3. Saint
Ihuffed out a breath and dropped down behind my desk again. That had gone sowell. I was beside myself with joy at the thought of taking ‘Rio’ Torrez home with me for who knows how long. I glared at the paper in the folder on my desk, as though it was the neat columns of numbers that had caused all of this.
Rio Torrez had a resting bitch face that could have put Queen Elizabeth to shame, and as his deep brown eyes looked over my office I got the distinct sense of being judged. I didn’t like it. And then the way he had answered when I had asked if I was meant to take him home with me. I had never had a bodyguard before, I had no idea if he would be in a hotel.
I stewed for another few minutes, then sighed. “Put the chip back in the kindling pile, Saint,” I muttered to myself. It wouldn’t do anybody any good for me to put up a fight, and besides that, more security for the kids was a good thing. I was here basically seven days a week, which meant he would be here. I didn’t know what Ginny or Douglas Greene would plan, but whatever it was, I would protect the kids.
When I was done with my daily paperwork mountain, I found Rio sitting near the lockers. He had his phone in his hand, reading something that he scrolled up slowly, and when I cleared my throat he looked up with what could be called an almost smile if you were being generous. “Se?or Durand,” he said, standing up. “All ready?”
I nodded. “Did you see any of the kids?”
He nodded. “I met several of them who came to access their lockers. I said I was security and that my job was to make sure the facility was safe. They accepted that.”
That was actually a great explanation. “Good enough,” I said. “Let’s get out of here.”
Rio nodded once more and followed me out of the building. “I have my rental,” he said, gesturing to his Subaru. “I can follow you?”
“I suppose so,” I said, then winced inwardly at my tone. I don’t know why I’m having a hard time being polite.
Rio nodded smartly. “Si, Se?or.”
By the time we got to my apartment I had given myself a talking to, admonished myself to behave, and when I got out of my little Honda I smiled at him. “We”re on the third floor,” I said, gesturing to the door.
Rio nodded but didn’t speak. He grabbed a large military duffle and followed me into the building and up the stairs.
I spent very little time at my apartment, all things considered, and it was mostly clean. I needed to run the dishwasher and run some laundry downstairs to the machines, but other than that it was good. I watched Rio surreptitiously, but he didn’t glance around. In fact, it seemed like he was ignoring everything except for what I specifically showed him. I showed him to the bathroom, told him where the towels were, the spare bedroom, and the kitchen and where to find the basics like glasses and mugs. I told him to help himself to the coffee and drinks in the fridge, and he nodded a quick thanks.
“I’ll put my things in the room and be right back out, if that’s all right?” Rio asked, and I nodded.
“Do you like pizza? How do your meals work?” I asked a few minutes later when he came out of the bedroom.
“I can submit receipts, although I usually don”t,” Rio said. “I’m not picky and I tend to find the closest Mexican food truck.”
I hummed. “Want to do that for dinner?” I asked. I hadn’t had good Mexican food recently and that sounded really nice.
Rio nodded, a flash of surprise crossing his face before he schooled it again.
We took my car and found a decent Mexican food truck and ordered far too much food, because I liked leftovers for lunch. We took it back to the car and I pulled plastic forks from the glovebox and handed him one. “Don’t judge,” I said as I unwrapped mine. “Choices have to be made sometimes.”
Rio held up a hand in a surrendering gesture. “No shade,” he said. “Long hours are long hours.”
We ate, Rio praising the dish of chilaquiles he was eating quietly in Spanish. I was enjoying my taquitos, and when we were finished I started the car and put it in gear. “Need anything from anywhere else before we head back?”
Rio shook his head, so I drove us back to my apartment and again Rio followed me up the stairs. The silence between us was less uncomfortable now that we had shared food, but there was still the awkwardness of having a stranger in my very small space. I let him shower first, then took a turn and went out to stretch out on my recliner. “There’s a TV in the guest room but if you want you can watch in here too,” I said as he lingered in the kitchen. I wasn’t sure what he was doing until I smelled cinnamon and chocolate and realized he was making himself a cup of hot chocolate.
“What are you watching?” He asked, stirring the saucepan on the stove.
“The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett,” I replied. “Shiloah likes the new one with Benedict Cumberbatch, but he’s just a sucker for cheekbones.” I snickered and pushed play on the remote.
I heard Rio chuckle softly. “Do you want a cup?” he asked as he poured some of the liquid into a mug.
It did smell very nice, and I looked over towards the kitchen again. “Yeah, thanks,” I said and took the hot mug from him. He still wasn’t smiling, but he seemed more relaxed now as he dropped himself onto my sofa, closed his eyes, and inhaled the steam that was coming off his mug. I spent a minute looking him over while I breathed in the scent of my cocoa too. His dark hair was mostly cropped short, except for the crown of his head. It was longer there and fell in a gentle swoop. He had a closely trimmed goatee, a straight nose, generous mouth, and when his eyes opened they were deep, deep brown. He saw me looking at him and blinked once, then looked away from me to gaze at the television.
“So what do you like about Jeremy Brett?” Rio asked after a few minutes and a couple of sips of cocoa.
