Chapter Twenty-Four
Tanner wasn’t a particularly claustrophobic person, but trying to keep calm minute after minute inside a casket was difficult even for him.
He wasn’t sure why Jeter hadn’t used the carbon monoxide like he’d threatened, and at this point Tanner was beginning to think that might be less of a blessing and more of a curse.
Maybe Bree hadn’t gotten his message. She had to have been scared out of her mind to interact with Jeter. She wouldn’t have known that Tanner knew where he was and that he was trying to signal in some way.
If he was going to die here, he was going to die praying Bree had done the smart thing and had run in the opposite direction. That she’d made her decisions with that computer brain of hers, and known that there was no way Jeter was ever going to let him go.
A year ago that’s what she would’ve done. Hell, maybe even a few weeks ago. But he knew the truth now. Bree loved him the way he loved her and she would never leave him here to die if there was any possible thing that she could do.
Now he just wished he’d asked her to marry him any of the times he’d had the chance, even if the situation hadn’t been perfect.
He began to fade in and out of consciousness. It wasn’t so bad. When he was out he could hear Bree’s sweet voice talking to him. And sometimes others, like Whitaker and Penelope. Although he’d much rather hear Bree.
“Tanner! Are you here?”
Tanner opened his eyes. Whitaker’s voice sounded a lot louder this time.
“Tanner. Call out.” Penelope.
“Hey!” Damn it. His voice was too weak. Instead, he brought his elbow as hard as he could against the side of the casket. At least that cheap bastard used wood.
“Everybody shut up. I heard something,” Whitaker yelled. “Do it again, Tanner.”
Tanner continued to thump. The effort was excruciating. He was definitely running out of oxygen in here.
“I’ve got him!” Tanner heard something on the top of the casket. “There’s a lock. Get something to cut it with.”
There was a lot more commotion, and he tried to focus on that rather than the dwindling air. Finally the casket flew open.
The light was blinding, but the air... Oh, the precious air. Tanner took great gulps of it while Whitaker and Penelope helped get him out of his restraints and sit up.
Somebody pressed a bottle of water into his hands as Tanner took in the scene around him. “You got my message.”
“Actually, Bree got your message and then made sure we saw it,” Penelope explained. “But we don’t know where Bree is. I gave her my car thinking we’d be able to track it, but she changed vehicles for some reason.”
Tanner stood all the way up. “Jeter would’ve thought of that. But he’s close by with her. He’s set up some sort of headquarters around here.”
“If Jeter kidnapped you, then who is the guy in the hospital?” Whitaker asked.
“Somebody willing to lose all his freedom to make sure the real Jeter gets his. It’s a plan they’ve had in place for years. It was always just a matter of time before it was implemented.”
“We’ve got every Dallas PD officer available nearby,” Penelope said. “And Jeter is on the top of everybody’s most-wanted list, so we can have everyone from the FBI to Homeland Security here within the hour searching for him.”
Tanner shook his head. “An hour will be too late. And Jeter is crazy when it comes to Bree. He told me he set it up so that if he can’t have her, nobody will. If we go on a door-to-door hunt, he’s going to kill her.”
“I can have Jeremy pull up the building plans from around here and send them to us,” Penelope said. “There are only so many places where Jeter can keep himself hidden. He’s too well-known to be out in the open.”
“No.” Tanner shook his head. “That’s sure to tip Jeter off. He would have some sort of alarm set if someone pulls the building files. That’s what Bree would do. And like it or not, Jeter taught Bree a lot when it comes to computers.”
“We don’t need a computer to tell us what’s around here,” Whitaker said. “I grew up in this neighborhood. I can provide you with at least a basic layout.”
Tanner nodded. A basic layout would get them pretty far. Within five minutes, they’d gotten Whitaker some papers and he’d sketched out a three-block radius of his neighborhood.
“If I was looking to set up shop somewhere I wouldn’t be noticed, I’d head to one of these two places.
” He pointed to two different sections of his crude map.
“Either here, which was a pawnshop and shoe repair, but has been deserted for at least half a decade. Or these storage units. A lot of shady stuff happens around there, and nobody’s going to study anyone else too carefully. ”
Either place would probably work for Jeter.
“This is your call,” Penelope said. “We can go in stealth, or we can go in guns blazing. If he’s in one of those storage units, it could take a little bit of time to find him. He’d have the advantage.”
Tanner couldn’t disagree with that. “Let’s concentrate there. Jeter would definitely want the advantage.”
