Page 16 of His Reluctant Savior

“Hey, Owen. Your dad and I used to be friends,” he said, which was also a lie, but it calmed Owen down.

“Friends?”

“Yep,” I agreed. “We were friends all through high school.”

“B-but you… I saw you angry with that man, Daddy.”

God, children were so intuitive. I looked at Sid, who still frowned.

“Yes, I was angry at first because I didn’t recognize Sid. We haven’t seen each other for a very long time. He looks different. But I remember him now. We’re safe, and he’s safe, okay?”

Fuck, I hated lying to him like that.

Owen was still nervous, but at least he wasn’t as clingy.

“I’ve got something for you,” Sid said, running out of the house. He came back in shortly with aMcDonald’s Happy Meal, placing it on the table.

Owen didn’t smile, but he visibly relaxed as he dug into his chicken nuggets.

“Now, I don’t know what sauce you like, so I got them all.”

But Owen was more interested in the toy inside. He dug around until he foundBowser KartfromSuper Mario Kart, which he rolled around on the table as he dipped a nugget into his favorite barbecue sauce.

“Thanks,” I said.

Sid rubbed his neck and shrugged before he went back to putting away the food.

“I’m a pretty good cook,” he said. “While I’m no Gordon Ramsay, and he’d probably tell me I stink, I make mean braised short ribs. I’ll make meals that allow me to freeze leftovers, so we’ll have plenty to eat.”

“Awfully domestic for someone like you.”

He grinned back at me and winked. “What can I say? I’m multi-talented. Besides, even people likemestill need to eat.”

He had a strange sense of humor, something he’d never had when we were teens. Sid sure had changed, though not necessarily in a good way.

Sid pulled out a box and slid it across the table toward me. I picked it up to see it was a child monitor. I looked up at him, and he just shrugged. “Just in case.”

“Thanks.” It was strangely empathetic of someone who used to not only be a bully but was now a killer. No matter what, I still trusted Sid as far as I could throw him, which wasn’t at all.

When I came downstairsafter getting Owen to sleep for the night, I carried the other monitor into the living room and sat down on the comfortable sofa. Sid sat in a cushioned chair next to the cold fireplace, scrolling through his phone before he looked up at me.

“We need to talk about what we do from here,” I said.

“Do you have the data on you?”

“Yes.”

“Did you make copies?”

“Definitely.”

“Do you trust me enough to talk about it?”

“Fuck no.”

Instead of taking offense, Sid’s smile grew broad. I had a hard time getting used to it. I couldn’t recall seeing him smile once throughout high school.

“I can’t help you unless I know everything. We need to analyze it and talk about it to figure out where we go from here and how to get your life back. I can’t do that blindly, Dalt.”

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