Faithless Angel Read Free Page A

understand?”
    Ricky grumbled a “Geez, Em”; then rubber soles squeaked against the polished hardwood floor. Everything fell silent again.
    Faith breathed a sigh of relief and went back to signing the stack of documents on her cluttered desk. As she stared at the pile of work, she almost felt sorry for Bradley. She hoped he could find a proficient assistant, because she meant today to be her last day at Faith’s House.
    She took a small sip of black coffee and stared at the folded blue-bound set of legal papers protruding from the outside pocket of her purse. Once she signed and presented the forms to Bradley and he signed on the dotted line, he would be the official foster parent—CPS had already approved him—and she would be free and clear to “hibernate” at home, as he’d called it. Faith’s House would no longer be Faith’s House, but Bradley’s House.
    You’re home, Jane. Home
—
    Faith slammed her mind shut to that memory. This wasn’t a home. Home was where the heart was, and Faith had lost hers.
    The sound of voices penetrated her thoughts. Voices turned to shouts, and she reasoned that Emily and Pighead were going at it. Then she heard it—a vicious bellow of anger that brought her out of her chair.
    Her Styrofoam cup of coffee tipped over. Steaming black liquid spread across her desktop. She shoved her papers aside so they wouldn’t get soaked and flew to the door. Yanking it open, she rushed down the hallway. That was when she saw him.
    “I ain’t staying here!” cried a skinny, teenage boy who headed straight for her. Long, tangled blond hair hung past his shoulders. His pale blue eyes were slightly swollen, as if he’d been crying, or was coming off the wagon, the second being more likely.
    “Calm down, Daniel,” said the woman behind him. Estelle Adams, the foster-home developmentworker from CPS, held a small, battered suitcase in one hand, and her black imitation alligator purse in the other. “This is the only place that will take you—”
    “Come on, man. Give us a chance,” Bradley cut in, following on Estelle’s heels. “You’ll like it here. Promise.”
    “Go to hell,” Daniel said in a hiss, his skinny frame shooting past Faith, making her cling to the wall to avoid being trampled. “I ain’t staying in this hellhole, do you hear? I ain’t.” But instead of heading for the back hallway, he whirled and reached for Faith. One wiry arm wrapped around her neck, while the other hauled her up hard against him.
    “Anyone comes near me and I’ll cut her,” he said.
    And with his words came the feel of cold steel at Faith’s neck. The blade bit into her skin and chased the air from her lungs, and Death himself breathed down her neck.

Chapter Two
    Faith watched, the knife at her throat, as Estelle and Bradley stopped short, along with the cluster of kids who now followed them.
    “He’s got a blade, Mr. Winters,” one small voice said.
    “He’s got Ms. Jansen!” came Emily’s shocked cry.
    “He’s gonna cut her!”
    “Somebody do something!”
    “Quiet!” Bradley held up his hand. “Everyone quiet.” His attention went to the boy holding Faith prisoner. “Don’t do this, Daniel. Please.”
    “He was searched before he left Booker Hall. I can’t imagine how he got that….” Estelle’s words faded into the shocked murmurs echoing through the group crammed into the hallway.
    “Think, Daniel,” Bradley said in the calm voice he used with all the kids, but he looked anything but calm. Panic flashed in his eyes, and the hand he heldout shook noticeably. “You do this right here, right now, in front of everyone, and you’ll be headed for jail.
Jail
, do you understand?”
    “This dump ain’t much better, and if you take one more step, I’ll gut her like a fish.”
    Oddly enough, it wasn’t fear that made Faith gasp for a breath. It was the force of the boy’s grip. He was unusually strong for his age and weight; Faith knew, for she’d tackled the