Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 128488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
“That’s right,” Vitucci said. And then he squeezed and squeezed, the man’s face going from red to purple to near black as Vitucci brought his face so close to his that their noses nearly touched. Still, Noelle did not look away, even as Vitucci finally let go with a gusting exhale, and what had been the old man tipped from its wheelchair and fell to the floor in a heap of flesh and bones.
Vitucci turned, the expression on his face victorious but somehow shocked as well. He stumbled as though he was having trouble finding his footing and let his head fall forward for several long moments, his shoulders rising and falling. The room was silent now; the last of the death throes were complete.
Vitucci reached for a glass sitting on a table next to him. Noelle blinked as his gaze met hers over the screen, and she sucked in a breath, certain he knew she was watching him. Certain he was looking straight at her. He raised the glass and toasted the camera, and then, without any hesitation, he brought it to his lips and threw it back, swallowing every drop. Then he reached for another and another, downing them both before falling to his knees, one word whispering from his lips, too silent to hear. But Noelle watched his mouth and was certain he’d uttered “Celesse.”
EPILOGUE
Noelle squinted out over the ocean as the waves crashed on the shore, rushing toward her and then falling away. Overhead, the clouds were clearing, shafts of sunlight streaming through the gloom. The storm that had raged through the night had passed. What was it about the morning after that made the world feel cleansed? It was a smell. It was a feeling.
“Mommy!” Callie called from a few feet up the beach, her hair lifting in the wind. “Look!” She held up a shell of some kind and then put it in her pocket. Noelle smiled at her daughter’s unceasing joy at finding a shell when shells were so plentiful where they lived. Never lose that, baby girl. Never take anything wonderful for granted, no matter how much of it you have.
A figure caught her eye, stepping off the walking bridge and onto the sand. Evan. Her heart galloped and then soared, her breath catching with happy surprise.
“Evan!” Callie shouted as he drew closer. Their little girl ran in his direction, her short legs pumping. Evan’s laugh was caught by the wind and delivered straight to her. She laughed, too, as he swooped Callie into his arms and spun her around. Her heart squeezed tightly. That sight. Oh, thank you God for that sight.
Evan set Callie down and took her hand, and Noelle waited, watching as they walked together toward her. “Well this is a surprise,” she said, her lips trembling as she tried not to smile, tried desperately not to fly into his arms the same way Callie had. He hadn’t told her he was coming. She’d flown home from Reno three days before, and he’d stayed to assist the police as they began unraveling the crime that had rocked the entire globe and to sort some of his father’s affairs. They’d both been in shock when they’d said goodbye, knowing she had to get home to their daughter, both desperate for that, even while it was important that Evan stay.
There hadn’t been time for plans, or even for more than a few uttered words. I love you. Kiss her for me. We’ll talk soon.
Evan squinted out to the ocean for a second, a playful smile tilting his lips. “Do you figure there’s much of a need for a PI here in town?”
Her heart flipped, and she couldn’t help the tiny laugh that bubbled up her throat. He was moving here? She blinked tears from her eyes, his softening as he stared so lovingly at her. A few feet from them, Callie had become entranced with yet another shell that she’d spied and run to collect. She was holding it up now, her gaze moving over the details of that particular one.
“There’s always need for a PI. I can solve a few mysteries for you right off the bat, though.”
He grinned, a ray of sun hitting his eyes so that she could practically see right through them, the blue deep and endless. “Yeah? Like what?”
“At least one cup of coffee before I’m conversational. Preferably two, but definitely one.”
“I appreciate the heads-up.”
“I’ll do anything after a salted caramel crème brûlée.”
“Anything?”
She confirmed with a nod.
A brow shot up, and he pretended to search for something in his pockets. “That one’s very important. I think I should write it down.”
She laughed. He was here. He was here, and for a moment she let all the horror they’d experienced fall away and she was only hope. Only wild, beautiful, healing hope. She let it wash through her, the sunlight after the storm.