Page 7 of Guarded from Sabotage

True to Matt’s word, less than a minute later, Finn’s face appears on the screen. Hanna is sitting beside him, nervously twisting her pale-blonde hair around her finger. When she sees us, she gives a little smile and says, “Thanks for letting me be here, guys.”

Finn squeezes her shoulder gently and whispers something in her ear. Then he faces us, lifting his chin in acknowledgement. “Hey guys. Thanks for meeting on such short notice. We only heard about this last night, and…” He shakes his head. “We’re pretty worried, honestly.”

Now I’m worried, too. When he first mentioned that Sarah was the potential client, he prefaced it by saying she wasn’t in physical danger. But seeing his grim expression and the shadows under Hanna’s eyes…

Plus. I didn’t just meet Sarah at Finn and Hanna’s wedding; I spent most of the evening with her. We were seated at the same table at the reception, and I heard all about Sarah’s job as a social worker, her childhood memories in Lake George, and we bonded over our love of cooking—her speciality being Mexican and mine Italian.

“What’s going on with Sarah?” I ask, directing the question more to Hanna than Finn, since she’s undoubtedly the one who got the whole story.

Hanna glances at Finn, and he gives a quick nod. Then she says, “Sarah would probably say she doesn’t need help. But she does. The stuff that’s been going on… it can’t be a coincidence. And she’s really freaked out. Scared. I asked her to come to New York, but she doesn’t want to leave her job. So…”

“Tell them exactly what Sarah told you,” Finn encourages.

“Right. Sorry. I’m just so worried about her. Sarah’s such a nice person, she doesn’t—” Hanna stops. Her cheeks go pink. “Sorry. You need the details. Not me going on and on about how worried I am.”

“It’s fine,” I assure her. “There’s no rush.”

Hanna smiles at me. “Thanks, Dante.” A pause, and then, “So… first Sarah found out her credit cards were declined. When she called about it, the companies said they were reported stolen. But she didn’t do it. Then collection agencies started calling, saying she owed all this money for personal loans she never took out.”

Matt is typing away, and he stops to look up at Hanna. “She never cosigned for a loan, did she? For a friend or family member or anything?”

“No.” Hanna shakes her head. “Never. And Sarah is really responsible about money. She wouldn’t share her financial information with anyone. Aside from me or her family, that is.”

Before I can ask, Hanna adds, “Her parents would never. I’ve known them for years and they would never, ever take out a loan using Sarah’s name. Especially without telling her. I’m certain of it.”

“Is there anything else?” I ask.

“Unfortunately, yes,” she replies, her brows winging into an unhappy V. “When she called the credit card companies, they wouldn’t issue new cards. All her information was changed. Address. Social security number. All the security questions. They thoughtshewas trying to commit fraud and threatened to call the police.”

Hanna takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. “Her bank accounts are all empty. Someone cleaned them out. And it’s the same thing. She can’t convince the bank to help her. And then… she was accused of theft. The police showed up at her work andaccused her of stealing a car. Her identification was used to take a car on a test drive, and someone stole it.”

Shit. This doesn’t sound good. At all. Credit card fraud is bad enough, but bank accounts emptied? Being accused of stealing a car?

And Sarah of all people being accused of something like that? One takeaway I had after meeting her was how kind and sweet she was. Generous. Thoughtful. And she must have been so upset when the police showed up…

“I’m really worried,” Hanna says, and sighs heavily. “Sarah’s trying to act like she’s got it under control, but Iknowher. I wish she’d come here, but since she won’t… can you help her?”

Finn strokes Hanna’s hair; a comforting gesture. Then he says to us, “I’m not asking you to take Sarah on as a case. Not yet. But can you talk to her? Get some more information? We can help from here, but with you guys being local…”

“Of course.” As I cast a quick glance around the table, everyone nods in agreement. I meet Finn’s gaze, then Hanna’s. “We’ll absolutely look into this. I talked to Sarah at your wedding, so I already know her. I’ll meet with her right away.”

CHAPTER THREE

SARAH

“Are yousurethey don’t mind looking into this?”

I know I’ve asked some variation of the question probably a half-dozen times since Hanna first told me she wanted to get Blade and Arrow involved, and she’s told me it’s fine every time, but I can’t help worrying.

“Sarah.” Hanna sighs, and I can practically see her shaking her head at me. “How many times have I told you? The guys don’t mind. At all. I promise.”

“But maybe they felt obligated to say yes. With Finn asking, and they all have such a long history together…”

“Yes, they do,” Hanna replies patiently. “But the Bravo Team wouldn’t have agreed if they didn’t think this was worth looking into. Which it is. What’s happening to you isn’t some little thing. And you’ve dealt with it long enough on your own. I just wish?—”

“I didn’t tell you right away because I thought I could get it all cleared up. I didn’t realize it would get”—my voice catches as the reality of the situation slams into me again—“worse. That I’d lose almost all my money. That no one would believe me.”

“Sarah…” Her tone softens. “This is why you need help. You shouldn’t have to deal with this on your own.”

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