Page 15 of Special Agent Isabella

“Guess Abbie’s waved to her and got ignored. Says her face never smiles.”

“In other words, a real bitch.”

“My thought exactly.”

“Okay, I’ll get a hold of the tracking techies and see what they can find.”

“I want to know what they say.”

“I’ll call you back.”

Ten minutes later her phone vibrated. “She was gone.”

“What do you mean? That crazy lady had stopped in the middle of the lane with her car angled, blocking the road so no one could get past? Only a fool would do that on purpose. I took it for granted that her car had stalled.”

“Guess she headed in the other direction after you kept going. They found no trace of her or the car. I’ve got them working on road cams. Were you able to get any part of the license plate?”

“No. I hung back because of her erratic driving.”

“Not to worry. We’ll get her eventually.”

“Hope so. What’s going on with the governor? Did you tell her about the incident?”

“No. We’ll see if Abbie says anything, and if she does, we’ll play it down to it just being a road rage thing.”

“Okay. But it’s disturbing to think of that nutbar out there running around free.”

“I know. There’s another pack of the same crazies in front of the house. No wonder Stacy’s nervous about her and Abbie’s safety. Those people out there aren’t playing by the rules of non-violent protest. They’re all fired up. The police are trying to disperse them now but they’re arguing, saying they’re on a public street and have the right to say what they want. It’s a free country, first amendment, blah, blah, blah.”

Bella shook her head though no one saw. “Seriously. If that’s true for them, then it only makes sense that it’s true for the victim to have rights too. And what could be more important than to feel safe in your own home? I don’t care if she’s taken on the role of a public person or not. No one should be treated with so little respect. Who’s going to run for public office in the future if they have this kind of freaky bullying to worry about?”

“Hey, you’re preaching to the choir, my friend.”

“Sorry. I’m just worried for Stacy and Abbie’s safety.”

“That’s why we’re onboard. To make sure none of those wackos get too close.”

ChapterThirteen

Tanner hated the thought of Bella and little Abbie being in any danger. The idea of them in a car accident left a bitter taste in his mouth. It increased when he realized they both could have been injured. His skin crawled at the mind pictures.

In the past, he’d always wanted a closer relationship with Bella… had gone after Demi more than once about them all hanging out together. But somehow, Bella would have an excuse and their plans never worked out. When he’d ask Demi why they couldn’t get together, she’d shrugged and said Bella thought Tanner was full of himself.

“What the hell did I ever do to make her think that?”

Finally, one day toward the end of his time at the home, she’d shared. “It annoyed her that you took credit a while back for making the final touchdown at the last football game. She heard you sayingI did it.That makes her think you only care about yourself.” Demi had grabbed his hand and yanked at it to get his attention. “Let me tell her.”

“That I’d lost confidence in my abilities when we went into that season, and I was playing with a bum knee. No way. You know how worried I was about the pain killers working and taking the chance of letting the others down.”

“I do know but she doesn’t. If she understood how brave you were to take on that responsibility, she’d be in your corner.”

“Nah. It’s not important. I’ll be leaving soon, and she’ll have you to herself. I’ve never wanted to get in between your friendship, so just drop it.”

He could see by the hurt and confusion in her eyes, she didn’t really agree but she did as he asked.

Being frustrated by Bella’s unapproachable behavior had never sat well with him but Demi needed her and so he backed off. Now… having to work with the prickly woman, he saw a great deal of what she’d always kept hidden.

In the past, she’d come across as a strong, established, no-nonsense female with all her ducks in a row. But he knew better now. He’d seen a soft side peeking out, her indecision and fear of making the wrong move with a child and having it matter.

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