Chapter 12 #2
“Because that’s what I’m going to do when I get out of school, and I didn’t know the rules of it all,” Tate said.
“So, no college for you?”
“I took the SAT test because Briar did, and they did an IQ test on me a year or so ago. They figured out I’m far from dumb, but none of that matters. There are no diplomas given out for what I do.”
“He got a perfect score on the SAT, and he was rated in the genius level on that IQ thingy,” Lilith said.
Tate grinned. “Does your mama still brag about you?”
Micah laughed. “In her eyes, I can do no wrong.”
“What job do you work at?” Lilith asked.
“I’m a general contractor. I build houses in a tristate area,” Micah said.
“Oh, my,” Lilith said. “Are there any houses to buy or to rent back home? I know the mountains, and that’s been my fear that when I finally get to go home there won’t be a place for us to live.”
“Will you be selling this house when you leave?” Micah asked.
“In a heartbeat. It’s free and clear. Whatever we get from the sale, we’re using to buy us a place,” she said.
Tate put his hand on her arm. “There’s already a house waiting for you, Mama. You will love it.”
“Surely not! And you didn’t tell me!” Lilith cried.
Tate smiled. “You never asked.”
Micah leaned back in his chair, watching Tate, and because he was, he saw Tate’s face suddenly lose all expression. Moments later, he jumped up from his chair and walked out onto the porch with his phone.
“What’s happening?” Micah asked.
Lilith shrugged. “Only the Lord and Tate know. Clearly, he ‘saw’ something happening somewhere.”
Then Tate came back into the house. “A car ran off the road and wrecked in a stand of trees two miles west of town,” he said, and bolted toward his room.
Lilith patted Micah on the arm. “No worries. The police know Tate. They might doubt, but they won’t ignore. They’ve learned not to.”
“Mom, okay if I borrow your car?” Tate asked.
Lilith frowned. “Of course, but do you have to be there?”
“Yes. I think the child in the car does not belong to the man who was driving it,” he said, and took off running.
The ambulance and a rescue truck from the fire department had already been dispatched, and Tate saw the police cars leading the way.
He knew they weren’t going to appreciate his presence, but it didn’t matter.
It was about the kid in the car. When he reached the crash site, they were already extricating the man from behind the wheel.
The little boy was on a stretcher. His head was bleeding, but he wasn’t crying, and the shock and fear in his eyes all seemed wrong.
Tate reached for the little boy’s hand and, in that moment, saw everything he needed to know.
Chief Pliney Watts saw Tate and frowned. “Bandy…you need to move away and—”
“This child is from Shreveport, and no relation to the driver. You need to check with Shreveport PD. They have an active missing person’s case they’re working for a nine-year-old named Trevor Stennett. I think the driver is a human trafficker.”
Chief Watts eyes widened. “Dang it, Tate. Are you sure?”
“Yes, sir, and don’t let the driver get away. Pretty sure the FBI has been looking for him.”
“Yes, well, I’ll certainly check this out,” Watts said, still hesitant to fully believe.
“Is it okay if I meet the ambulance at the hospital and stay with the little boy until you figure things out?” Tate asked.
“We can put a cop on his room. He’ll be safe,” Watts said.
“But he’ll still be scared, and while everybody is going to be a stranger to him, he won’t be scared of me,” Tate said.
Watts frowned. “Whatever, but stay out of the way when he’s being treated.”
Tate glared. “You don’t have to tell me how to act. I’m a full-grown man, but I was scared as hell when I thought I was going to bleed out during the storm. I will be sitting with that kid until somebody he knows walks in the door. Understood?” Then he walked away without waiting for an answer.
“Shit. Tate Bandy is scary. That’s all I got to say,” Watts muttered.
But Tate was already in the car and heading for the hospital. When the ambulance arrived, he was waiting in ER, and when they took the boy back to a room for treatment, Tate was with him.
Doctor Joe immediately recognized Tate. “Well, hello, Tate. Is my new patient a friend of yours?”
“We recently met, but right now, I’m all he’s got,” Tate said. “He’s not talking, but his name is Trevor Stennett. He’s on a missing person report out of Shreveport. Chief Watts will be verifying that fact and notifying his parents ASAP.”
Doctor Joe grinned. “Got it. Okay, Trevor. That’s your name, right?”
The little boy’s forehead was bleeding, and he had a bruise forming on the side of his face, but the big guy with the soft voice felt safe.
“Randy says I can’t have that name anymore,” Trevor whispered.
