Chapter One
Jace and Mack bickered as they walked down the sidewalk toward the building where they worked. They’d met in college as they studied to be FBI agents, and had been together ever since. They’d given the FBI twelve years of their lives, but couldn’t do it anymore and decided to quit. They were sick of dealing with the daily politics and red tape.
Since leaving the FBI, they were working as investigators for the district attorney’s office and have enjoyed it so far. They had their own office in a building with several other businesses, but they could also work from home if they didn’t have to investigate and take pictures of the subject they were scrutinizing. They made their own hours and never had to deal with politics or buttheads.
“Let’s get back to the office,” Mack said. “I’ve still got a few hours of work to do.”
“Yeah, me, too.” Jace stopped short when he caught a movement out of the corner of his eyes as they passed an alley. “Wait, hold up.”
“What’s up?” Mack said.
The alley was dead-end and very dark except for a dim light attached to one of the buildings, but Jace thought he saw someone hanging from a dumpster.
“What in the hell?” he said and headed that way. He looked at the area to ensure there were no dangers before approaching the dumpster. Right away, he could tell the person was small. He could only see the legs and ass because the rest of the body was in the dumpster. He looked at Mack.
“What the fuck?” Mack mouthed.
Jace shrugged. “Kid, what the hell are you doing?”
The kid froze and started working their way out of the garbage. He grabbed for him when he jumped to the ground and started to slip and fall with an armful of food.
The back door of what he thought was a restaurant opened. There was a flood of light, and an older man came waving a white towel.
“Didn’t I tell you to stay out of my garbage?” the old man bellowed.
“I don’t see what the big deal is. You threw it away already.”
Jace’s eyebrows rose, and he looked at Mack. “It’s a girl.”
“Yes,” the old man said. “And she’s been bugging me for months.”
Months? Jesus. She shouldn’t be on the street for one night, much less months.
“We’ve got starving people here on the street, and you’ve tossed the food you don’t want. Where’s your compassion, dickhead?” the woman said.
The older man blustered and then looked at Jace and Mack. “Are you cops?”
They shook their heads.
“You look like cops.”
“We used to be,” Mack said.
“Good, arrest this person.”
The girl started to struggle against Jace’s grip on her arm. “No, you can’t. I have to feed Mirna.”
“Jesus, that old woman has been on the streets for years and can fend for herself. She doesn’t need a little girl like you to help her.”
“I like helping people. I wish there were more people like me out there. The world would be a better place.”
The older man grunted. “Take her away.” He turned and walked into the restaurant, and Jace heard the lock engage.
Mack and Jace faced her. Jace didn’t let go of her arm and used his other hand to tilt her chin up to the streetlight. It was definitely a girl, but that’s all he could differentiate. She was wearing baggy old jeans and a flannel shirt with a coat over it. Her head was coved with a stocking cap, and she had so much dirt on her he couldn’t see her features.
“How old are you?” Mack asked.
“Old enough,” she said.