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Back When She Returned Save as PDF
Chapters (48)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT
  3. CONTENTS
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. ONE
  6. TWO
  7. THREE
  8. FOUR
  9. FIVE
  10. SIX
  11. SEVEN
  12. EIGHT
  13. NINE
  14. TEN
  15. ELEVEN
  16. TWELVE
  17. THIRTEEN
  18. FOURTEEN
  19. FIFTEEN
  20. SIXTEEN
  21. SEVENTEEN
  22. EIGHTEEN
  23. NINETEEN
  24. TWENTY
  25. TWENTY-ONE
  26. TWENTY-TWO
  27. TWENTY-THREE
  28. TWENTY-FOUR
  29. TWENTY-FIVE
  30. TWENTY-SIX
  31. TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. TWENTY-NINE
  34. THIRTY
  35. THIRTY-ONE
  36. THIRTY-TWO
  37. THIRTY-THREE
  38. THIRTY-FOUR
  39. THIRTY-FIVE
  40. THIRTY-SIX
  41. THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. THIRTY-NINE
  44. FORTY
  45. FORTY-ONE
  46. FORTY-TWO
  47. FORTY-THREE
  48. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Why wasn’t she running? How come she was just standing there? And then I spotted it—the gun slung on his hip. The two of them surrounded me. My captor shoved me toward the scruffy man, and he grabbed me, his fingernails digging into my arms. I let my body go slack. I couldn’t take my eyes off his gun. The one with the dark beard opened the back door of the van.

“Please, God, no, please.” I was sobbing so hard I could barely talk as they shoved me inside.

They paid me no attention. One of them slapped tape over my mouth, while the other wrapped my ankles together. Paralyzing fear shot through me. My eyes searched for Mom. She slowly crept closer. My pulse pounded in my temples. I forced myself to be still and pretend like I didn’t see her. What would she hit them with? She was so close. Right behind them. Every muscle tensed.

She stepped between them. Everything moved in slow motion as she unwrapped Shiloh and handed her to the man on the left, the one with the gun. And that was when it happened. My brain stopped. Took them in—really took them in—long, scraggly beards, beige T-shirts, and khaki pants, dirty and worn. Mom’s eyes caught mine, and she saw the realization hit. She didn’t blink as she reached out and slammed the van door, sealing me inside.

I screamed No! so hard behind my tape it felt like my eyes would burst.

“Hurry—we’ve got to move, Abner,” Mom said.

I froze. It was the same voice she’d used in her home videos.

“I told you I could do it,” she said. “I made the Lord proud. You know I did.”

He laughed. “I missed you, my love.”

I couldn’t make out what she said next as their muffled whispers made their way to the front of the van. The doors opened and then slammed shut. The van lurched forward. I tried to grab for something—anything—to steady myself, but there was nothing. The back was stripped bare. I dropped to the floor and scooted against the wall, curling myself into a ball. The ties cut into my wrists. My head throbbed.

Where were they taking me? The realization that she’d brought me to them on purpose hit me again and again, hardening my stomach into knots. I shook so hard my teeth chattered. Her betrayal hurt too much for tears. Why were they doing this to me?