“Come on, kiddos. Let’s head inside. See what we can do for food and a bath.” Owen walked to the door and held still for the facial recognition software, listening to the opening and closing of the car door behind him. He pushed the door open and held it there with a stiffened arm, looking down as Kelly passed through into the house, leading Shiloh by the hand.
Neither child spoke, even as they followed Owen to the bathroom attached to the bedroom Kelly had been in before. Owen started the water running into the bath and turned, staring at Kelly. “I’m going to go grab the rest of the stuff from the car. I’ll be right back in to help Shiloh with her bath.” The boy’s chin dropped, and he developed a pugnacious expression, glaring at Owen. “Exactly as I helped you bathe, Kelly. Mostly by being in here in case she gets lightheaded or doesn’t feel well.” At least Kelly had recovered from the respiratory illness he’d had that first night, and Shiloh appeared healthy outside of the physical abuse she’d suffered. “Nothing more. She’s not sick like you were, so probably won’t need anything.”
“I can do that.” Kelly stood straighter. “She don’t need you.”
What happened to Owen the savior? “Okay. You stay in here with her and I’ll be in there.” He pointed through the door to the bedroom. “Close enough to help if needed, but you’re right. Her big brother can definitely be her helper instead of me.” That let the air out of Kelly, and his body rounded over, shoulders slumping in relief. “Don’t let the water get too hot. It’ll sting her scrapes. I’m going to get the bags and then make a call. Don’t leave her in here alone, okay?”
“Okay.” Shiloh leaned into Kelly and whispered something, and the boy nodded in response. “She says thank you.”
“You’re welcome, sweet girl. I’ll be back in a minute.” Walking out of that room and leaving the two kids alone was harder even than he’d imagined it would be. His mind was going crazy, running a thousand scenarios where one or the other could be hurt or killed while in the safety of a common bathroom, and Owen had to shake his head forcefully to slow his racing thoughts. Bags of clothing retrieved from the car, he dropped them outside the bedroom and abruptly turned on his heel, striding to the kitchen. He took in a deep breath and then accessed the tablet mounted to the wall.
After needing and not having one when first treating Kelly, Owen had installed a pinhole camera in the bathroom. There was no sound, but it showed Shiloh in the tub, with the overlarge shirt still covering her body. Kelly sat cross-legged on the floor, head resting on his folded arms along the edge of the tub. The boy was turned sideways so he could keep an eye on Shiloh. The physical exhaustion both children exhibited was profound, and seeing it carved a hollow spot in Owen’s chest.
He stared at them, then abruptly tapped away from the security camera system, entering a series of passwords to access a secure email server. He pulled up a contact, studied the information briefly, then keyed in a short, cryptic message. The green indicator beside the man’s name told Owen his contact was online, so it wasn’t a surprise when the response was nearly immediate. The contact had relevant questions, so Owen responded, then confirmed the address and timeframe for the man’s arrival, and finished by closing down the connection before turning off the tablet.
Moving to the security system, he tapped a series of icons, then created a temporary access code to match what he’d given the man, who was a doctor at a nearby children’s hospital. Owen didn’t know him personally, but the other independents who disrupted local trafficking rings had recommended his services as discreet and trustworthy. After bringing Kelly home, Owen had run his own kind of background checks on the man, finding only more of the same. It had bothered Owen to not have reliable medical help for the boy, and when he’d begun entertaining the idea Shiloh would be coming back here, he’d been determined to ensure she had everything she needed to be healthy and whole. The security code would grant the doctor access even if Owen wasn’t home, helping make certain her care wouldn’t be interrupted for any reason.
Mission accomplished, he retraced his steps up the hallway and gathered up the bags, taking them into the bedroom and placing them on the bed. Without looking through the open doorway, he methodically took the articles of clothing out of the bags, removing tags and folding them, stacking the various types of things together. Still not looking at the kids, he called out to Kelly, “I’ve got things laid out for Shiloh to sleep in. I’ll do a load of laundry tonight, get the dyes washed out of the rest of the stuff.” He paused, not surprised when he didn’t receive a response. “Is it okay if I come in there now, Kelly?”
“Yeah.” The boy’s voice was thick with tears. Owen let his head drop backwards between his shoulders and glared up at the ceiling. He could only imagine what was going through the boy’s mind.
When he walked in, the dirty water all around Shiloh was still, not even a ripple disturbing the surface. She sat in the center of the tub, legs stretched out in front of her, hands folded in the fabric of the shirt she still wore. Her hair was wet, hanging in strings down her back.
She’s stronger than she looks. He reminded himself of the composure she’d shown in the cabin and turned to the cabinet to retrieve a soft washcloth. With a hand on Kelly’s shoulder to steady himself, he crouched and then knelt next to the tub, shocked when the boy leaned against his side, still in the exhausted posture he’d seen on the video.
“Let’s run some more water.” He matched actions to words, turning the faucet and regulating the temperature automatically. Holding the cloth under the stream of water, he dampened the material, wringing it lightly when he pulled back. The bottle of shower gel he’d bought for Kelly stood on one corner of the tub, and he spread a liberal amount on the wet cloth, crushing it in his grip to work up a layer of suds. “Mom always said start at the cleanest part and work your way down.” He leaned over and gripped Shiloh’s jaw in his hand, turning her face towards him. The unfocused gaze she wore was terrifying, and he had to pause to catch his breath. Clearing his throat, he quietly told her, “So we’ll work on your face and hair first.” The gel doubled as a tear-free shampoo, so he smoothed the cloth over the top of her hair, working the soap down to her scalp. He applied more gel before moving to clean her face, and then more again to wash her exposed neck and arms, careful of the abrasions her bonds had worked into her skin.
Honoring the barrier she’d set in place, he didn’t try to clean her torso, leaving that for much later when she’d be more comfortable. The water level had risen, so he unstopped the tub, allowing a portion of the dirty water to drain away before plugging the drain again. More gel, then an under-the-water washing of her lower legs and feet, again leaving anything covered by the soaked shirt untouched. Owen let the cloth float in the water as he cupped his hands under the running water, bringing it handfuls at a time to rinse her hair. Another round of gel to shampoo her hair was followed by a final rinse, and he sat back on his heels, drying his hands and arms on a towel retrieved from a nearby rack.
Movement in the tub shocked him to stillness. Shiloh had grasped hold of the cloth and was in the process of shoving it underneath the shirt, tears rolling down her face as she scrubbed at flesh he couldn’t see, but could well imagine after witnessing the evidence of abuse Warrant had left behind. “Honey, go easy. Careful.” She shook her head, shoulders bowing over as her hands worked frantically just out of sight. “Shiloh, stop it. You’ll hurt yourself.”