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TIME BLURRED FOR TANA. Every time she stopped the camper to care for the three squalling infants, she expected the police to show up. She had no plan. Tana simply drove to put as much distance between herself and the past as she could. She prayed the dumpling-woman wouldn’t tell the police. She and the driver wouldn’t want anyone to know about their black-market operation.
They might tell Kali. Being hunted by her worried Tana more than the police.
The driver left behind cash, credit card, a phone, and infant formula and diapers for what would have been a one-day delivery trip. She would run out of baby supplies quickly, and be forced to come out of hiding. At least she could feed her baby herself.
She couldn’t ask anyone for help, not when she was wanted for murder. As long as Tana knew about Kali’s operation, she’d be a threat. They’d want to find her, and silence Tana. And sell the babies. Her mind whirled, struggling for a way to keep the infants safe, and hide herself away. She couldn’t do everything herself. And she slipped up. The driver found her three days later.
He wanted the babies, and threatened to kill her on the spot. His massive screw-up left Kali in a bind. She’d already relocated his sister’s birthing operation out of state, and would kill the dumpling woman, unless he made things right.
By then, Tana had figured out what to do. She offered him—them both—a way out, to pay off Kali for the three babies. He grudgingly agreed, having no real choice. In exchange, he’d help her disappear. They’d keep each other’s secrets, to protect themselves.
Tana made a call to her sister. Far from being relieved, her sister’s shock and disbelief quickly became rage. Tana had stained the family name, shattered her parents’ hearts. Tana agreed to a deal that would define the rest of her life. In exchange for a one-time fee, wired to a predetermined location, she’d disappear forever.
With the payoff satisfied, the driver fulfilled his part of the deal. Tana took the place of twenty-two-year-old Rosalee Dixon, and Latana Ojo would be found dead after giving birth. Nobody would look for her, ever again.
