Page 58 of Special Agent Isabella

“Tanner, call off the men. I’m fine. I’m here of my own accord.”

Tanner pulled her forward, and then pushed her behind him so one of the other agents could keep her safe. “Like hell you are. There’s a guy inside with you. I want him to come out with his hands in the air.” His voice loud, he waited and wasn’t surprised to see the appearance of a man. A male equivalent to that of the kidnapping maid who’d shown up in their video from the office.

This fellow was built solid with a buzz cut hairdo, wearing camouflage pants and a green T-shirt. He’d either been sleeping in his clothes or had dressed quickly. Tanner pulled his arms down and made him turn so he could put on the handcuffs. Before he finished, Stacy had barged her way between them to stop it from happening. “No. Stop, Tanner. I mean it. Vinny saved my life.”

* * *

On the way back to town, Stacy sat in the back while Vinny was in the passenger seat next to Tanner. There was something about the guy that made Tanner leery, not as trustful as Stacy might have wished.

Maybe the fact that Vinny was the same man who’d manhandled the governor in her office and whisked her away from the safety of her guards still rankled. It made sense why the vet hadn’t been listened to when he came forward to tell them of the plot he’d heard about, but it still pissed him off.

It’s true that everyone had been ultra careful after the bombing. They’d put a tight band around the office, not allowing anyone without an appointment to enter. But to think that a person with information had been turned away meant they’d failed. That would be something he’d be looking into for sure.

He knew Stacy watched his attitude toward Vinny and must have seen the skepticism he didn’t try to hide.

She spoke up. “Tell him again, Vinny. About what you heard online. You know, about the plot to kill me and the mayor. Maybe then he’ll believe us.”

Vinny’s voice echoed with truth as he explained once more as to why he’d taken the extreme methods he had to get Stacy away. “I never told this to the governor but there was also talk of a drive-by to shoot up her house. So the story goes… they would wait to see if their restaurant plans worked out. If not, they intended to carry out a shooting spree at her home, which would be tomorrow. And if anyone happened to get in the way of a bullet, they only hoped it would be her.”

Son of a bitch.According to Stacy, there’d been no way to contact either him or Bella to let them know she was fine. Not until they got closer to Scottsdale, and they weren’t thinking of doing so until the morning. There’d be no chance they could have known that the shooters had already gone through with their plan that same night.

It appeared that Vinny had saved her from possibly getting killed… twice. According to the man, though he’d started out believing a lot of conspiracy crap online, he’d stopped when the plans ramped up to physical violence. He never had any intention of hurting anyone.

“Look, Agent Coleman.”

“Tanner.”

“Right, Tanner. I’m a man not used to putting my thoughts or feelings into words. But you need to hear this. Fighting for America has always made me proud. It instilled a-a love for the country and the people that would refuse to let me cross the line where those crazies are willing to go. I’d never consider it.”

He cleared his throat… the rumble of his smoker’s voice had become gruff and hard to make out. “Going to peaceful rallies, speaking up, and fighting for your right to be heard is one thing. Blowing shit to pieces and murdering folks takes protesting way too far.”

Tanner listened, and like Stacy, heard the truth in the man’s words. He needed to work with the guy from now on, let him show Tanner all he’d seen online. Maybe between them, they could find the assholes who had no qualms about hurting anyone who stood in the way of their twisted sense of freedom.

Sense of freedom?

Jesus!

ChapterForty-Five

Bella arrived at the hospital in a frenzy. It had taken longer than she’d liked for her to get away from the center. Thankfully, she’d still been there when Abbie woke up from a nightmare, screaming for her mother.

Maybe because the center had been unusually busy with a lot of teens seeking shelter, it had unsettled her. Two young girls arrived earlier in bad shape from a beating they’d luckily escaped. Seems they’d been in the nearby park while a group of youths looking for trouble and a good time had accosted them.

Thankfully, a man with a large dog had come along and they were able to escape. Bella had been called from hovering over Abbie to question them but other than what they’d already told Nora, they had nothing else to say. Forced to let it drop, she bit her tongue to stop from berating them about wandering outside so late. Yeah… like they had a choice. Homeless girls dealt with that shit all the time.

It drove her nuts to think that those teens seemed to accept that it had been their fault for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Son of a bitch!

Since when had the world gotten so bad that two girls minding their own business weren’t safe in a well-lit park? Bella called Officer Balk. “Hey, Jim. Any chance you can have a car patrol the park near Fulton House and be on the lookout for three males out for a good time. They attacked a couple of girls who came here, roughed them up good. Sadly, the teens are terrified and not willing to make a statement. Guess a good Samaritan and his dog came by at the right time. Just don’t want anyone else getting manhandled.”

“Thanks, Bella. I’ll send a unit right away. Maybe we’ll get lucky. If they’re still hanging around, we’ll pick them up. You take care now.”

“Yeah, you too. Thanks.”

No sooner had she gotten off the phone, Abbie started struggling again in her sleep. Bella stroked her arm and whispered gently, “It’s okay, baby. Bella’s here. You’re fine, munchkin.”

The little girl’s eyes opened, filled with tears. “I want Mommy, Bella. She should be home now.”

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