Chapter 15 Thomas
THOMAS
“Is Hannah okay?” I ask for what seems like the millionth time. We’ve been separated now for an hour, and I’m worried about her. I cleaned up as much of the blood as I could in the bathroom before coming in here, but I haven’t left this room since.
Elena, nods. “She’s finishing up shortly, I think.” Elena got here with a crew from the FBI a bit ago, and they promptly announced that they’d be taking over the investigation.
“Then I can take her home?” I ask, ready to stand up from the chair.
Elena cringes, her dark brows furrowing. “Officer Cunningham,” she says slowly. “There’s something you need to know.”
My heart sinks with the change of her tone. Did something happen to Hannah? Did she have another panic attack? I rise from my chair, ready to stride out of this room to find her, consequences be damned. “What happened? Is Hannah okay? Is it Henry?”
“They’re both fine, but Thomas, please sit down.” She gestures to the uncomfortable chair I’ve been sitting in.
“What is it?” I press, my anxiety still heightened.
“We found a tracker on your personal vehicle. Do we have permission to do a sweep of your house?”
My stomach sinks. “Yes. Arson, my K9 is inside, but if you send one of our guys, he will be fine.”
Elena nods, picking up her phone and sending off a message. “You’ve been working on this case for a while, is that right?”
I nod, folding my hands in front of me. “Since day one. I was the one who made the connection that we were dealing with a trafficking situation.”
Elena takes notes, soaking up all of the information I offer her.
I’ve been working on this for years now.
I’ve been one of the most involved officers in the department.
I begged for help until they finally sent Henry my way.
We couldn’t find the link we’d been searching for.
Anyone we interviewed knew the barest of information, or the friends of kids that passed away got the drugs from a friend of a friend, and the trail always ran dry.
I tell Elena all of this in depth, even going as far as having her pull files and cases that are pertinent to the investigation. After another hour, Elena steps out of the room to give the information I gave her to the other detectives.
When she comes back in, her eyes are downcast, and she can’t look me in the eye. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but with the information you’ve provided us and the circumstances, the FBI believes it would be best that you be placed in a safe house for the time being.”
My world spins, this already small room seeming to close in on me. “No, you can’t. I need to stay here. I have to make sure my family and Hannah are okay.”
“They will be. At this time, we don’t have a reason to believe that your family or Hannah are in danger, of course we will monitor them closely, and should they need to be moved, we will,” Elena explains.
The thought of any member of my family, of Hannah being harmed because of me is enough to send a cold chill through my veins.
“He threatened her!” I yell. “He threatened Hannah. He knows who she is.”
“We’re aware, but like I said, they will be well protected here. It’s you we’re most concerned about at this time, Thomas. They clearly have a vendetta against the people working directly with the case and want to eliminate that as best as they can.”
“I can’t leave Hannah behind. I saw that glint in his eyes when he brought her up. She’s in as much danger as I am.”
“I understand you care for her, Officer Cunningham, but unless you two are engaged or married, we don’t have any real reason to send her with you,” Elena says, folding her hands in front of her on the steel table.
I take a few deep breaths. She might kill me for this, but this is the only way that I know she will be safe, that I can be the one to protect her. “She’s my fiancée, Elena. She has to come with me.”
Elena sits in stunned silence, her eyes widening as she takes in my words. “She’s your fiancée?”
“Yes,” I state firmly, my hands balling into fists under the table. “It’s new. We weren’t telling anyone yet, not even our family knows.”
Elena lets out a weary sigh. “That changes things.” She stacks up her paperwork into a neat pile. “I’ll be back.”
“Can I at least see my fiancée?” I ask, laying it on thick.
She sighs. “I’ll check.”
I let out my own sigh of relief.
She lets herself out of the room, and I’m left to my own thoughts.
I can’t believe I said that Hannah was my fiancée, but it slipped out.
The thought of them making her stay here, working in the field when shit like this is going down, and the dealers clearly know who she is, and know that hurting her would hurt me?
Yeah, I can’t handle that. I would never live with myself if something happened to her and it was because of me.
I don’t want to go to a safe house, but if I have to, then I have to.
Fuck, I never thought something like this would happen to me.
I’ve heard stories of guys who’ve had to go into safe houses before, but I always brushed it off.
They have a reason for sending me away, so maybe I should really take it seriously.
A few minutes later, the door opens, and Elena strides through. “She’s in the next room. I’ll give you two a few minutes.”
“Thank you,” I breathe, already rushing to the door.
I pull it open and rush down the hall and fling the door open, my eyes searching for her. As soon as I see her, my heart sinks. Her eyes are red, cheeks blotchy. She’s clearly been crying again.
I move as fast as I can to cross the small room and pull her into my arms. She lets me wrap my arms around her and hold her tight to my chest. “Shhh, Hannah. You’re safe. I’m here.”
She nods, but it’s not enough, I need her to know I’ve got her. I pull slightly away and cup her cheeks in my palm. Those watery blue eyes hold me captive. “I have to tell you something,” I say, hoping like hell she will go along with this.
“They’re sending you to a safe house,” she says, her breath catching, like that’s all I have to tell her.
I shake my head. “Us. They’re sending us to a safe house.”
Hannah’s brows raise. “What? No, they said I wasn’t going, that there wasn't a reason for it.”
“Technically, there isn’t. Except, we’re engaged.”