Chapter Twenty-Six
Scott had played them all from the beginning.
As soon as Ronnie had been taken by the ambulance, Tanner was in his vehicle, headed toward Denver. Every minute that passed seemed like an eternity.
No one from law enforcement—even the prestigious Omega Sector—could move in on Michael Jeter without a warrant. And no judge was willing to grant one on the day where Jeter was about to change the course of history by providing a huge technology breakthrough free to everyone.
And trying to explain that the huge technology breakthrough was actually part of a terrorist plot didn’t go over well.
He’d called in a favor and had the lab immediately run the prints on the knife that had been used to stab Ronnie, hoping there might be a link to Jeter. But the prints had been Bree’s. Or, more specifically, Bethany Malone’s.
Tanner damned well knew Bree had not stabbed Ronnie. He didn’t care what it looked like.
But he was on his own trying to find her. And his chances of being able to get to Jeter on this day—when he’d been the keynote speaker of a huge event a few hours ago—were slim to none.
He pulled up to the convention center downtown, parking illegally, flashing his badge at everyone until it got him to someone high enough to tell him where Michel Jeter was located.
“It’s an emergency,” he told a Mr. Kenyon, the manager of the building. “I need to see Jeter immediately.”
Kenyon was maddeningly calm. “I have placed a call to Mr. Jeter’s assistant with your request. I told him it was an emergency, but since you can’t give me any other details about said emergency, I’m afraid no one seems to be taking your request seriously.”
Kenyon gave Tanner a big, toothy smile. Tanner had to force himself not to punch him in it, or follow him when Kenyon turned and walked back into his office.
Tanner’s fingers itched as they fell on the holster at his waist. If he pulled his weapon right now, he could get to Jeter. Get to Bree. Force Kenyon and his big smile to show him where they were.
It would be the end of his law enforcement career. But if it got Bree out of this alive, it would be worth it.
Saying a prayer, he flipped the snap off his holster.
“Save your theatrics, Dempsey,” a voice said from behind him. “I can take you to Jeter without you doing time for terrorizing a building manager when this is said and done.”
Tanner recognized that voice, and he had his weapon coming out of the holster anyway, spinning to face the man behind him.
Creepy, thin man. “Steele.”
Steele held out his hands at shoulder height. “Actually, my name is Chris Martinez.”
Tanner didn’t lower his weapon. “Is that name supposed to mean something to me?”
“Perhaps if I say my full name is Christian, and that the love of my life named one of our children after me, it might ring a bell.”
Now he lowered his weapon. “You’re the twins’ father?”
“Yes. And I worked for the Organization before they had me killed. Or almost had me killed. It’s been a long recovery.”
It explained some of the man’s thinness. And so much else.
“I would love to answer all the three hundred questions burning in your eyes right now, but it will have to wait. I know where Jeter is.”
“How?” Tanner asked.
“I’m not nearly as good as Bree with computers, but I know my way around one enough to be able to hack food services and find out where private meals are being delivered.”
Tanner put his weapon back in the holster. “If you’re lying, I’m arresting your ass.”
Chris rolled his eyes. “I’ll be happy for you to arrest me if we’re still alive in a few hours.”
They made their way through the hordes of people crowding the convention center for the symposium, everyone just milling around.
“They’re all waiting for the big update coming in about five minutes,” Chris explained. “To be here when it goes live gives them bragging rights.”
“If they knew what it was really going to do, they wouldn’t be so thrilled. Bree has been working day and night to try to find a way to stop Jeter. I have no idea if she finished.”
They finally made it into any empty stairwell and started going down.
“If anybody can do it, it’s Bree,” Chris said. “Jeter has been obsessed with her for years, even when it seemed probable that she was dead. Melissa thought she was dead, too.”
Tanner shook his head. “You know, when you said I had three hundred questions for you, that was probably a little on the conservative side.”
“Get us out of this alive, and I promise I’ll answer all of them. As thanks for keeping my children safe.”
As they walked side by side down the hall, Tanner stuck out his hand to shake. “Deal.”
Chris shook then picked up speed. “This hallway isn’t used by anyone but security and food services. It leads from the main suite to the underground parking for bigwigs.”
“Okay.”
“The room is at the end of this hall. Our best bet is probably to try to come in an air duct from the next room or to impersonate hotel staff and get them to open—” Chris stopped to look at his phone when it beeped.
“Oh, my God.” The man couldn’t tear his eyes from the device.
“What?”
Chris shook his head. “That was the Communication for All update. She did it. Holy hell, did she do it.”
“Bree was successful?” Not that Tanner had had much doubt.
Chris was shaking his head in awe. “She just let the whole world know what the inner circle of Communication for All was up to in the most public way possible. Every single one of those bastards will be going down.”
That meant...
Tanner started running. If Jeter had Bree and knew she’d just told the world all his secrets, he would kill her for sure.
Tanner grabbed the fire extinguisher on the wall. He would use it to break down the door.
“Tanner, you don’t know what the situation is like in there. You may be way outgunned.”
“I don’t care.”
Chris pulled out a gun from the back waistband of his jeans. “Then let’s do this. I’ll go to the left.”
Tanner brought the edge of the extinguisher down on the doorknob, feeling it rip from the jamb, then kicked it as hard as he could. Chris ran into the room, gun raised, Tanner a half step behind him.
Jeter had a gun pointed at Bree but turned at the disturbance at the door. Bree didn’t waste any time. She dived at Jeter while he was distracted, Melissa jumping on top of him to help her cousin.
Chris made his own dive for the guard closest to the door, while Tanner turned and raised his weapon at Scott.
“Drop it, Scott. I don’t want to have to—”
Scott’s eyes narrowed, and he brought his weapon up and pointed it at Tanner.
Tanner pulled the trigger, the sound barreling through the room. Scott fell back against the wall then slid down it, eyes closed. Tanner kicked the gun away from his hand and turned.
Bree and Melissa had wrested the gun from Jeter, and Melissa was pointing it at him.
“Tanner?” Bree’s green eyes were huge. “Are you okay?”
He smiled at her. “Takes more than a chubby middle school kid to stop me. Are you okay?”
Melissa still had the gun pointing straight at Jeter’s head. “You deserve to die. For what you’ve done. What you were going to do.”
Tanner recognized that tone. The woman was going to kill Jeter.
“Mellie, no,” Bree said. “Don’t. Not like this.”
“He’s a monster. He killed Chris.”
“No, he didn’t, angel.” Chris moved from the guard he’d knocked unconscious. “And I’d very much like it if I didn’t have to come visit my wife in prison. We’ve got a lot of time to make up for.”
Melissa froze, looking like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “Chris?”
She handed the gun to Bree and launched herself at him.
Jeter ignored them and looked at Bree. “You’re making a mistake. We’re two of the greatest technological minds of this century. Together we would be unstoppable. Think about it.”
“The only thing I need to think about concerning you is that neither I nor any of my loved ones will ever be hurt by you again. And that’s more than enough for me.” She turned to Tanner. “Captain, will you please read Mr. Jeter his rights?”
Tanner cupped her cheek. “It would be my pleasure.”