Page 61 of Forged in Steele

“And investigators think it brought a stranger to their home, which is very rare.”

Bristol turned to Jared. “What if Sonya Pratt’s public Facebook announcement did the same thing?”

“Could be, and that will make finding Luna much harder.” He gripped the steering wheel. “I get so mad when I learn that people still share things to the general public on Facebook when they can easily restrict their settings.”

“In this case, let’s just hope that her post isn’t the reason for the kidnapping.” Bristol leaned forward, her hands on the dash as if she could speed up the SWAT van to arrive at Reya’s house faster.

“The Pratts are likely questioning that too. Mrs. Pratt will never forgive herself if it had anything to do with losing Luna.”

They fell silent, but Jared assumed Bristol was thinking the same thing as he was. It was going to be hard to not only question Reya Isaacs, but arrest her if she had Luna. Sure, she would’ve committed a heinous crime, but was likely not in her right mind.

“Think about the six years Reya Isaacs experienced,” Bristol said. “What must that time have been like for her? Like for her now? I keep wondering if knowing her daughter died is better than being in limbo.”

“If she’s responsible for taking Luna, I would say not. Finding her daughter’s remains could’ve triggered her.” Jared pulled to the curb behind the SWAT van.

“Hopefully we’ll find her and Luna here, and Reya can explain her reasoning.” Bristol got out of the car.

Jared joined her, and they waited for the team to get into formation, the lead guy hefting a battering ram. Jared and Bristol marched with the team to the walkway. Half the guys split off toward the back. The others strode to the small bungalow with a neatly manicured lawn and freshly painted exterior, Bristol and Jared following.

On the porch, the SWAT commander gave the signal to hold, allowing the remainder of the team time to move to the back door to prevent anyone from bailing out that way. Reya and her husband had separated two years ago, leaving only Reya living at this address.

A loud commercial for mattress sales playing on the TV inside caught Jared’s attention.

“She’s here,” he mouthed to Bristol.

She gave an eager nod.

Jared’s heart pounded like a conga drum and adrenaline pulsed through him. Everything seemed magnified. Time. The cool breeze. The heat of the sun. The intensity of his fellow officers.

His feet itched to move, but he held fast.

Counting.

One-one-thousand. Two-one-thousand. Three-one-thousand. Four-one-thousand.

On and on until the commander’s hand dropped, and the officer with the battering ram plunged it into the door, breaking it open in one shot.

He stepped to the side, and the four SWAT members burst inside. They raced through the empty family room, Jared and Bristol following, guns raised. He wished he could’ve been the first through the door, but SWAT had better skills for such a raid.

Two men went right. Two left. Jared chose right. Bristol left.

Jared marched down the hallway. The SWAT team cleared a bedroom set up as an office with news clippings regarding Reya’s daughter plastered on the walls along with additional information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

They cleared the second bedroom, a nursery. A white crib sat empty in the corner, just waiting for a baby to occupy it. A mobile of baby animals hung above and the bedding had cuddly little bears. Jared could imagine Reya standing over it, day after day for six years waiting for her baby to come home.Man.That would be so rough. Excruciating. But that still didn’t give Reya the right to take Luna. No matter the reason, she’d caused untold suffering for another family.

He dragged his gaze down the hallway to where the commander popped back out of the primary bedroom.

The guy shook his head and held up his hand. “We have a body.”

Jared’s heart dropped.

“Adult with a stab wound,” the commander said. “Looks like Reya Isaacs.”

“Reya’s dead, really? But Luna.” Jared started to push past the men.

“No baby in the room.” The commander stepped into the doorway, blocking Jared’s way. “And no entry in this room without shoe covers. We have a crime scene now, and we need to treat it as such.”

Jared knew that, but he’d let his emotions get to him. “Someone needs to check the closets and under the beds.”

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