Chapter 16
Ryan was walking out the door of his apartment to go to Matti’s when he got a text. He frowned as he read it, then ran to his car as he texted back.
What park?
She hadn’t responded by the time he was seated in his car, so he googled parks near her.
There were two, but one was a mile closer to her house, so he went there first. When he arrived, it was to see two police cars and the car he’d seen her brother driving parked along the street, the kind of car a detective would drive.
He stopped behind one of the police cars. A group of people were standing near the sidewalk, and he could see Matti, Sam, and Wyatt, along with two police officers and some teens.
“Doc!” Sam cried out when he saw Ryan approaching the group. He pulled his hand away from Matti’s and ran to Ryan. “He almost got me. I was so scared.”
Ryan picked the boy up. “Who almost got you?”
“The mean man. He was trying to take me. Napped me, the policeman said.”
“Kidnapped?”
“Yes, that’s the word.” He pointed to the teens who were clustered together. “Those boys over there saved me. They made the man fall down so he would let go of me. Matti said they’re heroes.”
“They certainly are.” A sick feeling churned in his stomach that the boy he was growing to care about was almost taken by men who would… What? Kill him? He tightened his arms around Sam.
“The man, he was in the motel room when they took my Mommy and Daddy away. Matti’s brother asked me if I saw the tattoo on his arm when he got me, and I told him I did. It was the same one I drawed. Remember?”
“I do.”
Matti broke away and came to them. “Hey. We had a bit of excitement.”
“So I hear.” She was trying to make light of what had happened for Sam’s benefit, but Ryan could see the fear in her eyes.
Still holding Sam with one arm, he wrapped his other one around her shoulders.
“How much longer do you have to stay here?” He’d rather have them back at her house where they would be safe behind locked doors.
“I think we can leave now.” She turned. “Wyatt?”
He walked to them. “Yeah?” He nodded at Ryan.
“Can we leave now?”
“Yes, but why don’t you take Sam to Dad’s and stay there tonight.”
“No, I want to be home, my home.”
“I’d rather you not be alone for now. We don’t know if they’ll try…” He glanced at Sam, who was paying attention to the conversation. “It’s just better if you’re not by yourself right now.”
“They won’t be,” Ryan said. “I’m staying with them.”
“Oh, you are, are you?” Matti said, narrowing her eyes at him.
“Yes.” He didn’t care if she didn’t like it. There was no way he was leaving her and Sam alone tonight.
“Actually, I’m good with that, but try asking. I have enough bossy men in my life. I don’t need another one.” She pointedly eyed Wyatt.
“Duly noted,” Ryan said, amused when Wyatt gave her a noogie.
“Stop it, you big lug.” She slapped Wyatt’s hand away.
Her brother laughed and did it again. “Make me, brat.”
The love between the siblings was obvious.
Ryan had always wished he had a brother or sister, but he’d been a surprise baby to parents who were in their forties.
Although they hadn’t wanted children—both professors at a university and dedicated to their careers—they’d been great parents.
But one child was more than enough for them.
Wyatt lifted his hand to Sam. “High-five me, buddy.”
“I don’t know what that means,” Sam said.
“He wants you to do this.” Ryan lifted his hand and slapped his palm against Wyatt’s.
Sam glanced between the two of them. “Why?”
“It’s a way of telling you that you did good today,” Wyatt said as he held up his hand again in front of Sam.
Sam grinned as he high-fived Wyatt. “That was fun.”
“Well, now that you boys have had your fun, it’s time to go.” She scanned the area around them, then settled her gaze on her brother. “They’re probably a long way away now, right?”
“Most likely, but I’m going to have Jackson follow you guys home. We’ll do drive-bys tonight, keep an eye on things.”
“Good. My car’s over there.” She pointed to where her vehicle was parked.
Ryan set Sam down. “Go with Matti. I’ll follow right behind you.”
When the two of them were out of earshot, he said to Wyatt, “You really think they’re safe staying at home?”
“I’d rather she stay at Dad’s, but she’s stubborn.” He pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to Ryan. “My cell’s on here. Call me if you see anything suspicious. In fact, when you get a chance, text me so I have your number. If I hear anything more, I’ll let you know.”
Ryan pocketed the card. “I’ll definitely do that.”
* * *
Getting Sam to bed was an operation worthy of a Special Forces team. Unfortunately, it was just him and Matti, no Special Forces training between the two of them. After they’d arrived at Matti’s, Sam had a meltdown.
“The mean men are going to come get me,” he said with tears running down his cheeks.
Matti put her hands on his shoulders and leaned down to look him in the eyes. “They can’t get in. The doors are locked.”
“What if they come in the window?”
“Those are all locked, too.” Ryan took Sam’s hand. “But just to be sure, let’s go check.” He took Sam to each window and tried to open them to prove they were secure.
“What if they break the window?”
“They won’t because it would make too much noise if they did that.” He hoped that was true. He wished Matti had an alarm system, but she probably thought she hadn’t needed one before now.
“Can I sleep with you, Matti?”
“You can tonight, but we aren’t going to make that a regular thing, okay?”
“Will you stay with us, Doc? You’re bigger than us, and you can fight them if they try to take me.”
“I’ll be right here on the couch all night.”
Sam shook his head. “No, in bed with us.”
He exchanged an amused look with Matti. “I don’t think we’ll all fit.”
“We can squeeze together. I can be in the middle and hide under the cover. The mean men won’t see me.”
“I’m going to be right here on the couch, Sam. No mean men are going to come in, but just in case I’m wrong, I’ll stop them because I’ll be here where I can see them.”
Sam’s expression turned mutinous. “No! We have to stay together.”
“Let’s not worry about that right now,” Matti said. “You need a bath, then we’ll have milk and cookies before you go to bed.”
“The black-and-white ones?”
“Oreos, yes.”
While Matti got him into the bathtub, Ryan texted Wyatt so the detective would have his number and to let him know they were safe behind locked doors.
That done, he walked out to the front porch and, staying near the door, surveyed the street.
He didn’t see anything suspicious, but that didn’t mean they weren’t around, watching the house.
He went back inside, locking the door behind him. He’d never liked guns, had never wanted one, didn’t know how to shoot, but for the first time in his life, he wished he did have a weapon and knew what to do with it.
“What?” he said at seeing Matti standing in the living room, frowning at the package of Oreos she held in her hand.
“Did you have some? If you did, that’s okay. It’s just that this was a full package yesterday.”
“No. Didn’t even know you had any.”
“Humph,” she muttered as she returned to the kitchen.
“Need help?” Because her back was to him, he grinned. A grumpy Matti was cute.
“Can you see if you can get Sam out of the tub? He’ll play in the water all night if we let him.”
“I’m on it.” She was right, Sam didn’t want to get out. Between the last time he’d seen Sam in the tub and now, water toys had been added. There was a boat, a submarine, and floating alphabet letters.
“Watch, Doc. I can spell words.”
After five minutes of complimenting Sam on the words he could spell, Ryan finally got him out of the bath and dried off.
“I have pajamas now,” Sam proudly said.
“You never had pajamas before?”
“No, I had to sleep in my underwear. I like sleeping in pajamas.” He grinned. “I’m going to sleep in them forever now. Do you have pajamas?”
“I sure do. Time for milk and cookies.”
“Oh, boy.” He took off down the hall. Ryan shook his head as he let the water out of the tub. What a difference in Sam from the time Matti first brought him home to now. It was good to see him gaining confidence and being happy.
He hoped the police caught the men who’d killed Sam’s parents soon. Although, that would mean Matti would turn him over to a foster family. Ryan wished there was a way he could adopt the boy, but there just wasn’t.