See Me, Cover Me: Full Heart Ranch Series #4

by Barbara Gee

  “Tanner?” Izzy whispered, still feeling like she was in a daze. “How do you know this? It was on TV?”

  Ryan nodded. “You know how it is nowadays. Everyone gets their phone out when stuff goes down. Someone was actually live-streaming the house and all the cops, then switched to Tanner’s take-down. Of course the networks picked it up, and now it’s all over the place.”

  “You’re sure he was shot?” she asked. “How do you know he’s alive?”

  “It looks like it hit his shoulder. He was still able to knock the shooter out, and that’s a good sign.”

  “So you think he’s okay? Really okay?” Izzy so desperately wanted to believe them, but something told her they weren’t finished.

  “Obviously we can’t know for sure, but he was wearing a white shirt, and the blood was high on his shoulder. Not close to anything vital.” Ryan glanced at Tuck, then back at Izzy. “The problem is, when the police got involved there was a big scuffle. Tanner got knocked down.”

  Izzy closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her stomach, waiting for him to go on.

  Ryan’s voice was apologetic. “You can see his head hit the curb in the video. It’s probably just a concussion, but it knocked him out. The video ends soon after that.”

  “So he was just lying there?” Izzy felt her heart sink to her toes. “If the video ended then, you don’t know if he’s dead or alive.”

  “No, sweetheart, we know he’s alive,” Tuck said quickly. “There are reporters on the scene now. They said he was taken away by ambulance, and the cops at the scene said he was alive.”

  Ryan nodded. “I’m sure Agent Luther will call as soon as he knows anything. Maybe we should have waited to hear from him, but we didn’t want to risk you seeing the footage alone.”

  Izzy leaned over and put her face in her hands. “Please, God,” she whispered fervently. “Please, please let him be okay.”

  Ryan rubbed her back gently. “Hang in there, Iz. Do you want me to call Andi?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to see anyone until we know for sure how he is. Will you stay?”

  “We aren’t going anywhere,” Tuck assured her. “When Luther calls I’ll put him on speaker, so you’ll know right when we do.”

  Izzy tried to take long, slow breaths. She raised her head. “Do you think it’s still on TV?”

  Tuck and Ryan exchanged a look. “Probably,” Ryan said hesitantly. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to watch.”

  “I have to. I need to see him. Plus, they might give an update on his condition.”

  Tuck picked up her remote from the coffee table. He turned on the TV and scrolled to a news channel.

  ***

  The female commentator spoke with an air of excited urgency. “We’re learning now that there were indeed federal agents on the scene, as well as local law enforcement. The faces of the men who were arrested were covered with hoods when they came out of the house, but there are indications that the arrests may have been terror related.”

  Her male counterpart took over. “Well the shooter outside yelled Allahu Akbar, so that would seem to indicate some kind of extremist activity. We’re still trying to get the identities of the gunman and the man who was shot, but the police spokesman said it’s a sensitive matter and they don’t plan to make the names public.”

  “That’s a shame,” the woman said. “A man who risks his life to take down an armed man should be recognized for his bravery.”

  “I agree. Here’s the video again, Lorraine. Let’s watch.”

  ***

  Izzy sat forward, her eyes fixed unblinking on the screen, watching in horrified silence as Tanner burst out of the crowd and launched himself at the armed man. His hair was long and shaggy, and he had a full beard, but it was definitely him. Her Tanner.

  She pressed a fist to her mouth as she watched the two men struggle for control of the gun. Even with the poor quality of the video, she heard the shot and saw Tanner jerk. Then he head-butted the other man, knocking him out just as the police descended. She inhaled sharply when he went down, his head bouncing off the cement curb.

  Then he was just lying there on his back, his eyes closed, blood soaking his white shirt.

  It hurt. It physically hurt her to see him lying there. Izzy’s fingers clawed at her chest, trying to relieve the pressure. “I need to go to him,” she said, her voice sounding raw and foreign to her own ears. “Can you get me there?”

