'm fourteen too. I'll be fifteen in two months."

"I've been gone from home since I was eleven," Maggie confessed.

"Man, it sucks, don't it? I was twelve when my idiot mother ran off with some dude she met in a bar. Told me she'd be back in a couple of hours, and the bitch never came home. Eventually, I had to leave our apartment, and I slept at different friends' houses. Then when their parents got sick of me always being around, I hooked up with Rock. I've been living here ever since," she explained in one long breath.

Maggie let out a big yawn. "I'm sorry, Juju. I'm just so tired."

"No worries. It's time for some shut-eye," Juju said and crawled into the bed next to Maggie.

In the seconds that it took for Maggie to fall into a deep sleep, a feeling of happiness swept over her. Maybe she'd finally found a friend.

Chapter Fifty.

Early the next morning, Juju gently woke Maggie. "Come on, Maggie. Get up. You need to get back to the house. You don't want Armando looking for you. That'll just piss him off more," she said.

Maggie rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, stood, and peered out the window. The sky was gray and twelve inches of snow covered every surface. With the city's filth temporarily hidden under a pure white blanket, Kensington looked like a beautiful place for the first time since she'd arrived.

"I don't want to go back there," Maggie said sadly.

"Yeah, I know you don't. But you have to. You don't want these dudes looking for you. No tellin' what they'd do if you tried to run off. I'll walk you back. You can keep the sweat suit. I have a pair of old rain boots you can have. They ain't warm, but at least your feet won't get wet," Juju offered.

When they reached the house, Maggie knocked on the front door. Trinity opened it slowly and scowled when she saw Juju standing next to Maggie. She turned and yelled, "Armando. Your stupid beotch is back."

Armando walked to the door and looked at the two girls. "What's going on, Juju?" he asked, clearly annoyed.

"Nothing. I was just walking Maggie back," she stated fearlessly.

"Oh yeah, why's that? You her fuckin' guardian angel now?" he asked.

"Might as well be. She would have fuckin' died in the cold half-naked last night if I didn't see her wandering around. Is Rock here?" Juju pressed.

"Nah, he ain't here. Why don't you take your nasty ass back to that rat hole of yours? You know better than to be stickin' your nose in other people's business. You might wind up hurt or dead or somethin'," he threatened.

"Ha! I sell more dope for Rock than anyone on the streets. You don't fuckin' scare me, Armando," Juju threw back.

Maggie couldn't believe the way Juju was talking to Armando. Surely, Rock would punish her new friend for being so disrespectful. But Juju didn't seem scared. For a fleeting moment, Maggie felt powerful through Juju. She wondered if Juju might be able to help her get out of her rotten situation. Maggie turned to Juju and gave her a long hug. "Thanks for everything," she whispered.

"No problem," Juju murmured back. "I'll see you around. You know where I live, so stop by, OK?"

Maggie nodded and followed Armando inside the house.

"So, you found yourself a new friend, huh?" Armando asked in a mocking manner.

"She helped me last night," Maggie said tentatively.

"Well, just because she knows Rock doesn't mean you're gonna get special treatment. Get some rest 'cause once the snow is cleared, you need to get back out there-you and these other good-for-nothing bimbo's," he said, gesturing at the hookers sleeping on every mattress in the room.

"I had a lot of sleep at Juju's last night. I'm not tired," she said, forgetting to whom she was talking.

"Oh yeah? Is that right? You had a little adventure out there last night? Maybe you should spend another night outside, since it was so good and all," Armando stated.

"No, I didn't mean it like that," Maggie explained, "I just meant that I'm not really tired. That's all, Armando," she said calmly.

"Yeah, well, I don't really give a shit if you're tired or not. Do what you want. But you better be ready to go out tonight and stay out for a while. You girls have completely fucked up our weekly earnings with this snow. You'll have to work double time to make up for it. No free rides around here," he said.

Except for you, Maggie thought. Every day of your life is a free ride as long as we're out selling ourselves while you sit in here on your big blubber ass, sucking up everything you can get your hands on and treating us like a pack of numskulls, you big dick wad!

