by Janie Crouch
“That sounds about right.”
“Me and Denny’s brother went to high school together, so we know each other pretty well. Denny was a little miffed at me because I had to wake him up in the middle of the night to ask him questions about you.”
Steele crossed his arms over his chest. “And what did your good buddy Denny have to say about me?”
Tanner straightened in his chair, cocking his head to the side. “Said you show up for work every day, do your job and haven’t given him a bit of trouble.”
The other man raised an eyebrow. “Then there you go.”
“You know what I find interesting? The fact that Denny started hiring for this project twelve weeks ago, but you didn’t come on then. You came on exactly twenty-nine days ago.”
“And why is that a problem?”
Now Tanner crossed his arms over his chest. He was larger than this man. Definitely heavier. But Steele wasn’t intimidated by him. Tanner had sat across the interrogation table from a number of suspects who weren’t intimidated by him. Some of them because of their own shape or size, some of them because they underestimated Tanner’s good-naturedness and took it for weakness, and some because they were just flat-out braggarts.
But Bill Steele’s lack of intimidation was something different. Like the man had already seen hell and knew there was nothing Tanner was going to do to him that could be as bad as what he’d already been through.
Steele might be a creepy, thin man, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous. Deadly, even.
Maybe Tanner had even underestimated him. He’d assumed that because of the man’s gaunt face and slender build maybe he was a drug user.
But the eyes looking across from him now were not those of a man who would let narcotics control him. The thinness of his frame didn’t seem to rest naturally on him. It was more like he was in recovery. But recovering from what?
“It’s a problem because it was exactly one day after Bree and the twins got here.”
Steele’s eyes shifted away for just a second. “Coincidence.”
Tanner leaned back a little farther in his chair. “You know, I might have believed that if I hadn’t gotten the message from you tonight letting me know that Bree was in trouble. How did you know that?”
Steele shrugged. “I saw the guys headed toward her apartment. It’s sort of isolated. I knew she was there alone with those kids and thought the guys might be looking for trouble. Ends up I was right.”
“How do you know they were going to her apartment? If you called me when they were at her front door, there’s no way I would’ve gotten there in time.”
Steele’s jaw stiffened. “Look, Dempsey, I don’t sleep well. I was out for a walk, saw some guys who looked like trouble and did my civic duty. Nothing more or less than that.”
“Any reason why you didn’t just call 911?”
Steele’s eyes shifted away again. “I guess I just had your number for some reason.”
“It is public, so I guess that’s a possibility.” Tanner took out his phone—his piece-of-junk flip phone—and laid it on the table. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that I carry this type of phone, would it?”
Steele’s lips pursed and eyes narrowed. “What do you know?”
“What do you know?”
They stared each other down.
Steele finally shook his head, withdrawing into himself. “Nothing. I’m just a construction worker who gets to work outside with a hell of a view every day. Just counting my blessings.”
Tanner didn’t buy that horse manure for a second. “How did you know those men were coming for Bree?” he asked again.
But Steele wasn’t budging. “Like I said, I saw them, and they gave me a hinky feeling.”
Tanner decided to try a new line of questioning. “Deputy Kitchens said you tackled one of them? That’s how you got banged up.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, the guy was running after Bree. Least I could do was help out.”
“How do I know you weren’t the one chasing after Bree? You’ve certainly been making her uncomfortable for the last couple weeks. She says you’re watching her all the time.”
Steele sat up straighter. “If I was trying to hurt her, there were other times that would’ve been a damn sight more convenient than right after I just messaged you and told you she needed help.”
That, Tanner believed. He didn’t think Steele had been one of the guys after Bree. But he did think the man wanted something from her. Maybe Scott was right. Maybe Bree owed somebody money and this was about collecting.
“Did you know Bree before you came here, Steele?”
“I can promise you I had never heard of Bree Daniels before I set foot in Risk Peak.” Frustration grew inside Tanner. He didn’t think Steele was actually lying to him, he just wasn’t telling the whole truth.
Exactly how he often felt about Bree.
It was like the answers were right there in front of him, if he just knew what questions to ask.
“Are you or Bree involved with the mob? Does she owe someone money? Does it have something to do with the same people her cousin is mixed up with?” Tanner felt like he was throwing spaghetti against the wall, hoping something would stick.
“Mob? No. Money? I don’t think so. And I have no idea who Bree is, truly, so I don’t know who her cousin or any other family is.”
“Melissa Weathers.”
If he hadn’t been watching Steele so closely, he never would’ve seen it. Hell, he was looking directly at the man and almost didn’t see it. Steele didn’t startle, didn’t stiffen, but the air around him changed.
He knew Melissa.
Tanner leaned forward until he was nearly halfway over the narrow table. “You know Melissa, don’t you? Do you work for the people Melissa works for? Do you know what they’re up to? How to stop them?”
