Page 37 of Special Agent Anastacia

“He’s alive? Beth heard the shot and figured Vlad had killed him. Thank God he didn’t.” Hattie gulped back her tears and smiled weakly before continuing. “So, where was I? Yes, Beth. Poor baby. Traumatized after witnessing the whole thing, she admitted the brothers beat Lew terribly and aimed the gun at him, wanting the address of Sadie’s house.”

“He told them.” Ana stated the fact.

“Yes. They’d threatened to hang around and kill his wife if he didn’t.”

Hattie drank more tea before continuing. “At that point, Beth said she couldn’t watch and had rushed outside with Boris restraining her to make sure she didn’t take off again. Then she heard the shot before Vlad joined them… smiling.”

Hattie drank yet again, her lips trembling before she got enough control to continue. “I felt so sorry for her. Poor girl. According to what she’d told Carly, she was so creeped out and sick to her stomach, that she wished she could die… admitted that what happened reminded her of scenes in the war she’d lived through before leaving Ukraine.”

“No doubt.” Ana brushed Hattie’s red hair back from her face gently. “How very sad.” Clearly needing to get Hattie back on track, Ana showed sympathy but also hinted for the rest of the story. “So… after they left Lew, they went to Sadie’s place?”

“Yes. When Vlad joined them outside after the shooting, Boris attacked him. Beth said he didn’t like that Vlad would kill a man in cold blood who so obviously couldn’t hurt them. Vlad argued, saying Lew could identify them. He pushed Boris, and they got into a tussle, which gave Beth the chance to escape.”

“Right. That makes sense. But they had intentions of coming back here to get Mike’s money.”

“That was the plan, only they were gone longer than they expected and only Vlad returned with Beth.”

“How long were they gone?”

“At least three days. We didn’t have a clock or a window, so we had no way of knowing how many hours passed before Vlad arrived with Beth and no Boris.”

With her scarred hands clinched tight, Hattie stared into Ana’s eyes begging her to understand the horror she’d witnessed. “Beth looked terrible. Almost catatonic. Who knows what that maniac did to her? He forced us to the kitchen, flung her in the corner like a rag doll, and made me and Carly cook him food. We didn’t see Beth take the knife. And when she aimed for his neck, he moved just in time, so it went into his shoulder. If Carly hadn’t intervened and kicked the gun from his hand, he'd have killed Beth.”

“Did you get the gun?”

“No, he pushed us out of the way. The man’s fast. Like a rabid dog. Beth escaped. But he shot at her, which made her run into the shed for protection. He yelled at her that he’d kill us if she didn’t stop. In moments, she stood in the doorway, showing herself. Poor baby just hung there like a hollow ghost, head dropped to her chest, arms by her sides… crying so hardher body shook. It was one of the most pathetic scenes I’ve ever witnessed.”

“Goddammit all to hell.” Ana seemed unable to stop the words. But she collected herself and continued. “What did Vlad do after that?”

“He laughed. Then he forced us to go with him to the shed, tied me up with Beth, and took my Carly with him. My baby. He told her she needed to get him drugs and bandages at the hospital, and if she did, he wouldn’t hurt her or us. They were supposed to re-t-turn within a f-few hours.” Reaching the end of her endurance, anxious, frightened, and with all her motherly instincts at war, she began to release the flood of tears she’d held back to finish her story.

***

In a move totally foreign to the FBI agent, Ana took Hattie in her arms, holding her close, rocking her from side to side… commiserating with her. Because she now understood how pain could dig a hole deep into one’s heart and rip it to pieces, she was able to show empathy and how much she cared. Wasn’t that exactly how she felt about Hanna being missing?

Like an old man, Nash stood, his hands in fists, his face pale with fury. Dave faced him, said something, and the two of them disappeared into the kitchen.

Knowing that Hattie was close to a breakdown, Ana helped the poor woman upstairs to her bed and sat with her, waiting until her eyes closed and the pills she’d taken kicked in.

When she came back downstairs, she found Nash alone. “Dave went back to the office to see if any news has come in about the girls. He’s got Pat working late to cover the phones. He promised to keep in touch in case there’s any updates on the APB he put out on Hattie’s car.”

“Good.” Ana swung around… her back to him now so he couldn’t see the tears she’d held in while being supportive to Hattie. She lifted her hands to push away her curls, her head threatening to explode from the stress she’d controlled.

Drained, her body weighing tons, she staggered.

Chapter Twenty-seven

Nash moved behind Ana, watching as her shoulders sagged and then began to shake from the unshed tears. Understanding her pain because the same coursed through his own body, he stepped closer.

Then he wrapped his arms around her, tugging her into his shelter, inviting her to take solace with him. “I’m sorry, darling. I’m so sorry. What a mess! But we’ll find them. We just need one break. Someone must have seen the car.”

She didn’t answer with words, just incoherent mumbling and sighs that tore him to pieces. Sensing this was not the kind of behavior Ana normally let herself feel, he spoke gently, careful not to tread too hard. “The cops are checking every motel and hotel in the area. Dave just said they’d be going to empty cabins also, thinking he might be holed up in a place like that.”

Taking a huge breath, her control slowly returning, Ana laid her head back against his chest and swiped at her cheeks. “We spoke of Vlad doing that earlier in the kitchen. Glad Dave got theball rolling.” Though she seemed to have gained some essence of herself, as if she liked the warmth and shared empathy, she stayed enfolded in his arms. In fact, she even locked hers over his to keep his in place.

Happy for her being there, knowing this closeness made the ongoing nightmare for him less difficult, he rubbed his chin against her wild curls. “You smell nice.”

“You don’t. Sorry.”

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