Stolen Child (Coastal Fury Book 13) Matt Lincoln (chrysanthemum read aloud .txt) 📖

“We didn’t talk much,” Mikey said thoughtfully, scrunching up his face as if he was trying to remember. “Whenever I asked any questions, he just told me to shut up. He talked to himself sometimes, though. He kept saying how much trouble he was in or something about that. Is he in trouble?”

“Oh, he’s in a lot of trouble,” I chuckled. “People aren’t supposed to take kids from their parents, and you’re not even the only one he’s taken. But don’t worry, we’ll take care of him. We’ll make sure that he doesn’t hurt any more kids ever again, okay?”

“Okay,” Mikey said, almost cheerily, and a paramedic came over to look him over for bumps and bruises, abruptly ending our conversation.

We’d have time for a longer interview later, but for now, Nina and I were satisfied that Mikey would pull through this with a little help from his family and Dr. Osborne.

“Well, that could’ve gone so much worse in so many ways,” Nina muttered to me as we stepped off to the side to make room for the paramedic. She couldn’t keep the smile off of her face, and I was pretty sure that I was the same.

“You could say that again,” I chuckled as I watched Mikey cheerfully interact with the paramedic. “Kid’s gonna crash soon. He probably hasn’t slept in two days. But for now, I’d say things are going way better than I could’ve expected.”

“Hey, you were right not to give up on him,” Nina said, nudging me playfully in the ribs.

“Told you he was still out there,” I grinned.

“I’ve never been happier to say you were right,” Nina beamed.

The helicopter ended up depositing us in the parking lot of the hotel where we were staying, and where the police officers, Dr. Osborne, and all three of Mikey’s parents had evacuated when the police station was attacked. There was a throng of people waiting there for us, even though it was the middle of the night at that point.

The lead detective on the case was the first to get to me, and I gave him a quick rundown of everything that had happened while I watched the relief that I was already feeling wash across his face. Chief Raskin was next, closely followed by the older Coast Guard man I had spoken with earlier, and then the Durham police detective, Lance, who had been so against wasting resources trying to find Mikey since he was probably already dead.

“Uh, good job, agent,” he said, holding out a begrudging hand to me.

I took it. Why not?

“Never give up on a case,” I warned him. “You never know what might happen.”

“Understood, sir,” he said, giving me a small smile that might’ve even reached his eyes.

Dr. Osborne was next, closely followed by Curt and Annabelle, who rushed Nina and Mikey the instant they saw them.

“Oh my God!” Annabelle screamed, clutching her son close to her chest. “You found him! I can’t believe you found him.”

Mikey buried his face in his mother’s stomach as both parents wrapped their arms around him. He didn’t say anything. He just let them encase him and tell him he was safe now. His little shoulders were shaking.

Curt shakily reached out to give both myself and Nina a hug, despite the fact that we were covered in gunk and water from the cave, not to mention Charlie’s blood.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice trembling. “Thank you so much. You have no idea what you’ve done for us. We’ll never forget it.”

“We were just doing our job,” I told him, shaking his hand. “And make sure you never forget how lucky you all got today. Most people don’t get a mulligan like that.”

“We won’t,” Curt assured me, swallowing hard. “We promise.”

I noticed soon that Jackson wasn’t out there in the parking lot with us. Quickly, Mikey was cleared by the paramedics to go, and we all went inside to discuss what had happened some more. Jackson was there, practically hiding behind a plant in the hotel lobby and trying to blend in with the mass of policemen and other law enforcement personnel occupying the area.

When he caught sight of Mikey, his relief was unmistakable, though he still didn’t approach us as I sat down with Curt, Annabelle, Dr. Osborne, and Mikey to catch them up on the night’s events. Nina went off to talk with someone in an FBI jacket who I imagined was her supervisor.

Mikey fell asleep on Annabelle’s shoulder almost the second he sat down. She held him tightly to her as if she was afraid he might disappear if she let him go for a single second.

“Alright, catch me up,” Dr. Osborne said quickly, glancing over at Mikey with some wariness. “Should you and I step outside?”

I realized that Osborne and the parents didn’t know yet what had happened to the boy while he was held captive, so I quickly caught them up, assuring them that he was a bit dirty, tired, and hungry, but otherwise unharmed. Their relief was palpable.

“Thank God,” Curt sighed, his whole body practically deflating as he released the tension he’d been holding for so long.

“I’ll be,” Dr. Osborne said, shaking her head in disbelief. “I never would’ve guessed this ending, I’ll tell you that much.”

“I know,” I said darkly. “I don’t know that I would’ve either, but I couldn’t be happier with the way things went. Now everyone can focus on finding those other kids and taking down the whole gang. This shouldn’t happen to any other kid again. Not here, anyway. Not this way.”

“We couldn’t be more grateful,” Annabelle gushed, looking at me with almost pleading eyes. “Anything we can do, just name it.”

“No, ma’am, I was just doing my job,” I assured her just as I had her husband, holding up a hand to indicate as much. Then, despite myself, I glanced over at Jackson still lurking behind that plant, watching us intently.

Annabelle followed my gaze, and surprisingly, her face softened.

“Come here, Jackson,” she called