My eyes burned as I pictured the pity in Detective Markum’s eyes. He’d never forgotten me. Visited me at least once a month while I was in juvie. He had been the one to pick me up the day I was released. The one who found Hope House when my situation in Portland only got worse. He had been my only glimmer of light in years.

“I’m going to be honest. Your parents sound like real assholes.”

I barked out a laugh. I hadn’t realized just how much I needed that release of pressure. “Understatement of the century.”

“You need to be prepared, Anna. I have a feeling this is going to get ugly.”

Every millimeter of breathing room the laugh had given me disappeared in a flash. “I do, too.”

Keisha’s chair squeaked, and I could hear her shoes clicking across a hard floor as if she were pacing. “We’re going to need every single piece of dirt we can find on your parents, and every good thing you’ve ever done on your side. Cain has already recommended a private investigator we can use to help.”

I could see the case mounting in my mind. A retired couple who was home all day and could devote every moment to two children. Pillars of their community. Dad, a deacon at the church. Mom heading up a volunteer group that crocheted blankets for people undergoing cancer treatments.

And then there was me. Barely a high school education. Spent my eighteenth birthday in jail. Had called a shelter home for more than ten years. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who the courts would award custody to.

My ribs tightened around my lungs, and my throat constricted. I couldn’t seem to pull air in, no matter how hard I tried. I heard Keisha’s voice in the background, but it sounded far away.

Then, someone was in front of me. Turning my desk chair. Mason’s face filled my vision, too beautiful for his own good. He tugged the phone from my hand, speaking into it briefly before setting it down.

“Look at me, Anna. Breathe with me, nice and easy.”

His hands came to my face, tipping my head back. The feel of those palms, rougher than I would’ve imagined, knocked me out of my panic. Air slowly filled my lungs.

“That’s it. Keep it slow.”

I followed his instructions until oxygen made its way back to my brain. As it did, I realized his hands still cupped my jaw. I pushed my chair back, and they fell away. The absence made me feel so incredibly alone. “Sorry about that.”

Mason frowned as he straightened. “You don’t have to apologize.”