From Missouri, to Kansas, to Oklahoma City, where they lived now.
It was a nice city, and everyone had told her mom it wassafe. But Cera knew better than most that no place was safe. Not really.
Not if James Stiegler was there.
She fought the urge to scream out her fear and anger. Would this madness never end?
A tear fell from the corner of one eye, but it vanished with a single, angry swipe of her hand. Damn it, they thought they’d finally moved far enough away he wouldn’t find them. Her mom was finally,finallyhappy again.
They all were.
Apparently, happiness was every bit as much an illusion as safety. And those footfalls she could still hear…
Cera would recognize them anywhere. Even in her sleep.
Why did this keep happening?
Something moved beside her, and she swung her gaze to the little girl still sound asleep. In her sleep-muddled mind, she’d almost forgotten Callie was even there.
Her sister’s dark hair matching her own was splayed out on the pillow beneath her. Her innocent, flawless face angelic in the shimmering moonlight.
It killed Cera to know she was going to have to destroy another piece of that innocence yet again. But first…
Call the cops!
Having dealt with the deranged man more times than she ever cared to remember, Cera knew trying to reason with the asshole was out of the question. So she reached over and grabbed her cell phone to call the police.
Maybe James will think twice before coming around once I’m the one wearing the badge.
At first, she was met with an unexpected tension. Realizing she’d forgotten to unplug the charging cord before trying to make the call, she jerked the cord free and immediately dialed nine-one-one.
Laying back down, Cera pulled the covers up over her head. She turned her mouth toward the pillow, using its plushness to hopefully conceal her whispered voice and waited.
The operator answered on the second ring.
“Nine-One-One, can you tell me your name and the address from where you are calling?”
She rushed to offer the woman on the other end her name and the location of their modest rental home.
“Hi, Cera. My name is Alice. Can you tell me the nature of your emergency?”
Cera kept her explanation short and sweet. “A man named James Stiegler has broken into our house. He’s my mother’s ex-husband, and he’s been stalking her for two years. The last time he called, he told my mom if he ever found us again, h-he was going to k-ill her.” The longer she talked the more panicked she began to feel. “Please, you have to send someone to help. Please!”
“Help is on the way.”
“Thank you.”
Thank God!
“Of course. Now, can you tell me more about James?”
“He’s crazy. Like literally psycho.”
Cera quickly shared some of the worst about what they’d endured.
The incessant phone calls at all hours of the night. The threats. The times James would blow up about something and get into her mom’s face while screaming at the top of his lungs.
She especially made sure Alice knew about the night James went ballistic and started trashing their old apartment back in Missouri. The bastard had slapped her mom before walking out and driving away.