Page 47 of My Orc Nanny

Allison hurried ahead to open the trunk of her SUV. “If you can manage to get it in here, Aswan, I’ll give you all a ride home. Oh, thank you so much!”

“Ben,” I grunted, even as I managed to manipulate the wooden cabinet into the trunk. “Can you—oof—get your brother strapped in?”

Tova was climbing over the seats, chattering about the forts they’d imagined inside the store, and Joshua was giggling along. Until, just as I managed to close the trunk, he suddenly wailed, “BunBun! BunBungone!”

Allison paled, and I resisted the urge to mutter a curse. Instead, I met Ben’s eyes and jerked my head toward the store. “We’ll find him,” I assured her. “Tova, you stay here with Nana and your brother, okay?”

Ben joined me at the door, and it wasn’t until he said, “I’m really sorry,” that I realized how downcast he was.

“Whoa, what?” I pulled him aside, right outside the antique shop, and bent down to meet his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

His hands were in his pockets. “Joshy was my responsibility. I’m sorry I lost Mr. BunBun.”

I frowned as I placed my hand on his shoulder. “I’msorry for asking you to watch your brother—that wasn’t your job, and if I’d been better prepared, it wouldn’t have happened. Watching Mr. BunBun wasJoshy’sresponsibility, but…” I shrugged. “What do you expect from a three-year-old?”

I saw Ben’s lips twitch as he peeked up at me through his lashes. “You’re not mad?”

“No, of course not.” I pulled him to me for a quick hug, then turned to lead him through the door. “Besides, it’s easily fixed, right? Let’s split up inside and go up and down the aisles. You check in all the places where Joshy hid, okay?”

With a quick, determined nod, the ten-year-old turned down the left-most aisle, and I headed toward the linens section, where I remembered Joshua playing.

It was less than two minutes before I found the missing lovey, lying forlornly under a table piled high with pillows. “Found him!” I called out, but when I emerged with Mr. BunBun clutched in my hand, I realized I hadn’t heard Ben’s response. “Ben? I found him.”

Nothing.

Frowning, I cocked my head and turned in a slow circle, realizing I hadn’t heard anything from him since we split up. Had he returned to the car?

Not sure why myKteerwas urging me to hurry, I half-jogged back outside and wrenched open the door to the SUV, even though my senses were telling me Ben wasn’t inside. “Have you seen Ben?” I barked, tossing Mr. BunBun over the seat to a relieved Joshua. “He didn’t come out?”

Allison was already reaching for her seatbelt. “No, he’s not out here. I’ll help?—”

“I’ll find him.” I was already turning back to the antique shop. “Stay with the kids,” I commanded, heart pounding.

He’s fine. He’s hiding. He’s playing.

Except…myKteerwas telling me itwasn’tfine. What had happened?

“Ben?” I yelled again, striding through the store. “Mavis, have you seen the boy I was here with?”

“What?” came the cracked voice again. “Who’s speaking?”

Gods below, she wouldn’t be any help. “Ben? Where are you?” I used my height to peer over the piles of furniture in the jumbled store, each heartbeat sending me closer to panic. “Ben!” I reached the back of the store and kept going, striding into the storage room. “Where are you, buddy?”

And then.

And then I heard it.

A scuffle, a muffled cry. A car door slamming.

The back door was still swinging closed, and I don’t knowhowI knew it, but I knew Ben was in trouble. I went from a standstill to a full run in a moment, and reached the back alley in time to see a bright blue sedan peel away.

Ben was in the backseat, eyes wide and scared and mouth opened as he peered back at me.

No no find hunt save hunt hurt safe no now.

MyKteer’sinstructions were instinctual, primitive, and I couldn’tnotobey.

With a roar, I whirled and pounded back through the store, still in enough control of my primal instincts to know what I had to do.

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