Page 1 of Bone Echo

CHAPTER ONE

Tuesday, December 17, 12:50 a.m.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Ella glanced at her friend as she navigated the slick road. This was bad. Really bad. The whole night had been a disaster.

Brian closed his eyes and leaned against the headrest. “I just need to go to bed. I think I might have some kind of bug. I feel really bad. Like I’m gonna puke again.”

Ella had already stopped once for him to hang out the door and throw-up. What if he was seriously sick? Like need-to-go-to-the-hospital sick?

“We should wake up your aunt and tell her.” She slowed for the turn into his driveway. It was late, they were both going to be in big trouble. Her dad had already called her like a hundred times. He was really pissed. Ella didn’t like hiding things from him but she’d had to be certain. Now, she could tell him everything. When he was calm. Telling him any of this while he was angry or upset would be the wrong move for sure.

“No way.” Brian groaned as if speaking was painful. “Turn off your headlights and just ease up next to Uncle Lloyd’s worktruck. I can get out there. Don’t turn your lights on until you get back to the road.”

Worry swelling inside her, Ella did as he asked. As if she’d abruptly jumped off a cliff, an urgency started to swell inside her. Adrenaline gushed through her veins. Her chest felt suddenly tight as her heart pounded harder and harder. The panic descended so rapidly, so fiercely she could scarcely bear it.

When he would have gotten out of her car, she put her trembling hand on his arm. “Brian, hang on a sec. I have this terrible feeling that something really bad is about to happen.” She squeezed her eyes shut a moment and took a big breath. Gotta be calm. Figure this out. But how did she explain it? “I’ve only ever felt it this strongly once before. Please, wake up your aunt and let her make sure you’re okay. Promise me.”

“I’ll be fine, El. Really.” He reached over and gave her a hug. “Text me when you get home, ‘kay?”

She nodded, the movement stiff.

Then he was gone.

Ella sat for a moment and watched as he plodded drunkenly through the snow then climbed the porch steps. Half a minute later he was in the house.

“He’ll be okay.” Had to be. He was her best friend. The first boy she’d ever wanted to kiss.

She turned around and drove back to the road—like he said, without turning on her headlights. Shivering now, she adjusted the heater fan to a higher setting. As she stared into the darkness, first right then left, she felt the overwhelming urge to rush home and tell her dad everything right now. But she couldn’t. Not until they were both calm.

But that overwhelming feeling…it just wouldn’t go away.

Something really, really bad was going to happen.

CHAPTER TWO

7:26 a.m.

Kurt Nichols stirred the eggs around in the pan with the pink spatula his daughter Ella had given him for his birthday this year. He’d never been worth a damn at scrambling eggs. They always stuck. He didn’t know why he bothered. Maybe because it was his job. He had a daughter to feed after all.

Speaking of which,shehadn’t even rolled out of bed yet.

She would be late for schoolagain.

Anger and frustration formed a hard knot in his gut. He tossed the pan, eggs and all, into the sink. Where had that sweet little girl gone? She’d been here just a few months ago, still cuddling with her stuffed animals at night and happy to give her old man a kiss good-bye every morning.

He grabbed his pack of cigarettes from a drawer where he kept them hidden under oven mitts and dragged on his coat. A smart man didn’t storm outside without a coat this time of year in Maine. Not unless he wanted frostbite anyway. He pulled open the back door, shivered at the blast of cold that hit him, then took the two steps down to the yard. He leaned in andyanked the door closed with a loud enough thwack to wake the dead. Maybe she’d roll out of bed if she thought he’d left for the office.

Teenagers. He didn’t know how the hell the human species continued to survive when the urge to wring the necks of their young was nearly overwhelming as they hit those hellacious years of adolescent rebellion. Lately he couldn’t do a damned thing to make her happy. Everything he said or did was wrong.

Ignoring the fresh layer of snow that had fallen, he jammed a cigarette between his lips, snapped open his lighter and lit the end. He drew in a deep drag of toxic smoke and let it go in a blue plume, knowing full well that with each puff cancer causing agents were released into his lungs. Not exactly a brilliant move, but he enjoyed the damned things too much to give them up completely. One every now and then surely wouldn’t kill him. Then again, the way he saw it if one thing didn’t get him something else would. He had no illusions of living to a grand old age and going peacefully in his sleep at some retirement home.

Nope. Too many years of hard living under his belt already to hope for that. All it took was one look in the mirror each morning to see the telling lines of the rocky road he’d chosen to travel that brought him to this point.

Besides, he’d pretty much already given up everything else he enjoyed. Surely he deserved one bad habit.

He thought about the fifth of Jack Daniels hidden in the barn and his gaze wandered across the snow laden backyard to the century old leaning structure near the edge of the woods.The Jack wasjust for emergencies. Although he hadn’t had a drink in years he kept a stash around in case. Something about knowing it was there made meeting the challenges of everyday existence a little easier. A man should always be prepared for life’s every emergency.

As pissed off as he was at his daughter’s unparalleled stunt last night, visiting the barn wouldn’t be a good idea. She’d just use the temporary lapse in judgment against him if she somehow found out. Besides, her disregard for his rules didn’t actually count as an emergency. Ella was just stretching her boundaries. That was what Audra would say.

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