Calculated Risk

by Janie Crouch

  It was the break Bree needed. As soon as he was far enough that it was relatively safe, she began jogging toward the car. If she could just make it there, they would be okay.

  But that was when sweet, angelic Beth decided she wasn’t happy with all the sleep interruptions and let out a wail.

  “Oh, no, sweetie,” Bree crooned, slowing to bring Beth up to her shoulder and pat her.

  But that just caused Christian to start crying.

  There was no way the guy on the phone didn’t hear them. Forgetting about stealth, Bree bolted into a sprint, grimacing when she realized the third man was between her and her car. For the first time, Bree wished her apartment wasn’t on the outskirts of town, away from everything else. Even if she started yelling, no one would hear her.

  Why hadn’t she called for help rather than destroy her phone? Not that anyone could’ve gotten here in time.

  Both babies were crying now, and she was way too slow to get away with the added weight. She glanced behind her and saw the third man was just a few feet away.

  He was going to catch her. She wasn’t going to make it. She pushed for one last burst of speed, but it wasn’t enough.

  When she felt fingers grasp at her shoulders and slip away, she started yelling. She was still too far out for anyone to hear her, but she had to try.

  “Help me! Somebody help me!”

  Both babies startled at her yell and wailed louder. Hard fingers gripped her shoulder, this time not letting go. Bree cried out as he jerked her back, fear coursing through her system.

  The voice came heavy and dark in her ear. “You’re going to regret making me chase you.”

  She pulled away from him, but he grabbed her hair, yanking her back. Bree struggled to hold on to the twins. And knew she couldn’t allow herself to pitch forward—she might crush them.

  Beth gripped firmly with one arm, Bree swung around, keeping her elbow out to use her momentum and catch the man off guard. But he was too quick and stopped her elbow before it could do any damage. He twisted her arm in a painful grip.

  She got her first look at her attacker. He didn’t look like a criminal. His face was nondescript, friendly even. Bree had no doubt he was from the Organization. They would send people who blended in.

  His features might be neutral, but the menace in his eyes was obvious. “I’m going to enjoy teaching you some manners. And I know I’m not the only one. You’ve been making us look bad.”

  His hand raised in a fist, and she braced herself to take the punch without dropping the babies, but before he could connect, the guy went flying onto the ground.

  Someone had tackled him.

  Bree didn’t know who it was, whether it was friend or foe or if karma had just chosen that moment to show up. She wasn’t going to wait around to find out.

  She took off toward the main part of town. If she could just make it another couple of blocks, she’d be able to yell for help. When someone rushed out from between two parked cars, she screamed and twisted away, trying to head in the other direction, but arms wrapped around her and held her firm.

  “Bree! Bree, it’s me.” Tanner’s voice finally got through to her. And she stopped trying to fight him.

  “T-Tanner?”

  “Yeah, sweetheart, it’s me. Are you okay? I got a call that you were in trouble.” He pulled her sideways against him, mindful of the babies, then took a crying Beth out of her arms.

  “Somebody broke into my apartment. Three guys.”

  Tanner muttered a curse under his breath. Keeping Beth secure in one arm, he reached down and grabbed the police walkie-talkie at his belt.

  “Ronnie, we’ve got a 10-64 off Lincoln Street. Three guys broke into Bree’s apartment.”

  The other deputy responded, but Bree couldn’t hear over the sound of her own labored breathing and the cries of the babies. When Tanner wrapped his arm back around her and began leading her somewhere, she just went.

  “They found us,” she said, almost on autopilot. “I’ve got to leave. We’re not safe. They found us. They found us.”

  Bree could feel the panic welling up inside her. She had nothing she needed for the babies, no way of knowing if she could even get back to her car safely, and she still didn’t have enough money to survive long on her own. How was she going to make it?

  The world was starting to spin, the dark sky closing in on her. How was she going to do this? How would she keep the twins fed if she was on the run? Where else was going to allow her to work while good people helped look after them?

  It would never happen. She wouldn’t make it. What was she going to do?

  Her throat was closing up, and she couldn’t breathe. She began to scratch at it frantically, trying to get oxygen into her system.

  Then suddenly Tanner’s face was right in front of hers. His hand wrapped around the back of her head, his fingers digging into her hair. It wasn’t painful, but there was definitely no ignoring it.

  “Bree. Listen to me. I am not going to let anything happen to you. Not to you or the kids.” As she stared into his brown eyes, so serious and authoritative, she couldn’t help but believe him. Her throat loosened enough to let in some air.

  “You’re not in this alone anymore.” His fingers rubbed at the back of her neck. “Not alone. Got it?”

  She could only stare, couldn’t quite formulate words. So Tanner moved her head in a nodding motion.

  “You’re going to stay here at the diner with Dan and Cheryl until I get back.”

  She realized she could see him so well because they’d made it back to the Sunrise. A few moments later, Cheryl and Dan pulled up in their car. Cheryl took Beth from Tanner, and Dan wrapped an arm around Bree.

  Tanner reached over and kissed her forehead. “Not. Alone. Okay?”

