Page 157 of Savior
She smiles softly at me now. “I love you, too. See you at home.”
I watch her drive off with Rusty in tow.
Hoping Jason will have some good news for me soon, I head to my shop for the day.
I’ve heard it said before, when a mother’s first child is a girl, it’s because she needed maturity. But if it’s a boy, she most likely needed to know the real meaning of love.
The thought has my eyes brimming with tears, but I brush them away as Rusty parks his bike and approaches my car door. I don’t want him lingering any longer than what Dean deems necessary.
I know the uncomfortable feeling I got the night he drove me home, after dropping Giuliana off at the airport, was probably just nerves from everything that happened that night. Rusty has always been a good guy, at least since he’s been around. That’s what I keep telling myself. In actuality, he’s done nothing that should have me thinking otherwise. Also, I don’t want Laura to pull in and see him here. Not after everything she was forced to endure with Jack. It’s bad enough, Dean’s cameras are still up in her shop. Though they do benefit her, he has not relinquished his access to the feed. Clearly, he really meant it when he said, as long as I’m working here.
“I’ll make sure you get inside, and then I’ll be back to get you home safe, later.” Rusty says, holding the car door open for me.
I grab my purse, climbing out and beeping the car locked when he shuts it behind me.
“After you.” He gestures with a smile for me to walk ahead.
“Wow. You’re really going to escort me to the door? You’re very thorough.” I try to joke as we walk across the pea gravel lot and up the back steps of the purple Victorian.
“I don’t fuck around when it comes to what the Prez wants.” Rusty replies.
Unlocking the door, I step inside to punch in the alarm code.
“The Boss isn’t one to fuck with.” He adds.
I can’t help but shake my head. Dean must put on a real act whenever he’s around these prospects, having them all on their toes like this. “I suppose not.” I humor him.
“He sure can be a real dangerous guy, Vanna.” Rusty grins. But it’s an odd grin. And suddenly, that uneasy feeling I got with him in the car, roils in my solar plexus once again. “I’ll see you later.” He gives me a low wave as he heads back to his motorcycle. “Have a fantastic day, Vanna.”
With an eagerness I can barely contain, I pick up Jason’s call on the first ring.
“Tell me something, Jay.” I say, stepping outside my shop. Derek’s got the swing of things on another old timer’s trike conversion.
“I’ve got good news, and I’ve got bad news. What do you want to hear, first?”
“Bad.” Might as well get that out of the way.
“The prints aren’t in the AFIS database. He doesn’t have a record.”
“Fuck.”
I was so confident the demonic prick would have a criminal record somewhere, and those prints would be the key to learning his identity. Thereby, discovering his true motives once and for all.
“What’s the good news?”
“The prints on the letter, are a match.”
Well, at least I have something definitive to present to Vanna. Hopefully it will convince her once and for all, that Legion really is behind everything we endured in the cabin that night.
“You want me to text you the form, or do you want to swing by the station and pick them up?” Jason asks.
“I’m pretty sure she’ll take me at my word, but I’ll come by so I can grab the letter back from you, too.”
I want her to see it for herself, when I confront her with the truth.
“How well do you know Rusty?” I ask Dean over dinner. He eyes me curiously as he takes a bite of his steak.
“Rusty checked out. Had his background looked into, same as the rest of them. Steps up the most. Why?” he asks. “He say something to you?”
