Page 4 of Charming But Reckless

I was the only one equipped to know what the people inside were going through. Having lived it myself gave me the opportunity to step in should there be any panic.

Except when we got there, it wasn’t all panic. There was some resignation and relief mixed in. Even a bit of fear given our size.

Overall, it was fine. This wasn’t too far-off from my past, yet it was just different enough to make it not so harsh on my mental state.

That was until I saw the boy.

The boy with the eyes I’d know anywhere. Soft blue, so bright you couldn’t miss them. Added to that unique feature was his button nose and curly brown hair.

I’d seen that exact face before. Knew it like the back of my hand. Had dreamed of it for decades.

It felt like I’d traveled back in time. Like I was getting a second chance even though it didn’t make sense.

Crouching by the boy, I tried to speak with him. “Hello. I’m here to help you and the others. What is your name?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he stared me down, his gaze blank in a way I recognized.

They’d hurt him. At some point, someone had taken from him the same way they’d taken from me.

I kept him close to me even though he never said a word. It would take time for him to trust me enough to share. Besides, if he realized the others were getting help, maybe he’d finally explain who he was and why he felt so familiar.

At the office, he stayed glued to my side as he watched the others speaking and sharing their stories. A couple spoke English, though most only knew their native languages.

We brought in a friend of Sinclair’s, some kid named Archie, to translate for each group. He was doing a great job working through the room, and more than once I saw him look our way.

I didn’t know how I knew, but I was sure the boy could understand me. It wasn’t that hecouldn’tspeak. It was that he waschoosingnot to.

Tank waved me over at one point, his gaze a mix of frustration and resignation. He already knew he wouldn’t like the answer to whatever he was about to tell me.

“Do you know him?” he asked me bluntly.

I nodded. “I do. It’s not something I can really go into right now. But I do know exactly where he should be and how to get in touch with his family.”

Ok, so that was a lie. Just a tiny one though. Tank would forgive me for it eventually.

“I trust you intend to handle it alone then, Orion.”

I frowned at his turn of phrase. “I have to. There are,” I paused, “answers I need. This boy should never have been anywhere near this stuff. I need to check on things. I know now isn’t a good time, but — ”

“It’s never a good time. Get in touch with his parents. You’re not to leave though. They can come here. Clear it with Jared, and he’ll setup security clearance.”

Fuck. That wasn’t the best-case scenario.

Even so, I let my shoulders drop as if I were relieved. They needed to believe the act I was putting on if I ever intended to get the proper answers about the boy.

Archie, the translator, kept throwing me strange looks. I didn’t know if he could see past my mask or if he was fooled bymy charm and looks like others usually were. It was my secret weapon when it came to the business.

And I’d just used it on my boss. Though really, he probably had some inkling that not everything was as I said.

I wouldn’t stick around to figure it out though.

Grabbing the boy’s hand, I took off down the hall to one of the empty conference rooms. I motioned for him to sit in a chair, then called for food from downstairs. After that, I sat down to make a plan.

The boy couldn’t stay here, yet I had no clue where his actual parents were or if they were who I thought they might be. Hell, I might have been completely off base, and this boy didn’t mean what I thought he did.

Still, I couldn’t deny the similarities. Those eyes of his didn’t lie.

He might be the key to finding my past. A past that might not want to be found.

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