Deliver Her: A Novel Read Online Free PDF

legal mumbo jumbo. I have full legal custody and rights to place this minor in the services of Begin Again Transport. She squirmed before checking the box. Describe any unique custody arrangements. Meg could state with a clear conscience there were none. If anything were to change, it would be after the divorce. She dragged deeply, rolling the word “divorce” around in her mind. Why was Jacob so willing to take the easy way out?
    Next, Alex’s physical characteristics. Height : five foot five , Meg having lost the height advantage. Eye color : green, since hazel wasn’t an option. Date of birth : September 9, 1995. Seventeen this fall. Identifying physical characteristics : lip ring, sanctioned by a well-intentioned Jacob after the accident; no tattoos Meg was aware of.
    On to Transportee history . “Extremely helpful in assembling the right transport team,” Alden had said when he walked her through the form last night. She pondered its questions now: Is your child a flight risk? If so, please explain.
    The child in the video had gone docilely. Meg had asked Carl what would happen if Alex tried to flee. For kids deemed a flight risk, Carl brought an ex-military or police officer, but from what Meg had shared so far, he told her, that didn’t seem necessary. In Alex’s case, a female guide would sit in the backseat with her at all times. He trained his staff to de-escalate volatile situations with something called Positive Control Systems. Meg had made a mental note to look that up.
    Has your teen exhibited violence and/or aggressive behavior? Alex periodically flew off the handle, but had never gotten physical.
    It was obvious Alden painstakingly matched the transport team to the child’s physical and emotional state— like a bizarre dating service , Meg thought, pocketing the form. Alden had calmly assured her during their phone call that he used no physical force to move the child from bedroom to vehicle, the most vulnerable time of the transport. His secret? With the parents out of the picture, he said, emotions were less likely to flare.
    “When the child meets us, they’ll weigh their options: run, play possum, fight or cooperate.” His team could read body language and act accordingly.
    A light wrist hold was sufficient to manage most kids, he had assured her, and the auto’s basic child locks contained all but the most hyperactive teens.
    If things escalated, there were restraints, but their use was extremely rare—with one in ten boys, maybe one in twenty girls, he estimated.
    “Ultimately, your child will realize her best option is to cooperate with us.”
    Meg had found it difficult to swallow, suddenly. “I can’t believe I have to resort to this.” Carl was sympathetic as she explained how she had tried to talk to Alex about The Birches. “I know she won’t go with me willingly,” she said. “But this . . .”
    There was a lot of judgment about using a transporter, Carl acknowledged. “I talk to families like yours every day. The best thing would be to take your child yourself. But if it puts either your child or your family at risk, is it worth it?”
    It wasn’t. Carl had made the trip to The Birches several times. Begin Again’s time from Alex’s bedroom to program would be five to six hours, he estimated. Working together, the school and Begin Again could operate on very short notice, should Meg decide to schedule the transport. He had urged her to think seriously about it.
    It was all Meg had thought about for the last twelve hours. Alden struck her as attentive, even calling her at work earlier that day to see if he could assist her further.
    Meg stubbed out the cigarette and stuck the papers back in her pocket, sure of what she would write.

    Arriving home, Meg had all intentions of putting everything on the table. Jacob raised a hand to her from the den. “We left some pizza for you.”
    She had half hoped Jacob would cook tonight. She loved coming home on Sundays after he