Page 89 of Rescued Faith

His mother spoke in Spanish. Bryce picked up the gist of it. She was encouraging him to talk.

Releasing a long sigh, Martín finally looked up at Bryce. “Remember how at school you said we should tell someone if we see something dangerous or someone hurt?”

“Yeah? Did you see something?”

The boy nodded. He glanced at his mother, his eyes shimmering as if holding back tears.

“What is it, mijo?” his mother asked.

“I can’t say. He said he would hurt you,” the boy mumbled as he looked at his mom.

“Who?” His mother squeezed his hand.

Martín shook his head.

Bryce laid a gentle hand on the kid’s shoulder. “Hey, no one is gonna hurt your mom. We will do whatever we need to protect you both. If you saw something, I need you to be really brave now and let us know.”

“I saw a bad man hit a boy and a mom.”

Bryce froze. “Where?”

“When I road my bike to Billy’s house. His older brother saw me. He said if I kept my mouth shut I would be fine, but if I said anything to Billy or anyone else, he would hurt my mother. Kill my sister.”

Bryce stood and looked at the mom. “Who is Billy and where does he live?”

“He’s a neighbor,” she said. “By road, you have to go around the fields and their house is a couple miles away, but the boys have a shorter path cutting through our backyard.” Her voice shook. “His older brother Tyler was dating my daughter. Do you really think he would hurt us?”

They both looked at Martín. “Was the boy there, at Billy’s house?” Bryce asked him.

Martín gulped. “A big man—he was bad—he dragged them out of a car and he hit them and put them in the old barn. Their hands were tied up. That’s how I knew he was bad. And sometimes Billy says he’s sick, but I know he isn’t. His dad hurts him.”

Bryce pulled out his phone and found a picture of the governor’s family. “Was this the boy and woman you saw?”

Martín nodded.

Bryce quickly got their address. “I need to call this in right away. Until we know what’s going on, it’s best that you two stay here.”

“Of course.” Gloria’s face paled.

He held out a fist for a bump from Martín. “You did the right thing.”

And then it hit him. “Did you get stuck on purpose?”

The boy paused, nodded.

His mother gasped. “Martín!”

“Don’t come down on him too hard. He’s a hero tonight.” Bryce thanked them and ran outside. He and Zack climbed into the truck.

“What’s going on?” Zack asked.

Bryce told him. “I need to call it in. But Jude, Penny, and the others are busy guarding the governor.”

“Call the governor’s line. See who picks up. Then we can call the cops.”

“Good idea.” Bryce searched online for the number and called.

“This is Jason Woods.”

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