He swallowed hard.
“I’m grateful,” she said. “For everything you’ve done—for me and Sophia. Don’t ever doubt that.”
“I won’t,” he whispered, even though the guilt still pressed in.
“I don’t blame you for anything, and you shouldn’t blame yourself either. Love you, little bro.”
“Love you too.” He disconnected the call and took a few minutes to add money to her commissary card, then set the phone down, Kayleigh’s words still burning in his ears.Don’t you dare blame yourself.
Easier said than done.
TWELVE
Sam jumped from the engine and grabbed the medical gear for cleaning. Dean was standing next to the ladder truck, checking gauges.
“Bella up yet?” She swung the bags over her shoulder.
He shook his head. “Not yet. How’s Mr. Bonetti?”
Her stomach sank. “Today wasn’t one of his typical episodes. This could be a life changer for him.”
“Do you think it’s the one that will send him to long-term care?”
“I hope not. I’ll miss seeing him.” Even if he was okay ninety-eight percent of the time.
Once she was finished, she went and checked on Bella. The bunk room door was closed. Sam looked at her watch. Bella had had plenty of rest. Time to get up.
She opened the door. The bed was empty. She hadn’t seen Bella when she’d passed through the dayroom.
Could she be working out? Sam laughed to herself. Not likely. They’d had a treadmill and some smaller weights at home. Sam couldn’t recall a time seeing her use either of them.
Sam made the rounds of the station and couldn’t find her. She asked the guys if they’d seen her. No one had.
She’d snuck away yet again.
Sam clenched and unclenched her fists, squelching the urge to scream. It wouldn’t do any good. She couldn’t call her, because they hadn’t replaced her cell phone yet. She didn’t need one if she was grounded from it and with Sam all the time.
That had obviously been a bad decision.
How much more of this could she take? She’d tried everything to make sure they were safe. She’d crossed all the t’s and dotted all the i’s. Given Bella space. Kept her close. Nothing was working.
What if Bella wasn’t the only problem?
An ache spread through her chest. She’d deal with that later.
She wandered into the bay, where Dean and Tate were huddled around the ladder truck.
“Have you guys seen Bella?” Sam asked.
Dean turned to her and wiped his hands on the rag hanging from his pants. “She’s not in the bunk room?”
Sam shook her head. “Nope. Or the dayroom, kitchen, workout room, conference room, or outside. I was hoping maybe she was hanging out in the ladder truck.”
“I haven’t seen her since this morning,” Tate said. “I thought she was still asleep in the bunk room.”
“I’m gonna kill her.” She gritted her teeth. Odds were that she was with the marshal’s niece. The trouble had started when she’d moved to town.
“You probably shouldn’t threaten murder when there’s a cop here.” Tate gestured behind her.
