Page 56 of Graced
“I’m coming with you,” Rhyne stated.
“No.”Lepos held out a hand.“You need to proceed to the police station where they’re waiting to take your statement.”
Rhyne narrowed his eyes.“I know Welsh better than you ever will.I’m also willing to bet that the man who sideswiped Officer Oldstein’s car was a man named Nash Villaton.”Seeing the light come on in Lepos’s eyes, he knew he’d guessed correctly.“I might be able to help.”
Lepos relented, his expression reflecting his curiosity.“Follow me and stay behind me,” he curtly ordered and returned to his car.
As he kept a safe distance behind the officer, Rhyne wondered about his other roommate.How was he doing?How serious were his injuries?Rhyne refused to believe Nash had pulled such a stunt of his own volition.“What did Welsh threaten you with?”he softly asked.“What kind of hold does he have on you?”More important, had things gotten to a point where he could no longer trust the guy he’d known for nearly nine decades?
“Guess it’s time I find myself a new nest.Maybe establish my own.”He knew it would take time, but in the interim, he’d have to go it alone.
Alone.
“It won’t be the first time I’ve gone solo,” he reminded himself.Funny how the word brought back memories of cold nights, little food, and months of devastating weakness when he couldn’t find the blood he needed.
A face rose in his mind’s eye.A familiar face that hovered before him, unbidden but welcomed.A beacon that called to him.A visage that hinted at a life he’d never known but always dreamed of.
She was the reason why he was in his car at this moment helping to search for her.Had she been anyone else, or just another person in the crowd, none of this would have occurred.Had her blood not had its unique properties, he wouldn’t be here, tailing behind a cop car.
But it wasn’t just her blood that spoke to his heart.
“If I hadn’t found out who she was, if I hadn’t spoken to her or shared myself with her…I wouldn’t have fallen in love with her,” he murmured.
If he somehow was able to save her, would she stay with him if he was forced to leave the city?If she asked him, could he stay with her, and to hell with joining or forming another nest?
Lepos signaled a right turn.The street led them down a tree-lined subdivision.Rhyne spotted the abandoned cruiser parked in an empty lot at the end of the block.Three police cruisers already surrounded it.
He parked behind Lepos and walked up to where several officers were gathered.A couple eyed him but didn’t challenge his being there since it was evident he was with Lepos.Regardless, Rhyne tried not to make any sudden moves or go where he’d cause any problems.
“Mr.Castille.”
He turned to find Lepos gesturing to him and went over to join him on the other side of the cruiser.Almost instantly Rhyne caught the scent of blood.Unmistakably Grace’s blood.He also saw the faint smear of blood on the car’s back seat where she’d been sitting.At the same time, he overheard one officer telling another that the suspect appeared to have been injured.He didn’t tell the guys the blood wasn’t from a wound.He barely glanced at the damage to the front passenger door, and mused that Nash had to have been moving at a bullish pace when he rammed the vehicle.
“I did a quick check on that name you provided,” Lepos informed him.“We came up with a match.”The man held his phone up.“Is this the man you know as Cargill?”
A quick glance at the screen was all he needed.Rhyne nodded.“Yeah, that’s him.”Considering he’d only met the man once before, and that was a couple of decades ago, Cargill was the type who never changed his appearance.Ever.Modern dress and social norms be damned.
Lepos looked pleased.“Good.We also have a good description of the man’s vehicle.”He addressed the other officer standing nearby.“Put a BOLO out on him.Let’s find this guy and hope we can get Miss Lockhart to safety before it’s too late.”
The other officer took the phone and went to call it in inside his own squad car.Rhyne took that time to observe the indentations in the long grass made by the vehicle that had been waiting for them.
Closing his eyes, he slowly sniffed the area.Welsh’s scent was there, but faintly.That told him Welsh wasn’t the guy who’d stolen the police unit, but he’d been here at the hand-off site.He made the decision not to inform Lepos or the others of that bit of information.For one thing, it would all become clear once Welsh and the others were caught and questioned.The biggest reason he held off, however, was because Lepos would demand to know how Rhyne would be so certain about what he claimed.There was no way Rhyne could or would tell him the truth.
His survival demanded he keep mum.
He turned to Lepos.“Do you happen to know which hospital they sent Nash to?”
“Your friend refused medical treatment.He claims he didn’t see the squad car.Since there was no evidence of foul play, and the investigating officers didn’t detect any usage of alcohol or drugs, they ticketed him and gave him a court date to appear, and let him go.”
“You just let him walk away?”
Lepos smiled.“We have his ID and place of residence.He can’t go far, even on foot.”
“In that case, are you done with me?Can I go home now, too?”
“Yes, but we’ll be calling you in at a later date to get a sworn statement from you.”
Rhyne held out his hand.“Then I’m going to need my phone.”
