CHAPTER 1: THE LITTLE GIRL ON THE BRIDGE
Officer Daniel Brooks almost drove past her.
She stood alone at the edge of an old pedestrian bridge just before dawn, barefoot and shivering beneath an oversized coat that hung to her knees.
At first glance, she looked like any homeless child.
Thin.
Dirty.
Forgotten.
And the large bundle she carried looked like nothing more than a trash bag filled with clothes.
Daniel slowed his patrol car anyway.
Something felt wrong.
The little girl couldn't have been older than eight.
Children her age weren't supposed to be wandering the city streets at five in the morning.
He stepped out of the cruiser.
"Hey, sweetheart."
The girl immediately took two steps backward.
Fear flashed across her face.
The kind of fear Daniel usually saw in abused victims.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said softly.
The girl tightened her grip on the bundle.
Then the bundle moved.
Daniel froze.
A tiny hand slipped from beneath the torn blanket.
A baby's hand.
"Oh my God..."
The little girl looked down.
"Please don't take him away."
Daniel's heart stopped.
The baby couldn't have been more than a few months old.
Blue lips.
Sunken cheeks.
Weak breathing.
"Is this your brother?"
She nodded.
"His name is Noah."
"Where are your parents?"
The little girl's eyes filled with tears.
"We don't have anyone."
Daniel immediately radioed for medical assistance.
Within minutes, paramedics arrived.
As they checked the infant, one of them looked at Daniel with concern.
"Another few hours and this baby might not have survived."
The little girl burst into tears.
For the first time all morning, she allowed herself to cry.
Daniel knelt beside her.
"What's your name?"
"Emma."
"Emma... you're safe now."
But Emma shook her head.
"No."
She pointed toward the city.
"If they find us, we're not safe."
Daniel suddenly realized this wasn't a case of homelessness.
May you like
Someone was hunting them.
And he intended to find out who.
