“That’s a bird,” I say softly.
“Yes, a type of bird.”
“You’re a very clever kid, you know that?”
His smile is small but his eyes light up as he says, “Jasper tells me about all the things he sees when he leaves.”
“Maybe you can see them yourself?”
“No, I don’t want to be kept. One night is okay.”
Something buzzes in the bathroom, pausing our game of charades as I reach the doorway. It’s coming from the bag. It stops, then restarts as I lift the bag. My phone sits at the bottom with one needy name on the screen and multiple messages. The battery is fully charged, which is weird when I had to give it to Lennox before the first trip to Austria.
The ringing starts again and I quickly answer as I close the door, turning on the faucet.
“Jesus, kid!” Niko exclaims. “You’ve been scaring the shit out of me. Where’ve you been?”
“I’m fine, I’ve got some family shit to deal with,” I whisper back, leaning against the wall.
“Ruby mentioned you’d be busy, but you didn’t have to disappear. You’re good though?”
“Yeah, all good,” I lie. “Actually, you might be getting a call from my wife soon. Take her to Scar.”
“So you pulled your head out of your ass and spoke to her instead of being pissed?”
“Yeah, something like that. I got it wrong.”So wrong.I can barely remember who I was when I told him Delilah was a cheating bitch, like I’ve lived ten whole lives since.
“I told you she wasn’t cheating on you, dumb fuck. Not after Scarlet told me how obsessed her sister was with you. Remember to use protection or your honeymoon will be over sooner than you want it to.”
Fuck, if only he knew.
I end the call with the promise to send him proof of life so he doesn’t have to send a search party for me. Turning off the water, I go back out and Kid is still on the bed, his focus on my phone. “Do you have games?”
Maybe he is still a child.
“Which games have you played?” I sit beside the bed without entering his space.
He assesses me instead of answering. If he says someone has done something sick to him, I’m going to lose my fucking mind. So far we’ve kept to easy topics, which have helped me compartmentalize the obvious abuse he’s suffered.
“Will you promise not to tell anyone?” he asks.
“Promise.”
“I’m not supposed to know the guards’ names, but there’s one called Lennox and when he wins, I get to play games on his phone.”
“I don’t know if I have any games,” I say as I unlock the screen and Delilah’s beautiful face is in front of me. She’s asleep in our bed, the one she thought she was sharing with Asher.
Kid peers over my shoulder, whispering, “She looks nice.”
“She is. She’s my wife. Now, let’s find some games we can play.” I swipe through all the different applications, folders full of details I used to toy with Delilah’s head. There’s no games for a child, only the twisted one I created.
He grabs my shoulder, pointing at a small white LED light on the wall. “It’s time to eat.” Then climbs down from the bed, waiting for me to stand.
I have no idea what food we’ll be given but I stand beside him as the doors are unlocked. Rather than someone coming inside like the prison I’m used to, Kid slips his small hand in mine as he guides me out of the room. I look down at his little hand in mine, at the scars on his body, and how he’s trusting me.
I need to find an excuse to leave so I can get him some clothes that fit him instead of him shuffling his feet so the socks don’t fall off as we pass multiple steel doors. When we reach the front door, he pushes against the wall. The hidden pocket door blends in seamlessly, hiding a set of stairs that go further down.
“You can pick me up now.” He pushes his foot forward, showing the sock has bunched around his ankle.
