The Child Thief

by Bella Forrest

  “Hey,” he croaked. “Hey, it’s okay. I know you—” His voice cracked, as his own dam burst and tears escaped his eyes.

  I turned away, giving the two some space as they broke down together, experiencing the moment of shared grief they should have had four months ago. Bending down to pick up the gift Rhea had dropped on the driveway, my lips stretched into a watery smile as I looked at the design again.

  On the front was a depiction of the lake that “Jace” had mentioned to me. I’d sewn a round blue basin of water, surrounded by what I hoped looked like quakies—thin trees with yellow leaves (I would’ve mixed in orange if I’d had the color)—and I’d stuffed the cushion with wool and dried lavender, which I hoped had reminded her of the lavender bushes. The main feature of the design, however, was a big brown bear standing in front of the lake on its hind legs. Its arms were open, as if welcoming the viewer into a hug, and I’d sewn a tremulous smile onto its face.

  Above the picture were the simple words: Happy Birthday.

  As I flipped the cushion over to the other side, my smile broadened. The background was bare there, unlike the pillow’s front design, the sole focus being a portrayal of her brother. His bulky body was stuffed into awkwardly small clothes, and his height was exactly the same as the bear’s (I’d taken measurements to be sure). His position was also identical, with his arms spread wide for a hug, and the same apprehensive smile across his dark-bearded face. It was a little too easy to make him resemble the bear, honestly, and I probably grinned a little too much while sewing it.

  Above his head were the words: From your big brother.

  It was a simple thing, and pretty silly, really, but from the way I had sewed it, it was hard not to laugh when you viewed the sides one after the other, especially as the tight clothing struck so close to home. I’d pulled off that depiction pretty well, if I did say so myself.

  I was just glad I’d managed to play a small role in fixing something that had been causing pain in Jace’s life for so long.

  Jace…

  I set the pillow back down on a small bench behind me, then stepped away from the bungalow to give them more time and space.

  Also, to think about the fact that I now most likely knew his full real name. Jace Huxley. It suited him, I couldn’t deny that. It had a rugged, masculine ring that was so deeply him. And yet it still unnerved me that he’d placed so much trust in me. It also made me feel a touch guilty that he knew nothing about me. Well, he called me Robin, but he didn’t know that was my real first name. Just another of the dozens of Robin Hoods within the OH network. Maybe I would tell him, at some point, to even out the balance a little.

  I became lost in my own thoughts as I went for a walk among the grounds, sticking to the borders of the peaceful grove, mostly, so as not to venture too far from Rhea’s bungalow. I spotted several children playing among the trees, being watched over by their young mothers, and the sight gave me a pang of regret. I couldn’t help but imagine, if I’d just done things differently, that I could have been one of those mothers myself, watching my own child play beneath the dappled sunlight.

  But it was pointless to lament. I’d had no way of knowing of an alternative at the time. And she was long gone now. The only way I could get her back was if someone cracked the archives, which I hoped, now that we were pooling so many minds together, would be sooner rather than later.

  In fact, I made a mental note to ask about it on the forums as soon as I got back home, create a new thread and see if anyone who had already joined knew anything at all. We would be close to one hundred members soon, anyway, at the rate the portal had been growing. And that was one hundred more minds to probe that I’d never had before. I didn’t need to wait for the forum’s improved functionality to ask a yes-or-no question like that.

  I continued wandering and musing for about an hour, my eyes drinking in the spectacular views the valley had to offer, until Jace finally came to me. His eyes looked red and watery, though he had a smile plastered on his face. I glanced toward the bungalow to see Rhea standing in the doorway with Sister Gina, watching and waving.

  He made the call to Maria, and then, for a while, neither of us said anything. We waited for her to arrive, enjoying the warm, fragrant breeze caressing our skin, the gentle rustling of the trees, and the occasional laugh of a child tinkling through the quiet groves.

  When the sister came into view on the other side of the orchard, he finally turned to look at me. His eyes were shiny and his voice was thick as he simply said, “Thank you.”

