Seriously, Jorge translates for his sister, who, after giving Connor’s words some thought, nods, but her brow creases as though thinking adults do some foolish things sometimes.
“You tell us, and we’ll play the hide and seek game,” Jorge says.
“Your English is good, kid,” Connor tells him after giving him an admiring look. “Your sister doesn’t speak it?”
“She’s learning, but it’s hard.”
He’s not wrong there. I’m always grateful I’ve been born with the English language as my mother tongue. I take off my hat to anyone who conquers it as a foreign language.
“You want me to take them now?” Connor approaches me.
“Sure.” I pull out my wallet and take out a hefty amount. “Cash only when you top up the tank, don’t let anyone see the kids, and obey all the driving laws.”
“I know the risks.” Connor raises his chin.
I slap him on the back. “Jorge?” The kid turns. “You be good for Connor, you hear?” The kid fucking salutes me.
Kids. The fleeting thought comes into my head that there’s an outside chance I might end up with one of my own. Why is it that those I’ve met lately have been good kids and not bad? It makes me have thoughts about something I’ll probably never have.
The club SUV starts and leaves, then there’s another sound.
Niran, Keeper, Kink and I stay in the background as the rest of the kids go with the social worker who Swift and Bolt had arranged. They complete the handover with nothing but the kids changing hands.
“You ready Bolt?” Swift turns to him once it’s just us here.
“Yeah.” He picks up that bag whose inside seems to be bigger than the outside just like the Tardis and pulls something out, then going to the kitchen, kneels down and opens a cabinet.
“What’s he doing?” I ask Swift.
“Setting our signal to leave. You best get going now. You’ll want to be away before this place blows.”
“You’re burning it down?”
She shrugs. “Easier than cleaning the blood up, and I don’t want this place being used for this purpose ever again.”
I shake my head but am unable to find fault with her proposal. “Come on, Brothers. Let’s get to the bikes.”
As Niran and Keeper disappear out the back, Kink and I use the front door. Thankfully, we find our bikes just where and how we left them. I never like leaving my baby alone. We’re just starting up the road when there’s a loud boom from behind us. I grin, guessing Bolt rigged a gas explosion in the house. Well, that’s Devon’s investment gone. Thank fuck.
When we arrive back at the compound, Bolt and Swift aren’t far behind. The first thing Swift does when she jumps out of the truck is go find her precious dog.
“You and that dog.” I chuckle quietly when I see her retrieve him from the care of a bleary-eyed Cindy.
Without turning, she tells me, “He’s changed my life. I couldn’t live without him.”
Instead of mocking her as I might have done before—I’ve re-evaluated my feelings for Swift over the past few hours—now, rather than seeing her adoration for the canine as a weakness, I appreciate he has to be a lifeline for her. As I watch her greet her four-legged friend, I wonder for a moment what it’s like to be deaf. I’d hate to be so vulnerable, to be unable to hear danger approach. Terrible for anyone, but for those of us who served, maybe worse. We’d had it ingrained in us always to be aware at all times.
“You okay to look after him a bit longer?”
Cindy yawns widely. “If you don’t mind me taking him up to bed with me. When you want him, someone will know where to find me.” She ruffles App’s ears. “He’s a sweet little thing, isn’t he?”
Swift seems reassured App’s in good hands, though her eyes follow Cindy as she leads him to the stairs. Then her back straightens.
“Where will they have taken him?”
She doesn’t need to elaborate on who she’s talking about.
“To the brig,” I answer.
“Brig?”
I chuckle. “Don’t ask. Most of us have forgotten why it was called that. Think it was a Navy man back in the day. It’s this way.”
As I walk beside her, I make an observation. “I’d have expected a girl like you to have a Malinois or some other big and threatening dog.”
She glances at me, but sees curiosity, not censure in my face. “If I’d wanted a dog, and before App, I never considered it, I’d probably have gone for something I could train as an attack dog. But hearing dogs tend to be smaller. They don’t need to be tall as they would to lead a blind person around. And there are benefits, like being able to take him on the plane.”
Bolt catches up. “Like that’s easy.” He snorts. “There was App, wearing his service dog coat, and though Swift explained, the airline didn’t want to carry him. They thought and can you fuckin’ believe it…” he pauses to give a shake of his head, “that Swift was the kind of woman who’d take her lap dog on a trip for fun?”
“Is the steward still breathing?”
It’s Swift’s turn to snort. “Just. But I had to get out my paperwork showing I was deaf to prove it. Fuckin’ wanker.” She matches her pace to mine, which means she has to slow down, then continues, “I hate flying commercial, but we do when we have to. With Bolt beside me, there wouldn’t have been a problem, but if he wasn’t, I’d have needed App. The drone of the engines fucks with my hearing aids so I have to turn them down. App would have alerted me to a tannoy announcement, or the flight staff trying to get my attention.”
“Tannoy?”
Swift looks up, then down. “Loudspeaker.” I swear she says heathen under her breath.
My thoughts return to the track they were on before—how awful it must be for a strong woman, or man for that matter, to be rendered helpless.
“We’re here.” I lead
