“I don’t think so, little girl. You’re not leaving until you tell me what the fuck is going on.”
Oh, shit.
Chapter Five
Arabella tried to feed him some more bullshit about it being dangerous, that she couldn’t tell him anything, that he should let her go and forget about her. Tanner was having none of it. He wanted answers and he wanted them right then. He was done waiting.
Tanner took two big steps, reaching her in an instant. Wrapping his hands around Arabella’s little waist, he lifted her easily up over his shoulder and carted her off to his room.
Arabella had to have been in shock because she didn’t fight him. His Little Hurricane would never let something like this go without a fight. He may not have known her long, but he knew that without a doubt. When he reached his room, he gently set her on her feet and then reached over to lock the door.
“You…. You…” she sputtered, obviously recovering some of her spitfire and sass, “Did you just caveman me?”
“Little Hurricane, you ain’t seen caveman yet but if you don’t tell me what the hell is going on, you just might.”
Tanner was holding on to his temper by a thread. One thing he had gleaned, from what little she had spilled, was that his girl was in danger. Wait, his girl? She wasn’t his girl… yet.
“Listen to me, Tanner… I. Can. Not. Tell. You. It’s for your own safety! The people I am running from are extremely dangerous!”
“Little One, if you don’t spill in the next five seconds, I am going to take you over my knee and paddle that ass until you do.”
Tanner wasn’t joking around with her. If she didn’t come clean and quick, he was fully prepared to follow through. When her face paled, however, her breathing quickening, he knew he’d made a grave error.
“Breathe, Little Hurricane. Breathe for Daddy.”
Her eyes immediately stopped frantically searching the room and locked on his. If Tanner had any doubt left, it was gone. She was a little, and a bratty one at that. He had to keep her focused on him.
“Breathe with me. That’s it. Big breath in, big breath out. In through the nose, big breath, now let it out through the mouth. Good girl. Keep on, big breath in through the nose, big breath out through the mouth. Daddy would never do anything that would hurt you. I would never spank you without consent, baby. Never. You’d always be able to stop me just by saying stop.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
The words were soft, almost like an ingrained response. Tanner was still more than happy to hear her calling him Daddy. He just wanted to hear it when she wasn’t half asleep or unfocused due to a panic attack. He could wait, though, because it was going to happen sooner or later.
Right then, he needed to get her hydrated and get some of the food they still hadn’t eaten in her system. He also needed to find a way to pry the info from her that wasn’t going to make her run or incite a panic attack. Easy peasy.
“What are we doing here?”
“Waiting.”
Tanner didn’t offer Arabella any more explanation than that. He wasn’t certain his decision to bring her along was a wise one, but Ham had to leave by one and Tanner didn’t trust that Arabella wouldn’t disappear if he left her alone.
So, they were sitting outside the home of scumbag Brian Preston. His wife, Diana, was currently residing in a no-name motel with Blade keeping watch until the coast was clear. Tanner had seen no activity at all. Brian didn’t leave his apartment, he didn’t have visitors, and he didn’t seem to care that his wife was missing.
Tanner was about to call this surveillance complete and give the all clear to Blade. He just wanted to give it one more day, maybe two. Tanner also figured being cramped in a car with nothing to do, he could start nudging Arabella for information.
“Waiting for what?”
Of course, his Little Hurricane was not going to accept the simple answer. He thought giving her a bigger glimpse into what he did might help her realize she could trust him. Tanner prepared himself to open up a little.
“The man in apartment 2C up there,” he pointed to the apartment, “is a scumbag wife beater whose wife we rescued a few days ago. My job is to keep tabs on the husband and let her bodyguard know when it’s safe to move her to a shelter.”
“Is she okay? Is she safe where she’s at? How can I help?”
Her instant concern for Diana made Tanner’s heart ache for her. How could someone who was sweet enough to be concerned for someone in danger possibly be at risk themselves? It didn’t make sense why Arabella was running. Tanner was determined to find the answers.
“Who hurt you, Little Hurricane?”
The words were soft and quizzical. Like he just wanted to know.
“Leave it, Tanner. I can’t tell you. No, I won’t tell you. This might be something you do, but the people I am running from are big, bad, and dangerous. Not just any old sleazeball.”
Arabella turned pleading eyes his way and Tanner almost gave in to letting the subject go. He just couldn’t do it. He wouldn’t be able to protect her if he didn’t know what he was facing.
“Who hurt you?”
“Tanner…”
Arabella took in an agitated breath and pinned him with her eyes, pleading with him to just let it go.
“Who hurt you, baby? I can’t know what I’m dealing with or how to protect myself unless you give me the information I need to prepare.”
Arabella huffed and Tanner knew he had her.
“His name is Captain James O’Conner of the Chicago PD. He’s my husband…” she took a deep fortifying breath before finishing with, “My abusive husband.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
He’d figured as much, but having it confirmed made him see red. He’d been around enough abused women to recognize the signs but none of those women had been his. Arabella was his, whether she knew it yet or not. Tanner had hoped with everything in him he’d been wrong this time. He couldn’t bear thinking about her hurt, scared and fleeing a situation like what he and his friends fought against. He was determined to convince her to let him help her, but in the meantime, he needed more information.
“Fuck, baby. When did you escape?”
Tanner wanted to hold her, comfort her while she got it all out in the open but being on a stakeout derailed those desires.
“Three years ago. I thought I was safe. I went where no one knew me, paid a ton for a new valid identity, and went three years never hearing from him. I thought he’d given up. I got complacent. Changed my hair back to blond so I wouldn't have to do all the upkeep that came with dying it brown. I called my family because I’d missed them so much. I didn’t know it at the time but I’d put everyone I loved at risk. Two days later, I came home from my work as a waitress in a small diner. I’d given up writing on the off chance that he could use that to find me.
I liked the interaction with people and getting to know everyone in town. I people watch- it’s a side effect of being a writer–and the diner was a perfect place to do that. The fact that I made good tips with my modified uniform of a skirt and heels didn’t hurt either. Anyway, I came home and a neighbor stopped to tell me he’d seen men break into my house. He’d called the police but I knew what it meant.