“Randy is going straight to hell,” Tate muttered. “And you’re going home to your mom and dad, okay?”
Tears pooled in Trevor’s eyes. “Okay.”
Tate nodded. “Don’t be scared, buddy. This is Doctor Joe, and he’s the best doctor ever. Just relax and let him do his thing. He’s pretty magic for making things stop bleeding.”
Doctor Joe grinned. “Magic like you wouldn’t believe,” he said.
“Can the big guy stay with me?” Trevor asked.
Doctor Joe nodded. “The big guy’s name is Tate,” he said, and then he and his nurse began their examination.
Later, a portable X-ray was wheeled in to make sure there were no broken ribs or a skull fracture, and after the head wound was cleaned, the area was deadened and stitched.
And all the while, Tate sat in a chair beside the little boy’s bed, holding his hand, just like Briar sat with him after the storm.
* * *
The second Briar heard sirens, she sent Tate a text, but when he didn’t answer, she called. When he still didn’t answer, she headed out the door afoot and started running toward his house.
Micah was in the living room with Lilith when he glanced out the front window and saw a young girl running toward the house.
“Some girl is coming up your driveway,” he said.
“It’s Briar. She probably heard the sirens and panicked. She’s Tate’s girl…the one he rescued during the tornado.”
At that moment, Briar burst into the house and ran straight to Lilith. “Where’s Tate? Is he okay?”
Lilith reached for her hand. “He’s good, darlin’. He had a vision of a car wreck west of town. He said the child in the car does not belong to the driver. Maybe a kidnapped child? We’ll find out later.”
Briar took a deep breath, then nodded. “Okay. Sorry for barging in.”
Lilith hugged her. “You never barge, and I want you to meet Tate’s cousin from Tennessee. Briar, this is Micah Bandy. Micah, this is Briar Lowe. Tate’s other half.”
Micah stood and shook her hand. “The family back home saw the interview of you two while he was still in the hospital. It is a pleasure to meet you,” he said.
“Thank you, sir. Pleasure to meet you, as well. I won’t interrupt anymore of your visit.”
“How’s the remodel going, honey?” Lilith asked.
“The shingles were finally delivered. Roofers are on the roof, and we’re getting the new flooring put down today. Since I’m the on-site manager, I can promise someone is already yelling for me and wondering where I am.”
She gave Lilith a hug, smiled at Micah, and left as abruptly as she’d entered. By the time she was on the other side of the street, she was running.
“On-site manager? A teenager?”
“She’s been taking care of herself since second grade.
Her parents are well-to-do, but her mother is an alcoholic, and her dad is always at his insurance agency downtown.
They made her life hell because she and Tate became friends in first grade.
Even as a child, she never once let them back her down.
The mother is no longer in the picture, and Briar is in charge of the workers who are putting their house back together.
It was severely damaged in the tornado. If Tate hadn’t rescued her when he did, she would have most likely perished. ”
Micah shook his head. “I can’t imagine a kid running a construction job.”
Lilith nodded. “I get that, but like Tate, she had to grow up fast, and she’s a woman. We can do anything when we have to.”
Micah chuckled. “Yes, ma’am, and point taken.” He saw Abel driving up. “Oh… Abel is home.”
“Good. It’s time for me to get some supper started. You can fill Abel in on where Tate went.”
Abel was getting out of his truck when he got a text from Tate.
Dad. My apologies to Micah. I’m at the hospital with a little boy from a wreck west of town.
He was kidnapped out of Shreveport. Chief Watts is notifying his parents, but I’m staying with him until they show.
Pretty sure he was about to be sold down the river.
The driver, who was also the kidnapper, had already told him that his name couldn’t be Trevor anymore.
The kid is terrified, and I’m not leaving him alone.
Abel sighed. Tate might still be nineteen, but he was already a man with a very old soul. Abel went inside and delivered the message, and the visit ensued.
* * *
Chief Pliney Watts was up to his ears with more than he’d bargained for.
As Tate predicted, the driver, a man they identified as Randy Brimm, had a rap sheet a mile long, and the FBI did have a warrant out for his arrest. An even bigger surprise was that the little boy was, indeed, Trevor Stennett, the son of a well-to-do manufacturer named Dan Stennett, out of Shreveport, and the police and the FBI all knew Trevor had gone missing.
But when there was no request for ransom their fears grew.
They were facing the possibility that their little boy was either dead or lost within human trafficking.
Chief Watts had notified plenty of people over the years of loved ones being deceased and family members being arrested, but giving good news to a set of frantic parents was the best feeling in the world.