Act I The delivery boy was still trying to protect his food bag when the man in the navy suit kicked him again. Sixteen-year-old Ethan Cole lay on the sidewalk beside his battered…

Act I The cans were still rattling when the woman in the red coat kicked the girl again. Sixteen-year-old Lily Carter fell beside her recycling bag, one knee scraping against the pavement. Aluminum…

Act I The boy was still trying to save the charity sign when the businessman kicked him again. A paper cup rolled across the sidewalk, spilling lemonade between the cracks. The little folding…

Act I The Major threw mud into her face before she could finish speaking. It splattered across her cheeks, caught in her dark-brown hair, and streaked down the collar of her OCP uniform….

Act I “You trying to blame my son for that scratch?” Colonel Richard Hayes stormed across the base parking lot, his immaculate uniform catching the morning sunlight. Beside a black SUV stood his…

Act I The beer was still dripping down the stranger’s face when Captain Ryan Cole decided to make the situation worse. “You spill on me and just walk away?” His voice carried across…

Act I “The sidewalk is closed. I live here.” Daniel Hayes stood beside the vehicle barrier, one hand raised in a quiet attempt to explain himself. He wore a navy jacket over a…

Act I “I’m cleaning it before anyone slips.” Rachel Morgan knelt on the polished floor of a luxury apartment hallway, pressing a small towel against a thin stream of rainwater creeping beneath a…

Act I “The shelf number was wrong.” Arthur Bennett stood beside a row of numbered storage racks in the cold basement of an upscale condominium, holding a small cardboard box against his gray…