  18

  Sister Maria walked us back to our taxi before bidding us both farewell and leaving us to climb into the vehicle.

  As we pulled out of the compound and began rolling back through the mountain passage toward the train station, I kept my mouth shut, knowing that anything we discussed could be overheard by the taxi driver. But then I sensed Jace looking at me. I glanced his way and met his honeycomb eyes, which were still warm and glowing with gratitude.

  He cleared his throat. “I was just wondering if you had any plans for the rest of the day,” he said.

  The note of hopefulness in his voice caused an unexpected sliver of pleasure to unfurl within me. I didn’t have any plans. And I wondered why he was wondering.

  I shook my head slowly, then tilted it to one side. “Why?” I asked.

  He leaned back in his seat with a contented sigh. “Well, a few friends invited me for drinks this afternoon, down at a little tavern called the Bullhorn, by the shore. It’s about an hour’s train ride from here. If you haven’t got anything going on, I was going to invite you to come with me. It’s a cool place, and I think you’d like it. Drinks would be on me, of course.”

  I hesitated, the idea frankly sounding crazy appealing. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d let my hair down, so to speak. And certainly not with other people. It had to have been before the Sylvones kicked me out.

  At the same time, I didn’t like the idea of Jace spending money on me. Not after I’d heard him basically admit he was only just scraping by and trying to save enough to support his sister.

  He seemed to somehow read my expression, as he added, “The Bullhorn’s prices are nothing like the average bars in cities. And besides, I feel like our relationship has been rather one-sided so far... I owe you for that sew job.”

  A surprise laugh escaped me, and then I found myself nodding, unable to resist what sounded like the perfect escape for this afternoon. “Okay, I’ll come,” I said. “Though the sewing really wasn’t a big deal. Honestly, I enjoyed it.”

  I glanced down at the shirt and jeans he was wearing—the first set that I had fixed—and thought privately that it had been worth every minute and more that I put in to see him so comfortable.

  “All right,” he said with a grin. “So I guess it’s a date, then.”

  I smiled. “You said you already threw professionalism to the wind, right?”

  He nodded. “Whatever professionalism was there in the first place.”

  I snorted, and then we both settled back in our seats and spent the rest of the journey watching as the mountains swept past us, followed by the gentler, rolling plains of agricultural fields.

  I was pleased with my decision to accept the invitation. Honestly, I was looking forward to spending time with this guy—I’d grown close enough to him to consider him a pretty good friend in such a short period of time.

  I was also curious to meet people he considered to be friends.

  As Jace predicted, once we arrived at the station, it took us almost an hour to reach the shore. When we did get there, we headed right for the ocean-facing promenade and walked along it, enjoying the warmth of the early evening sun. Then we traveled down a steep set of stairs that led to a rocky beach.

  The Bullhorn, it turned out, was really nothing more than a wooden hut. A large hut— which looked capable of holding at least one hundred people comfortably and had a big veranda that stretched out behind it over the rocks, a
nd partly over the ocean—but a hut nonetheless. Which, honestly, made it all the more attractive to me. As we walked through the main entrance that stood at the bottom of the stairs, I felt a tug of nostalgia. The interior was all wood, from the walls to the floor to the furniture, which gave the place a musty wooden smell that reminded me of my own home. It was crowded, but not uncomfortably so, just enough to give it a cozy vibe. The warm light emitting from the soft orange ceiling lanterns helped with that, too.

  Jace led me over to the long counter that wrapped around the bar area, toward four men who were seated there, the oldest of whom looked to be in his mid-thirties. Tall mugs filled high with a frothing liquid sat in front of them, and when one of them spotted us approaching, all four swiveled in their bar stools and stood to greet us.

  I hadn’t been sure what Jace had meant by “friends”—whether they were colleagues he had met in the last four months, or fellow survivors from his commune back in the mountains—but given that they had the same rugged look Jace had, I guessed it was the latter. Their hair was thick and a touch overgrown, their beards shadowing strong jaws, while their bulky frames looked built to withstand harsh environments. None were quite as tall as Jace, though, so they didn’t seem to have clothing issues like he’d had. At least, it wasn’t noticeable.

