Across the room, Lucas had crawled to the front window and lifted one corner of the blind, and he looked back at me and shook his head — he couldn’t see the car.

I made myself wait until the dispatcher told me she could hear the sirens close, and only then did I set the old receiver back in its cradle.

Chapter 9 — Headlights

“Mom, can we please just run?” Lucas begged, pulling at my arm, tears standing in his eyes.

“One more thing first,” I said.

I opened the freezer, took out the sealed bag, and pushed it down flat inside the waistband of my sweatpants, pulling my loose shirt over it until it was hidden.

Whatever happened at that back door, the food was going where I went.