Coldest Degree

Epilogue

October 12th

“Kat, are you ready?” Jackson asked her, his voice filled with concern.

She stood up from the bed and walked over to him slowly. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Even though she had been introduced to her mother in the desolate basement of Weiss’ house, she hadn’t seen her mother in anything other than murky light and certainly not since she took the bullet meant for Lisa.

She was nervous about meeting the woman who had loved and cared for her from afar, who watched her grow at a distance in order to protect her. This strong-willed woman who, at the expense of her own pain, refused to lead Weiss and his men to Kat. Her companion in the dark days and nights of their shared captivity.

In many ways, Lisa Robertson was a mythical figure. She had heard Jackson’s stories about her mother and seen the photographs. She had seen the disheveled, bloody woman dressed in tattered clothes that held her close and protected her. But at the same time, she’d never truly met her own mother.

With her right arm, Kat clung to her father. Her body was still fatigued from the past few days and her legs unsteady. He supported her; he had since Cynthia’s death.

He carefully opened the wooden door to her mother’s hospital room and helped her inside. Kat was trembling, anxious and excited at the same time.

“Leese, I’d like you to meet someone,” her father said proudly.

The woman in the bed, her red hair falling in soft waves upon her shoulders and her skin covered in bandages, beamed at her. Her green eyes were sparkling and she resembled the photographs that Kat had seen more than her vague memories cloaked in darkness.

“Hi Mum,” Kat croaked, her throat dry.

“Come here, Baby,” she called, her arms outstretched and tears in her green eyes.

Sobbing, Kat hugged her mother for the first time in her life. I’m finally home.

Author’s Notes:

So this is the end of Coldest Degree. It’s sure taken me long enough to get all of this posted! I should be doing massive updates of the sequel, Fatal Target, probably starting this weekend. Thank you to anyone who has read/reviewed along the way. I hope you enjoyed Coldest Degree!

Fatal Target picks up three years later. Katherine’s preparing to start college and she’s discovered another family member—a younger half-sister. Kat’s college plans get turned upside-down when an old foe escapes prison with revenge—and Kat’s gruesome death—on his mind.

Thanks again!