Page 85 of Keeping Penny

“I don’t see anyone with her.”

“Come on.”

They were coming. Bowie didn’t know whether she should run back the way she came or let them approach her. Kylo-Pyro said she needed to find someone with a phone. If she ran, they’d probably catch her anyway.

“Not scared,” she whispered, as she waited for the men to reach her. She wasn’t sure what she’d run into, but since the men were somewhere above her when she’d stopped, she thought maybe it was a pier. When they were at the beach, Mommy had described what a pier was. A big man-made structure—sometimes wooden, sometimes concrete—that was built to stick out over the water. Sometimes there were stores on it, or just benches for people to sit. And she’d said that sometimes people liked to fish off the end of it.

“Little girl? Are you okay?”

Bowie shook her head.

“Where are your parents?”

“My daddy’s in trouble,” she said, turning to face the sound of the man’s voice. “Do you have a phone?”

“I don’t like this, Bud. What if it’s a trap?”

“What kind of trap, Shawn? It’s not as if the cops are gonna use a little kid in some kind of underground sting to try to catch kidnappers. What’s your name, kid?”

“Bowie Burns. But when Kylo-Pyro marries my mommy, it’ll be Bowie Mullins.”

“What the hell is she talking about?” the other man, Shawn, muttered.

“Please help! I need a phone.”

“It’s almost five-thirty in the morning, Bowie Burns. You shouldn’t be out here,” said the one called Bud.

Bowie couldn’t believe it was that late. Or early. She didn’t know what time she’d left Kylo-Pyro, but she’d obviously been walking a long time. And if it was almost morning, that meant the bad men would be coming to take Kylo-Pyro away.

Bowie took a step in the direction she thought the men were, and almost went down again, twisting her ankle on a rock. She held out a hand. “Please, I need to call my mommy!”

“Are you…shit, are you blind?” Shawn asked, sounding shocked and kind of scared.

Bowie nodded, bracing herself for him to make fun of her or say something rude. She was used to it.

“Where’d you come from?” Bud asked, his voice softer now. Gentler. Bowie liked it much better than when he’d been almost yelling.

“Down there,” she said, gesturing back the way she’d walked.

“Holy fuck.”

“That’s a bad word,” Bowie said softly.

“I’ve got a phone. But I left it up with our gear on the pier,” Shawn said.

“Gear on the pier,” Bowie said with a tiny smile. She liked when words rhymed.

She heard one of the men coming closer, and her smile died. She took a step backward, being sure to stay on the sand this time.

“I’m not going to hurt you, little one. I have a daughter. Her name is Carrie. She’s all grown up now, but I swear you’re okay. I’ve got a phone, and you can call your mommy.”

Bowie wanted to believe him, but she was still scared.

“I swear on Carrie’s life that you’re good, little Bowie. I don’t know what happened or how you got lost, but I’d be a shit human being if I hurt you after you were brave enough to come looking for help for your daddy. Can I hold your hand? Help you through the rocks up to the pier?”

She had a choice. She could trust this man, and possibly get hurt. But maybe he really did have a phone, and she could call Mommy, who’d tell the police to go get Kylo-Pyro. Or she could run away and try to find someone else. But if she did that, the bad men might get to the house.

“I’m not scared,” she whispered, before holding out her hand in the direction of the man’s voice.