Chapter Ten
Bree stared at Tanner as he leaned up against the sink, his long legs stretched out in front of him and strong arms crossed over his chest.
How much could she tell him? Definitely not the whole truth.
First of all, he was law enforcement. Under oath to fight bad guys or whatever.
Knowing Tanner and his sense of justice, he would want to take on the Organization all by himself.
The only thing that would succeed in doing was getting him killed.
If he even believed her at all. Why would anybody believe that a charity organization that had helped millions of underprivileged and impoverished people gain access to education and technology was actually housing a terrorist group buying and selling privacy and information?
Communication for All was the perfect front. They seemed so pure and altruistic in their motives.
No, she definitely couldn’t tell him everything she knew. But she had to tell him something.
“Christian and Beth aren’t my children. You’re right. They belong to my cousin, Melissa.”
“Melissa Weathers. The woman you met today at the church, and who the suits were talking about on the phone.”
“How did you know I met her? How are you here at all?”
“I’ve been watching you carry around that phone every day since you got to town like it held the secrets to the known universe, but you never actually talk or text anyone on it. Then today you get a text and ten minutes later you’re bolting out the door. So I followed you.”
He was a cop. A damn good one, she knew that. She shouldn’t be surprised. “Ok, fine. The text was from Melissa, telling me to meet her.”
“But you still scoped out the place. I watched you do that, too. Quite proficiently, I might add. Do you not trust her?”
This was where it got tricky. How to give Tanner enough info that he would be satisfied, but not so much that he felt like he needed to step in and save the world.
“No, I trust her. But she’s gotten in with some bad people.
She didn’t want the twins around them, so she asked me if I could take care of them for a while. ”
“And those are the same people we’re hiding from now? The ones in the alley, who also hurt the priest? I thought those were just the hired muscle. They work for the Mr. Jeter on the phone. Is that the person who was able to get the cars to the 911 call so quickly?”
He was studying her too closely and had way too many details.
She had to derail him. “Yes, the group Melissa is trying to get away from is really good with technology and has found a way to triangulate cell phone signals to locate people. Something to do with multilateration and hybrid positioning systems.”
Most people’s eyes started to glaze over any time technical terms came into play. But Tanner’s didn’t. He might not have understood what she was saying, but she had no doubt he would be further researching it.
Fine. Everything she was telling him was vague enough that he wouldn’t draw attention from the Organization if he started searching the terms. And when the terms didn’t really lead him anywhere useful, he wouldn’t blame her. After all, why would she know specifics about triangulation?
It wasn’t like she had helped design the technology when she was thirteen years old or anything.
“And that’s it? It’s some sort of technologically savvy group of general bad guys she’s in trouble with?”
Yeah, it sounded ridiculous when he said it like that. But Bree nodded. “Pretty much.”
“So you agreed to watch the twins to help her out?”
“Yes, she was afraid if they knew where the twins were, they would take them and force her to do more work for them.”
At least that much was true.
Tanner’s eyes narrowed. “If this group is so technologically advanced and wants your cousin, wouldn’t they know to come after you first?”
Damn it, this man was too intelligent for his own good.
“We had a falling-out years ago and hadn’t talked to each other in a decade. That’s why she came to me, because there were no ties to be found.”
Mostly because the Organization thought she was dead.
He was studying her with those brown eyes that never seemed to miss anything. She couldn’t tell how much he was believing and how much he wasn’t. There wasn’t much more she could tell him.
She just needed him to let her lie low while Melissa tried to figure it out.
She ignored the voice in her head that told her that was never going to happen. That there was no way Melissa was a match for the Organization and would be able to crack the files she’d stolen, not when they were already a little suspicious of her.
Bree’s heart hurt for her cousin. Hurt for the fact that she lost Christian—another victim of the Organization, just like her mother.
Hurt that Melissa was missing seeing her babies get bigger day by day.
