hellcat 05 - come hell or high water (33 page)
Read hellcat 05 - come hell or high water Online
Authors: sharon hannaford
She smiled as another thought occurred to her. “Ah, Kyle. How I wish you’d been alive when I met him. I’m so proud of him. He and Trish are taking over where the SMV left off. Thrown in the deep end and already up and swimming.” The last of the caramel latte filled her mouth and she savoured the sweetness. “I wonder how you’d feel right now, if you were here to witness the end of what you and Byron started. It would’ve been a good time to hang up your sword and take Mom for that long-promised cruise. You know that a cruise would’ve driven you bat-shit crazy, right?” She chuckled at the thought of her father reading the newspaper over breakfast, playing bingo with a group of oldies or watching matinees with a glass of wine in his hand. “You knew you wouldn’t live that long, didn’t you?” She leaned her head back against the headstone and looked up at the sky, where the stars were just fading into the pale blue of day.
“Do you like Julius?” she wondered. “I don’t think he’s who you would’ve chosen for me. I’m not a parent, but I’m pretty sure he’s not who I’d choose for a daughter. But I love him. Deeply, passionately, perhaps too deeply. I have to keep reminding myself not to be swallowed by him. But then again, I think perhaps he has the same trouble. He’ll do anything to keep me safe. And if there’s one person on this planet who could actually pull that off, it’s probably him. He completes me, Dad. I hope you’re happy for me.” She cleared her throat, quickly checking the grounds to make sure she was still alone.
“And so the City has shed her old skin, but she’s emerging in a new form. Stronger, more resilient. With not one but three forces to watch over her. One way or another we’ll protect her, Dad, don’t worry. Come Hell or high water, we’ll find a way,” she vowed.
She rose to her feet with a slight groan; the cold had seeped into all her recently healed injuries, making them ache. She laid a hand on the dark grey marble, tracing the word
father
with her fingers. “And say hi to Henry and tell him we miss him. Show him the ropes if you can. He’s a good kid. Love you, Dad.”
Razor padded quietly at her side as she walked back to the car, brushing a tear from her cheek.
A lone figure watched her from the safety of a copse of trees more than half a mile away. He was prone on the ground and he tracked her movements through the scope on his rifle, steady on the tripod set firmly into the ground. His finger was not on the trigger. He didn’t want to chance awakening her extra sense, the one that warned her she was in danger. He was only watching her. For now.
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