Note: Thanks again for all the reviews!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rusty knew something was wrong when Sharon, followed by Provinsa, walked into her office. Sharon appeared calm but her eyes had an intense worried look in them and Provinsa didn't appear much better.
"What's going on?" he slowly asked caution in his eye.
Giving both him and Dr. Joe a strained smile she sat in a vacant chair, Provinsa hovering nearby.
"Rusty, we did more research on Dr. Davenport. He grew up with Phillip," Sharon said.
Rusty was silent for a moment while he processed what was said.
"So, you're saying I'm right, that he is the one writing the letters,"
"There is a good possibility that is the case," Provinsa replied.
"Well that's a good thing then. He's in prison, he can't physically hurt us,"
Sharon breathed in deeply looking over at Provinsa for a second before looking at him,
"While Det Sykes and Det Sanchez were researching him, it was discovered that he escaped from prison yesterday,"
The look on Rusty's face broke her heart. It was a mixture of disbelief and fear.
"Of course he would escape," he muttered staring at the wall.
"Could I read his file?" Dr. Joe asked hoping he could be of some assistance. Sharon nodded asking Provinsa to bring it for him.
"So, now what do we do? Do I go back out on the streets, see if he comes for me?"
"I'm not sure Rusty. If Dr. Davenport is the person writing these letters, he's more dangerous than we anticipated. I'll want the opinion of Dr. Joe, and we'll see what Chief Taylor and Emma say,"
Rusty stared at her then Dr. Joe, before rising and walking towards the window in the back of the office that overlooked the city. Dr. Joe looked at him sadly then turned his attention to Provinsa as he walked in holding the file.
. . . . . . . . .
That night, Rusty tossed and turned unable to shut the day off. The meeting that followed the discovery that Paul had escaped was tense and hadn't produced any results. Everyone was upset and on edge. Emma had insisted they immediately place Rusty in the witness protection program, Leut. Provinsa thought they should put him out on the streets with more undercover officers, and Chief Taylor was on the fence between the two ideas. Sharon only wanted what was best for him and he hadn't said a word unsure of what to do. Dr. Davenport scared him more than he was willing to admit to anyone. He honestly didn't know how he would handle seeing him again. The only thing he was sort of looking forward to was to hear how Dr. Joe thought he should handle this new development. They had made an appointment for early the next morning.
Realizing sleep was not in the near future, he threw off the covers and headed down the hallway towards the kitchen. He wanted to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake Sharon or alert the extra security guards that were stationed right outside their door. Sitting on the chair closest to the window, he stared out into the dark. Everything looked so peaceful outside and he wondered if anyone else was feeling the same turmoil he was.
After hearing Paul had escaped he'd been tempted to run away. Sharon was in just as much danger as he was, and it was his fault, well he and his mothers, for introducing this creep into their lives. At least if he was gone, maybe Paul would come after him, and leave Sharon out of this. But, he didn't think he could stand to see the disappointed look on Sharon's face, the squads, or Dr. Joes, and he knew that Chief Taylor had warned him if he ran away again, he would be placed in the witness protection program.
Sniffling as tears filled his eyes, he bowed his head. He hated crying, thought it made him look weak, but this situation was just so messed up and he felt so overwhelmed. What had he ever done to deserve this?
Feeling like he was out of control, Rusty began to sob, his body heaving and a cry like the sound of a wounded animal escaping from somewhere deep inside him. All of the years of feeling abandoned by his mother, the pain of being beaten by her random boyfriends, the shame of having to sell himself on the streets, the fear of being killed or having Sharon die, as well as the confusion of finally having someone who loved and cared for him came pouring out. He wasn't aware of Sharon rushing into the living room or her telling the security guards they were fine. He barely remembered her sitting next to him and putting her arms around him. He did however remember her small gasp as he turned and flung his arms around her laying his head on her shoulder as he cried. He did remember her gently rocking holding him tighter and telling him everything would be ok. He did also remember feeling a few of her tears fall onto his cheek.