  I supposed whatever “contact” had helped Jace get down here, and become involved with OH, had also helped them. He, or she, must have gotten them all out of the area and brought them here, giving them identification and enough to start a life. I couldn’t be sure, though, whether they were all part of the admin team too, or even on the network, so I made a mental note to avoid bringing up the subject. I’d just have to wait and see if they did. I hoped they were, and I particularly hoped they were admins. Because that would mean they were better connected than me and perhaps even knew things, or had connections, that Jace didn’t. And the more contacts I had, the better my chance of stumbling across information about the archives. I mean, for God’s sake, how many parents in this country had been affected by the CRAS, and would give an arm and a leg for any kind of information about their children, even if they weren’t brave enough to attempt to steal them back? Someone had to have figured it out.

  As Jace and I closed the distance, I pulled my thoughts back to the present, and the four men before us. They were eyeing me with half amusement, half curiosity.

  “This is my new friend Robin, from OH,” Jace announced, pulling up a seat for me next to the man at the end of the line, and confirming my supposition that they were at least aware of the network.

  “Robin, this is Alf, Cloyd, Denver, and Kory.” He gestured to each of his friends in the order they were seated in. Closest to me was Kory, a stocky man with ash-blond hair and light blue-gray eyes. He stood about 5’8’’, which was around my height, making him the least intimidating. Perhaps someone I could begin asking questions. “Friends from back home,” Jace clarified.

  “Good to meet you guys,” I said, shaking each of their hands. Their grips were noticeably stronger than the average shake.

  And I wondered in that moment if Jace had just given me their real names, too. Because if so, I couldn’t help but think that this was starting to amount to a lot of names I was going to have to try to forget, in the eventuality that I one day found myself strapped to a torture chair…

  I shook the grim thought aside, determined to just relax and try to enjoy the rest of my Sunday. God knew, I couldn’t live strung up on nerves all the time. Jace seemed to understand that work-life balance slightly better than me, given that he was able to relax a little once he found a person he felt he trusted.

  Maybe I ought to take a leaf out of his book. It was just hard, with Nelson’s training ingrained in my system. But for this afternoon, at least, I could push it aside. It was just me, Jace, and a handful of his close friends.

  Who, if Jace had given me their real names, didn’t seem fazed by it either. Considering how long they’d known each other, they probably trusted his judgment about people—and, in this case, me.

  I had to admit the thought was flattering. As was the fact that he had invited me into his close circle of friends, even if he had provided false names. It felt like a vote of confidence I hadn’t received from anyone in a long time. And coming from him... it just warmed me in a way I couldn’t quite explain.

  I sat down in the chair Jace had pulled up for me, while he seated himself on my other side. He pulled a drink menu toward him, and I gave him a smile when he shared it with me.

  “So, what’ll it be?” he asked, smiling back. I once again became aware of those cute indentations at the edges of his mouth and felt myself flush. “Pick what you want,” he added.

  “Um.” Realizing I’d paused to gaze at him a second too long, I quickly switched my focus to the list of options and narrowed in on the cheapest item there. “Apple cider, please.”

  He raised a dark eyebrow. “Seriously?”

  “It’s either that or fruit juice,” I replied, giving a little pout. “I don’t need to get drunk to have fun.” Plus, I meant it when I said I didn’t want to waste his money.

  He chuckled, then turned to the server who had appeared on the other side of the counter. “Two apple ciders, please.”

  “Nobody said you had to adopt my virtues,” I murmured, throwing him a teasing glance when the server moved away to fetch the order.

  He shrugged. “Nothing wrong with apple cider.”

  “It’s what we ordered.” Kory chuckled from his seat next to me, and I turned to see him smirking at me, one hand sloshing the frothy orange liquid in his mug.

  “Oh. Well, aren’t you being good boys?” I remarked, seeing the opportunity to start warming the men—and this man, in particular—to me.

