Page 21 of His Sassy Little

“Most likely. Honestly, though, I don’t understand. The injuries she suffered indicate severe abuse. Any doctor should have reported it despite his being a Captain. There were severe concussions, broken bones, sprained muscles, even a torn ligament that required surgery. That list didn’t even include the times she had to have cuts stitched up.” Tanner had noticed the scars on her but hadn’t asked about them. He had a feeling his temper wouldn’t stay in check if he’d learned the source of the injuries.

Tanner wanted to throw something, hit something. No, that wasn’t exactly right; what he really wanted to do was find the bastard and kill him. That wasn’t in the cards, though, it wasn’t how Devil’s Wrath worked, so they’d have to find a way to make the man pay without that level of violence. Part of Tanner desperately hoped James O’Conner would give him no choice.

“How’d you manage to find her records? She told me she changed her name and did a good job of it.” His voice was hard and anger had to be clear in his gaze for all to see. No one in this room would blame him for it, he knew that but he still tried to contain his temper. He had to get it under control before he returned to Arabella. He didn’t want to scare her.

“It wasn’t hard since she gave you his name,” Pup didn’t even look up from his computer or stop typing as he spoke. Tanner had no idea how the kid could multitask, talking about one thing and typing another, but he respected it. “I just looked him up, found his wife, Rose O’Conner, and did a deep search on both.”

Rose. Her real name is Rose?

Tanner couldn’t picture her as a Rose. He liked Arabella better, it fit her. She’d chosen well. “Was it him that ran her out of the last town?”

“Most likely. He has a reward set for anyone who finds her. He’s listed her as a kidnapping victim so he can have cops and FBI agents looking for her all over the country. It was all over the news, flyers sent out, but it only lasted a few months before the search died down.

The good news for Arabella was that the town she was in–Little Falls–has a very small police force and doesn't have a lot of technology yet. Budgets are a bitch. Anyway, time went on and the case went cold, so he set a bounty on her head that he called a “Reward”. He didn’t mind involving his friends in the criminal world either. After three years, he’s still actively searching. This man is desperate to get her back. He’s likely going to be a big problem. Especially with his position at the department.”

Shit.

This was going to be even harder than he’d imagined and that scared the hell out of him. If he failed in this, it would end his world. He’d just realized he loved her. He couldn’t lose her now. This was officially the most important fight of Tanner’s life.

Chapter Sixteen

Arabella was having the time of her life. She absolutely adored Sapphire and her sunny nature. They’d worked on the room in the back of the shop and Sapphire actually took most of Arabella’s suggestions, like the craft station and putting in a sewing machine. Arabella loved making costumes for dress up and hadn’t done so in years.

Arabella was hoping that Tanner would bring her back when the room was complete so she could spend some time on that sewing machine. Sapphire had already told her that anytime she wanted to come, she was welcome to play in the room.

Arabella had made her first real friend in three years and she was on cloud nine. Their interests varied and Sapphire’s little seemed to be much younger than Arabella’s, but they had many things in common as well. Spending time with Sapphire had been entertaining and informative. So, when Tanner came to get her, she was reluctant to leave. They hadn’t finished planning the art corner and she just didn’t want her time with Sapphire to end.

“Please, Daddy. Can we stay for just a bit longer?” Arabella’s voice had taken on an edge of petulance, but she couldn’t help it, she really wanted to stay longer. She needn’t have worried he would deny her request, but old insecurities sometimes snuck up on her.

Tanner was quick to agree and left them to their planning, saying he’d go run the front desk for an hour so they could finish. Arabella couldn’t help but be surprised at his easy agreement, James would have dragged her out. He wouldn’t have been willing to stay for her if he was ready to leave. Arabella immediately felt guilty for comparing the two men; she knew they were nothing alike. The comparison made her even more grateful for Tanner coming into her life, even if it did make her feel like she’d done something wrong. She was incredibly lucky to have found Tanner.

“Maybe…” Sapphire hummed for a bit, her face screwed up in concentration, “maybe he used to wear one of those spiked punk collars?”

Sapphire had been entertaining Arabella with guesses for why Tanner’s nickname was Spike. Each guess Sapphire made seemed more ridiculous than the last and Arabella had been laughing almost non-stop all afternoon. In fact, her cheeks were sore from it. Over the last five years, laughter had been a rare occurrence, and her cheeks weren’t used to the exercise.

“I don’t think that’s it. I can’t see Tanner ever wearing one of those. Now, that younger guy that walked by earlier, with the punkish hair and the computer. I can see him in one, but not Tanner.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. I can’t picture Tanner with one either. I can totally see it on Pup, though.”

“Pup?”

“That’s the computer guy’s nickname.” Sapphire noted something in her notebook and pointed to the wall, “I wonder if Warren could have deep shelves built to hold the craft and art supplies, maybe some in the play area over there too. They’d be great for holding toys and stuffies. I like that idea better than toy boxes. Everything would be visible and easy to find.”

“That’s an awesome idea! It would help keep them out of the way when we want to do something else, while still giving us easy access.”

“Yeah, it would.”

“I wonder if they have plans to add a room to the clubhouse behind the bar.”

“Why?”

“Well, the bar area is a bit intimidating and if they bring us, I don’t really see them letting us hang out in the room with them while they have a meeting.”

“Warren hasn’t taken me there yet. I don’t know if he plans to, but I’d love to see it.”

“Tanner took me the night we met but if I went back, I don’t think I’d want to hang in the bar without him.”

“You could come play in my nursery with me instead of going. I’d love to have you.”

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