The car was quiet with Myla, Beck, and Jared throwing looks at Hayden, whose head was completely turned away from them, looking outside through the tinted windows of the SUV, the snow-draped city flashed by.

He hadn’t said a word after they left the precinct, leaving Jared to drive the car to the helipad where the helicopter was waiting.

The festive light twinkled on street corners, but inside the vehicle, the air was heavy with the lingering echo of Edward Kowalsky’s voice. Their ...