Chapter 2 - THE SILVER WOLF
Silas followed Khloe's gaze.
The pin on Victor's lapel was no bigger than a quarter.
A silver wolf.
Its head tilted upward.
Its jaws open.
Silas had seen it hundreds of times.
Victor claimed it was a military keepsake from a private security unit.
He'd worn it for years.
Now Silas looked at it as if seeing it for the first time.
“What did my son say?” he asked.
Khloe kept her eyes on the child.
“Not here.”
Victor stepped forward.
“What exactly is going on?”
Silas turned.
“Go to the rear cabin.”
Victor frowned.
“Boss?”
“Now.”
The bodyguard's jaw tightened.
Then he obeyed.
Khloe watched him disappear behind the partition.
She didn't relax.
Neither did the boy.
Silas knelt beside his son.
“Leo.”
The little boy looked at him.
“Buddy, what's happening?”
Leo stared at his father's mouth.
Then looked away.
Khloe gently touched Silas's sleeve.
“He may not understand what you're saying.”
Silas looked up.
“He reads lips.”
“Sometimes,” Khloe said. “But lip-reading is incomplete, especially when someone is frightened.”
Silas swallowed.
“Then how do I talk to him?”
Khloe looked at him.
“Learn his language.”
The words landed harder than she'd intended.
Silas lowered his eyes.
Leo had been diagnosed with profound hearing loss at eighteen months.
His mother had immediately begun learning American Sign Language.
She attended classes.
Worked with Deaf educators.
Practiced with Leo every day.
Silas had promised to learn too.
But there had always been another meeting.
Another shipment.
Another problem that needed his attention.
He knew a few signs.
Eat.
Sleep.
Love.
Not enough to ask his son why he was terrified.
Not enough to understand the words he'd been trying to say.
Khloe turned toward Leo.
YOUR DAD WANTS TO HELP.
Leo's face tightened.
He signed:
DAD DIDN'T LISTEN BEFORE.
Khloe felt the words like a blow.
She looked toward Silas.
“Your son says he tried to tell you something before.”
Silas went still.
“When?”
Khloe signed the question.
Leo answered.
AFTER MOM WENT AWAY.
Then:
I SHOWED DAD THE WOLF.
Silas remembered.
A drawing.
Leo had drawn a wolf beside a black car.
Silas had assumed it was another picture from one of his favorite animal books.
He'd smiled.
Pinned it to the refrigerator.
And gone back to work.
Silas sat heavily in the seat opposite.
“God.”
Khloe watched him.
“You didn't know.”
He looked at her.
“I should have.”
She didn't argue.
Leo tugged at her sleeve.
WHERE ARE WE GOING?
GENEVA.
His eyes widened.
THE BAD PLACE?
Khloe froze.
WHY IS GENEVA BAD?
Leo's hands shook.
MOM CRIED THERE.
Khloe looked toward Silas.
“Why are you taking him to Geneva?”
Silas hesitated.
“A medical consultation.”
“For what?”
“His hearing.”
Khloe stared.
“Does Leo know?”
Silas looked away.
“He knows we're seeing doctors.”
Khloe signed a gentle explanation to Leo.
The boy's expression changed.
NO MORE TESTS.
He pulled his knees toward his chest.
PLEASE.
Khloe looked back at Silas.
“He's frightened of the appointment.”
Silas swallowed.
“It's a specialist. I thought—”
“Did anyone explain it to him in a language he understands?”
Silence.
Silas closed his eyes.
He'd spent eleven months searching for a way to give his son the life he thought he'd lost.
He'd hired doctors.
Specialists.
Consultants.
And yet he'd never asked Leo what kind of life he wanted.
Khloe looked toward the cockpit.
“Mr. Costello, you need to call the clinic.”
Silas opened his eyes.
“Why?”
“Because I think your son recognizes something about this trip that you don't.”
Leo reached for her hand.
His fingers were cold.
He signed:
May you like
MOM SAID THEY WOULD TAKE ME NEXT.
Khloe stopped breathing.
