The Preacher's Son - Juliette Duncan Page 0,18

call.

Leon was brought to the waiting room by a guard. He was in shackles, and I tried to keep my face impassive at the sight of a young boy in ankle and wrist chains, shuffling to the chair in front of us, but it shocked me to the core. We had to get him out of there.

It was immediately evident that he had little interest in our offer to help. He rolled his eyes as David explained the deal, turning his gaze from us and towards the wall. I studied him while trying to not make it obvious I was doing so. He was painfully thin, with a fresh bruise on one cheek that I didn’t want to contemplate the origin of. He was a handsome boy, but his eyes were hard, and his expression pinched. An air of distrust hung around him.

I’d worked with kids like him before and knew that underneath all that front they were still children, and often terrified. I leaned forward in my chair as David paused. “Hello Leon,” I said briskly. Sounding sympathetic would do nothing to win him over. “I’m a lawyer, and I’m happy to act for you to ensure you don’t have to go to prison. It will be conditional, which as David has explained, means you will have to engage with the programme at Safe Hands. But it’s not a punishment. You will be housed, fed, and you can go to school.”

There was a sudden spark of interest in his eyes and I remembered what David had said about seeing Leon hanging around the school building. That was the ‘in’. “Do you want to go to school?” I asked.

He looked at me warily, but the interest was still there. “I used to go,” was all he said. “Before my parents died.”

I nodded, although my heart wanted to break for him. “I understand. Well, we have a place for you, if you want it. But you must keep out of trouble. I’m pretty sure you can do that. I can tell you’re clever.”

He held my gaze for a long time. He was battling with himself. Next to me, David remained quiet.

Eventually, Leon nodded. “Okay,” was all he said, almost nonchalantly. “I’ll come.”

“Then I’ll be here in the morning,” I promised.

A guard led him out, jerking him roughly when he didn’t move fast enough because of the chains around his ankles.

As soon as we were alone, my eyes filled with tears.

“You were fantastic!” David exclaimed.

I sighed. “Thanks, but I have to convince the judiciary yet,” I reminded him.

Penny

Following dinner in the communal hall, Hayden and I returned to our cabin and collapsed onto the bed. We were both exhausted, yet eager to talk about the day. Turning the small fan on, I rolled onto my side and faced him. His tan was deepening already after his day on the construction site, and his eyes were shining. A wave of tenderness flowed through me but was quickly followed by a pang of homesickness as I thought about Elijah and Rosie. It was strange to have an evening after a long day's work that didn’t involve the kids. Originally, we’d talked about taking a walk after dinner, but now that I’d laid down, I was sure I wouldn’t be getting up again until morning.

“Are you nervous about tomorrow?” Hayden asked, twirling a lock of my hair in his fingers.

Resting my head on his chest, I thought about the question for several moments before replying. “I don’t think I’ve had the chance to be nervous yet,” I finally admitted. “All day I was just determined to get Leon out of that cell. David is confident that the judiciary will release him to our care if only because the prisons are full to overflowing and it’s less trouble for them, so I’m not too worried on that front...” I trailed off and Hayden tilted his head.

“Go on,” he prompted.

“It’s Leon himself,” I said, remembering the boy's distrustful eyes and the lurid bruise on his face. “I’m used to dealing with troubled kids, but nothing could have prepared me for the dangers they face here. And he seemed hardened, like you would expect from someone much older. I’m worried he won’t respond to anything Safe Hands tries to do with him.”

Hayden stroked my hair lazily. “Julia and David are used to the way things are here. I’m sure they’ll know the best thing to do. And you can’t save everyone, darling. Sometimes all you can do is