Uncontrollable (The Nature of Grace, Book 2) Page 25
“Who is it?” I ask.
“Sweeney.”
I smile and put my head against the headrest. “Another mission impossible?”
Mo faces me. “Not exactly.”
I watch the lines on his face deepen, and he runs both hands through his hair. “Did someone die?”
It’s sad that’s my standard question these days.
Mo’s face softens, and he faces me with his seatbelt still on. “Crumbs. No, of course not.”
I get him to look into my eyes. “Then what?”
“Al was spotted.”
I did not see that coming. My whole body tenses as if I’ve turned to stone. I swallow and hold back what I really feel. “That’s good, right? Now we know where he is.”
He shakes his head and cups my hand. “No. They lost him. But…”
“But what?”
“He knows about Katie’s death.” Mo furrows his eyebrows. “Sweeney thinks he’s headed this way.”
I stammer. “When?”
He puts both hands back on the steering wheel. “I don’t know, but I have to take you to Sweeney.”
He shifts the Jeep into drive and merges back onto the deserted road. The rest of the way to the USFWS station, Mo stays eerily quiet. I lean against the window and watch the street reflectors pass the wheels.
“Mo?”
“Hmm.”
“What do you think this means?”
He looks at me out of the corner of his eye, but keeps his face forward. “I’m not sure.”
I sit sideways so I’m facing him. “But what do you think?”
He sighs. “I think Sweeney wants to send you somewhere. Away from here.”
I shake my head. “I’m not leaving my family. My home. You. Because of Al. I’m not running any more.”
He grips my hand and zooms down the road. “Let’s just wait and see what happens, Blossom.”
I focus on the horizon that has quickly grown dark as night. Tears fill my eyes. It seems as soon as I find a sliver of happiness, clouds roll in and cover it with massive storms.
Maybe after all this my life will never be easy again.
Never peaceful. Never normal.
From here on in, I have a feeling it will be even more uncontrollable.
Unless, somehow, I get to Al before he gets to me.
*THE END*
Dear Reader,
When I started this series, I had no idea if it would ever see the light of day. I needed to continue publishing books in the Nature of Grace series with the hope of making a difference in this world.
Uncontrollable touches on the plight of the red wolf. These animals once roamed freely, but are now on the verge of being extinct with the majority being kept in captivity. The idea came to me when I read an article about the gray wolves being released in Colorado. However, no matter how many they released, the numbers in Colorado remained low. I always wondered if people were silently killing the wolves for unknown reasons.
Uncontrollable is my way of shedding a ray of light on a problem we don’t know much about. The plight of the red wolf is very real. They have a hard time living in the wild, yet I can’t imagine a world where they always have to live in captivity.
With this book, I hope to create awareness around their story and struggles.
Just as in Untraceable, this book is still thrilling and mysterious with a strong girl character, two hot boys, and some great kissing. :) But in the end, my purpose is to inform.
I hope you like reading Uncontrollable as much as the first. If you find yourself bothered or angry with some of the abuse to wolves in this book, please see my “Call to Action” section so you can find your own way of making a difference.
I would love to hear from you anytime! You can email me at shelli@srjohannes.com or visit me online at www.srjohannes.com.
Best,
Shelli
Call to Action!
You can make a difference!
Here are some quick and easy actions you can take from your own home.
To find out more about the red wolves in Uncontrollable:
1. Find out more about the Red Wolf Recovery Program
2. Learn about the Red Wolf Re-establishment Program at Alligator River National Refuge.
3. To sign a petition to bring back the red wolves or to save them from extinction
4. Learn about the timeline of the red wolf
To help the black bears in Untraceable:
1) Sign my petition on Change.org to close the bear pits in Cherokee, North Carolina.
2) Find out how the game show host, Bob Barker, has been working to close the bear pits.
3) Help Peta in their work to close Cherokee bear pits.
To help stop the illegal trading and poaching of black bears:
1) Join organizations that are helping to stop the illegal trade and poaching of the black bear such as WSA.
2) Find out more from WWF about bear illegal trading and the bile trade in Asia.
3) Find out about some campaigns to stop illegal wildlife trade.
Shout Outs!
First, I’d like to thank all the wonderful bloggers for always supporting me and for everything they do for books every day.
To all the teachers, librarians, and booksellers for supporting an indie book.
Thank you to all The Bookanistas, The Hopefuls, and SCBWI for finding a way to support me.
To the Indelibles, for helping me down this path. For your undying support, awesome advice, and brilliant debates.
To Jennifer Jabaley, Kate Tilton, Graeme Stone, Kimberly Derting for reading my book(s) and offering constructive feedback.
To Vania, once again, for her creativity and bringing this book to life with her beautiful photos.
To Megan Miranda, Katie Anderson, and Jessica DeHart, for the advice, daily chats, and laughs.
A special and heartfelt thanks to Kimberly Derting for always believing in me and being there when I needed to brainstorm, vent, or celebrate.
To my assistant/intern Kate, for always taking my calls, picking up my slack, and staying so positive in the midst of my “crazy” times.
To my family, thank you for cheering me on by pawning off my book to every friend and foe you have ever had. Every sale helps!
A special thanks to my lovely mom for being my best friend and biggest fan and for always reading my stuff whenever I ask.
To my sweet dog Charley for lying quietly at my feet while I work.
To my babies, Madelyn and Gray, I thank God every day for you because you make me a better person.
To Ali, my everything, for always dropping everything and staying up late just as many nights as I do to help me with all the extras only you can do best. But most of all, for loving me – no matter what.
Most importantly, to all my awesome readers/fans, I am so grateful you spent the time and money to give my book a chance. Thank you for all your letters!
And last, but certainly not least, to the Big Man in the Sky, for always guiding me down the right path even if (when) I resisted.
Table of Contents
Title page
Praises for Series
Preface
Survival Skill #1
Survival Skill #2
Survival Skill #3
Survival Skill #4
Survival Skill #5
Survival Skill #6
Survival Skill #7
Survival Skill #8
Survival Skill #9
Survival Skill #10
Survival Skill #11
Survival Skill #12
Survival Skill #13
Survival Skill #14
Survival Skill #15
Survival Skill #16
Survival Skill #17
Survival Skill #18
Survival Skill #19
Survival Skill #20
Survival Skill #21
Survival Skill #22
Survival Skill #23
Survival Skill #24
Survival Skill #26
Survival Skill #27
Survival Skill #28
Survival Skill #29
Survival Skill #30
Survival Skill #31
Survival Skill #32
Survival Skill #33
Survival Skill #34
Epilogue
Call to Action!
Shout Outs!