Whatever Steele had been feeling, he swallowed it fast. “I don’t work for anybody but Denny Hyde. And you know what? I’m tired. Either charge me and I’ll call an attorney, or I’m ready to go. You can’t hold me.”
It was true. And although they could hold him for a few more hours, if he was requesting counsel, he would be out of here in no time.
“We’re not going to charge you.” Tanner made one last appeal. “But tell me what’s going on so I can help. I can’t protect Bree if I don’t know what I’m up against.”
Steele stood, and Tanner thought he would leave without saying anything else, but when he got to the door, he turned back. “Get her—get them—out of here. Out of this town, where no one can find them. Do it right now. Don’t wait.”
That was exactly what he’d planned on doing.
“Why? Who’s coming, Steele?”
“Someone way too big for you to fight. Just get them out while you can.”
He was gone without another word.
Chapter Sixteen
Bree had to get out. Out of Risk Peak, out of the entire state of Colorado.
She was currently inside Cheryl and Dan’s office. Both babies were asleep—completely unharmed, thank God—in the playpen Cheryl and Dan had set up weeks ago.
Bree tried to think through the panic that seemed to surround her like a haze. The Organization had found her. If she stayed here any longer, she’d be putting everyone in danger. Herself. The babies. The Andrewses. Tanner.
Tanner. He’d gone running back toward the danger hours ago, and she hadn’t heard from him. He’d thought he was dealing with a run-of-the-mill break-in, when the Organization was so much more dangerous than that. They wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if it suited their purposes.
She paced back and forth across the office like she had dozens of times already tonight.
Was Tanner hurt? She should’ve told him more, done what she could to prepare him for what he would be up against,
rather than send him in blind thinking he was just dealing with some burglars. She opened the door to the office, even knowing she would be too late to help him. She had to try.
Cheryl and Dan were sitting, bleary-eyed, at the booth closest to the kitchen, sipping coffee. Deputy Ronnie was at the counter, pouring himself a cup. She hadn’t even realized he was here.
“I need to go help Tanner. He might be in danger.”
Ronnie shook his head. “Nobody was at your place by the time we got there. They must’ve gotten spooked.”
“And nobody was hurt? Tanner is all right?”
Ronnie nodded. “Yep. He’s at the station now questioning a suspect. He wanted me to stay here and make sure you...” He trailed off.
“Make sure Bree and the kids were safe?” Cheryl finished for him.
Ronnie looked a little sheepish. “Yeah. Make sure they were safe.”
But that was obviously not what he’d intended to say.
“Who’s the suspect Tanner is questioning?” Dan asked.
Ronnie took a sip of his coffee and rubbed the back of his neck. “Come on now, Mr. A. You know I can’t talk about that sort of stuff.”
“Is it somebody from around here? It must be someone we know if you’re keeping his identity a secret,” Cheryl argued. “We just want to make sure Bree is safe. Why don’t you just give us a little information while I make you some breakfast, Ronnie. You look hungry.”
Watching the middle-aged man be so skillfully manipulated would’ve been entertaining to Bree if she wasn’t so desperate to hear who was being questioned.
“I definitely wouldn’t say no to some of your pancakes, Mrs. A. And honestly, I don’t know the guy’s name. Truly.” He raised an eyebrow. “Although I will say he could definitely use some of your cooking.”
Dan’s and Cheryl’s eyes flew to Bree’s.
Creepy, thin man.
Damn it, she’d known he was watching her. She didn’t know why he’d waited so long to make his move—maybe he’d been trying to confirm her identity before he did anything. It didn’t matter, and it didn’t matter that Tanner had arrested him. The Organization would get him out almost immediately, or they would just send someone else to come after her.
Bree had to leave now.
Without another word, she spun back toward the kitchen and the office.
She was grabbing everything that had accumulated in here over the past few weeks. The room looked less like an office and more like a day care. Bree’s heart clenched. Cheryl and Dan had changed so much of their lives to make room for her and the babies. And now Bree had to run.
She was stuffing diapers everywhere she could—not unlike what she’d been doing when she first showed up in Risk Peak—when Cheryl appeared in the doorway. “I’ve tried my best not to ask you questions you might not want to answer. I know those children aren’t yours, but I know you love them and want what’s best for them.”
Bree tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. She knew she wouldn’t be able to get words out, so she just nodded.
“I know you think you need to run, but why don’t you stay? Let us help. Me, Dan, Tanner—hell, most of Risk Peak would fight for you and them kids. Whoever your creepy guy is, or whoever decides to come after you, we can face them together.”
Now Bree couldn’t stop the tears from overflowing. “I can’t stay.”
She could elaborate more, spin up some tale of partial truths, but the fact was the Organization knew she was here. If she stayed, the town might fight for her, but the Organization would win and take Bree and the babies anyway. The best she could do for these people she’d started to care about—the first community she’d ever known—was to get out.
She started packing stuff up again.
“We don’t want you to go.” The voice from the door this time was Dan’s.
A little sob escaped Bree before she could swallow it. She took a couple of deep breaths to get herself under control.