  Tuck opened his mouth to answer, and then his phone rang. “It’s Luther,” he said, lowering himself into a chair and placing the phone on the coffee table between them. He hit the button to answer. “Agent Luther, thanks for calling. I’m here with Ryan and Izzy. You’re on speaker.”

  “Very good,” Luther said, his deep voice calm. “Ms. Harding, Tanner is going to be fine. I want to get that out there right away. He’s injured, but he’s going to be just fine.”

  Izzy let out a tortured breath and closed her eyes. Thank you, Lord. She honestly didn’t know if she said the words out loud, but she felt intense gratitude with every part of her being.

  She let her head fall back against the couch, feeling too weak to hold it up. Her whole body felt boneless. Shock, fear, and then the most intense relief she’d ever felt would do that.

  “Is she okay?” Luther asked when he heard no response.

  “She’s okay,” Tuck said. “Can you give us any more details?”

  “He was shot in the shoulder, which will require some surgery to repair, and he has a bad concussion. But I assure you he’s conscious and completely coherent.” Luther paused, and when he spoke again, his voice held regret. “I know it sounds unforgivably insensitive at this moment, but I really can’t tell you more than that. I will say that his operation was hugely successful. He’s an amazing agent. Absolutely amazing.”

  “Can I see him?” Izzy asked anxiously. “If I go to DC, can I see him?”

  “You’ll need to give it a bit,” Luther said apologetically. “He’s going to be kept from everyone for a few days. The bureau recognizes that his face is out there, thanks to cell phones and the media, but we’re doing everything we can possibly do to keep his name from getting out. As soon as his surgery is over, we’re going to move him to a different hospital under an alias, and put him in a special unit where people know not to talk. Once he’s settled in there and the initial debrief has taken place, I’ll make arrangements for you to come. I’m sorry for the delay, but there’s no help for it. Can you live with that?”

  Ryan gave her a wry smile. “You’ve made it ten months, Iz, what’s another few days, eh?”

  Izzy managed a shaky smile. “I’ll wait if I have to, Agent Luther, but make sure he knows I’m coming, okay? Make sure he knows I love him and I’m coming.”

  “Will do, Ms. Harding. I’ll get the message to him somehow.”

  Izzy thanked him, he promised to call back if he found out more, and then Tuck hung up. She looked back and forth between the two men, her eyes stinging with tears that couldn’t be held back for long.

  “I want you to call Andi now,” she said, then she got up and ran to her room, burying her face in her pillow and crying her eyes out. She had so many emotions jumbling up her brain she could hardly make sense of any of them, but as she sobbed it all out, one truth rose to the top.

  She would see Tanner in a few days.

  CHAPTER 28

  Four days later, Izzy was in the air. Her plane had reached cruising altitude and she stared out the window at puffy white clouds, her insides completely tied in knots. She’d be with Tanner by dinner-time. She was thrilled, but also terrified and nervous. She hadn’t spoken to him at all, everything had been arranged by Agent Luther. What would it be like to see him again after all this time, after all he’d been through?

  She remembered him saying how these jobs changed him, that he lost himself in them and had trouble finding his true self again once they ended. Would he be different from the man she rememb
ered?

  She knew she needed to be prepared for anything—he’d been through a traumatic ten months, and he’d been shot. That would take a toll on anyone. He might be sullen and withdrawn, retreating into himself as he struggled to make the transition. Or he might try to pretend everything was fine, when he really wasn't. In that case, her presence would cause him even more stress, which he definitely didn’t need. She had to be willing to put her own feelings aside. If it was too soon, she would go back home and wait until he was ready.

  Yet Agent Luther had told her Tanner asked for her right away, as soon as he was allowed visitors. That had to mean something, right?

  She desperately hoped it meant he’d missed her as much as she had him, and he wanted her with him no matter what he was going through.

  Izzy decided to cling to that hope and go into this unknown situation with an open, optimistic attitude.

