Chapter 240

• I pulled the boy from Rafael’s arms and held him tightly against my chest, my designer blouse catching on the grime and sweat that clung to his frail body. He was nothing but bones and bruises, and the smell that came off him was sharp an unbearable mix of sweat, neglect, and dried blood.
• Still, I held him as though he were a priceless heirloom fragile, irreplaceable, and mine.
• Tears ran silently down my face, soaking into his tangled hair. My entire body trembled, but my grip didn’t loosen.