Adam gave him a look that said, ‘are you for real?’, but when Thoralf didn’t flinch, he nodded. “Fine.” Placing the taser on his lap, he wheeled himself forward, following behind Thoralf.
Sarah stood there, frozen as she stared after her brother. “You probably have questions,” she finally said when Adam disappeared into the kitchen.
“You don’t have to explain anything,” he said. Tentatively, he reached out to touch her shoulder. She didn’t flinch, but instead, leaned into his touch. “But do you want to talk about it?”
Turning to him, she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Adam isn’t my biological brother. But he, our sister Darcey, and I were at the same foster home for a time. I was fourteen, Darcey, thirteen, and Adam was seven. He’d already been in a wheelchair then, because his biological dad beat him up so bad, it injured his spine permanently. His mother couldn’t care for him, so she left him with the state.”
A surge of rage tore through Daniel and his grizzly. What kind of monsters would do that to their own child? “I didn’t realize you were raised in a foster home.”
“Several, actually. My parents abandoned me when I was four.” When he opened his mouth, she shook her head. “No, I don’t know who they are, and I don’t remember. I think … they might have been migrant farmers working in California. CPS found me wandering around the road somewhere in Bakersfield. I only knew my name and my age.”
“Sarah …” Unable to stop himself, he pulled her into an embrace, not even giving her a chance to struggle. “I’m sorry,” he murmured into her hair.
“It’s fine. I got over it. They put me in an orphanage for a bit, then that’s when I started bouncing around foster homes.” She shrugged away from him, and though he didn’t want to let her go, he did so anyway. “Then I was placed with Eddie and Josie McLaren. Those pieces of shit only used kids for the money. Darcey and Adam had already been there a couple of months when I arrived. It was … horrible, to say the least. The house was always filthy, there wasn’t always enough to eat, and the McLarens drank heavily and would scream at us for any little thing we did. Usually, I’d start acting out so my foster parents would have no choice but to call my case worker and take me away, but I couldn’t do that to them. They were so helpless, Darcey and Adam. I couldn’t leave them behind.”
“So, you stayed.”
“Yeah. Four more years. Worked every job I could, saved my money, and even managed to graduate high school. As soon as I turned eighteen, I took Darcey and Adam and ran away from that place. The McLarens didn’t seem to care because they got their checks anyway, and CPS was too busy to check up on us. Just like dozens and dozens of kids in the system, Adam and Darcey just fell through the cracks.”
“And you were there to catch them.” He stared at her in complete awe. His mate was absolutely … amazing. Selfless and beautiful, inside and out. If he wasn’t in love with her already, he was mostly there.
She harrumphed. “You make it sound like I’m some kind of hero. But they’re my family, you know?” Tears welled up in her eyes. “I’m doing my best for Adam. At least I thought I was. We’ve been fighting a lot and … and now … oh!” she cried. “He must think I’m doing the same thing his mom did. Abandoning him.” She snapped her fingers. “I need to tell him that I’m not doing that. Reassure him that I’ll never leave him.”
“Wait,” he said, catching her arm before she ran into the kitchen.
“But I have to go see him—”
“Just wait a sec, okay? Look.” He paused to get his thoughts together. “I’ve been that age before. He’s been through a rough time, probably got a lot of teasing and bullying because of his condition and his home situation. I can kind of relate.”
She nodded. “But I can’t imagine anyone bullying you.”
“Believe me, teen boys will find anything to tease another kid about.” He scratched his chin. “If you go in there and start mothering him, he’ll just keep closing himself off. He needs time and rest. And so do you.”
“But—”
“No buts. You need to step away for now. Why don’t you call your sister and tell her what’s going on? Like you said, she must be sick with worry.”
“Darcey. Right.”
“Meanwhile, after Adam’s done eating, I’ll get him settled into one of the bedrooms.”
“I—wait.” She stared at him, slack-jawed. “You’re letting him stay?”
“Of course I am. I’m not tossing a kid out into the streets. He can stay as long as he needs to.”
“I didn’t say—I thought—” She pursed her lips. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“Don’t worry, okay? I’ll take care of him.” From now on, he wanted to take care of everything for her. “By the way, how the heck did he get all the way here from Las Vegas?”
She rolled her eyes. “Adam’s kind of a genius. His IQ is off the charts and he loves computers. Last year he wanted to go to Burning Man to meet his Internet friends, but of course we wouldn’t let him go. Somehow, he got on a bus to Reno, then found some other people on their way to the festival and caught a ride with them in their RV. He was halfway there by the time we caught up to him.” She covered her eyes with her hand. “So I’m not at all surprised he got here so quick.”
“Smart kid,” he said. “Anyway, go tell your sister that he’s fine. I’ll check on Thoralf and Adam. I don’t smell anything burning so
