Page 52 of Ultimate Freedom

“Yet you never said anything. You know I would have been on the next plane.”

“How could I? You were going through your own conflicts out here. Yet, you seemed so happy, especially once Whit came home. I couldn’t spoil it for you.”

Strange as it seemed, Demi understood. Rather than dwell on those issues, she moved things along. “What happened next?”

“Because of my situation, the boss’s kept me working out of the office. I snuck a look at Tanner’s case and found where their main hideout was at a bar on the outskirts of town.” She looked up at Demi, pleading in her eyes. “You have to understand, I was desperate to see him.”

“What did you do?”

“I disguised myself as an obese man and went to the place.”

“An obese man?”

“No biggie. I had to be totally hidden, didn’t I? Tanner would have freaked out if he saw me there… the gaslighting bastard.”

Grinning, Demi agreed. “Oh, yeah. The gaslighting bastard would have kicked your obese man’s ass good.” She looked at the floor. So, you saw him.”

“Christ, yes. I saw him with her.”

“Her?”

“Yes, with a bitch called Sadie… Vincente’s sister. The tramp was all over him.”

“Bella. He’s undercover. Isn’t there a certain amount of leeway given for this kind of thing?”

Bella let out a sob. “Not for my man. He wants us to get married… fat chance of that happening. Not now. Not ever. He can rot in hell for all I care.”

Demi heard the exhaustion in Bella’s raspy voice. Rather than continuing to point out the flaws in the story, she lent support.

“Burning with the devil’s too good for him. I say we hang him up by his floppy size thirteens. The nerve of the man, putting his life in danger to help free kids. Let’s shoot him in the balls.”

Bella snorted and then giggled. “Right. Killing’s too good for him. We could feed him to the fire ants and bury him alive.”

“Yeah. Pull out his fingernails and toenails one by one and… and pierce his nipples. That wouldreallymake him sorry.”

“Stop. You have to understand. Tanner has always been with a beautiful woman on his arm. Always the hotshot bachelor. Now he’s stuck with a whinny, sickly, fat person.”

“One he adores. He’s told me so many times. But… if he’s messing around like you say he is, then running him down with a Peterbilt is too good for him.”

“Stop, Demi. When I laugh, I have to pee. I know you’re just trying to make me feel better, and I do. Being with you is the medicine I needed. I’m so glad I came here.”

“Me too, honey. How about letting go of all the hurt and pain and trying to get some sleep. You’re exhausted and the baby must need some down time by now. I’ll tell you about my trip here. That’ll put you to sleep for sure.” Demi hauled the quilt from the end of the bed to put over them and got comfy while Bella made a bathroom run and then dove under the covers to snuggle next to Demi.

“I’m ready. What happened on your way into town?”

By the time Demi had gone into detail about the slides and meeting up with Mitch and Justin, Bella’s eyes closed, and she relaxed into a deep sleep.

Grateful to see her sister settled, Demi reached for her phone to let Whit know she would be staying with Bella. Then she snuck out from the covers to have a quick shower, do a finger brush on her teeth using Bella’s toothpaste, and headed back to crawl in next to the sleeping woman.

When a ping sounded as a text, she took the time to read the message. Then she answered carefully.Why would I know where Bella is? Of course, I don’t.

A few seconds later, Tanner wrote back.Honest to God?

From the time they were kids, she and Tanner had made a pact. One could never lie if they used that phrase. And it wasn’t ever to be used lightly… only in dire times.

Writing back, she sent him the answer she felt he was praying to get.

Would I lie to you?

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