Free Deception by Lillian Duncan Page B

heart melted.
    He might be one of the bravest men she’d ever known.
     
     
     
     

14
     
    Sabrina sat with arms folded across her chest. “Me don’t want to go. I want Mommy.”
    Patti smiled. This little girl knew a thing or two about getting her own way.
    “Now, pumpkin face, you know Mommy has to go on trips for work,” Marcus said patiently.
    “She didn’t say goodbye.” Her lower lip poked out in a pout.
    Patti had become very familiar with that pout over the past few days.
    Sabrina knew how to manipulate others. But it was so adorable, it was hard to resist.
    “That’s because she told me to tell you goodbye,” Marcus told her.
    Sabrina buried her face in Marcus’s neck and sobbed.
    Patti’s heart broke for the little girl. She really wanted her sister back home with her and Sabrina.
    Anna was being discharged that day, and it was time to move to a safe house.
    Thanks to the posted guards, there’d been no incidents at the hospital.
    Sabrina lifted her head and looked at Marcus. “Where’s Mister Tarter? Me want Mister Tarter. He saved me from the mean man.” Over the past two days, Sabrina had developed a case of hero worship.
    Patti couldn’t really blame her niece.
    During their confinement in the hospital, he’d brought them food, toys, books, and magazines.
    Patti couldn’t have survived without his visits or his smile.
    “Yes, he did, pumpkin face, and he’ll be here any minute. He wanted to say goodbye before you go on your trip.”
    A few minutes later, the door opened.
    When Carter walked in Sabrina launched herself at him. He caught her and twirled her around.
    “If it isn’t Sabrina Ballerina. You look mighty beautiful today.”
    She giggled. “You wook mi...mi..mighty beautiful today.”
    “Me, beautiful. You must have me mistaken for someone else.”
    Another twirl and she giggled more.
    Even Anna laughed, holding her stomach as she did.
    “I need to talk with Patti. We’ll be out in a minute.”
    Marcus nodded.
    Anna and Sabrina left with Marcus, leaving Patti and Carter alone.
    They stood facing each other.
    “I know this isn’t what you expected.“
    “Jamie’s my sister.” Patti cut him off. “And stop apologizing. If it hadn’t been for you...” Her mind flashed to the man holding a knife to Sabrina. “If it hadn’t been for you, Sabrina could have been hurt. You kept her safe.”
    “But not Anna.”
    “Anna’s alive. That’s all that matters.”
    He nodded. “Keep praying. Don’t forget God’s in control.”
    “I just…so much has happened. This whole thing is so…unbelievable.”
    Carter wrapped his arms around her.
    After a moment, Patti took a few steps away from him. She smiled, but inside all she felt was sadness. How she wished she’d met him under different circumstances.
    “I promise I’m going to do everything I can to find Jamie.” He paused. “But I can’t promise...”
    She understood the unspoken words.
    “We won’t be able to talk while you’re in the safe house. You’ll have to rely on the FBI agents to call me if you need something from me.”
    He was still trying to take care of them.
    “I sure had you pegged wrong the first day I met you.”
    “How exactly did you peg me, if I might ask?”
    Her mouth opened but she closed it as she searched for something to say without admitting what she’d thought. “Never mind.”
    “Mmm. Very interesting. I won’t pursue this line of questioning at the moment, ma’am, but we are not done with this conversation.”
    Giving a hint of a smile, she realized she might find herself admitting more to him than she cared to.
    They walked out to the car in a sweet silence.
    Carter sat in the front seat while Marcus drove.
    Not wanting to alarm Sabrina, Patti sang songs with her in the back seat.
    Anna sat beside Patti staring out the window.
    Behind them the other agents followed in a second car.
    Marcus’s cell phone shattered the silence, making both Patti and Anna jump. The phone call