“Is it him?”

“He bolted when he realized we spotted him. I’ve seen him before. Recently. He doesn’t look like his photo—I’ll get it, just give me a minute.”

“Plates!”

“Washington state. Alpha Romeo Tango one niner zero niner. Dark gray Toyota Camry, tinted windows. Fuck!”

Hamilton was driving too fast for the icy roads, but he didn’t care. Kara finally found the lights and sirens on the truck, flipped them on. As Hamilton turned another corner, his rear wheels skidded. He gained control and sped up. Kara made the turn smoother, the larger truck tires giving her better traction.

A group of kids started to walk across the street, and that bastard was going to hit them.

“Quinn!” Costa shouted over the phone. She could barely hear him over the sirens.

“Get out of the way!” she shouted, even though the kids couldn’t possibly hear her.

The kids—six or seven of them—hesitated as they realized the cars weren’t stopping, then split up and started running in different directions as the Camry barreled down the narrow street. The driver intentionally swerved into the group and clipped one of the kids, who went flying into a yard, his head slamming into the hard ground.

“Shit! He hit a kid. I can’t pursue. He turned north on Liberty Lake Road.”

Kara stopped the truck and turned off the sirens, then fumbled with the radio. “This is Detective Kara Quinn in Deputy Chief Maddox’s vehicle. We have a 10-57 at my location, call a bus.”

“Who is this?” the dispatcher asked.

“Quinn. With Maddox. Kid is injured in a hit-and-run.” She couldn’t just sit here and explain herself. She grabbed her phone and jumped out of the truck. “Costa, find that bastard, I have to check on the kid.”

She ran over to where several kids were standing around the boy who had been hit. He was conscious, but unmoving. Stunned. In shock. Dammit, a kid!

She took off her jacket and put it around him. “An ambulance is coming,” she said.

“Are you a police girl?” one of the children said.

“Yeah.”

“You’re not wearing a uniform.”

“I’m a detective.”

“Is he going to be okay?”

“What’s your name, kid?” She leaned over him, looked in his eyes. His pupils were wide. She didn’t want to move him, but it was freezing out here.

“That’s my brother, Joey.” The little girl who spoke couldn’t be more than seven. Her big brown eyes were rimmed with tears. “He’s going to be okay, right?”

“Yeah, we just need to keep him warm.”

Within seconds, all the kids had their jackets off and were handing them to Kara. She wrapped Joey up the best she could. Then she noticed the blood on the back of his head.

She pulled out her phone and called 911. “I need an ambulance here, now!” She gave them the corner she was on.

A moment later, the operator said that an ambulance had already been dispatched, ETA fifteen minutes.