A Girl Called Fearless Read Free Page B

scientists cleared it so quickly when they already knew hormones could twist estrogen into cancer? I needed to understand why nobody stood up and said, “Wait. Are you sure this is safe?” I knew I couldn’t change the world, but I needed to understand why greed and profits were so much more important than my mother’s life.
    Ms. A finished marking out the pattern and said, “Pay attention, class. Mastering this lesson is required for graduation.”
    Zara stopped sniffling.
    â€œDamn straight,” Sparrow said under her breath.
    Anyone reviewing the security tape would think we were quietly stitching a line of ducklings following its mother, but in reality we were learning to stitch code: “We shall overcome.”

6
    Roik waited with the other bodyguards in the car lane after school. Two lines of armored SUVs curved past the fountain and rose beds. Usually, the bodyguards loitered in their suits on the steps outside the main doors, but today I smiled, seeing them stand at attention for Ms. Alexandra.
    â€œA historic landmark!” She pointed at the white stucco mansion with its iron railings and red tile roof. “Designed by Julia Morgan, the architect for Hearst Castle! So show some respect, gentlemen, and stop tossing your disgusting cigarette butts in the flower urns.”
    Roik spied me, and my heart skipped a beat, because I could tell from the way his hand hugged his jacket pocket, he had a message for me from Yates.
    Roik didn’t like smuggling messages, but he needed the money for retirement. Dad had cut his salary when the company started hurting. Roik wouldn’t do it often, and he made it clear he’d listen to any message first.
    â€œI found this on the seat.” Roik dropped an earring into my hand.
    â€œThanks.” We got in the car, and he steered it out the iron gates.
    I slipped the wire through my earlobe. I held my breath listening to Yates’ whisper. “Hi, Fearless. I heard about Dayla and Seth. Don’t freak. Seth’s smart and I know he’ll take care of her. I bet they’re in Vancouver right now.”
    I hoped to God he was right. Dayla’s dad had hired Retrievers to get her back. They’d probably staked out every airport and border crossing on the West Coast.
    â€œSorry I can’t be there with you,” Yates said.
    â€œMe, too,” I murmured, but Yates couldn’t hear me. To send him a message back, I’d have to pop the earring in the little mint-box recording device Sparrow had assembled.
    Roik cruised down Arroyo, and I sat up, ready to wave at Yates, but as we approached the cafe, Roik glanced at me in the mirror. “Is your seat belt on?”
    â€œYeah, of course.”
    He floored the car and tore through the intersection. “Guy behind us has been tailing us for blocks,” he said, and hit Big Black’s panic button for Armed Escort Service. We flew past the Lean Dog just as Yates went into the kitchen. Dammit. Today, when I needed a friendly face the most, I’d missed Yates completely.
    I rolled my eyes as two armed escorts on motorcycles pulled up behind us, but, I told myself, this was better than the time Roik leaped out and pulled his gun on the taco truck tailgating us. Embarrassing.
    Roik sped past the turn for Dayla’s neighborhood and I slipped the earring from my ear. Oh, Dayla . I hope you and Seth are gazing up at the blue Canadian sky right now, celebrating the rest of your lives together.
    The guards at the Flintridge community gatehouse waved Roik through and the armed escort peeled away. Up here on the hillsides, trees still hung over the streets and gardeners still manicured green lawns. We drove past a house where pink balloons arched over the door and a big wooden stork was plunked down in the grass. “It’s a girl!”
    Poor thing. But she’d probably have it easier than Dayla and me. She’d grow up in this world never knowing what