No One to Trust - Iris Johansen [28]
“Several bedrooms with baths.” Galen gestured to the south wing. “Why don’t you find a cozy place for the three of you while I make a pot of coffee?”
Cozy? That was the last term she’d use for this place, Elena thought wearily. Barry’s grasp was tight on her hand and his eyes were wide with wonder. He’d been through too much tonight. So had they all. “I’ll be back to talk to you after I put Barry to bed.”
“I thought you would. This place is kind of big. I’ll leave a trail of bread crumbs to the kitchen.”
“I’ll find you.” She moved down the hall. “Come on, Barry. Time to get to bed.”
“This is a strange place.” Barry’s eyes were big as he gazed over his shoulder at the glass wall. “Can you see the whole world from here?”
“No, only the city and the bay.”
“Does Galen own the city?”
“Nobody owns it. Or maybe everyone does.”
“Oh.”
He didn’t speak again while she got him undressed and tucked into a king-size bed in one of the guest rooms. He was too quiet, she thought worriedly. She sat down beside him on the bed. “Okay?”
He nodded and closed his eyes.
It wasn’t okay. “Barry, bad things happened tonight, but we’re all safe now. Nothing can hurt you.”
His eyes opened. “Who did it, Mama?”
“Bad men.”
“Why?”
“It’s hard to explain. Bad men do bad things.”
“It was burning.…”
“I know.” What could she say when he was almost in shock? “But we’re safe now.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.” She pressed a kiss on his forehead. “I’d never let anything happen to you. Don’t you know that?”
He didn’t answer for a moment. “This was an adventure, wasn’t it?”
“I guess some people would call it that.”
“I didn’t like this adventure, Mama.”
“Neither did I. Sometimes adventures aren’t very much fun.”
“I didn’t know that.”
She could feel the tears stinging her eyes. He was already absorbing lessons she had wanted him never to learn. “There are wonderful adventures too.”
“I guess so.” He turned over and closed his eyes. “Mr. Forbes wasn’t in that fire, was he?”
“No.”
“Good. I was worried. He’s a nice man.”
“Yes. Go to sleep, love.”
“I will. I don’t want to be awake right now.”
Because being awake was more frightening than the oblivion of sleep. “And in the morning everything will be bright and beautiful and all the adventures will be happy ones.”
“I hope so.…”
He dropped off to sleep five minutes later, and Elena carefully covered him with the sheet and rose to her feet.
Dominic was waiting in the hall. “I’ll sit with him for a little while. He may not stay asleep. He’s had a rough night.”
“So have you.”
“Well, I admit that it’s not every man who’s burned out of two houses in the space of a month.” He smiled. “Go on and talk to Galen. I’ll take good care of Barry.”
“You always have. Better than I’ve done. Maybe I should have—”
“Go.” He gave her a push down the hall. “You must be upset if you’re dealing in should-haves.”
She took a deep breath. He was right. It was no time to be looking back when she had to find a way for them all to survive. “Watch him. He may have nightmares. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
5
“How’s the boy?” Galen asked as she came into the kitchen.
“Not good.” She sat down at the granite-topped table. “But he didn’t see Forbes killed. I was afraid he had.”
“He saw enough to disturb most kids.” He poured her a cup of coffee and sat down across from her. “Don’t try to smooth things over. You need to be up front with him.”
“He’s five years old.”
“And you want to protect him. But you may not be able to do it. It’s better if he knows that you’ll always tell him the truth. Truth is important to kids.”
“And you’re an expert?” she asked sarcastically.
“At most things. Drink your coffee.”
She lifted her cup to her lips. “Why did you come to the vineyard tonight? I thought you were going fishing.”
“So did I. I’ve always had problems with letting go. At first, I was only going to keep a watch on Chavez and see if he made any moves.”
“Why would you do that?”
He looked down into