Page 19 of Special Agent Isabella

“Mommy.” Excitement filled the child’s voice. “Look what I made with Bella. We worked hard at school.”

Wriggling to be let down, Abbie reached for her mother’s hand, and dragged her toward the coffee table where a colored mask lay. Bella stood behind the table; her expression filled with relief at seeing them home.

She stepped over to Tanner, exasperation obvious. “You know what I’ve been doing while you’ve had all the fun?”

“Guarding a little girl whose life’s in danger?”

“Don’t be a smartass. I’ve been babysitting. Keeping Abbie entertained while you were in the line of fire. Do you know how hard it is looking after a-a baby with the intelligence of a rocket scientist?”

Tanner grinned, thoroughly enjoying the sight of Bella in a state. Come to think of it, her long hair appeared mussed, ringlets formed in the back and others surrounded her face. A brush lay on the seat from where she’d risen, and he had a good idea of what must have been happening before they arrived.

He tried to picture Abbie working away at Bella’s normally pulled back hair and found the mental image heartwarming as hell. His smile must have shown his feelings because he saw hers narrow. “Don’t say it.”

“Not gonna.”

“I mean it,” she growled.

He held his hands up in surrender. “I swear on my shield.”

Her gaze went to his side, and she stepped forward. “You’ve been hit.”

“Nah. It’s just some glass from the car windows where the bullets struck … and I might add very close to me. I was in mortal danger.”

Her look of sarcasm told him what she thought of his play for sympathy. “Well it’s bleeding and you need to get it looked at.”

“I can’t reach.”

Her voice filling with exasperation, she grabbed his hand. “No shit, Sherlock. Come on. I’ll help you.”

ChapterSixteen

They left the mother and daughter discussing the pros and cons of what plans they would have for Halloween and Bella led the way to their quarters upstairs, at the rear of the place.

Automatically, she led him to her bedroom’s washroom. “Take off your shirt. I have a small first aid kit in my case.” She left him to go into her bedroom and returned to see him standing in front of the large mirror, trying to see the wound for himself.

As he preened this way and that, naked to the waist, she halted to watch. Suddenly, her mouth turned dry, and her eyes widened.Christ, the man was built like a gladiator.Frustrated anger surfaced. “Stop that.”

“Stop what?”

“Posing.”

“Hell, lady, I’m notposing. I’m just trying to see the damage. It’s beginning to bleed now that I ripped off the cover.”

She could see he’d told the truth. Blood was running down his side and the hand he held to stop the flow from going further had ceased to work.

She stepped forward and ran water into the sink. Dipping a facecloth in the water, she bent to wash the injury. Seeing glass, she reached for the tweezers and knelt down.

“What the hell?” He flinched away as if she held a huge, wicked set of pliers.

“For fuck sake, it’s tweezers. They’re tiny. I can get at small glass fragments that need to come out. Now hold still, you big baby.”

He snarled, “You could warn a guy before coming at him with a vicious weapon.”

Laughing now, Bella again showed him the size of the implement she held between two fingers. “Look, sucky, they’re tiny scissors. Mommy won’t hurt you. Now take a deep breath, and it’ll be over in a minute.”

“Will you kiss it better if I’m good?”

“No.”

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