They call police Captain Justice Becker a hero, but he feels like anything but. Unable to control or erase certain memories, he finds himself trapped in the past and alone.<br><br>Ames Preston, a new cop at the precinct, feels an immediate attraction to Becker, and just as quickly, becomes a thorn in his side. When young Archie Wilkes comes running into the cop shop claiming someone tried to push him in front of a garbage truck, Justice isn’t convinced it really happened, until a suspicious death occurs on the same day.<br><br>As Justice, Ames, and Archie work together to figure out what’s happening in their quiet, little town, Justice can’t get the idea of a love triangle out of his mind. In the end, it seems only two men are destined for one another.

Guilt and Innocence

&ldquo;I did my best,&rdquo; I said to her. &ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t need me hovering over his shoulder all the time, he tells me. He doesn&rsquo;t need me to take care of him. We all need someone, though. And a mother…well…she never stops looking out for her son. That&rsquo;s what mine tells me, anyway, when she calls twice a week.&rdquo; I touched the spot where the year of Archie&rsquo;s birth was etched into marble, and also in my mind. &ldquo;Anyway, I hope you can take care of him, because I&rsquo;m not sure my best was always right, you know? It&rsquo;s hard to decide when to stay close and when to give him his distance, so he can figure things out for himself.&rdquo;


I reached for a wad of tissues from my jacket and swiped at my forehead, like Archie had earlier. Putting it back, I felt the prick of a thorn from the rose Freddie had handed me, the rose I&rsquo;d slipped down into my inside pocket behind my gold badge.


Chapter 15