  Her seatmate bumped her knee as he leaned forward and dug in the bag at his feet, coming up with a magazine and a candy bar. He lowered his tray table and put the magazine down on it. Glancing over at her, he pointed to the cover.

  “Can you believe all this? Pretty scary to think we live in a time where this kind of evil thrives. Thank goodness there are still some good people willing to give everything to protect us.”

  Izzy’s eyes fell on the cover photo. It was one she hadn’t seen, and it took her breath away. It showed Tanner lying on the ground, the red bloom on his shirt. Two cops were standing over him, one of them looking back over his shoulder and seemingly shouting for help. Tanner’s face was mostly turned away from the camera, just a hint of his cheekbone and the full beard showing.

  The man tapped his finger on the cover, on Tanner. “They’re not saying who this guy is, but speculation has it he’s some kind of Fed. All I can say is, my hat’s off to him. There was obviously some sort of big terrorist thing set up in that house, and he saved a lot of lives by jumping that guy. That’s a true American right there. I’d like to shake his hand.”

  Izzy nodded, trying to hold back the tears that threatened. “I’m sure they don’t come any better than him,” she said, her throat aching with pride. “If I ever have children, I hope they grow up to be just like him.”

  The man agreed and opened the magazine. “I hope so, too. We can use as many of these guys as we can get.”

  Izzy turned toward the window again. Her seatmate of course didn’t know she also hoped the man he so admired would be her kids’ dad. The secret thought made her smile, and gave her plenty to think about as the plane hurtled east.

  ***

  “His room is at the very end of the hall on the right,” a passing nurse said in answer to Izzy’s question. “You’ll have to be cleared by the guy outside the door before they let you in. If your name isn’t on the list, forget it.”

  “Thank you,” Izzy said. “I should be on the list.”

  “Okay, but I don’t think he’s in his room right now. I saw him being wheeled down the hall earlier, probably to physical therapy. I haven’t seen him come back.”

  “That’s fine. I’m happy to wait. Thanks again.”

  The nurse went on down the hall in the opposite direction, while Izzy went toward the room she’d pointed out. The man by the door saw her coming and straightened up, advancing a few steps and stopping her before she got too close.

  “Hi, I’m here to see, um, David Withers,” she said, using the alias Agent Luther had given her. The FBI was still doing their best to keep Tanner’s identity under wraps. Having him at a military hospital helped with that, since the staff was used to similar situations and knew when to keep their mouths shut.

  “Name and ID, please,” the man said formally.

  Izzy handed him her driver’s license and he checked it against the information he’d been given.

  “Thank you, Ms. Harding. He’s not in the room right now, but I expect him back any minute. You can wait inside if you like.”

  “Thanks.” Izzy went in, her eyes eagerly searching the room for something familiar, something that told her Tanner was really here. The room was neat and sterile, however, giving up no hints about its occupant.

  She walked over to the window that looked out over the street and watched the people and traffic for a few moments. Everything looked perfectly normal. People were aware of the possibility that terrorists had been operating nearby, but the uproar had passed and life went on. Thanks to people like Tanner.

  A brief shiver moved through her. It had been much too close, and Tanner had almost paid the ultimate price. She’d spent a lot of time over the past few days thanking God for sparing him, and she did it again now. She was just so grateful.

  She became aware of a noise behind her. Before she could turn she heard his voice.

  “That’s good, I can take it from here.”

  She swung quickly around, her eyes falling on the man seated in a wheelchair just inside the door. Her gaze devoured him, her breath coming rapidly as she drank him in.

  Tanner. He was wearing blue scrub pants with the requisite white hospital gown, only it was on backwards, hanging open over his chest. His right arm was through the sleeve, but the gown was merely draped over his left shoulder, with that arm strapped to his side to prevent jarring of the heavily bandaged bullet wound.

  His hair was longer and shaggier than before, and while he still sported a beard, it had been trimmed very short and neat. The beard, and the hair falling over his forehead, changed his looks significantly, but the eyes were the same. Dark and guarded and so beautiful.

