“I know you’re trying.” Nana sighed. “It just breaks my heart to know it’s happening.”
Johan ducked his head. “I’m sorry to drag you into this.”
A good thing he had because, otherwise, a different little boy and girl wouldn’t be alive today.
“I gave him a sleeping pill,” Johan explained. “It won’t hurt him but will make it easier for you to travel given his situation.”
“You mean his broken arm.” Nana trembled, suddenly full of rage. “We have to go.”
She didn’t hug her brother goodbye.
Despite the pain pulling his features taut, the boy followed her to the car. Did as told and hid in the backseat. Nana—a nurse who could have been a doctor—waited until the pill knocked him out and then she set his arm the best she could. Eventually, once he got his identification, she’d have it checked by a real doctor and an x-ray. She couldn’t risk it now, not when getting far away and quickly was of paramount importance.
As promised, the boy had slept. She almost dared to believe they’d gotten away safe. Now she just had to convince a small boy to trust her.
She tried a gentle smile. “My name is Nanette Hubbard. But my friends call me Nana. What’s your name?”
“ST11.”
It was so faint she almost missed it. She smiled. “ST. How mysterious. Is it short for Steven?”
The boy stared at her.
“Hmm. Not Steven. What about Stipplewart? No, too silly. What does ST stand for?” She tapped her chin. “Stew? No, although it is yummy. Wait until you taste mine. Your brother had the initials DK and what do you know, it stood for Dominick, which I would have never guessed.”
The boy had reached for the apple as she spoke and took a bite. The way to the heart was always the belly.
She kept talking. “Stewart? Maybe not. Makes me think of a mouse, and you’re not a mouse, are you? More like a lion.”
“Tiger.”
The word showed he listened to Nana and understood. It also made her realize he must have eavesdropped on his handlers. According to what Johan told her about him, tiger was the strain he’d been crossed with.
She smiled. “I should have known you were a ferocious tiger with that beautiful ginger hair of yours.”
Mid chew, he mumbled, “Evil.”
“Never!” she exclaimed. Evil would be those who did this to a child.
How could you, Johan? She might kill him yet. But then, who would help her save the children?
The boy ate more apple and, when done, took care of the core.
“I love a good crunchy apple. I’ve got more in the cooler in the trunk.” Packed with a variety of things to feed a growing boy. “I’m going to bring it in the room. Feel free to join me if you’d like.”
Rather than crowd him, she gave him the choice. Standing, she headed for the trunk and popped it. She heaved out the cooler, which she carried to the room with its bright yellow door. It matched the ugly flower pattern of the curtains.
The door opened on the expected heavy dark furniture and patterned carpet. The comforter was more like a quilt with pulled threads all over.
Given the door closed automatically, she used the cooler to prop it open before heading back for the car, only to pause as she saw the boy had crept out of the car, tense and alert. He’d not touched the splint on his arm, and seeing it dangle by his side, she realized she’d need to fabricate a sling.
She knew from her experience with Dominick and then Pamela that it wouldn’t take much the first little bit to set him off. They were like wild animals, skittish and ready to run at the first hint of danger. At Dominick’s first bolt, she’d cried as she’d searched for him. In the end, he’d returned to her. She’d learned a lot since that time and fallen in love.
The phone calls she’d managed to make to her children on her journey had both her son and daughter exclaiming about missing her tons but the horsies were fun. Nana had both children staying with a friend of hers in Saskatchewan. Just in case things went south with the smuggle, she needed them out of the way. They’d grab Dominick and Pamela on their way back home.
The boy entered the room, and she grabbed the suitcase and bag still in the trunk. She shut all the doors and locked the car. She found ST standing by the jamb, hugging it, eyeing her solemnly. He moved before she could brush past him, tucking between the beds.
“We’ll be staying here for a night. I need some sleep.” She closed the door gently and then lay a suitcase on the dresser, pulling out items to fit a child his age. She placed them on the bed. “Those are for you. There’s a bathroom if you want to bathe or change.” She pointed. “Here’s some shampoo and soap. Toothbrush, too.” She placed the toiletries beside his clothes.
He still hadn’t said a word.
She didn’t push it. She headed for the television and turned it on, flipping until she found a channel playing children’s programming.
Not her preferred method of teaching, however, she needed ST to realize he was in a different world. The quicker he adjusted, the easier he’d fit in. Remaining unnoticed was of paramount importance.
His expression turned comical as he regarded the cartoon antics on the screen of a certain rabbit and a hunter who couldn’t seem to bag him.
With the cartoons keeping him riveted, she tackled the cooler, laying out a feast of flavors. Salty cold cuts—ham, chicken, and smoked meat. Cheese—cheddar, Swiss, and mozzarella. Crackers with salted tops. And for the sweet? Grapes, red and green.
The spread brought a shadow, who crept close and watched.
She sat and pointed to the chair across from her. “Care to join me?” She put out a pair of paper plates and began heaping hers.
She held in a smile as she acquired a dinner companion. When they were done, he helped her pack away the cooler, peering curiously inside.
“I have bananas and some instant porridge for breakfast.”
“I like bananas.” A shy admission.
“Me, too.”
She didn’t say anything when he followed her to the bathroom. She lay out toiletries, putting a new toothbrush with a superhero on the handle in front of him. Since he was too short to see, she flipped the garbage pail upside down.
“You can stand on that to reach,” she indicated. She didn’t touch him to help even as she wanted to. He only had one good hand, but as with the other children, he was agile and managed to get on top.
He blinked at his face in the mirror.
She stuck out her tongue, and for a moment, he appeared astonished.
She put toothpaste on their brushes and then proceeded to clean her teeth. He mimicked her. She washed her face with a cloth, and so did he.
When it was time for more private things, she said, “I have to use the toilet and like to be alone for that if it’s okay?”
He nodded and left her presence, even shutting the door all the way. Nana did her business quickly, scared but hopeful as she exited the bathroom.
The boy sat on the floor, watching the television, but turned his head as she appeared. He rose to his feet and said, “Toilet.”
“Okay. Be sure to wash your hands when done.”
He glanced at his hands. “Okay.” He left the door ajar, and so she heard him as he tinkled, flushed, then rinsed his hands at the sink.