  He waited until she nodded, this time of her own accord, then took off running into the night.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Making sure Bree and the kids were safe had been the right priority, but damn if Tanner hadn’t wanted to go straight to her apartment. Find those bastards who had put the normally reserved Bree into such a panic.

  Even worse, if he hadn’t received a message on his personal phone from an unknown number about the situation, he never would’ve been there to help her in the first place.

  A three-man team? It definitely wasn’t a burglary. There was nothing worth taking in an apartment that size.

  When Tanner arrived back near the outside of Bree’s place, Ronnie was cuffing a man.

  Bree’s creepy, thin guy. He was bleeding from a wound near his mouth and looked like the sleeve of his shirt had been torn.

  “You read him his rights?” he asked Ronnie.

  “Yep. Guy hasn’t said a word.”

  Tanner got up in his face. “Where are your other two friends? Are they still around?”

  The man just stared. “I’m not the person you’re looking for. But yes, I would assume those three men are still nearby. Although what they’re looking for isn’t in reach, so they probably won’t make themselves known.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Ronnie pushed the guy a little forward toward the police vehicle. “What exactly are they looking for? Bree doesn’t have much cash or anything of value.”

  Tanner already knew what the men had been looking for. They’d been here to take Bree and the kids.

  “Do you work for the people after her?” Tanner asked.

  The guy looked surprised for a split second before covering it. “Believe me, I hate them more than anyone.”

  “What are we talking about?” Ronnie asked.

  Tanner ignored his colleague. “Are you the one who sent me the message?”

  “What message?” Ronnie asked, louder this time. But the man didn’t respond.

  Tanner turned to Ronnie. “Take him to holding then meet me back here to proc
ess the scene.”

  Tanner waited to see if the guy would protest his innocence or demand to be set free, but he didn’t. Just silently watched what was happening around him, taking in everything.

  The same way he’d been watching Bree.

  Ronnie took him to the squad car, and Tanner walked the rest of the way inside the apartment, weapon drawn. He looked around her living room. Nothing seemed out of place or broken, except Bree’s phone in pieces on the floor.

  Once Tanner checked any place someone might be hiding and confirmed the apartment was empty, he put away his weapon. The broken phone caught his attention again. Had the burglars done that? Bree wouldn’t have. She still carried that thing around with her faithfully every day.

  A tap on the door had him looking up and his hand moving toward his weapon again. But it was only Scott, looking flushed and out of breath. He’d definitely been running.

  “You okay?” Tanner asked.

  Scott nodded. “I heard about the break-in over the walkie. Since I was awake, I thought I would come on over from the hotel, and saw a couple of guys running off one of the side streets. I followed but I wasn’t able to catch them.”

  “Were you able to catch any sort of identifying features?”

  The younger man grimaced. “No, nothing. I’m sorry.”

  Tanner nodded, but that wasn’t the most important thing. “Next time you see something like that, be sure to call it in. You’re not here to work active cases, Watson. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “Will do. And maybe this is the motivation I need to get myself in better shape.” Scott gave a half smile and hiked up his jeans.

  It wasn’t that he was really so heavy—it was more that he was cumbersome and bulky. Definitely not light or quick on his feet.

  “I see you’re carrying,” Tanner said when he saw the holster at Scott’s waist. “That’s good.”

  The younger man touched his weapon softly. “Yeah. Always.”

  Tanner nodded. Maybe there was hope for this kid to be more than just a paper pusher, if he really wanted to improve his skill sets.

  “Can I help since I’m here?”

  “Sure.” Tanner gestured for him to come in.

  Scott entered the rest of the way. “This is Bree’s apartment, right? Is it a burglary?”

  “If they were looking for anything valuable, she certainly doesn’t have much outside of baby equipment.”

  Scott glanced around. “Where is she now? Is she all right?”

  “Shaken up, but she’s all right. She’s with some friends.”

  And as soon as Tanner was finished here, he was going to make sure Bree and the kids went someplace safe.

  Scott looked around more. “I see that kitchen window open. Did she have to climb out that? And why is her phone in pieces on the floor?”

  Tanner went over to check out the open window. “Bree said there were three guys. Maybe they’d had both the front and back door covered and this was her only way out.”

  Fury pooled in his gut at the thought of her trying to make it out this window with both babies. She would’ve had to land hard and was probably more hurt than he thought. Might need medical attention. “Damn it.”

  Scott studied the window. “She had to have been pretty scared to go out that way with both kids in tow. Do you think the burglars made it all the way into the house?”

  Tanner shook his head. “I don’t think this was a burglary at all. I think it was an attempted abduction, and Bree foiled their plans by escaping.”

  Scott whistled through his teeth. “Abduction? To what end? Human trafficking? Selling her and the kids on the black market or something?”

  Tanner wasn’t going to drag Scott into the situation with Bree. Not until he had all the details. “Maybe. I plan to dig deeper into it.”

  “Look, man, I’ve got nothing but respect for you and your department here. But it’s obvious you care about this woman, despite what you said earlier.”

  “Yeah, so?”

