CHAPTER 60

“Thank you,” Jace said.

Then he gazed around the room at the women huddled on the cots and in the chairs and on the couch. And he tried to control the anger that rushed through his veins.

“You’ll get your heat, Ms. Stover.”

Her eyes widened.

Even as he turned to walk back out to his car, he pulled his cell from his pocket and began to make calls.

************

Bethany shook violently as she stumbled across an intersection. It took all her concentration to remain upright. One foot in front of the other. If she fell now, she’d be run over. New York drivers weren’t exactly pedestrian friendly.

She picked up her head, her breath blowing out in a fog and she saw the church just one block down. She was nearly there. A whispered prayer fell from her lips. Please, God. Let them have room today.

Some of the numbness had worn off. Some of the shock had crumbled and reality pushed in. She turned her palms up, seeing the scrapes and the blood. Her pants were torn at her knees and at her hip and th