The question surprised me and I shrugged. “I don’t know that I like it for him. Moreso I prefer the acting in that one.”
Rio hummed, watching the show. “They are good,” he conceded. “I haven’t watched this. I don’t watch much television.”
“Why not?” I asked, curious in spite of myself.
“No time, and I”m not used to it anyway. I grew up in a big family and if we watched television, it was what my mami or papi put on, not what we would have picked. I like a movie in the theater once in a while though.” Rio was still watching the show, though his tone was not distracted as he answered my question.
“We didn’t watch TV either,” I said. It was easier to talk to him when we were both sipping from our cups, our eyes firmly on the screen. “Read a lot. Mostly the Bible.” I rolled my eyes. “Won’t touch one now, which is ironic considering my nickname.”
Rio glanced at me. “How did you get the nickname?” he asked.
I chuckled. “Sarcasm. I wouldn’t do a lot of stuff, when I was younger, and people asked me if I was a saint or what. I took it on after a while, would say ‘Yup, and you must be a demon if you’re trying to tempt me with that.’ Then I got the job at the shelter and moved up the ranks and I guess most people think it”s from that.” I gestured dismissively with one hand. “Doesn’t matter too much. It’s got a reputation attached to it now.”
Rio was looking at me while I explained, and when I finished he gave me that just barely smile again. “Kids seemed like they liked you a lot,” he said.
I nodded and ducked my head. “It’s where I’m meant to be,” I said.
Rio’s barely there smile twitched, and the talk between us petered out in favor of watching the show.
***
I usually woke up and went for a run, but when I hit the door Rio was standing there looking at me like a dark-eyed statue. “Going alone?” He asked.
I felt instantly defensive, like he had caught me sneaking out and I was in trouble. I recognized the feeling but I didn’t want to dwell on that. “It’s my house, I can come and go,” I said, snarkily.
“Of course you can,” Rio said patiently, “but if I’m supposed to be guarding you, leaving me behind makes that a lot harder.”
That was true. But a run in the morning was one of the only times during the day when I could be alone and just be. I wasn’t eager to share it with a stranger. “No one is out yet besides some stray cats and other runners,” I said firmly. “Feel free to make yourself breakfast or whatever, I’ll be back in forty-five.” I left, and the door slapping closed behind me was satisfying, as if I had set a firm boundary.
I took my usual route, seeing no one of note, and soon I was in the zone. I was a good runner, I always had been, and as my feet pounded the pavement my mind cleared and my senses opened to what was around me. Several stray cats, a man passed out on a bench, several cabs no doubt bringing folks who had gone home with someone back to where they lived or had left their cars.
I saw nothing out of the ordinary as I made the loop and headed back to my apartment, and I was thinking of telling Rio that, although part of me knew that was childish. “Look, I went outside and nobody chased me!” I rolled my eyes at myself.
I was nearly home when I noticed a figure leaning against a wall on the building across the street from mine. He wasn’t drunk or high, he wasn’t taking a breather from a run of his own. He was just… leaning. He saw me looking at him and raised his hand in a small salute, and shivers raced down my spine.
By the time I reached my apartment door, I had almost convinced myself it was just a friendly stranger, until I got inside and saw Rio standing near the window, angled in a way that he couldn”t be seen from the outside. He jerked his head toward the window. I knew where it faced, right at the building across the street.
“Company. Showed up just after you left. He’s been waiting. I thought maybe just for a ride or something but no. I saw him wave to you, then when you got inside he left.” His dark eyes drilled into me, a wrinkle forming between his thick dark brows. “Saint, he was timing your run, letting you know there are eyes on you, or both.”
I swore softly. “I saw him, yeah. Gave me chills. I have a pretty good instinct for when someone is dangerous…”
Rio raised an eyebrow at me, and I threw up my hands. “No more solo runs,” I said, and he huffed softly but nodded.
“I read up on Greene on the plane. He’s smart and filthy rich. That’s a very dangerous combination,” Rio said softly. He eased away from the wall and stretched, and I realized he had been there in that same position all this time, watching and waiting, doing his job in the only way he was able to right then. I felt instantly guilty.
“Coffee?” I asked him, and he nodded as he followed me to the kitchen. I put on a pot and then went to the bedroom to grab clothes. “So what you’re saying is, Shiloah was right to hire you?”
“I think so. He’s going to try something. I don’t know if it’ll be a personal thing or against the shelter itself, but if he thinks you, personally, are keeping his son from him…”
“I’m keeping his son safe,” I burst out as I came out of my bedroom. “He was sending him to Arizona for conversation therapy. I don’t know if you’re familiar with that, but it’s not good. Clay snuck away and wound up with me after the police officer I work with found him.”
Rio nodded sharply. “I know you are, but if Doug was going to send his kid to that kind of place… I’m just saying we’re going to need to watch your back.”
I gave a half laugh at Rio calling him Doug. Then I gave him a small shrug. “Well, that’s what you’re here for, isn’t it?”
“Si! But I could only watch it for so long when you told me to stay here while you went running for almost an hour,” Rio shot back.