"Sure, Armando, whatever you want," she responded.

Maggie sat on the floor, leaning up against the wall. She had a tiny bite of freedom the night before, and it tasted mighty good. She wanted to feast on freedom. Then her thoughts drifted to Seth and wondered if she could talk Rock into letting her see him.

Maggie liked Juju a lot, even though the night before seemed like a blur. Juju was so independent and strong. Maggie wanted to be just like her. The girl wasn't afraid of anything or anyone. In some ways, Juju reminded her of Cali. They both had that take-charge attitude, which comforted Maggie and made her feel as if someone was watching over her.

Maggie's thoughts were interrupted when Diesel, one of Rock's other goons, came into the room. "Let's go, you fucking cows. Get your shit together. It's time to get out there and make up for last night," he commanded.

Chapter Fifty-One.

"It's over three years that Maggie's been gone, Lorraine," Rob stated.

"I know how long it's been. But she's out there, Rob. I just know it. I can feel it in my bones. At first, I couldn't feel anything, but now I know," she explained.

"I've been thinking that maybe it's time for you to go back to work. Don't you?" Rob said gently.

"Rob, if I go back to work, then who will continue the search for our daughter? You don't think Detective Harker can keep looking on his own, do you?" she asked calmly.

"I actually do think Harker can keep looking without you. This isn't just another case to him, Lorraine. He's emotionally invested, and you know it. While he continues to search, we'll keep praying. Can we agree we'll trust Harker and try to get more of our life back? Can you do that?" Rob was practically begging.

Lorraine watched Rob closely. The years hadn't been good to either of them. The prematurely gray hair and the lines around their eyes made them appear ten years older than their real ages. She knew the time had come to do something different. Maybe Rob was right, she thought. Rae Harker had a vested interest in finding Maggie. Maybe it was time for her to go back to work and to make life as normal as possible. She and Rob had managed to grow closer after Rob talked about leaving Lorraine and taking Keith with him. That was a wake-up call for Lorraine, and she didn't want to lose them just as she had lost her daughter.

"OK," Lorraine finally conceded. "I'll look for a job. But only part time, OK? If it goes all right, then I'll consider going back full time. How does that sound?" she asked, conflicted.

"That sounds like a great first step. If it's too much for you, we'll reconsider. But at least it's a start," Rob said soothingly.

Then he put his strong arms around her and pulled her close. She could hear the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, the sound that gave her comfort during her many sleepless nights since Maggie's disappearance. Once they'd gotten past the turmoil that threatened to destroy their marriage, they'd become more tolerant of each other. Counseling had helped to keep them grounded.

When Rob went upstairs to find Keith, who had a ball game, Lorraine poured herself a cup of coffee and picked up the telephone.

"Harker here," the voice on the other end said.

"Rae, it's Lorraine. Listen. I've decided to go back to work part time. I'm going to see how it goes and then maybe I'll go back full time," she told him.

"That's great news, Lorraine. I think it would be really good for you and your family."

"Yeah, I'm sure it will be. But you know what this means, right?" she asked, knowing him well enough to consider him a friend.

"Of course I know. It means that you're going to be even further up my ass to make sure I stay on Maggie's case and follow every possible lead, even if it means I have to go without eating for days," he joked.

Lorraine remembered the third week after Maggie's disappearance, when she was irrational and not thinking straight. She had screamed at Harker, telling him there was no time to rest-even if it meant he had to starve to death. "Eat while you're working! There isn't time for that shit right now!" were her exact words.

Lorraine laughed at the vivid memory. "Yeah, well, I meant what I said, and I still stand by it today," she said with a laugh. "All joking aside, Rae, I need to know you'll be just as persistent without me up your ass every minute of the day," she confessed.

"I give you my word. There is no one working on this case that wants her back more than I do. Well, except you and Rob, of course. Anyway, you know what I mean. Listen, find yourself a job you enjoy and try to make your life as normal as possible. It ain't easy. You know I speak from experience. But at some point, it becomes your new normal," Rae Harker assured her.