Where was all the training her mother had spent years instilling in her? Now Bree understood why the no-friendship rule had been so important. Because leaving friends without a backward glance was not an easy thing to do.
“Just for a few days until things calm down, then I’ll be back,” Bree finally said. That was a lie. She would never be coming back to Risk Peak again.
She heard Dan and Cheryl whispering to each other in the doorway. Were they going to try to talk her out of this? She couldn’t let them. She just needed to get out while she still had the resolve to do so.
Once she had everything she could fit into the large diaper bag, she reached down to grab the babies.
She was putting Christian inside the baby carrier when Dan walked back into the room. She hadn’t even realized he left. He set two baby car seat carriers on the ground. “We bought those a couple of days ago thinking it might be easier to have two sets than to have to lug them back and forth all the time.”
Bree had no idea what to say. “I—I...”
Cheryl walked over and took Christian from her, kissing him on the head. “If you’ve got to go, then you’ve got to go. Your apartment might still be closed off as a crime scene. But at least you’ll have car seats.”
“Thank you.” The simple thanks was so completely inadequate, but it was all Bree could think of. The older couple fastened the babies inside the car seats with the utmost care. Bree gathered the rest of the stuff.
“We want you to have this.” Dan pressed something into her hand, and when she looked down she realized it was a wad of cash.
She shook her head vehemently. “No. I can’t take this.”
Dan closed one of his hands over hers with the cash. “You can, and you will. Cheryl and I both agree there’s nothing more important to us—nothing we could spend this money on—that would make us more happy than knowing that you and those children are safe. So you take it and maybe that will give you even more reason to come back around when you can.”
She had to get out of here. Her mom had been right. No closeness was worth the agony she was feeling now. And Dan and Cheryl weren’t even Tanner. Thank God she didn’t have to say goodbye to him. She didn’t think she would survive it.
But when they walked out to the front of the restaurant, there Tanner was standing in the doorway.
Staring at him, his dark hair tousled and brown eyes tired, she knew she didn’t have the strength to fight him if he asked her to stay. Not even if it was what was best for him or her.
But those words weren’t what came out of his mouth.
“You running?” Those strong arms crossed over his massive chest.
“I... Yes. It’s what’s best.”
He nodded and definitely didn’t look surprised. “Fine. I’ll give you a police escort to the county line.”
Almost from a distance, she heard Cheryl gasp and Dan say Tanner’s name sharply, but he didn’t respond and she found she couldn’t look away from his brown eyes.
Eyes that had been so warm earlier tonight when he’d walked her home but were coldly focused now.
He’d finally realized what she’d known all along. She was trouble for this town, and having her here was a mistake.
* * *
THE WALK TO her car was made in silence. What could be said anyway? This was what she wanted, right?
He took the babies in their new carriers. “I’ll put them in the car. Get whatever else you need from your apartment. It doesn’t look like there was any damage to anything.”
Was that what this was about? Did he think she’d made the whole thing up or something?
It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter that her legs were as heavy as her heart as she walked through her apartment door. It didn’t matter that she had no plan. Had let herself become complacent and now would be paying the price.
It didn’t matter that
she was so weary that she just wanted to lie down on the floor and cry.
Not an option.
She looked over to the spot where she’d crushed the phone. It was gone now. She didn’t know if Tanner had taken it for evidence or if the men who broke in had picked up the pieces.
She gathered the twins’ items and anything she would be able to fit in her car, and made her way back outside.
Tanner was crouched down by the back seat, murmuring something to one of the babies, but he straightened when she came back out. He took the stuff from her and placed it in her trunk without saying a word.
“I’m sorry I brought trouble into your town,” she finally said as she got behind the wheel. She was just trying to hold it together until she got away from him. There would be nothing but time to fall apart once she was on the go.
“I’m sorry this happened, too, Bree. Don’t stop driving until you’re completely out of town. Straight out Highway 70. Good luck.”
Without another word, he shut her door and turned away.
And that was it. She started the car and pulled away from the curb. By the time she’d made it out of Risk Peak, tears were stinging her eyes. She kept driving out Highway 70 like Tanner had told her. Why not? She didn’t have any better plan.
A few miles out of town, there was some sort of detour, and she had to turn off on a side road. She thought nothing about it until she’d gone a half mile and there was a large car parked horizontally, blocking the road in front of her and forcing her to slow.
Fear trickled down her spine. Had she literally just driven into a trap set by the Organization? She’d been so caught up in her own personal drama she hadn’t been paying attention. Maybe they’d been counting on that.
When two men got out of the car in front of her, she slammed on the brakes. She was just about to throw her car in Reverse when an SUV pulled up behind her, boxing her in.
Even though the temperature in the car was comfortable, sweat coated her body. With her own stupidity, she’d gotten them caught not even two miles out of town. Frantically, she tried to think of what she could do. If she ran, would they follow her? Leave the babies alone? But then what if nobody found them in time?