Excerpt of Callasandra Fractured by Stephanie Douglas

“TELL YOUR MOTHER, I FORGOT TO BUY THE PEAS AND CARROTS!” Cassi’s father shouted, his voice urgent and strained.
“What?” Cassi shot back, confused. Groceries? Why was he talking about groceries now?
“Just do it!” he insisted before a towering, muscle-bound man in a suit brought a gun crashing down on his head, sending him crumpling to the ground.

Cassi froze, her breath caught in her throat as she locked eyes with the man who had just leaped out of an SUV.

Realizing the danger, she bolted through the woods, heart pounding. By the time she reached home, she burst through the back door and screamed, “DAD SAID TO TELL YOU HE FORGOT TO BUY THE PEAS AND CARROTS!”

Her mother’s face drained of color. Without a word, she handed Cassi and her sister backpacks. “Two minutes. Pajamas. Underwear. Jacket. No questions.”

And just like that, her world shattered—and the chase began.