  Scott shrugged. “Don’t kill the messenger here, okay? I’m just saying if it was anyone else that maybe you weren’t so attracted to, might you be considering some other...possibilities?”

  “Other possibilities like what? That she’s making this up?”

  “No, not necessarily that. But you’re right.” Scott gestured around the apartment. “Nobody would break into this tiny little apartment to steal. And my kidnapping theory is pretty far-fetched, too. But what if she knew the guys who were after her?”

  “Like the mob.” Tanner had to admit, it did make sense. Who were these people after Bree and her cousin?

  “She’s new in town, right? She shows up here with her babies, needing help.” Scott gave a one-shouldered shrug with a grimace. “And look, I’m not saying she doesn’t need help. I’m not saying she’s a criminal. But maybe these three guys who showed up tonight are people she owes money to or something. Maybe she’s not completely innocent, and you should bring her in and question her officially.”

  Ronnie’s voice spoke up from the door. “Okay, got our guy back to the station.”

  Scott looked surprised. “You caught one of the people who broke in?”

  Tanner shook his head. “No. Just someone who happened to be out for a walk and heard some ruckus. Came to investigate. We brought him in for questioning.”

  Until Tanner had a chance to talk to creepy guy and ask him how the hell he knew those men were about to hit Bree’s house, he didn’t want to share too much information with anyone.

  “He finally admitted the bumps and bruises on him were because he jumped on one of the men involved.” Ronnie looked around. “Said the guy was about to hurt Bree and he couldn’t let that happen.”

  “Lucky he was wandering around,” Scott murmured.

  Tanner didn’t respond. It was both lucky and highly suspicious. Maybe he was the one who had been about to hurt Bree.

  Bree had always seemed so skittish of the man. Was it possible she knew him and had been lying all this time? And if creepy man knew her and wanted to warn her trouble was coming, why message Tanner? Why not just contact Bree himself? He’d obviously been close by.

  Too many questions. Not enough answers.

  Tanner crouched down to look at the broken phone again. He was missing something big here.

  “Look at it,” Scott said. “That’s more damage than just happens from a phone falling from your hand. Somebody stomped on it.”

  Scott was right. That was what Tanner had missed. The phone wasn’t just broken, it was destroyed.

  Why? And by whom?

  Ronnie was still at the door. “This jamb was shimmied, but it probably wouldn’t have been very loud, Tanner. How would Bree have gotten up and gotten both babies out a window in the time it took someone to break the lock and get in here? Seems impossible.”

  He had to agree. “Someone called and warned her.”

  Again, too many questions. Not enough answers.

  Ronnie tilted his head and studied the pieces of the phone. “If so, it certainly seemed to make Bree mad.”

  “She thought someone was using the phone to trace her whereabouts,” Tanner said. It made sense, given her paranoia about phones in Denver.

  “This definitely goes back to her being involved with something bigger. Something she may not be admitting to,” Scott said. “You really might want to question her and find out what she’s been hiding. And if she’s innocent, protective custody may be the safest place for her and the kids if someone from the mob is after her.”

  Maybe that was true, but Tanner wasn’t bringing her into the station until they figured out exactly how creepy guy fit into this.

  But he would send Ronnie over to the Sunrise, not only to make sure Bree was safe, but also to make sure she didn’t make a run for it. Scott’s comments had
Tanner wondering if maybe he’d let himself be blinded to the truth. Maybe Bree wasn’t a completely innocent party in all this.

  Maybe he’d only been seeing what he wanted to see.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Creepy, thin guy’s name was Bill Steele.

  Two hours after leaving Bree’s apartment, Tanner stared at the printout of the man’s background check. Nothing unusual. An out-of-state permanent address, tax filings for the last five years and a normal employment history.

  There was no indication of any criminal wrongdoing whatsoever. No warrants out for his arrest or anything suspicious. In other words, he was clean. The last time Tanner had seen a record this clean was when he’d run Bree.

  An interesting coincidence.

  Tanner opened the door to the interrogation room. He wanted answers.

  “Mr. Steele.” He took a seat across from the man. “I understand you’ve refused your right to counsel.” Tanner hated to remind him that he could call for a lawyer, but Miranda rights weren’t something to be messed with.

  Steele was sitting straight in the chair, with no signs of fatigue even though it was now dawn and he’d been here for hours. He nodded briefly at Tanner’s statement but didn’t respond.

  He obviously wasn’t going to be like some suspects who immediately spilled their guts when questioned.

  “Your record shows you’re from Texas. That you’ve worked multiple construction jobs over the years. Why don’t we start with how you ended up in Risk Peak?”

  Steele shrugged. “I go where the work is.”

  “You’re a long way from home. It’s hard to believe there weren’t any other jobs between here and Texas.”

  Steele’s eyes were steady. “I like the mountains.”

  “So do I. But I have to say, if I hadn’t been born and raised in Risk Peak, I’m not sure I ever would’ve found myself here.” He leaned his forearms on the table. “According to Denny Hyde, the construction foreman, you’ve been here for exactly twenty-nine days.”