“No, no.” I scooted back against the wall, and Hunter dropped the bag on the floor.
“Shh, it’s okay.” Hunter stooped in front of the bed while Agent Ellis hung back. That was the difference between him and Hunter. Agent Ellis always seemed uncertain, whereas Hunter was confidence personified. I’d seen the pity in Agent Ellis’s eyes last night when he took me to the bathroom to pee, but he’d done nothing to ease my situation. Hunter had, which was the reason one of them was my backup plan and the other wasn’t.
“Agent Ellis’s not going to hurt you,” Hunter said. “No one is. You have my word.” He paused. “How old are you, Cosmo?”
I chewed on my bottom lip. My age was my secret… a tool in my arsenal.
“Please. Will you tell me that? That’s all I’m asking.”
I slowly held up two fingers. He frowned, and I could see his mind spinning, trying to work out what I meant.
“Twelve?” He made a face as if he were going to be sick.
He thought I could pass for twelve? I knew I looked younger than my age, but that was a bit of a stretch.
I shook my head and made an O with my hands.
“Twenty. You’re twenty.” He sounded relieved. What was that about?
I nodded, and he smiled. “Thanks for sharing that information with me, little one.”
Oh, god. Little one. No one had ever called me that before. I lowered my eyes. I had way more important things to contemplate, such as how to get out of here, than to think about how my stomach fizzled with happy bubbles.
“Will you go with Agent Ellis?” he asked. “I need you to take a shower and clean up while I change the sheets and get you a clean blanket.”
He’d brought me a new blanket? I sucked in a deep breath and threw my arms around him. At least that would take care of the cold. They never adjusted the temperature, and it got colder at night.
“You’re welcome, little one.”
Even without the words, he understood what I was saying. He patted my head, then lifted me and settled me on my feet. “Now go with Agent Ellis. When you get back, I’ll show you what I brought for you.”
I followed Agent Ellis from the room. We passed only one other agent. Thank god, Knight was conspicuous by his absence.
“I know you have no reason to trust me or anyone else,” Agent Ellis said softly as we entered the bathroom. “But if there’s anyone you can talk to, it’s Detective Neely. Tell him what you know or else…”
I stared up at him, but he didn’t look at me at all. Or else what? What was he trying to tell me? Had they decided already about what to do with me? Agent Ellis sounded ominous.
“What are they going to do to me?” I asked.
He snapped his head to me. No wonder he was surprised. It was the first time I was speaking voluntarily to him.
“I-I can’t answer that.” His face went pale. “I shouldn’t have said anything. My job… I’m sorry I can’t. Take a shower and hurry.”
I didn’t move.
“Come on, you have to take a shower,” Agent Ellis said. “Detective Neely went through all that trouble cleaning your room when he didn’t have to. No one else wanted to do it, and he did it. The least you can do is get clean yourself. When he leaves, no one’s going to look after you, you know.”
“And you won’t?”
“I…can’t. Won’t risk my job because…because I don’t see how you could have done the things they say you did. I don’t think Detective Neely believes it either.” He slapped his hand over his mouth and groaned. He narrowed his eyes to slits. “Get in the shower.”
Before I could obey, the door opened, and Detective Neely came in with folded clothes in his arms.
“What the hell’s going on?” he demanded, placing the clothes on the steel shelf. “Why isn’t he in the shower yet?”
“He refuses to get in, sir. I didn’t want to push him in like last time.”
“I’ll handle it. You can go, Agent Ellis.”