Kurt could only alternately stare at and hold his daughter. Audra joined in, doing the same.
Ella was safe.
Liz would be so grateful.
Thank God.
After a thorough examination and a change into clean scrubs borrowed from a nurse, Ella was free to go. Kurt had never been so happy and so exhausted in his life.
Cuddahy popped into the room to say good-bye. He was getting back to his own family. Kurt didn’t blame him. Stay close. And stay tuned in. That was his motto from now on. Hanes had called to say the former Higher Horizon employee was full of information about the goings on with Meltzer’s L.A. friends. Cuddahy would pass the contact information along to the task force.
A group from that task force was en route to the Halifax Port in Nova Scotia to meet the boat coming for Meltzer. That had been his mode of transportation out of here—out of the country. Ella had overheard him talking to someone on his cell. Kurt smiled. His brilliant girl had remembered every detail.
Josef Meltzer (aka Lawler) was dead. The last time he’d come in to bring Ella food she had been waiting. Though she’d found nothing in her search that would help her escape, the metal handle on the bucket he’d left her for relieving herselfhad worked well as a weapon. Once she’d pulled it free from the bucket, she’d noticed that each end had a curved part that stuck into a hole on the bucket. It wasn’t much but it was all she’d had. When Meltzer showed up she attacked him, swiping at him with those hook-like ends. Unknowingly since she was being kept in darkness, she had swiped his jugular. He’d managed to get out and lock the door, then he’d crawled up to the deck where he’d bled out.
The world was rid of one more evil genius and the case had been officially turned over to the FBI.
And now Kurt was taking his daughter home. Audra walked alongside him as he pushed Ella’s wheelchair down the seemingly endless corridor toward their escape. Kurt had sent Dawson on a special pick up. When they reached the lobby Dawson along with thepick-upwalked through the ER entrance door.
“Brian!” Ella shot out of the wheelchair and ran to her friend.
Kurt and Audra shared a smile as the two kids hugged.
“You’re a good dad,” Audra said.
He draped an arm around her shoulders. “I’m getting better.”
She turned her face up to his. “I think we need to celebrate the future.”
He grinned. “Absolutely.”
As they headed for the exit Kurt realized that it was almost Christmas and he had to find a tree and do some decorating. Maybe they’d build a snowman. This was going to be the best holiday in a really long time.
He kissed the top of Audra’s head and smiled at his daughter’s laughter as Brian pushed her wheelchair through the exit.
The future was looking damned good and he couldn’t wait to dive into it.
Go back to the beginning and read the other two books in the BONE SERIES, BONE DEEP and BONE COLD! If you enjoyed this story please leave a review! If you’d like to read more by Debra Webb be sure to browse her titles on Amazon and follow her to hear about new releases! Just a simple click to Amazon will take you there!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DEBRA WEBBis a USA Today and Amazon Charts bestselling author with more than ten million books sold in numerous languages and countries. Debra’s love of storytelling goes back to her childhood when her mother bought her an old typewriter in a tag sale. Born in Alabama, Debra grew up on a farm. She spent every available hour exploring the world around her and creating her stories. She wrote her first story at age nine. It wasn’t until she spent three years working for the Commanding General of the US Army in Berlin behind the Iron Curtain and a five-year stint in NASA’s Shuttle Program that she realized her true calling. Follow Debra at Amazon or visit her at www.debrawebb.com.
BONUS
SILENT BONES
by
Peggy Webb
Silent Bones
Peggy Webb
Silent Bones
Copyright © 2024 by Peggy Webb