A Debt of Truth

VALERIE

I stood there watching Preston Hayes kneel on the concrete like a man who had finally reached the end of a very long rope, and I felt something twist in my chest that I did not have a name for.

"I do not need you on your knees," I said, my voice coming out flatter than I intended. "Get up."

He did not move. His hands were pressed flat against the ground, his shoulders still shaking. "I