Chapter 2 - RUN
Noah jerked out of my arms.
“Wait,” I said. “Noah, stay with me.”
He backed toward a stack of crates, eyes fixed on the alley entrance.
Lily stepped in front of him. “She’s my mom. She’s nice.”
“I know what he said,” Noah whispered. “He said nice is how they get you.”
A man came around the corner wearing a gray cap and a work jacket. He saw us and stopped. His gaze went straight to Noah’s necklace.
“There you are,” he said.
Noah shrank behind Lily.
The man smiled at me without warmth. “My nephew wandered off. Thanks for finding him.”
“What’s his name?” I asked.
The smile held. “Evan.”
“He told me his name is Noah.”
“Kids make things up.” The man took a step forward. “Come on, buddy.”
I moved between them and pulled out my phone. “I’m calling the police.”
His eyes flicked to the screen. “That’ll make this harder than it needs to be.”
“Then you should leave.”
For a moment, nobody moved. Traffic hissed beyond the alley. Lily reached back and found Noah’s hand.
The man retreated one step. “Ask him about the blue house,” he said. “Ask him what happened when Daniel tried to leave.”
He turned and walked away.
I called 911 before he reached the sidewalk. I gave the dispatcher our location and the man’s description. Then I called my sister, Rachel, whose office was three blocks away.
Noah kept staring at the corner.
“Is Daniel your dad?” I asked gently.
He nodded. “He was.”
The word was.
A police cruiser pulled up in front of the bakery. Noah flinched at the lights, so I asked the officers to turn them off. One stayed near the alley entrance while the other spoke to me.
Rachel arrived breathless, carrying the sweater she’d grabbed from her office. She stopped when she saw Noah.
“Oh, my God,” she said.
Noah pressed against the brick wall.
“It’s okay,” I told him. “She’s my sister. Your aunt.”
Rachel took one look at his frightened face and lowered herself onto a crate instead of approaching. “Hi, Noah. I’m Rachel.”
He looked from her to me.
“Dad said Aunt Rachel was the one who told the police where we were,” he said.
Rachel’s expression went blank.
May you like
“I never knew where you were.”
Noah studied her. “Then somebody lied to Dad, too.”
