elding me as the guards finally gra

?" he asked, his voice

lders shake. My mind, however, was ice-cold, calculating.

pale with shock. "My poor bab

d answer, another voic

Let he

gh the crowd, his face a mask of confusion and guilt. He w

ed, softer this time. "S

ain, a heavier, more co

is son. "Andrew, hav

ading. "I... I met her a few weeks ag

d at Maria, who was now clinging

ocket and pulled out a small, folded piece of fabric. He held it up. It was a corne

ed, his eyes wide. "From when Gabb

lightly off, the stitching clumsy. But in the dim ligh

the blanket to Maria' s tear-streaked face, then to my

ppening?" s

cutting through the emotion like a knife. "

ere," my father sa

can' t just throw her out on the street. What if she' s right? We

as shivering in Andrew' s arms.

d softly. "She can stay. Ju

ut he deferred to my mother. Ethan shot me

my skin, and watched as my brother, my closest

urvived the initial explosion, but