“Did you stop this bullet?” Tanner could hardly believe the words coming out of his mouth. This was a child standing before him. An innocent, sweet, beautiful, little girl.
“What?” Caden’s voice came from the doorway. Tanner hadn’t even noticed the door opening, and didn’t move to stop his friend as he came in and shut the door behind him. “Did I hear you right?”
Instead of answering him, Tanner kept his eyes on Violet. He was silently willing her to open up to him, so he could prove to April, and to her niece, that they could trust him.
“It’s okay,” Tanner urged. “He’s a friend and it’s okay if he knows, too. Violet, you saw the officer’s gun go off and shoot. You screamed, and then the bullet fell to the floor right in front of me. I didn’t even see it, and it should’ve hit me. It would’ve killed me, Violet. Definitely sent me to the hospital. I would’ve needed surgery. Did you stop it from hurting me?”
Violet sighed, took in a deep breath, and looked up at April who gave her an almost imperceptible nod. When Violet looked back at Tanner, her eyes were swimming with unshed tears. “Yes. I stopped it. I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
Tanner’s breath caught in his throat as he rocked back on his feet to come to a full standing position, his eyes closing out of sheer awe and disbelief. No wonder April never wanted to talk much about Violet. She was protecting her.
Long before Tanner could wrap his mind around all this, he came back down to Violet’s level, and used his thumb to gentlyswipe away a tear from her soft cheek. “You can stop bullets?” He asked quietly.
Violet sighed, her shoulders rising and falling with the action. “Ned makes me do it all the time. But I hate it. I don’t care what he says. It’s not fun, and they’re not games.”
Tanner cleared his throat. “Games?”
April pulled Violet closer to her, wrapping both her arms around the little girl’s shoulders. “That’s what Ned calls them. He’s been using Violet since she was three years old, making her do awful things. He has men attacking her every day, from different angles. He forces her to stop bullets, knives, and anything else they can throw at her. The worst is when he makes her float heavy or tiny objects. That’s what really takes it out of her.” April’s voice faded as Tanner felt his blood pressure rising.
“He has people shoot at a six-year-old?” Caden nearly roared, as Tanner fought for what was left of his own control.
“I never understood how he could be so cruel, but after what Violet overheard last night, it all makes sense now,” April said.
“A bomb.” Tanner still couldn’t believe how lucky they were to have gotten away when they did. “Are you sure that’s what you heard him say?”
“I’m sure,” Violet said, a little calmer now. “He said I wasn’t ready because the parts were too small, and I wasn’t strong enough yet. He said I’d blow it up too soon and kill everyone. I don’t want to help him build a bomb and kill everyone.” Her voice took on a whine again as she looked up at April. “Don’t make me go back, Aunt April. Please don’t make me go back.”
“You’re not going back,” Tanner said, glaring at Caden, imploring him to do something. “Neither one of you is going back to that man, or ever enduring an attack like that. Not while I’m breathing.”
“No,” Caden agreed. “I’ve seen and heard a lot of things in my time as a Federal Agent, but this -'' He snarled, not even ableto finish his thought. “You’re safe now. I only wish we could’ve helped you both sooner.” That last comment was directed to April who looked lost and heartbroken, but Tanner sensed his friend was only thinking of his wife, Hallie, and how she’d almost been arrested by the FBI when they first met. “You’re both coming with me,” Caden finished.
“We can’t,” April said. “We can’t get you in trouble, too.”
“Who said anything about trouble?” Caden asked. “You are being investigated for kidnapping, which by the way is a federal crime. And Violet is accusing her father of building a bomb, so she’ll need to go into protective custody until the issue can be resolved.”
“No,” April said, still holding Violet tightly to her. “You can’t take her away from me. I’m all she has.”
Tanner stepped in, hating the fear in both their eyes. “He’s not going to separate you, April. He just needs to get you out of the building, and that’s how he’s going to do it.” At least that’s what Tanner hoped Caden’s plan was, even if he didn’t like it. “I’d rather it be me who takes you, but that could raise more questions that I don’t think anyone here is prepared to answer.”
Caden gave a small nod, and April breathed a sigh of relief, her first probably since arriving here, but then her eyes widened like she remembered something. “What is it?” Tanner asked.
“She has a tracking device implanted in her ankle.”
“Excuse me?” Tanner asked.
“Ned implanted a tracking device in Violet’s right ankle just below the skin. He told me about it when I first started working for him. If we don’t remove it, he can follow us anywhere we go. She won’t be safe from him until it’s removed and disabled.”
“Fu - fudge,” Tanner said, catching himself in front of Violet, the same way he would around Sienna. This was something he was definitely not prepared for. “Why didn’t you ever tell me about Violet? About Ned? When Ethan was stabbed, you told me- but you never said - I could’ve gotten you out of there. Both of you.” He wasn’t even sure if he was making sense at that point. Ethan had warned him that April was in too deep, but he never imagined her situation to be anything like this.
April’s eyes darkened, whether in anger or regret, Tanner couldn’t be sure. Then she straightened and lifted her chin in defiance. “I signed an NDA, Tanner. And until recently, I wasn’t even sure if I could trust you. I hardly knew you, and Ned has most of the cops in this town in his pocket.”
Caden smirked. “That doesn’t surprise me, and I would sure like to hear more about what you know. But you were smart, April. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, and all things considered, I think you did the right thing in waiting to make sure Tanner was the guy you thought he was. Trusting the wrong cop would’ve ended in disaster for both of you.”
Tanner glanced back at Caden. If Hallie had told someone other than Caden about her ability to see glimpses of the future, who knows what would’ve happened to her. “He’s right,” Tanner agreed. “But what Ned Dynam was putting a six-year-old through is reprehensible, and I’m personally going to see to it that he doesn’t get away with it.”
April met Tanner’s gaze then, a feeling of relief and longing shining in her eyes.
“Ordinarily I’d take you to the FBI offices for further questioning,” Caden said, “but given the circumstances, I think we should go somewhere neither of our bosses will think to look for these two. At least for now, until we can get the chip out.”
