Coming Back

                                    

                                          
        
                          
Harry's POV
                          
"Great, thank you for coming by. We'll see you in a few hours." I thanked Detective Hanson and shook his hand before he made his way out to the driveway and I closed the front door behind him. 
                          
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes in an effort to prepare myself for the interaction I knew I was about to have with Hannah, taking a minute to just focus myself before I headed toward the living room where I knew I'd find her pacing. 
                          
Detective Hanson had been there for the past hour, explaining our roles in what would be going down that night, and I could tell that the entire time Hannah's mind was racing with what it would all mean in relation to Stanks. I could feel the anxiety radiating off her, but she'd done her best to stay quiet and attempt to just nod along with Detective Hanson. 
                          
He explained that the two of us would be meeting him that evening and tagging along on the raid to take down the buyer's location and headquarters to retrieve the children and arrest all of the major players. The information I'd given him had been enough of a lead to get the evidence he needed to take the entire ring down, to make it stick, and as one of the terms I'd negotiated that Hannah and I got to be a part of it. It was the only way I could possibly see to make sure it ended the child trafficking for good, but I knew it would complicate things as far as Stanks was concerned. 
                          
I found Hannah just where I knew she would be, pacing back and forth, trying not to panic, as I entered the living room and she looked up at me. 
                          
"What have you done?" She said, tears streaming down her face that made my stomach clench at the sight of it. "You called the cops? Harry, he's gonna kill you!" 
                          
I stepped toward her, reaching for her hand but she just yanked it away. 
                          
"Hannah, listen to me." 
                          
"How could you do this? How could you just make a decision like this without talking to me first?! You always do this, and now you're gonna get yourself killed!" 
                          
"Baby, please...I need you to trust me." I pleaded. "I need you to think about those kids, I need you to just let me explain this to you." 
                          
"What about our kids, Harry?! The ones who are gonna grow up without a father because you decided to cross Stanks!"
                          
"Hannah, I know you're upset and I understand that...but you know I would never have done it if I didn't think it was the right thing." I said as calmly as I could. "I need you to just listen to me...please." 
                          
"How many times are we gonna have this conversation, Harry? Where you ask for forgiveness for doing something like this without running it by me? It's getting pretty fucking old." She snapped. 
                          
"Baby, I swear to god once this shit is over we will never have this conversation again. I promise you, please just let me explain it to you and maybe we can all just get out of this and go back to our lives." I said as she stared up at me, her big blue eyes full of fear and anger. 
                          
"Just tell me why." She said, crossing her arms in front of her after she wiped the tears from her cheeks. 
                          
"Alright, when I made the deal with Stanks...I wanted him to stop selling kids as part of the terms, and he wouldn't go for it." I started. "So I told him I would take out the buyer to get his revenge, and I will...just not the way he thought I would." 
                          
"You do realize that when they take down the buyer they're gonna know Stanks was part of it, right? He's gonna be in the cell next to them and the first thing he's gonna do is come after you." She cried. 
                          
"No, because I kept him out of it, and they don't have any evidence connecting Stanks to it, they can't prove it." I explained. "Just like Hanson said, he's been after Stanks for years but hasn't been able to nail him. When I handed over the info I kept Stanks' involvement to myself."