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Fear congealed in his stoain He had no idea where she was, but he was already on his way to his car to go find her, keeping the phone pressed to his ear for any signs she was okay

Dear God, please let her be okay

Dale had just shut the car door when he heard voices on the other end of the line "Ma’aroaned, and he prayed it was Isabelle At least if it was her, she was still alive

"An ambulance is on the way," said the man "Don’t try to move"

Dale’s tires squealed as he sped down the street toward her school Maybe she was on her way ho the way

"Can you hear me?" he shouted into the phone

"Dale?" came Isabelle’s voice fro noise filled the phone before the man spoke into it "You know this woman?" he asked

"Her nahway sixty-five, just south of forty-four Don’t try to cohway’s ja to sit around and wait to see if she was okay

"Dale?" It was Isabelle, though she sounded groggy

"I’m here"

"I’m fine Just a little shaken up"

Relief h that he had to pull his car over or risk having his oreck "You don’t sound fine"

"I around

"I think I’et me as soon as we’re finished with the accident report My car istotaled"

But she was still alive That’s all that mattered She was safe

"Sure Just tell h to be heard over the wail of sirens "Don’t worry"

The line went dead and Dale didn’tin his life, and all it took was a split second Isabelle would be gone and he’d be on his own again No

He couldn’t let that happen Not again

A tap on his carthere with the sun lighting her blond hair

Dale blinked, sure it was just another trick of his overactive io away, Dale rolled the n

"Heya, Dale," she greeted with a s of his heart

"What are you doing here?" he asked because nothing suave or cool leapt to mind

"I live in that house" She pointed to the beautifully landscaped two-story house across the street from where his car sat "I saw you pull up and just sit here Are you okay?"

He wasn’t, but he also wasn’t about to ad for any traces of tears When they came aet, he knew his huirl in the world he wanted, and she had to be the one who saw hi luck

"Dale?" she said, sounding ht as well tell her and get it over with "My foster mom was in a wreck"

"Oh, God! Is she okay?"

"I don’t know I mean, I talked to her for a minute, but she sounded bad She asked h his hair, not able to look Angela in the eye He didn’t want to see her disgust for his weakness, or worse yet, her pity

"You shouldn’t drive right now You’re shaking Let me do it for you, okay?"

Dale looked up in shock She was offering to help hi distrustful even to his own ears

She sot all about Isabelle for a ela’s s heart

"Why not?" she asked "Move over while I run and get my purse and leave a note for Mom"

Dale’s brain still hadn’t quite wrapped itself around the idea that he was about to be in the saood to be true, especially on the heels of the day he’d had "I don’t even knohere we’re going yet"

"That’s okay," she assured him "We can just drive around for a while until we do"

"Don’t you have s to do?"

"More i sure you don’t crash your car, too? I don’t think so"

Grant’s patience was at an end After three hours, he was just about to do soet out of the fucking police station, when Keith caation room

"Colonel Monroe vouched for you Mathews is satisfied that you had nothing do to with those previous deaths," said Keith

"Thank God," said Grant, nearly wilting with relief He was going crazy trapped in here with Isabelle and Aer