Hurt that if Melissa didn’t stop the Organization in time, all of this would be for naught anyway.
“What? What is it you’re thinking right now?” She blinked rapidly as Tanner’s thumb trailed gently down her cheek. She hadn’t even realized he’d moved, but he was crouching beside her.
She couldn’t tell him any of this. She wanted to—so desperately she wanted to share this burden, but she couldn’t. Risk Peak needed him. He was a good man, and she refused to sign his death warrant.
But she couldn’t seem to quite make herself pull away from his touch, either.
“I just want everything to be okay, but I don’t see any way that that’s going to happen.”
“I can help. I might not be able to do anything as law enforcement in Risk Peak, but I’ve got contacts.
Federal law enforcement. Colorado Springs is the headquarters for Omega Sector, a specialized task force equipped to handle this sort of thing.
I know people there. I can help you and your cousin. ”
He said it with such conviction that she couldn’t help but believe him. For just a moment, she almost caved. But she had no proof. Nobody would believe the word of a woman who was a ghost over that of a charity that had helped thousands and thousands of people.
“I have to give Melissa time. She’s the only one who knows all the details of what’s going on.” She looked away as she told the lie, but his thumb was still gentle against her cheek.
“There’s more, Bree. I know there’s more you’re not telling me.”
She’d never had anyone be this gentle with her before. Not just the touch, but the patience. The concern.
Her mom, before the paranoia had completely taken her mind, had loved Bree—loved her enough to risk her own life. But she’d always been gruff, worried, scared.
Tanner Dempsey was none of those things.
His fingers seemed to burn against her skin. She had to pull away.
But there was more truth she could give him.
“I’m afraid I’m ruining those kids. I’m not good with people, anyone can see that.
” It was one of the things she liked about computers.
With technology there was no emotional subtext.
Coding was straightforward, logical, decisive.
She didn’t have to worry about nuances and emotional harm.
“If Melissa had any other choice, she wouldn’t have chosen me to care for Christian and Beth, believe me. ”
He shook his head. “Anyone can tell that you love those children, Bree. They are not missing out on anything, especially not affection.”
“Then how come Christian cries all the time?”
She meant it as a distraction, but as the words came out, she realized it was a true fear. Why would Christian cry all the time if he was getting what he needed?
“Some babies just cry more than others.”
“Maybe he’s smart enough to subconsciously realize I’m not as good as his mother and that his developmental needs aren’t being met because his caretaker is emotionally stunted.”
Tanner chuckled before his hands cupped her face and his lips touched hers briefly, lightly, before pulling away. “Or maybe the kid is just colicky.”
He stood, backing away. Bree’s fingers touched her lips where his had just been. He’d meant it as a kiss of camaraderie, encouragement. A show of support.
What would he think if he knew that was the first time she’d ever been kissed by a man in her entire life?
Then maybe he’d be more likely to agree with her about the emotional stuntedness.
“I want to help your cousin, Bree,” he said. “And you. Because as long as they’re willing to hurt other people to force her to do what they want, you’re not safe. I can’t turn a blind eye to that.”
She couldn’t let him start digging into it. “Just give her more time. She’s gathering the evidence she needs, and when she has it, she’ll go to the police.”
Or they would run. Either way, it wouldn’t be his problem anymore.
His dark brows furrowed together. “Doing nothing, knowing there’s danger out there, doesn’t sit well with me.”
Now she stood and grabbed his hand. “I just need somewhere to lie low and keep the babies safe. Risk Peak is a good place to do that. No one is looking for me there.”
She thought about her paranoia and the eyes she always felt on her there. But that couldn’t be the Organization, so she would just have to keep it under control.
“Fine.” Tanner nodded. “I’ll let it go for now. But you can bet that I’m going to be sticking to you like glue, Bree Daniels. If someone is coming for you or those babies, they’ll have to go through me first.”
She didn’t know if the fluttering in her chest was relief or panic.