“Which is why me and my partner are going to take you to him right now,” Bryn said. He reversed out of the tent then stood, Edwin clinging to him like a baby monkey. “See, no need to be scared now.” He pointed at Gunnar who had his opponent on the ground and was cuffing his hands behind his back. He flipped the man over and Bryn could see he was unconscious.
“He ran into my fist.” Gunnar shrugged. “My bad.” He dragged him against a tree so that he was sitting up.
“You carry cuffs?” Bryn asked.
“That’s where your mind went? Excellent.” Gunnar grinned. “Hey, Edwin, how ya doing?”
Edwin stretched out his arms, reaching for Gunnar. “Guess I’ve been rejected,” Bryn said, handing him over. Edwin immediately buried his head against Gunnar’s shoulder.
“It’s okay, little man. You’re safe now.” Gunnar tossed Bryn the radio. “You want to pass on the news?”
“Sure.” Bryn got on the radio and let the operator at the plant nursery know Edwin was safe. There was a lot of whooping and hollering in the background.
“Get them to meet me at the road. I’ll walk out with Edwin if you can stay and keep an eye on this piece of shit.” Gunnar toed the man’s body.
“Sure.” Bryn relayed the information.
“Let me put you down a minute, kid.” Gunnar took off his jacket and handed it to Bryn. “You’ll freeze standing around here.” He picked Edwin up again. “See if you can find something to tie this idiot’s ankles. We don’t know how long he’ll be out.”
“Did you kill the bad man?” Edwin asked, his voice muffled.
“He’s having a little sleep,” Gunnar replied. “I won’t let him near you ever again.” He nodded to Bryn then loped into the trees.
Bryn tore ropes from the tent and hobbled the captive’s knees and ankles. Then he found a sturdy branch. “Wake up, you fucker. I dare you.” He hoped Gunnar wouldn’t be too long but in the meantime, the warmth and smell of his jacket were enough.
Chapter Twelve
Several hours later, Gunnar stopped the bike at a food stand on the side of the road and bought loaded hotdogs for them both. They took the food and paper cups of coffee to a picnic table and ate in silence for a few minutes.
“This is good.” Bryn munched his dog.
“You have a bit of ketchup…” Gunnar reached across. He brushed the speck of sauce away with the pad of his thumb. Bryn’s lips were soft and pink…tempting.
Bryn stared at him. “Uh, thanks.”
He has the thickest, darkest lashes I’ve ever seen on a man.Gunnar distracted himself with coffee. “That was a satisfying case, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah. That poor kid. I wonder what’ll happen to him.”
“I guess he’ll be looked after until his father is officially cleared then he’ll be able to go home. His mom will be going to jail and so will her boyfriend.”
“I hope they rot.”
“Yeah, the trauma is going to be with that child for the rest of his life. The only positive is that his grandfather is taking an interest. With mom out of the picture, maybe bridges can be built.”
“I hope so. So many kids are growing up in group homes. Family is important.”
“Your group home was okay, though, wasn’t it?” Gunnar asked.
“It was good. The housemother was brilliant and the place was happy even though we didn’t get many luxuries. I can’t complain. I didn’t remember my parents so it was all I ever knew.”
“So are you ready to talk about what happened after that? Tell me about the Facility.”
“You really want to know?” Bryn frowned.
“What you went through affects everything you do, so yeah, I want to know. It’ll give me context. I want to know you better.”
“If you buy me another dog, I’ll spill. And a bag of donuts. Please.”
