Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
My head feels so clouded with everything that’s happened. I move away from the cigarette smog and take a deep breath. “So you’re telling me, if I’m seen with Landon again, I’ll lose my job?”
Carter tilts his head. “You sound like a cop trying to get me to admit to something on tape.”
“If I’d known this is what you were going to tell me, I would have recorded you,” I say, “but you’re safe. Don’t worry.”
“Good, because I’ll never tell you this again. It’s a heads-up, a courtesy. If I were you, I’d forget about Landon.”
“Let’s just focus on work today,” I snap. “I don’t want to speak about my personal life.”
He nods. “Fair enough. Just remember what I said.”
For the next five hours, I focus on the moment-to-moment stress of working alongside Carter. We’re a team again, handling the depressing case of a seriously neglected one-year-old. Afterward, we head back to the office for some paperwork. I can sense eyes on me, an extra edge to my interactions with my coworkers, like they’re already labeling me an outsider for even being vaguely associated with Landon Cross.
It’s enough to make me want to scream, especially with the Mom stuff added on top of it. So, to be with Landon, I’d have to hurt Mom and risk my career for what? A relationship that can only last months, at best?
At my desk, I bury my head in my hands, the depressing thoughts coming thick and fast, a bombardment one after the other. “A girl’s here to see you,” Carter tells me, abruptly approaching my desk.
“What? Who?”
Carter shakes his head. “She said she’ll only talk to the nice lady called Lily. You better see what it’s about before we send her home. She took the bus here from God knows where.”
“How are you going to send her home, then?”
“We were hoping you would help with that.”
“So, how will I see what this is about before you send her home?”
“Fair enough. You win, Lily.”
I almost flip him the bird, but I need to remember I’m not with Maddie right now. I enter the lobby to find eleven-year-old Grace sitting on one of the chairs, her legs swinging. She’s got a red braid over her shoulder. She’s from The Row—the job I’m not supposed to work anymore.
I remember what she said when I went to visit her. “They say my hair’s really pretty …”
“Who’s ‘they?’”
“In The Bear …”
She smiles when she sees me, which lights my heart up in ways nothing else could. It’s like a small preview of what makes this job so worth it, a nugget of love that floods me with purpose until I remember I have to abandon her and hope that Landon can save her and her friends.
“Lily,” she grins, leaping to her feet.
“Grace.” I smile, being careful not to hug her or show any affection. It’s part of the rules for understandable reasons. “You know you’re not supposed to be here alone.”
She steps forward. “I don’t want you to forget about us.”
“I haven’t—”
“Mommy says it’s not right.”
“What isn’t, sweetheart?”
“They knocked on the windows and told us they had treats and games last night. Kids went over there really late, way past my bedtime! They knocked on my window, too. I heard it. I watched them. That’s not good, is it?”
“No, Mommy’s right,” I say, feeling sick. “What time?”
“Uh …” She furrows her eyebrows, concentrating hard. “Three-thirty a.m., that’s it.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“Lily.” A thin voice cuts through me.
I turn to find the director standing with her nose upturned, looking down at me like gum stuck on the bottom of her shoes.
“I’m told you might know where this girl is from?”
Behind her, Carter stares at me bleakly. He thinks we’ve been found out. My mouth feels dry. It’s been one thing after another recently.
“Yeah, she’s going to take me home,” Grace says. “I saw her at the park, and I heard what her job was, and my uncle hasn’t been being nice to me and …” She cuts off, almost bursting into tears.
The director’s face changes, genuine sympathy appearing straight away. “I’m sorry, poor girl. We’ll help however we can.” She looks at Carter. “Make sure she gets home safe.”
“Yes, of course. You got it.” Carter is suddenly all smiles. “You got it.”
Once the director leaves, I turn and look down at Grace. She beams up at me. “You were going to get in trouble, right? About The Bear?”
“How did you know that?” I say in wonder.
She looks so soul-shatteringly proud of herself that I want to cry. “The big one. With the coat. The boss. You know him?”
Memories stab through me. “Yes, Grace. I know him.”
“He told me you could never help me. He said you’re never coming back, but I knew he was wrong. You’ll help us, won’t you?”