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A life jacket
Slowly, she walked over to the box and looked inside There it was—an old, dirty life jacket that probably hadn’t been worn in years It was too big for her, but it was better than nothing
Maggie tried to think Okay, running wouldn’t work—the bad man would catch her If she rafted down the river with hi to kill her when he decided he didn’t need her anymore Or maybe he’d just kill her now if she made him too mad
Reaching into the bin, Maggie pulled out the life jacket, her heart beating so hard she was sure he could hear it She put it on over her poncho and tightened the buckle as far as it would go with tre hands She was pretty sure it would stay on
“What’re you up to?”
She turned to face theaith his foot “I’m afraid of the water”
He only grunted She sloalked sideways toward the water’s edge, onlya bit at a time so he didn’t notice The bank was about ten feet above the whirling river, and it looked so far The water was going so fast, and she kneould be freezing cold
She took one last look over her shoulder A knife hung on the bad ht of how theinto her head
Turning back to the water, she closed her eyes and thought of Declan Michaelson’s birthday party the su tower at the pool, so her dad had climbed up with her
“You can do it, Mags We’ll do it together One, two, three!”
He’d held her hand, and they’d flown through the air before hitting the water with a big splash It was so fun, and she’d wanted to do it again and again Daddy had jumped with her every time
Standing on the very edge of the riverbank, Maggie counted in her head and iht around hers, keeping her safe like always
One, two, three!
CHAPTER EIGHT
The ruh the forest, a powerful heartbeat
Ben couldn’t iine why Broould have ventured that way, but perhaps he hadn’t known the fast-floater was there He’d have to go south as the river cut off his route to the west, but he could still stay hidden for days Weeks Months
As they neared the throbbing river, a growl vibrated through the air Ben stopped in his tracks, grabbing Jason’s ar