Inescapable Read Free Page A

said. “Please. I’d really like the doll go to a little girl who will appreciate it.” The second she put the doll in Charity’s arms, it became her best friend. Now “The Princess,” as she called her, went everywhere she did. The doll, with long blond hair, a gold crown, and a beautiful pink dress, was like the third member of our ragtag little family. Charity couldn’t go to sleep at night without The Princess beside her. It had been a real struggle to get her to leave the doll at home during the day when she went to school, but she finally agreed when I explained that The Princess would be safer in our apartment, where she wouldn’t get wet, dirty, or stolen.
    I left Charity watching the movie and quickly finished packing. Then I called Meghan and told her we were leaving in the morning. It was hard to say good-bye because, although I told her I’d keep in touch, I actually had no plan to do so. It was better to make a clean break. I couldn’t risk having anyone trace a call or find out where I was. I’d already called Charity’s school to tell them we were moving. They’d asked for a forwarding address. I’d told them I didn’t have one yet but would be in contact so they could forward Charity’s records. Another lie. I had no intention of phoning them. Charity could start the first grade again. It was better than putting her in a position where she might be taken away from me.
    I was packing the last of our dishes in the kitchen when Charity called out, “Mama! Sleeping Beauty is all done.”
    I walked out into the living room. “Why don’t you get ready for bed, Cherry Bear? I’m going to run downstairs and get our mail. I’ll lock the door behind me. Don’t open it for anyone except me. You hear?”
    â€œI hear you, Mama.”
    I hurried out the door and into the hall. The mail could have waited until morning, but I wanted a few minutes alone to gather my thoughts. Leaving Kansas City was hard, and going back to Kingdom was even harder. I walked slowly down the stairs to our mailbox, trying to rein in my wounded emotions. Our box was just one in a long row of identical metal boxes with numbers etched on them. Most apartment buildings like ours had inside mailboxes. Leave it to me to find an apartment with mail delivered outside.
    When I turned my key in the lock, I found several pieces of mail waiting for me. Flyers. All of them. Except for one. A light blue envelope with my name on it and no return address. Perfect. Another one. Just what I needed. I stuck the flyers back into the box and pulled out the blue envelope. As snowflakes blew chaotically around me and the wind cut through the thin material of my dress, I ripped it open.
    I’m watching you. It’s just a matter of time before I get you and your little girl. You’ll never get away from me.
    I jogged out to the curb, the icy wind pushing me back as if trying to stop me from what I was about to do. My body trembled from the cold, and I scolded myself for leaving my coat upstairs. Sure enough, there he was. Standing next to a small orange car with a smashed left front bumper. I held the note up in the air. “Why are you doing this?” I yelled. “What do you want? If you don’t leave me alone, I’m going to call the police.” Hopefully, he didn’t know how useless my warning actually was.
    He looked surprised and took a step back.
    â€œYou’d better get it through your head, you jerk. No more!” I took a step off the curb, trying to look threatening, though I had no intention of getting close enough for him to grab me.
    Before I had a chance to say anything else, I heard the squeal of tires, felt a big jolt, and everything went black.

C HAPTER   / 3
    â€œLizzie, are you all right?”
    A voice filtered through the fog. I slowly opened my eyes to see Doris, my landlady, standing over me. With her were several