Page 69 of Taken from Her
Diana pressed deeper into the building, following corridor layouts that led toward the isolated heat signature Morgan had identified. Each step brought her closer to either reunion or devastation.
A locked door marked with industrial signage. Diana tested the handle, found it locked, and gestured for Angela to bring the breach equipment.
"Lavender?" Diana called through the door.
"Diana!" Lavender's voice was laced with panic. "Are you really there?"
"Yeah, I’m here. Stand back from the door."
The lock yielded to tactical tools, and Diana pushed into the room. Lavender sat on a camping chair, unrestrained, looking tired but unharmed.
"Are you hurt?" Diana asked, holstering her weapon and moving toward her.
"No. They were..." Lavender paused, processing recent trauma while relief flooded her features. "Professional. They just wanted cooperation, not violence."
Diana reached Lavender and pulled her into an embrace that confirmed she was real, safe, and breathing. The weight of eighteen hours dissolved into overwhelming gratitude and the recognition that they'd survived the ultimate test of their partnership.
"Your message," Diana said against Lavender's hair. "The herbs, the morning light, the geographic coordinates. Brilliant."
"I knew you'd understand." Lavender's arms tightened around Diana. "I knew you'd find me."
Something essential clicked into place for Diana. Not just the successful conclusion of a rescue operation, but validation that intimate knowledge could become a tactical advantage when it came down to it.
"We need a medical assessment," Diana called to the EMTs who'd accompanied them. "She needs a full evaluation before transport."
As medical personnel began examining Lavender, Diana coordinated with her team to secure evidence and process the criminal operation they'd dismantled. Computer equipment, communication devices, and documentation would support federal prosecution of the trafficking network.
"All the suspects are in custody," Angela reported. "Evidence collection is in progress, and federal agents are coordinating transport and booking."
Diana remained with Lavender during the medical evaluation, her presence providing reassurance while her mind processed the magnitude of what they'd accomplished together. Her professional excellence was validated through personal stakes, even under extreme pressure.
"Chief," Morgan approached with her laptop. "Electronic evidence suggests this was the network's command center. Financial records, communication logs, and operationalplanning were all here, and we have everything we need to prosecute the remaining organization."
Julia came up to her. "Community notifications are already going out that we’ve infiltrated the headquarters and have dismantled them. All of Phoenix Ridge is celebrating."
Diana helped Lavender into the ambulance to go to the hospital for medical care. Around them, Phoenix Ridge awakened to news that their safety had been restored through law enforcement cooperation and community partnership.
"The federal operation?" Lavender asked as the ambulance moved through morning streets.
"Successful. Tara, Isabel, and Joanna are all safe." Diana squeezed Lavender's hand. "The trafficking network is dismantled."
"And us?"
Diana looked at the woman who'd taught her that professional excellence and personal connection could strengthen each other rather than compete. "We proved that love makes everything better, not worse."
The ambulance approached Phoenix Ridge General Hospital where Dr. Hassan waited with medical staff prepared for a thorough trauma assessment. Behind them, the industrial district receded into morning light while ahead lay recovery, healing, and the future they'd earned through surviving the ultimate test together.
Diana's radio crackled with routine traffic as Phoenix Ridge returned to normal operations. But nothing would be routine anymore. They'd proven that community policing, collaborative investigation, and personal investment could overcome any threat designed to tear them apart.
The woman beside her had taught an entire police department that caring about people made them better at protecting everyone.
Now they had the rest of their lives to build on that foundation.
14
The hospital bed felt foreign beneath Lavender's body, too firm and clinical after years of sleeping on a houseboat that moved with the tides. Antiseptic scents couldn't quite mask the lingering salt air that clung to her hair, and the steady beep of monitoring equipment provided its own kind of rhythmic ambience where she was used to water lapping against the hull.
But Diana's hand in hers anchored her to something real.
