CHAPTER 1 — BEFORE SUNRISE
Graham Callahan was sixty-one, broad-shouldered, gray at the temples, and awake at an hour when even the highway seemed asleep.
He stopped at a roadside gas station shortly before five in the morning. His motorcycle needed fuel, and he needed coffee.
The fluorescent lights buzzed above the pumps.
Then he noticed the little girl.
She couldn't have been more than eight.
She stood near the side of a dark van, wearing a thin pink jacket that was far too large for her. Her hair was tangled, and she kept looking toward the convenience store as if she were waiting for someone to notice her.
Graham noticed.
He was about to ask whether she needed help when the girl walked toward him.
She didn't speak.
Instead, she slipped a folded piece of paper into his hand.
Graham opened it beneath the cover of his jacket.
HELP ME.
DON'T LET HIM TAKE ME.
He looked toward the van.
A man was sitting behind the steering wheel.
The man's eyes met Graham's.
For one second, neither moved.
Then the man started the engine.
The little girl whispered, “Please.”
That single word changed everything.
Graham had spent most of his life believing that trouble was something you could avoid by minding your own business.
But some moments give you no safe way to look away.
CHAPTER 2 — THE MAN IN THE VAN
Graham stepped between the girl and the vehicle.
The van rolled forward slowly.
The driver lowered the window.
“She’s my daughter,” he said.
Graham didn't move.
“Then why is she asking strangers for help?”
The man's expression hardened.
“She’s frightened. She has problems.”
The girl shook her head.
The driver opened the door.
“Lacey. Get in.”
The child moved closer to Graham.