TO DIE FOR (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Book 8) - Willow Rose Page 0,35

remains in the trash bin next to him. As he left, she moved closer, then peeked inside the open metal bin. The sandwich was still wrapped and was lying on top of something, a box, barely touching it. She looked around, then stuck her hand in and reached for it.

So, this is what it has come to, she thought, as she stared at the spinach wrap with chipotle chicken inside it. The guy had barely taken three bites of it. Sarah broke off the end piece, then closed her eyes and bit into it.

At least it’s better than going hungry.

Sarah finished the wrap and felt better. She looked up and down Park Avenue. It was so odd to be back in Winter Park again. Everything looked the same. The same stores and most of the same restaurants were still in the same places, yet it seemed like a strange new world.

Had she ever belonged here?

Sarah walked down the street, going past a couple of restaurants where people sat at tables outside, eating and chatting happily. A couple was holding hands across the table, looking deep into each other’s eyes. How Sarah missed doing things like that, how she missed normalcy.

She walked down another block when she saw the truck and stopped, her heart suddenly racing in her chest, beating hard against her ribcage. The truck was going down Park Avenue, slowly, while approaching the place where she was standing. Sarah recognized it immediately and couldn’t move.

It was a bright red 1991 Ford Skyranger convertible. The same truck that she had been taken away in on the day she was kidnapped from her home.

This is it. It’s coming for me.

Seeing this, Sarah began to shake. She fought not to hyperventilate yet somehow managed to get herself turned around. Forcing herself to move, she walked up to a window, then stood completely still and stared in, turning her back to the road, acting like she was watching the exhibition in the window of the old toy store, the Tugboat & the Bird. While holding her breath, she watched the red truck in the reflection of the window as it slowly cruised by behind her.

Is it stopping? Have they seen me?

Heart throbbing in her throat, she stood as still as humanly possible so she wouldn’t be seen, hoping she wouldn’t be recognized.

The car slowed as it came up behind her and came almost to a stop. Seeing this, Sarah’s hands shook heavily, and she felt a chill go down her neck.

Please, continue. Please, just keep going.

The truck lingered for a few seconds behind her like it was checking her out, then revved the engine a few times before it finally began moving again and disappeared down the street. Sarah breathed, relieved. She felt her heart rate come down as she stared in the direction of where it had gone. There was no doubt in her mind that this was the same truck.

I need to get out of here. I need to find a good place to hide.

Sarah walked with long strides, moving down Park Avenue as quickly as possible without actually running, and as she reached almost the end of it, she decided to cross it. The second she did, a set of bright headlights came to life behind her in one of the parking spaces. An engine roared to life, and seconds later, she heard tires screeching. She gasped, then turned to look as the red pick-up truck jolted toward her.

Chapter 38

My best friend Melissa came to the house the next day and took me out for lunch. She grabbed Owen in his car seat when I had parked outside of Juice ‘N Java, my favorite lunch place in town. We sat at the tables outside, and Melissa went in to order us a couple of sandwiches. I also asked for a cinnamon bun. They had the best cinnamon buns here. I figured if I was being healthy and eating a spinach wrap with turkey, then I could indulge in a little sweet afterward and not feel too guilty about it.

It was all about balancing it out, right?

Melissa came back out and sat across the table from me. Angel and Owen were both heavily asleep after the car ride there. Even though it was only a few minutes, it was still enough to make them doze off. It worked every time, and it gave me a little time to breathe.

“I see you have your hands full,” Melissa said and handed me my

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