Night Strike
Page 33
I glanced over her shoulder. Brian had been standing fifty feet away watching Katya interact with the other kids, but now he slowly sauntered in our direction still keeping his eye on her.
“So, what do you think?” I said when he joined us.
“She looks like she’s having a ball,” he said. “But that’s the point.”
I flushed. “You know what I mean.”
“How do you think she’s doing?”
“Amazingly well, considering what she’s been through. But she wakes in the middle of the night from nightmares. And she seems sad so much of the time.”
“I’d expect that since she just lost her mother. She doesn’t have anyone else, right?”
“The State Department is looking into her mother’s background, trying to find out if there are relatives—grandparents, maybe—in Russia who might want to make contact. CPS seems content to leave her where she is for the moment. At least until we find out if she has family.”
“That’s good,” he said.
“In the meantime,” Marceil interjected, “she has you.”
I shifted my weight. “Yes, she does. I’m just not sure I’m doing her any good right now.”
Brian’s gaze swung toward Katya’s group. “Looks like you’re having a positive influence.” He faced me. “What do you want me to say, Blake? It’s hard to judge based on a few minutes of watching her. I’d have to talk to her.”
I sighed. “That’s what I thought.”
“I’ll be in my office in the morning. Call me and we can schedule an appointment.”
“Thanks, Brian. I’ll do that.”
I watched the little girl who was quickly stealing my heart. I’d made a promise to a dying man. Reyna was right, it probably didn’t really count. But I’d already vowed to myself that no matter what happened, I would always be a part of Katya’s life. She had given me yet another reason to be grateful for every breath. My world had fallen apart not long before, and I was just beginning to see the new one that was being revealed.
“You know what?” I murmured to the Whitneys. “I think I’ll make an appointment for myself while I’m at it.”
Author Bio
Michael W. Sherer is the author of Night Tide and Night Blind, the first book in the Seattle-based Blake Sanders series, which was nominated for an ITW Thriller Award in 2013. His other books include the award-winning Emerson Ward mystery series, the stand-alone suspense novel, Island Life, and the Tess Barrett YA thriller series. He and his family now reside in the Seattle area.
Please visit him at www.michaelwsherer.com or follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thrillerauthor and on Twitter @MysteryNovelist.
Photo Credit: Valarie Kaye-Sherer
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