Chapter 96. Troubled Past

The rain had been falling steadily since morning, creating a soft gray curtain outside the tall windows that wrapped around Beck’s office. It should have been calming, but instead, it only sharpened the tension already sitting heavy in the room.

Beck was hunched over his workstation, his fingers dancing across the keys with a frantic energy that usually meant he was pulling threads that weren't meant to be found.

Jared stood behind him, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the scrolling lines of text that mapped out the wreckage of a human life. Hayden remained on the sofa with Myla, his arm heavy and protective across her shoulders, anchoring her to him.

Beck exhaled slowly through his nose. “Okay,” he muttered. “Here we go. I've finally been able to get into his juvie records," he said, his eyes still glued to his screen. “Edward Kowalsky, before the military. That’