Page 57 of Special Agent Isabella

“Christ, I’m so sorry about what happened.” The depressing tone in his voice made him stop. He needed to give her hope, not be a gloomy prick. “Hang in there, darlin’. I.00t’ll be okay. You’re doing the right thing.”

“Christ, who knew I’d ever be in a situation where babysitting a kid took precedence over being involved in finding a kidnap victim? I must be losing it.”

Tanner chuckled. “So you know, I’m very fond of the new version. See you soon.”

* * *

Bella heard the gentleness in his tone when she went over his last statement in her head. He’d been serious, and her heart had known it. Warmth flooded, overriding a lot of the cheerless misery she’d been experiencing earlier. Remembering his words about finding Stacy lifted her spirits even further.

Wouldn’t it be a huge plus to rescue the one person who’d begun this whole downward spiral. Abbie could be a happy little girl again, having her mommy home, and Bella and Tanner might be able to move on. Especially, if he were fortunate enough to catch the criminals behind the threat to the governor.

Thinking about being back at the mansion with Collin and Nan, it dawned on Bella how she would be able to get away while still leaving Abbie safe.

She called Collin’s cellphone, and he answered immediately. Within a short time they arranged for him to escort Nan to the center to take care of Abbie should she wake up. That would leave Bella free to go to the hospital and be with Demi.

She hadn’t heard from her friend yet and didn’t know if that was good news or bad. If they were still operating on Alan, it could mean he was alive and there would be hope.

Bella said a special little prayer just in case. The thought of Demi in distress yet again seemed too horrible to imagine. She knew for sure that every time a teenager came to the center with bruises and signs of being mistreated, Demi suffered with them. Now, a man who’d gotten behind her defenses might die before they got their chance to have any kind of life together.

Sweet Christ. It was a never-ending cycle.

A litany of words rampaged inside her mind.Where the fuck would it end?

ChapterForty-Four

Tanner called for backup with the S.W.A.T. team and headed out to where he suspected they were holding Stacy. It took some time to drive there, and on the way, his mind went to his friend Demi and how she must be feeling.

Pushing the button on the car’s screen to make the call, he noticed that she answered immediately.

“Hey darling, it’s me, Tanner. How’s your guy?” He always announced himself because Demi refused to pay for caller ID.

“They still have him in the operating room. But it was bad, Tan, really bad. I’m terrified.”

“No doubt. Bella told me what happened and wanted me to be there with you, but we got a lead on the case we’ve been working on… the missing governor. It’ll be okay though because Bella just texted to say she was getting the housekeeper from the mansion to come to the center to stay with Abbie, and she would be there as soon as possible.”

“I know. She called me too. I’m so glad she’s coming, Tanner. I’m living a nightmare right now. Alan was such a genuine soul. I-I’ve become fond of him.”

Which is as close to having Demi say she was in love as anything he’d ever heard.

“I’ll be sending out good vibes for the guy to pull through, my friend. Love you.”

“Yeah, me too. Thanks for calling.”

The dial tone let him know she’d cut off the call, and he had a vision of her in tears and not wanting him to know. That girl had always hidden her deepest emotions. Only once had he ever seen her cry. And that was when she was thirteen and so traumatized by whatever happened to her that she refused to share. All she did was cling to him for support, let her tears flow until she seemed empty, and then stiffen her shoulders. They never spoke about it again, mainly because she refused to return to the subject of that day.

He always wondered what might have brought on such a reaction and knew in his soul it wouldn’t have been good. The only thing she promised him was that she had survived. In the end she’d gotten away and would be fine. Except, it had stunted her in some ways.

Nowadays, the only two people in the world she trusted to let into her closest circle would be him and Bella. If she had allowed Alan to get close too, then it would devastate her to lose him. Goddammit but the world played rotten tricks sometimes.

Finally, he pulled into a lane close to where the signal showed on the map, and he stopped. Waiting for the others, he surveyed the area and eventually came across an opening in the scrub brush and trees to show a small dark cabin. That must be where they were holding Stacy.

He backed away to meet with the others so they could come up with a plan. Discussing the best way to go into the dark place and do so without any injury to the victim or themselves, they spoke low.

Once all six of them had geared up with vests, night goggles and rifles, they slowly made their way forward. Tanner signaled for the three chosen to go around to the back of the place to move, while he and two others would breach the front door.

Settling his pulse, running through the motions he’d been taught to do before entering the unknown, he waited for the man with the ram to break in. Shock reverberated when the door didn’t so much as move. Still outside, they bashed it again only to hear a woman’s scream and a male voice calming her, followed by an order for them to stand down.

In seconds, Stacy opened the door and stood with her arms crossed, obviously unhurt and appearing as if she’d just woken up.

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