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head began to clear and his thoughts were being quieted by the steady breathing.
    Once his thoughts stopped swirling he focused on something he’d remembered. A sudden and clear vision appeared in Jack’s mind of the boy as he emerged from behind the dumpster.
    “ His jacket was blue - a royal blue jacket. I wonder if he’s the boy in Hannah’s letter?”
      His loud voice startled the limo driver so much he nearly lost control of the vehicle. He hit the brakes so hard that the contents of the limo including his passenger flew forward. Fortunately, amid the chaos, Jack had somehow managed to unconsciously fasten his seat belt which quickly tightened across his torso as designed. He was too amped up on the fact that he’d just put another piece of the puzzle together to notice the pain from the seatbelt that had slammed into his chest nor the ensuing bruise.
    “ I’m betting he’s Conall. The woman who was carrying this letter must be connected to his school somehow.”
    Pleased with his newfound knowledge, Jack was able to fully relax for the first time since he ’d exited the cab earlier that day. He was content to wait for the news to come out tomorrow. Hopefully it would disclose more facts surrounding the accident and who the victim was. His eyes, already closed, would not open again until the limo dropped him off at his Manhattan penthouse.  His final thought was about Hannah.
    “There ’s no doubt she would be in high demand, especially as a pretty, young, blonde American girl. I’ll work on that tomorrow as well.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 4
     
     
    Shortly after being passed by the limousine, the trash truck pulled away from the curb with the contents of the trash can where the man had tossed the pink paper. A few seconds later, the young boy in the royal blue jacket appeared from the shadows and walked steadily in the direction the limo had taken. He quickly glanced at the trash can as he passed it and the corners of his mouth curled into a slight grin. After walking about a block or so, with clenched fists he somehow managed to hale a cab.
    Not until he was safely inside the cab did C onall dare to release his grip. There in both hands, was what was left of the pink paper. When the man started chasing him, he came back around and took it out of the trash can without being seen.
    His heart was pou nding so fast he thought he’d faint. Adrenaline was pouring through his body and the fear of looking at the remnants in his hands was almost more than he could handle. He didn’t want to think it might be too damaged to read.
    At the accident scene, Conall remembered hearing the guy who took the pink paper say his name was Jack Barnes. At first he couldn’t figure out why this man would be so interested in that paper. However, he started to put two and two together when he heard Jack say on his phone that he was delayed from picking up a girl to transport her to a client. He said his client would be very upset that he would have to wait longer to get what he paid for.
    Then Conall heard him say that Hannah was lovely and would definitely command a high price in the European market, just before he crumbled the paper and tossed it in the trash can. His stomach was in knots as he made an educated guess as to what Jack did for a living and that he saw Hannah as a commodity in his sick and twisted world.
    It was the longest cab ride Conall had ever taken. The minutes seemed like hours.  All he wanted to do was make it home and get the courage to face his biggest fear, to look at the letter and find out what it said. Two blocks from his house he could no longer resist the urge so he paid the cabbie and jumped out and ran the rest of the way. He had to work off some of the adrenaline rush anyway.
    Everything was a blur as Conall sprinted home. He was so lost in thought he didn’t remember anything from when