  She fought her tears because she wanted to be brave for him. She wanted to go to him but she was scared. Did he want her to, or was this the part where he honored her request that he look her in the eyes when he told her it was over?

  He pushed to his feet and gave her a warm, slow smile. It was the smile she remembered, and her heart filled with hope.

  “About time you got here, Izzy-B,” he said. “You gonna make me come over there?” he asked teasingly. “I have a concussion, you know, and I’m not supposed to walk by myself.”

  That was all the invitation Izzy needed. She approached him eagerly but carefully, wary of the bandages on one side and the IV lines on the other.

  He let go of the IV pole and held out his good arm, curling it around her shoulders and bringing her close when she reached him. Izzy slid her arms around his waist under the gown and pressed her cheek against his bare chest, so incredibly thankful to be touching the solid, living, reassuring, warmth of him.

  “Thank God you’re okay.” She breathed him in, detecting his distinctive scent behind the antiseptic hospital odor. Finally. Her senses were once again full of the man she loved. She never wanted to go without that again.

  She slowly lifted her head and looked up into his eyes, rubbing her hands lightly over the smooth skin of his back. “I prayed so hard, Tanner, and I’ve missed you so much. I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through, but Agent Luther said it was a success and I’m so grateful to you. I’m so proud.” Her eyes filled and her throat ached with emotion. “But it was too close. I love you for what you did, but it was too close. I don’t think I can ever let you go again.”

  He bent his head and kissed her forehead. “I know, baby. We’ll talk about that.”

  They were interrupted by a tapping in the doorway. “Okay to come in, Mr. Withers?” a nurse asked.

  “Uh, sure. I was just ready to get back in bed.”

  “Good, you shouldn’t be standing without letting one of us help you, but since you have someone to hold you up, I won’t get after you too bad.” The cheerful, middle-aged woman walked across the room to the bed and picked up the remote to adjust it. “Come on over here. I need to get your vitals real quick.”

  Tanner reluctantly released Izzy and pushed his IV pole over to the bed, waiting while the nurse raised the head to a sitting position.

  “Hop on in. I’m going to check your dressings while I’m in here, too.”

>   He obediently lowered himself to the bed, and Izzy saw a flash of relief cross his face. His shoulder or head, or maybe both, must still be pretty painful.

  The nurse got his blood pressure and pulse, and took his temperature. She asked for his pain levels, then lifted the hospital gown off his left shoulder and carefully pried up the tape holding the gauze in place.

  “It looks pretty good, but I’m going to go ahead and change it. There’s probably a little more seepage on the back wound, so I’ll clean them both.”

  Izzy watched silently as the nurse put new gauze on the front of his shoulder, then urged him to lean forward so she could work on his back. Izzy barely suppressed her gasp when she saw the size of the exit wound. The worst of it was stitched up, but lots of rawness remained, marring his perfect skin.

  “There we go,” the nurse said, taping the new dressing in place. “I’ll get out of your hair now. Dinner will be here soon.” She looked at Izzy. “I’ll be happy to place a guest order if you like, ma’am.”

  Izzy smiled but refused. “I’ll probably just run down to the cafeteria.”

  Tanner looked hopeful. “And maybe bring something back for me?”

  She grinned. “Anything your heart desires.”

  The nurse chuckled. “All rightie then, I’ll cancel your own meal delivery.” She looked at Izzy. “He’s not under any dietary restrictions, so knock yourself out. You two enjoy the evening.”

  “Thanks for your help,” Tanner said, his smile making the woman blush.

  She left and closed the door, giving them some privacy. Tanner settled back against the bed and Izzy put her hand lightly over the bandage. “I hate that you’re hurt, but I’m so glad it’s not worse. Is it very painful?”

  “It’ll be fine,” he said, avoiding the question. “The bullet nicked the bone and there were some fragments that needed to come out. No lasting damage, though.”