Claiming Sarah (Ace Security #5)(76)

She just had to be patient now too. Of course, Owen had a lot more to lose this time, and he knew it.

“Owen, my ankle really hurts,” she said softly. “It’s broken, and I need to see a doctor.”

“No. No doctor!” Owen said, but his protest wasn’t quite as strong as it had been.

“I know you want to take care of me, but some things have to be looked at by experts.”

“I’ll take care of you,” Owen whined stubbornly.

“Sarah—” Cole started.

But she shook her head and didn’t take her gaze from Owen. Cole sounded closer. So close, she wanted nothing more than to let him take over. Tackle Owen and force him to let her go. But if she didn’t get this situation under control now, there was no telling what would happen to the developmentally disabled man.

“Owen, look at me,” Sarah ordered.

He shook his head. “They’ll take you from me if I do.”

He was probably right. Sarah turned to look at the police officers. “Please, put your guns down. Owen won’t hurt me.”

“I’m not sure—” the man who’d burst into the room started, but Cole interrupted him.

“Do as she says.”

Slowly, both police officers lowered their guns. They didn’t holster them, but at least they weren’t pointed at them anymore.

“See? They aren’t going to hurt us,” Sarah told Owen.

His hand tightened on her arm. “I don’t want to go,” he whined.

“I know. But sometimes things happen in our lives that we don’t want.”

“Like Mama dying?” Owen asked sadly.

“Exactly. I’ve had a good time with you here in your cabin,” Sarah told him. She wasn’t completely lying. She didn’t want to be here, but all things considered, it could’ve turned out a lot worse. “But I have to go back to my home. To work. I need to help other people’s mamas in the hospital. Remember how I helped your mom? Other people need me too.”

Owen’s gaze flicked to her face, then immediately went back to the men standing in the cabin. The Andersons hadn’t said a word, but it was more than obvious they were ready to pounce the first chance they got.

“I need you.” Owen’s voice lowered to almost a whisper. “Mama said that I can’t live by myself. That I need someone to take care of me just like I took care of her. I want you to take care of me.”

As scared as this man had made her over the last few months, Sarah suddenly felt very sorry for him. He was just a little boy living inside a man’s body. He didn’t understand how the world worked. His mother, the person who’d looked after him for his entire life, had died, and he was lost, hurting, and scared.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t be a danger again. If he took a shine to someone else he thought might be able to care for him, he might think it was okay to kidnap her too. And that would be horrible. She wouldn’t wish the terror she’d experienced on anyone.

“What if I helped find you someone who could take care of you?” Sarah asked. “I bet there are other men and women out there just like you, who need taking care of too. You could all live together and look after one another.”

She knew there were group homes out there for people like Owen. She and Cole had even talked about them once. They had house monitors who helped the residents live semi-independently. She had no idea how much they cost or where they were, but she knew without a doubt that Cole and their friends from Ace Security would help find one for Owen.

But she couldn’t get him there if he did something stupid and crazy in the next five minutes. She had to convince him to let her go. To not hurt her or anyone else . . . and not get shot in the process. The last place Owen Montrone needed to be was in prison. He wouldn’t last a day.

“Look at me, Owen. Please,” she pleaded.

Slowly, Owen looked down at her. His eyes were wide, and she could see the fear in them. She moved her hand slowly until she cupped the side of his face. His beard was scratchy against her hand, and she wasn’t exactly thrilled to be touching him this way, but the nurturer inside her couldn’t deny him the gentle gesture. “We’ve had fun this week, yeah? But it’s time to go. I’m always going to be your friend, but I can’t take care of you the way your mama did. I can help you find someone who can.”

“Promise?” he whispered.

“I promise.”

“I know just the place,” Logan said quietly.

Both Sarah and Owen turned their heads to look at him.

“I know the woman who runs it. She’s amazing. There are four other residents, just like you, Owen, who live with her now. They have their own rooms, and they go to work every day, and then they come home, and she makes them a big dinner.”

“I liked when I worked,” Owen said matter-of-factly. “I was good at it. I swept the floors and took out the trash. There were lots of people to talk to.”

Logan nodded. “I bet you could get a job like that again. And then you could go home and play cards with your new friends, and the nice lady who lives in the house will make you all sorts of good food.”

“Like pizza?” Owen asked, sounding much more interested now.

“Exactly,” Logan agreed.

Owen turned back to Sarah. “But who will take care of you if I leave?”