Page 38 of Property of Raider
Rusher sits up, taking a closer look at all of us.“So that means you know them?”
“Colton,” Remedy lifts a hand,
“Clark,” Pope raises his.
“That would make me, Watson,” I raise my hand.
Rusher pushes to his feet.“Are you all serious right now?What the fuck, Ma?”
“Does that help you trust us just a little more?”Terro asks.
“Yeah, I mean, believe me, if Ma didn’t think I was safe here, we wouldn’t have come,” he says, still standing.“If I answer your questions, will you answer some of mine?”
“We will do our best to answer what we can.I will say that I’ve not seen either your momma or Shea in fifteen years,” I tell him.
“Ma,” he states.
“Ma?”I parrot back at him.
“You keep calling her my momma.She is my Ma.It’s short for My Anatasia,” he says looking sad.“She never would accept that she was my mother in every way that mattered.”
“What does that mean?Because if we’re all being completely honest, there are some things that just don’t add up.”I decide that honesty to a point is the best way to handle this.
“Ma is going to be so damn mad at me,” he whispers, eyes on his hands in his lap.
“She can’t be mad at you if what you tell us helps to not only keep you safe but bring her back to you,” Pope reassures Rusher.
“Would it help if you asked a question first?”Terro implores him.
“That should be okay,” he nods, locking eyes with me.“Are you my father?”
The vulnerability in his eyes makes him look like a scared kid and not the half-grown man sitting in front of me.
“That’s what here trying to figure out.There are missing pieces in this puzzle.I’m hoping you can help us with,” I tell him.
“You’ve said several times that Anastasia isn’t your mother,” Terro notes, sipping from his beer.“Can you tell us who your mother is?”
“Shea,” Rusher says, sounding disappointed.
The room explodes in unison.“Fuck!”“You’ve got to be kidding me.”“That fucking bitch!”
Rusher stands slowly, backing toward the door Blitz just vacated to pace the room.I take a deep breath trying to rein in the growing anger and frustration at the fact this has been going on for longer than anyone could have ever considered.Which tells me it’s not going to be so easy for us to take them down.
“Remedy, has the woman from the hotel woken up or said anything?”I ask him.
He looks up at me with a guarded look in his eyes I’ve never seen.“She’s still out of it, and every time she comes to, they have to sedate her because she loses it.I don’t know when or if she’ll ever be able to tell us anything.”
“Rusher, come and sit,” I tell the boy.“Sorry if we’ve scared you.Like I said before, the goal is for you to help with puzzle pieces, and that is exactly what you just did.I know we’re loud, brash, and tend to speak without thinking.”
“I don’t know what else I can tell you,” he answers, still standing at the door.
“Everyone out,” I call out.
Everyone gives me a quick nod before standing to leave.Terro starts to leave, but I motion for him to stay put.One by one, the others file out without a word, patting Rusher on the back as they go.When the room is finally empty, I stand walking over to him.On impulse, before I fully think about it, I pull him into a hug.
He stands stiff at first, every muscle locked tight, slowly without a word he melts into my hold.Gripping onto me tightly as if it’s the only thing holding him together.
With my arms wrapped around him, it finally sinks in.I’ve got a fucking son.Nothing before this moment matters—not how he came to be and not the years lost.All that matters now is that he’s here.The adults who failed him can answer for that later.Not him, though.Not ever.
