Sooner Surrender
Prologue
18 years ago
If they ever come, hide until me or your daddy come and get you. Those had been his mother's instructions in case anyone from Child Services came. In his house, that was on par with the apocalypse. The boy ran up the stairs, his tiny legs pumping and his arms barely able to support the weight they carried. The baby was tiny, even though she was nearly three. He could carry her easily most of the time. The running made it a bit harder. The baby, who he called Boo, started to cry and he put a hand on her mouth for a second. Just a second. Boo shut up, her eyes boring into his. Her eyes were a hazel-green, nothing like his. But they both had black, wavy hair and similar features. To the boy, they were almost the same and that was enough to make her a big promise. That one day, he would get them out of that house. Even at six, Lance Delaney knew that this mass of people crowded into his house were a twisted parody of a family. It wasn't right. It was hell and Lance had promised his sister that things would get better.
Today could be the day. When the social worker had come to his school, she had been nice. Lance knew that she had known he was lying and she hadn't said a word. His mother was angry all the time. If Mommy thought Lance was lying, she would scream at him or get the whip. She never whipped Star, but she did do other things. She would burn Boo with cigarettes or just beat her. Lance's dad would do the same things and also call her the n-word. Star's daddy had disappeared. Mommy called him a fucking deadbeat wetback. But, Lance knew that he was dead.
When they got to the top of the stairs, Lance ducked into a closet with Boo and cuddled her into his arms. She looked up at him, her eyes wide and trusting. Star didn't talk. Mommy said she was a retard. Lance thought she was just too scared.
The social worker came a minute later. Her name was Dana Wise. When she saw those two tiny babies curled together with such stoic expressions, it broke her heart. It was clear that the boy would do anything to protect his sister. It was sad that they wouldn't be together for much longer. The girl's grandparents were at the DCS office, ready to pick her up. They had made it clear they only wanted their flesh. They did not want 'the son of that devil-whore'. The logic made little sense to Dana, as their granddaughter had come from the same woman.
As Lance had expected, the social worker brought them out of the house and led them onto the lawn, where their mother was fighting and spewing curse words at the police. They were put into a gray car and driven to what appeared to be an office building, but Lance could read the sign. This was the Department of Child Services. What happened next, he couldn't foresee.
At the end of the hall was a waiting room. In it were two people that jumped from their seats when they saw them. On the other end were more doors. Lance's heart sunk to his stomach and he looked up at the social worker.
"Please no," he whispered.
"Honey, she has to go to her family."
"I'm her family." Lance glared at her. "She needs me."
"Her grandparents will take care of her. And you will find a good home too."
Another social worker came and took Boo by the hand. She turned to Lance, her eyes desperate. She kept opening and closing her mouth, making sputtering sounds. She was trying to talk. As the social worker began to lead her away, one word was ripped from her lips.
"Lance!" she cried. The boy started to cry. Her first words were his name and they were still taking her away from him.
Xxx
Present Day
It was a late night for the squints and Angela. They were closing up the case of a construction worker that had accidentally been walled into a house he had been building. It had taken two months to find him, but other than that, it was a simple case. The night was still young, to Angela at least. It was ten when Sweets came bursting in, his face red and wearing a lot of black. He smelled like sweat and beer.
