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I nodded. “When he saw me running, he tried to bail, but Clive got there first.”

Coco turned toward Clive. “And you killed him?”

“I did,” he said.

Her shoulders relaxed. “Good.”

“You returned her kid,” Stheno said. “Why the hell did she slap you?”

I sat with my legs crossed and held on to the back of the seat in front of me as Clive took a turn. His gaze went to me in the rearview, checking to make sure I hadn’t toppled. He was a good husband. The book slid, but I tucked it back where I’d found it, under the cargo mat.

“She was scared. Her daughter was missing and here comes some random woman holding her kid.” Which reminded me. I tapped Vlad’s shoulder. “What did you say to the little girl anyway? Or did you mesmerize her into not kicking me?”

He shrugged the shoulder I’d touched. “A little of this. A little of that.”

I rolled my eyes at Clive, when he found me in the rearview again. “Anyway, the mom was cussing me out in Greek at first, which was fine, as I didn’t understand her. I probably wasn’t showing the proper amount of remorse, though, so she punctuated her rant with a really effective slap. After that, she must have realized I didn’t understand her.” I thought about it. “Maybe I said Ouch in English or something. I don’t know, but apparently I’m ugly whorish garbage.”

“I could have told you that,” Stheno said, causing Vlad to huff a laugh.

Clive slowed, turning in his seat to glare at Vlad. “Why the hell would you translate that for her?”

Vlad shook his head. “Don’t look at me. I pride myself on being unhelpful.”

Clive pulled over. “Sam, how do you know what she said?”

I didn’t understand why Clive was confused. “She said that part in English. Then you started talking to her in English.”

Clive and Vlad shared a look.

“Darling, grab that book you found and pass it over the seat to Vlad, please.”

Flipping up the mat, I picked up the early reader and handed it to Vlad. He and Bracken, who were sitting next to each other, both stared at the cover and then back at me.

“What? Why are you acting weird?” The sudden focus on me was making me itch.

Vlad passed Clive the book and then turned to me and asked, “Have you ever read that book?”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t look familiar.”

Coco gasped.

“What?” Why had her eyes rounded?

Bracken held up a hand to Coco, stopping her from saying anything, and then he looked over his shoulder. “Did you recognize the man who tried to abduct the little girl?”

I shook my head. “He just looked like some random creepy dude.”

Coco flinched, then cleared her throat and asked, “What kind of dog was it?”

I thought about it a minute. “It’s hard to tell with small breeds, but I think he was a puppy, not just small. At a guess, I’d say a Cocker Spaniel, but I’m not sure. The little girl was really happy to get him, though.”

Coco shook her head and looked at the others. “That was too fast for me. Does anyone else speak Welsh?”

Clive said, “Only a little. I believe she said it was a Cocker Spaniel.”

“You all heard me say Cocker Spaniel. I mean, maybe I’m off and he was some kind of mix, but is it that important?” Why was everyone looking at me like I was crazy?

“And we’re back to English,” Stheno muttered.