When Lorraine hung up the telephone, she called her old employer, the principal of the school where she'd taught eighth grade. The women had stayed in touch over the years. To Lorraine's delight, she was able to go back to work part-time as a teacher's assistant. There weren't any openings for a part-time eighth-grade teacher, but the principal said that two teachers who were well into their sixties planned to retire in the near future. When Lorraine hung up the phone, it dawned on her that Maggie would be in the ninth grade by now. With a stab of longing to hold her daughter in her arms, Lorraine went to find Rob and Keith to share her good news.

Chapter Fifty-Two.

As Maggie walked the streets the next night, stopping to bend and look into cars and purr out her cat call, she ran into Juju.

"Hey!" Maggie yelled excitedly, waving from the other side of the road.

Juju was just finishing a deal and looked up to see Maggie. Juju smiled broadly, showing off her insanely sexy smile. "Maggie. Wait there. I'm coming over."

After selling to her last waiting customer, she trotted across the street. Juju grabbed Maggie around the waist and lifted her off the ground, twirling her around in a circle. Setting her back on her feet again, she looked into Maggie's magnificent eyes. "You doing OK? Did Armando give you any more trouble?"

"No," Maggie said gratefully. "He was fine after you left. I guess he was surprised to see that I actually managed to survive the night. So what are you doing?" she asked.

"Um, well, right now, I'm selling dope. It's what I do, remember?" Juju said, half joking.

"Yeah, I remember. I just wanted to know if you would be around later. I thought maybe we could hang out during the day tomorrow," Maggie offered, practically holding her breath as she waited for a response.

"Sure, we can hang out. Come by my place in the morning," she told Maggie.

Maggie sighed deeply. "Sounds great! I have to run. I gotta get my quota."

Juju looked at Maggie sadly, realizing that she easily could have been forced to sell herself.

Maggie didn't want any more trouble from Armando, and she had begun to offer regular sex to the johns. She insisted they wear condoms, even though some of the men offered extra money if they didn't have to use one. She hated every minute of it, but she knew that Seth's safety depended on her. She wouldn't do anything that would put him in harm's way.

It was just before eight the next morning when Maggie knocked on Juju's apartment door.

"Hey, girl!" Juju said excitedly. "Come on in. Do you want toast?"

"Sure."

Maggie studied Juju and was amazed by her good looks and physique. Juju had a heart-shaped face and flawless, warm-toned skin, complemented by greenish-blue eyes. Her dark-brown hair had a natural curl, and the shiny strands fell just below her shoulders. She had high cheekbones, the kind Maggie had seen on supermodels, and her upper and lower lips were equally plump. Her smile was vibrant. It lit up her face and invited kisses. While she was only five foot five, her body was lean, and her muscles rippled with every movement.

"I didn't realize how beautiful you are until now," Maggie stated, a little embarrassed that she had said the words aloud. Juju had Asian features, yet she looked like the all-American girl. "Are you Asian?" she asked.

Juju giggled. "My mother's Greek, and my father's Asian. My grandma on my mom's side used to tell me I was Grasian."

"Is Juju your real name?" Maggie wanted to know.

"Nah, my real name is Juliana June, but everyone always called me Juju. I don't remember anyone ever calling me Juliana. I think Juju fits me better anyway," she said with confidence.

"I agree. It's a great name," Maggie said. "I wish I had a cool name like that. Before I came to Kensington, my best friend, Cali, called me Mags. That's the closest I've ever come to having a nickname."

"Where's Cali now?"

"She died," Maggie told her, tears stinging her eyes. "They put her in a dog cage and drowned her in a pool."

Juju's eyes bugged out. "How do you know?"

"Because they made me stand there and watch while they killed her," she confessed, feeling like she'd failed Cali by not saving her life.

"Who made you watch?" Juju persisted, more than curious about Maggie's past.

"The people who sold us," Maggie admitted.