Dweller - Jeff Strand [81]
Until Melissa.
Forget the past. No, don’t forget the past, learn from it. Garrett would keep Owen a secret. Toby knew he would. And if he didn’t, well, Toby’s parents hadn’t believed him, so why would Sarah believe Garrett now?
“Yep, that’s one crazy kid we’ve got,” Toby would say with a laugh. “What an imagination! Reminds me of me when I was his age. I thought I saw a monster out there, too. Garrett’s lucky, though—I got a spanking, and we don’t believe in physical punishment.”
Melissa had accidentally scratched Owen’s eyeball. The monster had been peaceful until then. Owen would never hurt Toby’s son on purpose, and if Toby took every possible precaution…
No. Terrible idea.
Or, life-changing brilliant idea.
He’d have to think about this some more. Brainstorm from every angle.
Good Lord, was he excited.
“Owen, I may bring you another friend,” Toby said, one week later.
Owen looked positively delighted at this prospect.
“But there are parts of this that you’re not going to like, and if you don’t agree to them it’s not going to happen. So, how do you feel about being in a cage?”
No.
“Okay, see, if you’re already unwilling to compromise, then this whole idea is over. You remember what happened last time. There is no way in hell I’m going to let anything happen to my son. Not one scratch. So you can work with me, or I’ll be your only company for the rest of your life. Your choice. So what about the cage? You think that might be all right?”
Owen hung his head a bit. Yes.
“It may not have to be a cage. I’m going to look at chains. Chains can be stylish. They make you look tough. But I need to make it very clear that you will be restrained, and if you’re going to fight me on that, it’s no deal. I don’t want to spend the money for a cage or chains until I’m positive that you’re all right with the idea. Are you?”
Yes.
Owen didn’t look cool in the chains. He actually looked kind of pathetic. But still, the plan was coming together.
“Tug,” Toby said.
Owen wore a thick leather strap around his neck, which was connected to a chain that was wrapped around a tree. Owen was pretty damn strong, but he didn’t have the strength to rip trees out by the roots, and according to the guy at the hardware store, this chain “could withstand a half dozen elephants pulling on it at once.” Toby doubted that this claim had been tested in the field, but it was definitely a solid chain.
Owen signed: Heavy. This was made more difficult for him because he was also chained by the wrists.
“I know it’s heavy. But you can handle it for a while, right?”
Yes.
“So tug.”
Owen yanked on the chains.
“No, really tug. I’ll know if you’re faking, so give it everything that you’ve got.”
Owen pulled against his restraints, teeth clenched together, muscles bulging. Those chains, and those trees, weren’t going anywhere.
“Good job,” said Toby. He walked over to the cooler, opened it, and took out a surprise. “If you can break free, I’ll give you this banana split. Otherwise, I’m eating it myself.” He spooned up a bite and slowly slid it into his mouth. “Mmmmmm.”
Yeah, it was a mean thing to do, but he really had to make sure that Owen couldn’t break free. And Owen strained to get the ice cream, strained so hard that he thought the monster might start popping blood vessels. But the chains and the trees held.
“Perfect. I was only kidding—of course you can have the ice cream.” Toby walked over, unlocked Owen’s right wrist, and gave him the bowl. Owen raised it to his face and licked up the banana split within seconds.
It was set. Tomorrow he’d bring Garrett.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“How good are you at keeping secrets?”
“Good.”
Toby shook his head. “That’s not enough. I need you to be the biggest secret keeper in the entire world. Even better than the president. Do you know how many secrets the president keeps?”
“No,” Garrett admitted.
“He keeps thousands of secrets. He knows things that could destroy the entire United States if he let them get out. That’s how