They were out the door and headed toward the storage units along with most of the uniformed officers just a couple minutes later. Tanner was riding with Whitaker when a feeling in his gut stopped him.
“Whit, wait. I don’t think this is right. I know the storage units would give Jeter the advantage, but that bastard is so conceited, I don’t think he would even consider that he needed an advantage.”
“You sure?”
“Plus, he’s been sitting in a cell for months. I don’t think he’d be quick to put himself back in a box with his first taste of freedom.”
Whitaker spun the car around right there in the middle of the street. “I’ll let Penelope know we’re going to check out the pawnshop.”
Tanner swallowed a curse. “I could be wrong. I did spend the last couple hours trapped inside a coffin.”
“When it comes to Bree, I’ll take your gut feeling no matter how many hours you’ve been buried.”
There was only one car parked in front of the abandoned pawnshop. A white Honda Civic. One of the most popular cars on the road today. And one that would never draw attention. It was the same type Bree drove because it was so nondescript.
“I think she’s here. Let’s get inside.”
Tanner checked the weapon Penelope had given him and the one in his ankle holster. He and Whitaker got out of the car.
“Let me stick my head in,” Whitaker said. “If Jeter is in there, he may not recognize me, but he’ll definitely recognize you.”
Tanner nodded reluctantly and followed Whitaker to the front door. He opened the door without hesitation, keeping his weapon down at his side, looking more like someone interested in the pawnshop that used to be there than a cop.
Tanner waited, letting the door almost close before catching it. If something went wrong in there he wanted to be able to get in quick.
A moment later the door opened again and Whitaker motioned him inside.
It was dark.
“Vacant except for some sort of office in the back corner,” Whitaker whispered.
Weapons drawn, they moved quickly toward the office area. The blacked-out windows made it hard to see. But it didn’t take them long to hear both a woman and a man’s voice.
“That’s Bree.” Tanner had never been so relieved to hear a voice in his whole life. “I’m going in.”
Whitaker grabbed him. “Think. She’s still alive, they’re still talking. You storm the castle, and things might go to crap quick. Jeter is smart, Tanner. Be smarter.”
Tanner nodded. Whitaker was right. They began looking around the outside of the thin walls of the office. Maybe there was a different, better way of getting in than the door.
The entire far side of the wall farthest from the door was lined with wooden boxes. Tanner didn’t think anything of them until he remembered what Jeter had said about if he couldn’t have Bree, nobody could.
“Whit, shine a light over here for second,” Tanner whispered. Whitaker aimed the beam of light at one of the boxes and Tanner pried it open silently. Both of them let out a curse when they saw what was inside.
Explosives.
“Surely, Jeter won’t set those off with him still in the building.”
“I don’t know. He’s obsessed with her. He might be willing to die rather than have her live without him.”
Whitaker nodded. “Then we go back to plan A. Storm the castle.”
Tanner nodded and they moved to the door. “I’ll kick it in. You go low, I’ll go high.”
Whitaker crouched and Tanner was counting down when they heard Jeter yell from the inside.
“No!”
Whitaker’s eyes looked up at Tanner in confusion.
Then everything blew to hell.
THE EXPLOSION KNOCKED both Tanner and Whitaker half a dozen feet away from the door. If they’d been over next to the explosives, it would’ve killed them instantly.
As it was, half the office was gone.
And Bree was still in there.
“Bree!”
It was almost impossible to see any details in the smoke, but the fire was lighting half the space.
Tanner crawled toward the office. To the side he heard Whitaker coughing and moaning like he was in pain, but Tanner couldn’t stop—the man was breathing and that was more than Tanner knew for sure about Bree.
He grabbed Whitaker’s phone, dialed 9-1-1 and left it on the ground. Hopefully emergency services would send first responders immediately since they’d be able to track the call.
He continued to crawl toward the office, keeping low to attempt to stay out of the smoke.
“Bree!” He made it to the door. “Bree! Talk to me, freckles.”
God, please talk to him. Please be alive.
The smoke got even thicker as he moved inside the door. The far half of the office, where all the explosives had been stored was now completely gone. Computer equipment lay in pieces on the ground and burning on a table.
A leg bent at an awkward angle near one of the computers caught Tanner’s attention and his heart began to throw itself against his ribs. Was that Bree?
He crawled over, the smell of scorched flesh becoming stronger as he did. He prayed with all his might it wasn’t Bree.
It wasn’t. As soon as Tanner got to the shoe he realized it was too large to belong to Bree. This was Jeter.