  “I’d like to say it’s ‘cause we’re angels, but alcohol is just bloody expensive in this country,” Denver—a man with mud-brown eyes and raven hair long enough to tie back in a short ponytail—said. “Even in the Bullhorn.”

  “Hey, I’m in a good mood,” Jace replied. “So if any of you wanna order something fancier, go ahead.”

  They shook their heads.

  “Nah, we wouldn’t do that to ya, Jace,” Kory said.

  “Yeah, careful what you’re saying there, Jace,” Alf called over. “Give Cloyd a few hours and he’ll have you in debt.” He clapped the older man next to him hard on the shoulder.

  Jace chuckled, then reached out and took one of the two mugs of apple cider the barman had returned with. I reached for my own mug and sipped, finding it surprisingly full-flavored and delicious.

  “So how come you’re in a good mood?” Kory wondered, shooting him a curious glance.

  “Yeah, how come, Jace?” Alf added, angling an amused look at me. “Does it have anything to do with your new friend Robin?”

  I didn’t miss the way he emphasized “friend,” and I suddenly felt a burst of heat in my cheeks. That was not what was going on here.

  “Actually, yes,” Jace replied, before I could think of a comeback of my own. He caught my eye and gave me a broad smile. “Robin helped me fix things with my sister.”

  “Seriously?” Kory asked, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

  “That’s amazing, man,” Denver said.

  “How did you do it, Robin?” Alf asked. “Jace’s been having problems with Rhea for months!”

  I swallowed. Since Alf had used Jace’s sister’s real name, as well as Jace’s real name, I now assumed that my suspicion was correct: Jace had given me their real names. And the confirmation that he’d felt close enough to me to do that, combined with all four men’s eyes suddenly on me, as well as Jace’s, caused my temperature to spike higher.

  I waved a dismissive hand, needing to defuse the situation. “Honestly, Jace is giving me too much credit,” I said, shooting him a look. “He gave me some ideas and I made her a little gift.”

  They weren’t satisfied with that explanation, however, and soon I found myself describing not
only the homemade gift in detail, but also Rhea’s reaction to it.

  “That’s hilarious,” Kory declared, grinning at Jace. “Her issue was literally solved by laughing at you. I told you you looked ridiculous.”

  “Hey,” Jace growled. “Don’t get cocky just ‘cause Robin’s sitting between us. I can reach around her.”

  “Speaking of which, you got new clothes or something?” Denver asked. “You wouldn’t have been able to reach Kory in any of your old ones.”

  Jace sighed, then gave me a conspiratorial glance. I pressed my lips together, wondering if he was about to make this even more embarrassing. To my relief, he replied simply, “Robin fixed them. She’s got great sewing skills.”

  “Wow. She sounds like a keeper.” Alf blew out with a cheeky whistle.

  “Back to the subject of Rhea,” Cloyd said, speaking up for the first time and setting his dark blue eyes on me. “I think you’re being a bit coy by saying you did very little. Sounds like it was a pretty genius idea.”

  “It was,” Jace confirmed before I could respond, and he sent me a firm look that brooked no argument. “She deserves every bit of the credit I’m giving her.”

  I rolled my eyes, then dropped them back to my drink and took a long sip. Blowing up my role in Jace and his sister’s relationship wasn’t exactly helping his friends’ misconception of our relationship. But it was pointless trying to keep asserting my modesty when Jace was laying it on me like that.

  “So you’re all from way up north,” I said, changing the subject in an attempt to get this conversation back to something potentially useful. “How are you finding it down here?”

  They paused in their drinking for a long moment and glanced at one another, the same deep grimace darkening all of their expressions like a storm cloud.

  “In short, they love it here,” Jace replied, and I laughed, grateful he had swooped in to make light of the situation. In hindsight, it had been a dumb question to ask, and I hadn’t thought it through in my eagerness to change the subject. For all I knew, these guys had lost family members, like Jace. Plus, they would be feeling the daily grind of working in society, rather than just living in the wild. Sunday was meant for escape, not for thinking about all that, and it had been a crappy way to try to lead our conversation into new territory.