Free Touch of the White Tiger by Julie Beard Page B

reached out with her wraithlike arms over the man’s shoulders and wailed, “Angel! Don’t let them take me!”
    Acting with a mother’s instinct that I’d hoped I had but had never truly felt before, I ran after her, not knowing or caring whether 150-thousand volts of electricity from the cop’s fazer were about to painfully zigzag through my body.
    “Stop!” he shouted. “Last warning!”
    I ignored him, and only faintly heard the sound of fighting behind me as I barreled in on the beast who was stealing my girl.
    “Let go of her, you creep!”
    Startled, the transporter loosened his grip on Lin, and she crawled into my arms like a monkey. I quickly lowered her and gave the transporter a knock-out punch. I wanted to make sure he wouldn’t grab Lin again.
    When he keeled over, I turned and found her staring at me wide-eyed. I thought she was afraid of me, but her face shuddered with gratitude. She rushed into my arms and I held her tight, feeling as if I had just taken my first breath of air after nearly drowning.
    “I’m so sorry, kiddo.” I looked up and found Lola aiming the fazer at the cop, whose hands were raised in submission. Mike was finishing off a tight knot on a rope binding the bald transporter’s hands behind his back.
    “Officer, I’m sorry about this,” I said, “but we can’t let you take Lin until I speak to her caseworker, Harriet Gross.”
    Not waiting for an answer, I engaged my lapel phone. Lin wouldn’t release her death grip on my waist, so we awkwardly wandered like conjoined twins back toward the fishpond while I had an intense conversation with Harriet. I explained, cajoled, begged, pleaded, and finally threatened, but to no avail. By the time we concluded our conversation, I had to find a way to tell Lin that she did, indeed, have to go.
    “Officer, Harriet Gross wants to speak to you,” I said numbly. “Can you call her at DCFS headquarters?”
    Lola reluctantly lowered the fazer, looking at me as if I’d just stabbed Lin in the back, which I suppose I had. Frowning, Mike began to untie the one transporter, then went to revive the other.
    I sat down on the stone bench in front of the pond, pulling Lin into my lap. She clutched at my back, and together we took in hitching breaths, letting out sounds of grief we couldn’t stifle. We hadn’t known each other long—only a month. But we knew each other well enough to know we were two lost souls who needed each other.
    Sometimes at night I would lay down beside her and listen to her short breaths. I’d hear my own heart beat and savor her warmth. If she woke, she’d nestle into my arms with more abandon than she could when she was awake. It was hard to tell which one of us hugged harder. Slowly, silently, she was becoming a part of me. How could I let her go?
    I pulled away far enough to press my cheek to hers. Our tears mingled between our flushed cheeks. She smelled like a little girl, and I inhaled that innocence, imbedding it in my memory. I stroked her hair, my desire to protect her burning my insides raw.
    “Sweetheart, I’m sorry,” I whispered in her ear. She scrabbled closer, pressing her head to my chest. I kissed the silky black hair on top of her head. “Harriet Gross says you have to leave…but only until I can clear my name.”
    “No!” she squealed, wriggling closer to my heart.
    “If I don’t let you go now, I’ll lose you forever. If I don’t cooperate, they’ll judge me as an unfit parent. I have to let you go now so I can keep you in the long run. I want you to be my forever daughter, Lin, but first, I have to prove my innocence for a crime I didn’t commit. Do you understand? Please, tell me you understand.”
    Desperate, I took her face in my hands and forced her tolook at me. The light in her shining dark eyes had died. She had shut down on me.
    “Please,” I whispered, tears pouring down my cheeks. “Please tell me you understand. That you’ll wait for me to come get you again. I