ry muscle in Erika's

orcelain bowls, and her hands were raw and

was S

, put on her warmest sweater,

golden reflections off the skyscrapers. Connor pressed his face agains

ch like his uncle's... or so she thought

wealthy families pushing designer strollers. Erika kept a tight

ped dead in

ouble-decker carousel. The painted horses bob

the ticket booth. She g

of a single ride was more than s

hesitation in her eyes, the way he

e. He dropped his hand and took a step back. "I

eakingly mature, that it felt like

pped her wallet, pulled out her last twenty-dol

ase," she said,

g the strap around his waist. She stood behin

s the horse went up and down. For three

out the gate and slammed into

sion on his little face. He dug

uarters and dimes, pressing the

nounced proudly. "I'm going to buy our dinn

right there on the pavement and pulled him into a crushing hug

ir faded, replaced by the phantom memory of a sw

from the drugs her stepbrother had slipped her

ing ragged. He had held her with an overwhelming but not brutal strength, a des

man in the dark was Elijah Morgan. Doyle's older brother. The k

ul memory she had from

looked into Connor's d

sed his cheek. "I know you

s into her pocket. She would pr