Chapter 20 - Discharge Day
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Three weeks later, I was finally cleared for discharge.
My burns were healing, bound in fresh, flexible bandages beneath a loose cotton sweater Evelyn had bought for me. For the first time in years, I was leaving a building without Luke's hand clamped aggressively around my elbow. I was leaving with my sister.
The FBI raid had been successful. They had seized Luke's servers and uncovered a massive web of illegal medical data brokering. Luke had been indicted on multiple federal charges, alongside the domestic violence and assault charges.
But there was one terrifying problem.
They hadn't found him.
When the tactical team breached our suburban home, the house was empty. Luke's car was gone, his safe was cleared out, and his passport was missing. He had vanished like smoke.
"The U.S. Marshals are tracking him," David assured me as he loaded my small overnight bag into the trunk of his car in the hospital parking garage. "He can't run forever. His face is on every watchlist."
"He's smart, David," I whispered, pulling my coat tighter against the chilly autumn air. "He knows how to erase people. He can erase himself."
"He won't get near you," Evelyn promised, wrapping her arm around my waist and guiding me toward the passenger door. "You're coming home with us. We have a security system. You're safe."
I wanted to believe her. I desperately wanted to believe that the nightmare was over, that I could go to her house with the yellow door, sit on the porch with the scruffy brown dog, and finally start grieving the children I had lost.
I climbed into the car and buckled my seatbelt. As David started the engine, my newly issued, secure cell phone buzzed in my pocket.
I pulled it out. The screen lit up with a text message from an unknown number.
The new sweater looks beautiful on you, Caroline. See you soon.
May you like
I looked up, my blood turning to ice, and scanned the dark, concrete pillars of the parking garage as David drove us toward the exit.
The shadows seemed to stretch, waiting.
