Page 11 of Bender

“Sorry about that. They were all a little overzealous to see who I brought home with me. I didn’t want you to be overwhelmed by all of them at once, but I promise you, every single one of those men would die to keep the two of you and Blakely—she’s the woman you saw—safe.” He steps into the opening between the door and my seat and takes Blu and me by the hand.

“I promised you both, I will never let anyone hurt you, and I mean it. You will always, always be safe here,” he says.

I think about the mean man who shoved him and then hugged him with a teethy smile. I don’t know how safe that guy is, but I want to believe Konrad’s promise. He’s the first man who’s ever been nice to me. So I nod and let him hold my hand a little longer.

“Okay, then. Wait here a few more minutes where it’s warm, and then I’ll get you two ready to go inside.” He turns and vaults into the bed of the truck as if he’s actually a superhero leaping buildings. Blu and I turn around in the seat and watch through the back window as he rummages around in a couple of the shiny metal boxes bolted to the sides of the bed then pulls out a long, skinny bag.

As Blu and I watch, Konrad quickly slides bendy poles through fabric loops until a popup tent fits in the bed of the truck. The opening of it faces the window we’re watching out of. I realize the window is actually a little door when Konrad leans down and opens it up.

“You two crawl in there, and I’ll toss some clothes in. I wouldn’t wanna meet a pack of strangers wearing a blanket or a curtain, and I ain’t expecting either of you to, either.”

Blu scrambles ahead of me into the tent, and I follow. In moments, Konrad’s tossing warm sweats through the opening. There’s no chance any of it will fit us properly, but after years of not being allowed to wear anything at all, this is almost magical.

I help Blu pull a hoodie over her head, and she helps me unlace Konrad’s giant boots and replace them with thick, warm socks. When we’re finally dressed as well as we can be, we climb out of the tent to see Konrad’s put on a shirt and new socks.

I know he says he’s not a superhero, but it sure feels like he’s ours.

Chapter

Ten

BLU

He’s trying to hide it, but Grey’s terrified. I can tell because I know how to read his cues. From the moment Konrad hustled us through the front door of the giant building he calls home, Grey hasn’t said a word.

“Okay, this is my room. It’ll be our room, now that you two are here. The bathroom’s this way. I think we all need showers, but it’ll have to wait until Arlo brings up the food.” Konrad’s moving around the room, picking up stuff and putting it down as if he doesn’t know what to do with himself.

It would be funny to see him so nervous, if I didn’t know it was because of us. Grey and I might not have book smarts, on account of neither of us getting to go to school, all though I at least got to finish a few years of high school, but we both know how to read people. And right now, I can read that they’re both spiraling. Grey because he’s scared. Konrad, I think, because he knows Grey’s afraid and doesn’t know how to help him.

Sass to the rescue. Grey’s mega power is hearing emotion when anyone talks. Mine’s deflecting and redirecting attention by being a sass mouth.

“What, no baths? I was looking forward to a bubble bath with those little cucumber eye thingies. What kinda host are you, Konnie?” I wink when Konrad looks at me but paste a mock frown on my face as soon as Grey spins to glare my way.

“Don’t be a brat, Blu!” he hisses.

“It’s okay, Peanut. If my Jellybean wants me to give her a bath, I’m happy to oblige.” Konrad puts his hand on Grey’s shoulder to comfort him, but I don’t miss the heat in his eyes as he smiles at me.

After everything I’ve been through, seeing the look of male appreciation on Konrad’s face should be way scarier than it is. I’m not sure how I have so much faith in his kindness after only a few hours, but every instinct I have tells me he’s a safe man.

A soft knock on the door sends Konrad rushing to open it before the person on the other side can beat him to it. I like how he stands in the open space with a foot braced against the bottom of the door to keep it from being pushed open. I think he’s still upset that all of his friends came outside when we first got here.

I can admit it shook me up to see so many big men in one place. And that big hairy one with the long beard and growly face was definitely the scariest of all.

“You said nothing that would upset their stomachs, so I used the air fryer to make some chicken breasts and tater tots. The green beans are just from a can, so they’re nice and soft. I brought up some animal crackers, too. For a treat if you want,” the man on the other side of the door says.

“He’s got a smiling voice,” Grey whispers in my ear.

“Where the fuck did you find animal crackers, ‘Lo? You hiding some kids around here that I don’t know about?” Konrad growls.

“Mind your damn business, prick. You want the cookies or not?” He may be cursing at Konrad, but even I can hear the friendly teasing in his tone.

“Of course, I want the fucking cookies. Now, get your ass back downstairs and make sure those nosy assholes leave me and mine alone for a little while. They need to eat and rest before you guys stare at them like zoo exhibits.” Konrad isn’t angry, but he’s definitely using his big boss energy.

There’s a small table with two chairs by the window of the room and he carries all three plates over to it. He puts them down without spilling a thing and then slips a bottle of ketchup from the crook of his elbow where he’d balanced it.

“Lotta years in the Army, Jellybean. A man learns how to juggle an awful lot when there’s more work to be done than time to do it in.” He winks at me, and I feel myself blushing because he caught me staring.

Konrad leads us over to the chairs and sits us down in them. I look up at where he’s standing above us, wondering where he’s going to sit. Master never let us use the furniture, and it’s strange to be sitting while Konrad has to stand.

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