Viable Hostage by Audrey J Cole

Author:Audrey J Cole [Cole, Audrey J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rainier Publishing
Published: 2019-10-27T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Wade came in through the garage, being careful to close the door quietly behind him. It was late, and he assumed Elle had already gone to bed. He’d barely seen her in the last two days. She was still asleep when he got called to Alki Beach early Monday morning to be the sergeant on-scene, and she’d been in bed when he’d gotten home last night at nearly eleven. He’d only seen her briefly that morning before work.

The door was open to their bedroom, but the light was off. He paused in the doorway. Elle lay on her side in their bed, her dark hair splayed across her pillow. He moved down the hall to their baby’s room. He flicked on the light.

He saw Elle had finished putting the room together. There were navy blue polka-dotted sheets on the crib, books on the bookshelves, and stuffed animals neatly arranged on the window seat. Wade leaned against the door frame. At forty-six, he had long ago accepted that he would never have children. Before he met Elle, his life had been his work. He had spent much of his career obsessing over catching the Seattle Slasher, the infamous serial killer whose crimes plagued the Seattle area for over ten years.

When Wade’s partner and best friend was shot and killed during an arrest nearly eight years ago, he immersed himself even deeper into his homicide cases. He also drank heavily to numb the pain of his best friend’s death, only to admit he was an alcoholic and seek help after he’d driven nearly everyone in his life away.

It wasn’t just the grief of Cody’s death that led him down a self-destructive path. It was the guilt that his decision not to involve SWAT in their arrest had cost Cody his life. It was something he’d learned to live with, and something he knew he’d never get over.

He wished Cody was alive to see his life now. How much he’d changed for the better over the last few years. Cody was always helping Wade become a better person, and his positive influence on Wade’s life hadn’t stopped when he died.

He’d been sober now for almost two years, about the same time he’d known Elle. He would’ve been sober for more than three years if he hadn’t relapsed. Wade had returned to drinking when a spree of Seattle Slasher killings, including the murder of a detective from Wade’s own squad, occurred one year after Wade had watched the Slasher die by lethal injection.

He’d worked hard to find balance in his life over the last two years. Sobriety, for him, was still a daily struggle. It had gotten easier the longer he stayed sober, but there were still times he wrestled with his desire to drink. He looked around at the beautiful nursery Elle had created for their son and worried he might not have what it took to be the father he wanted to be to his child.

Elle’s voice tore him from his thoughts.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.