eeped into

against the mountain air. She had no phone. No wallet. Just the clothes o

cidic. She choked it down. Panickin

she'd called them, lonely and overwhelmed, her mother had told her they'd turned her bedroom into a sewing

was

e but

left her

he pit of her stomach, pushing past th

a

e play God with her lif

on a mountain to teach her a lesson, and she would come crawl

had been

g was freezing to death on this mountai

cing shadows. Every snap of a twig in the woods

ceived under a lie, a chain meant to bind her to

his child be anothe

a grim, resolute calm. It was an act of mercy for a life t

bruised purple, she heard the sound of an e

s his

looked tired, but his expression was confident. Sm

tatue carv

at him, her eyes empty of the a

hink?" he asked, his voice lac

aid n

lare, don't be difficult. Get in the car. We'll go ho

side window. She leaned d

s eyes. He wasn't used to her being

he said. Her voice was

ened. "Don't b

ving you

o," he sneered. "You h

nothing than ha

ned skin a testament to his crue

tting rid o

move he hadn't anticipated. It was a variable he cou

n't dare,"

me," sh

ok back. The sun was rising, and for the first time in years, s