He had a point and that irritated me more. I didn’t want to need protection. I hadn’t had anyone else’s protection since I was sixteen years old and I certainly didn’t want to need protection now. Still, I would be no use to the kids dead, nor would it be good for them if something happened either to or at the shelter. “Fine. I’ll stay by my babysitter. I was in the bathroom doorway now, and when he nodded I slammed it shut so I could take my shower.
***
Rio was leaning against the kitchen counter with a cup of coffee in his hand when I was finished with my shower. I aknowledged him with a nod and poured myself a cup, then grabbed the raisin bran and milk. “I’m a cereal for breakfast guy,” I said. “You’re welcome to join me or make yourself something.”
“I had a protein bar while I was watching out the window,” Rio said neutrally as he sipped his steaming mug.
That didn’t require a response, so I fininshed my cereal in silence.
We left my apartment, having grabbed the rest of the food from the night before for the both of us to have for lunch, at seven am. True Colors was fifteen minutes away from my place, and we made good time on side streets as I usually did in the morning. Rio was On, I could see it. He scanned constantly, and once or twice he muttered to himself.
“What’s going on,” I finally asked as we were pulling into the tiny permit-only lot where I parked everyday.
“I’m getting the lay of the land, looking for things that might be patterns that are safe or not safe,” Rio said, still scanning. He was looking at the lot now, taking in the security camera on a pole near the entrance, the number of spots versus cars versus cars that had the little blue permit sticker on the windshield. As I watched him I got the sense that he was almost taking mental photographs.
I waited for him to finish, and after a moment he nodded and we got out of the car. Levi was on desk duty this morning, and he nodded to me and eyed Rio.
“Levi, this is Rio. He’s here as additional security, from Alden Security. I’m sure you got the brief of the potential for trouble from Clay’s father.”
Levi nodded, then smiled at Rio. “I did. I’m glad to see you. Never too many eyes on things.”
Rio nodded in agreement, giving Levi one of his barely there smiles. “Yes, Sir. I’m guarding Se?or Durand personally as well, but when we are here both he and the shelter are priorities.”
Levi gave me a sly look, which I shut down with a scowl, then tipped up one side of his mouth. “Understood. Bit surprised that Saint agreed to personal security, he’s always been a lone wolf.”
Rio opened his mouth to respond but I cut them both off. “Any trouble last night?”
Levi shook his head. “All was quiet in the nursery,” he said. “Minnie is making breakfast. She had the kids pull names for who was cleaning up today, and a few have gotten started on schoolwork already.”
“Good, good,” I said. I knew some of them liked to get an early start because it was more quiet then. I suspected that at least one of those kids had ADHD and I was proud of him for working out a way to be able to do his work instead of just trying to skate by on an ‘I can’t.’
I looked at Rio then. “Since I’ll be here all day, I figure the best place to put you is by the front door. There is a back door, but it has an emergency entrance lock on it, only opens from the inside, and there is an alarm.”
“Sounds good to me. Ground rules?” Rio put his backpack on the floor behind the desk and Levi scooted over a bit to make room for his bulky frame.
“Always check IDs. Casimir Hallie can come and go as he pleases, but no one else. He looks like Joe Nichols in an LAPD uniform, and he’ll show you his ID too. Sometimes he brings another kid, or if there’s a problem he tries to be the one who responds. We work well together and he’s the unofficial True Colors/LAPD liaison.”
“Understood. Anyone who is an automatic no-entry?”
Levi pulled a folder from the desk drawer. “Not too many, but there are some. Here, look this over. You’ll see there are a few ‘Call 911’ flags but mostly it’s just because they’re troublemakers.”
Rio nodded again, took the folder, and began to page through it.
“That should be everything. Levi, if I forgot anything, fill him in. When Mark gets here, let me know and I’ll come and do the introductions.”
“10-4,” Levi said, and I left them looking over the folder, Levi pointing out something, while I headed towards my office.
The day passed uneventfully, and midafternoon Minnie came by and dropped the mail on my desk. “Big haul today,” she said, her Brooklyn accent thick in the room.
“I’m just that popular,” I said dryly and she laughed.
“Of course you are, darlin’” she said. “Nobody can resist you.” She waggled her fingers at me in a wave and breezed out in a cloud of Bath and Body Works.
I began to open the envelopes, sorting them into keep, recycle, scratch paper, and was nearly finished when I picked up one with no stamp. I frowned. Mail came through a slot on the front door into a bin on the floor, and then Minnie brought it to me. She usually didn’t put anything else in with it, since she knew I liked to keep things on a routine and mail was mail.
I looked at the envelope, turned it over and read the address, but again noted the lack of a stamp. There was also no return address. I turned it again and slit one end open, pulling out several sheets of folded printer paper. I unfolded them and saw pictures of myself on my run. I leafed through and realized there were several runs here, from this morning and the last two days. On the last sheet of paper there was a note, and I read, What are you running from, Michael? Afraid your sin is catching up to you? It will, my dear, very soon. Enjoy the wait.