Page 43 of A Little Christmas Wish

“Brody told me the child went missing.”

“She’s back,” Betsy told him. Had he come to help look? That was kind.

“I know. I saw.”

He saw?

Yikes.

“Why did she leave?” the Fox asked.

She felt Ink stiffen. He was probably wondering why the Fox wanted to know. But she’d learned that the Fox often asked questions for a reason.

“To protect me from her foster father,” Betsy explained. “Because he’s disappeared, she was worried he might be coming for her. She didn’t want me to get hurt if he did.”

“Brave kid. Well, you don’t have to worry about him.”

“Why is that?” Ink asked.

“Because he’s been taken care of,” the Fox replied.

Taken care of? What did that mean?

“Permanently?” Ink asked, seeming to catch onto the Fox’s meaning straight away.

Wait. Permanently taken care of?

“Yes.”

Ink let out a sigh. “I shouldn’t condone that, but thanks. I wish I’d known earlier, though.”

“Ahh, I was busy having a bit of fun. Got to get my kicks somehow. And believe me, taking care of that asshole was pure pleasure. I found the wife, too. She’s trying to make a new life for herself. Left her an anonymous note so she can breathe a bit easier now that the bastard is gone.”

Gone. He was gone. Thank God.

“That’s good,” Betsy said, feeling relieved.

“You two might want to go and play a game of hide the sausage. Burp the gerbil. You seem stressed out. It does wonders for the blood pressure.”

“Thanks for the medical advice,” Ink said dryly.

“Just trying to help,” the Fox replied.

There was a long beat of silence.

“Do you think he’s gone?” Betsy asked.

“I think so,” Ink replied. “He doesn’t usually go this long without talking.”

“I heard that,” the Fox replied, making her jump. “But I’m going now. I don’t need to see the two of you boxing the clown.”

“Boxing the clown?” she whispered.

“Just ignore that,” Ink said dryly, turning her to face him. “Thank fuck we don’t have to worry about Leon getting to Zippy.”

Betsy nodded, thankful that the Fox had taken care of that problem for them.

“Now, let’s talk about what you’re doing out here alone,” he said sternly.

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