The whistle’s lanyard groaned as I pulled it a little too hard. I forced myself to unravel it from around my hand, but I needed something else to ground me. A long run or a sparring session with Cain. I needed a little dose of pain to keep me in the here and now.

The little sleep I’d gotten last night had been dogged with nightmares. It had been a long time since I’d had one. I’d thought I had banished them for good, but the past twenty-four hours had brought it all to the forefront again.

I focused on the two-dozen kids trading soccer balls back and forth. Forcing myself into the present. “What does Walker say?”

A muscle in Cain’s cheek ticked. “He says there’s a good chance she’ll get custody until things play out in court. What happens in front of a judge is anyone’s guess.”

I studied Cain carefully. Worry and frustration lined his face. “You know about her past?”

His head snapped in my direction, eyes narrowing. “Know what?”

Of course, he did. Kennedy wouldn’t have let anyone run Hope House without a comprehensive background check. Jail time, even juvie, would be the first thing that popped. “You ran her background.”

Cain chose his words carefully. “I run everyone who works here. I wouldn’t put anyone at risk by having someone around here whose history is an unknown.”

“Smart. Anna told me about juvie.” It was the truth, but it felt like a lie. She hadn’t shared the information because she trusted me. She’d shared it because she was in freefall. Anna had been desperate and reaching out for anything that she could hold onto.

Cain’s eyes widened. “She did?”

“She was scared. Freaking out after talking to Keisha. I was there.”

“Your lawyer friend thinks it’s going to be a tough case?”

I’d called Keisha as soon as I left Anna’s office, but she hadn’t told me a damn thing. “I don’t know. Attorney-client privilege.”

Cain scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “I’ve got a bad feeling, man.”

“You and me both.” I knew what it was like to live with a family where everyone pretended to be perfect. It usually meant you were dying on the inside. But there was someone who was doing the killing.

Justin gave the soccer ball a little more heat this time, and when Lyla went to kick it, she missed. The force of her attempt threw her off balance, and she landed on her butt.