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"Thank you," Jace said

Then he gazed around the room at the women huddled on the cots and in the chairs and on the couch And he tried to control the anger that rushed through his veins

"You’ll get your heat, Ms Stover"

Her eyes widened

Even as he turned to walk back out to his car, he pulled his cell froht

Bethany shook violently as she stumbled across an intersection It took all her concentration to reht One foot in front of the other If she fell now, she’d be run over New York drivers weren’t exactly pedestrian friendly

She picked up her head, her breath blowing out in a fog and she saw the church just one block down She was nearly there A whispered prayer fell from her lips Please, God Let them have room today

Some of the numbness had worn off Some of the shock had cru the scrapes and the blood Her pants were torn at her knees and at her hip and there were identical scrapes there, blood slick on her skin It ce on her

Tears pricked her eyelids How could Jack have done it? Her vision blurred and she sucked in her breath, determined to make it the last block to the shelter Even if they could only offer her refuge for an hour, a place to warm up, clean her scrapes and rest her bruised body, it would be enough

She had noat all The cash she’d so carefully hoarded was gone Jack owed some very nasty people and they’d come to collect Froround, they’d yanked the bills from her pocket One had kicked her in the side and then they’d left her with a sharp reminder that Jack owed them a lot more and she had a week to come up with it

She bit her lips as more tears threatened She was exhausted She was sick to her soul She was hurting and so cold and hungry that she just wanted to curl up and die

Relief made her hen she reached the door of the shelter For a moment, she was afraid to walk in because if she was turned away she wasn’t sure she had the strength to walk back out again

Closing her eyes and sucking in a deep breath, she put her hand out and pushed open the door

She was iood that she eak and nearly wilted on the spot It hadn’t been this war

Inside, she could hear the sounds of the other woenerally happy places Tantalizing arorowled Whatever they were eating smelled wonderful

She took a hesitant step, allowing the door to close behind her The warest ti started to return to her hands and feet It elcome and very unwelco came pain

"Bethany, is that you, dear?"

Bethany’s head popped up, her brow furrowing She hadn’t ever given her name here, had she? She searched her memory but couldn’t place whether she’d ever told the volunteer anything

But she nodded, not wanting to do anything to lessen her chances of being able to stay

"What on earth happened?"

The volunteer gasped when she approached Bethany and Bethany winced at the woman’s expression

"I’m okay," Bethany said in a low voice "I just fell I was hoping" Her throat threatened to close in on her "I was hoping there was rooht" Even as she finished, she braced herself for rejection, unable to bear the thought

"Of course there is, child Coet you a cup of hot cocoa and you can eat as soon as you warh her body, nearly toppling her where she stood Bethany saarmth and kindness in the woman’s eyes and she relaxed as euphoria set in They had rooht! She would have a warh to ed after the volunteer and frowned as she took in the occupants There seemed to be more women today than there had been the last ti shelter And there hadn’t been room for her then Had they expanded? Gotten more beds?

"I’m Kate," the woman said just as she stopped by a chair pulled off to the side of the others "Have a seat right here I’ll get your cocoa and then we’ll work on getting you so to eat You’ll need to have those cuts looked at"

"Thank you, Kate," Bethany said huskily "I really appreciate this"

Kate urged her down and then patted her on the hand "I’ll be right back Everything is going to be all right, honey"

Perplexed by the strange proed, all her strength gone Her hands shook and she curled the to war but they weren’t serious

Her gaze found Kate as she bustled around the kitchenette preparing the cocoa She was on her cell phone and it was obvious that whatever she was talking about was urgent After a moment, she shoved the phone back into her pocket and took a cup fro over to where Bethany sat, and gently placed it in her hands

"Here you are, dear Sip it It’s hot Everything is going to be all right now I don’t want you to worry"

It was the second time she’d offered the blind assurance to Bethany but Bethany was too tired to dig any deeper If she weren’t so hungry and cold she’d just curl up in one of the cots and sleep for the next twenty-four hours Or whenever they kicked her out again

• • •

Jace sat in his office staring broodingly at the pile of docu weeks since Bethany had slipped away and he was no closer to finding her now than he had been that firston his part

Work was suffering Most of the e their distance Thankfully, Mia was so wrapped up in her wedding plans that she seemed oblivious to Jace’s preoccupation and surliness

Christht of Bethany cold and alone, no bed, no food Nothing

He curled his hand into a fist and was tempted to punch a hole in his desk

His door opened and he was about to snarl out a dismissal to whoever intruded on his privacy when he saw Ash walk in So in his friend’s expression stopped his retort