right?”
“No.”
Another pause.
“I’ll make calls. Proper ones. If they have no available family, emergency placement will be arranged. You can offer resources, but you need to stay inside the lines.”
“I intend to.”
“Elise,” I added before she could hang up.
“Yes?”
“Their father was Evan Bennett.”
She remembered. I knew she did, because silence sharpened on the other end.
“The analyst?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, Ryker.”
“I don’t want them lost in the system.”
“They won’t be lost because you’re paying attention. But attention is not custody.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
I looked through the glass as Lily bent to tie Owen’s shoelace. She tied it twice, with the focus of someone who had been asked to be responsible far too early.
“I do,” I said.
When the child services worker arrived, she introduced herself as Maya Hernandez. She wore a navy blazer, carried a worn leather satchel, and
