Chapter Seventeen
Tanner let out a vile curse. “What exactly are you saying? That Jeter escaped?”
Because two hours was definitely more than enough time for Jeter to have gotten to where Bree was right now alone.
“I’ve already made some calls.” Greg’s voice was rapid and hoarse.
“I’ve explained the situation and the prison warden on-site at the crash assures me that no prisoners are missing.
The issue was, with the multiple injuries, some of them severe, they had to send prisoners to multiple hospitals.
But all of them went in handcuffs and all the hospitals are aware of their criminal status. ”
That made Tanner feel marginally better, but not enough to be willing to leave Bree alone. Not until he knew for sure that Jeter wasn’t out in the open.
“Why weren’t we notified right away?”
“I was in court, and my assistant couldn’t get ahold of me. The moment she did, I called you. I’m staying on top of it as much as possible and will report back to you as soon as I have any more details.”
“Do.” It wasn’t a request. When it came to Bree’s safety Tanner was not going to worry about being polite. “Immediately, Greg. No matter how big or small.”
“I will.”
Tanner disconnected the call without another word.
He immediately called Bree and tried not to panic when the call went to voice mail. She never answered her phone if she had an option.
He texted her instead.
Problem with Jeter. Stay inside the coffeehouse until I or an officer comes for you. Call me.
He waited a few seconds for a response, fighting back a little more panic when there was none. She was focused. Might be in a situation talking to the other kidnappers online where every second counted and couldn’t answer him.
Tanner tried to focus on the facts. The prison warden had assured Greg no prisoners had escaped.
There was no reason to think that wasn’t true.
And even if Jeter had managed to escape unnoticed, how would he even know where Bree was?
Until thirty minutes ago they didn’t even know where Bree would be, so there was no way Jeter could’ve set a trap for her.
Somehow none of this reassured him.
He placed a call to Whitaker. He couldn’t leave here, since he didn’t have a car anyway, but he needed to get eyes on Bree immediately.
Whitaker picked up on the first ring. “What’s wrong?”
Whitaker knew Tanner well enough to know that he would not be calling in the middle of an important operation if it wasn’t important.
“I just got word that Michael Jeter is currently MIA. There was a prison transfer bus accident with multiple injuries and right now we’re not exactly sure where he is, although there is no report of any escapees.”
“What do you need?”
“I can’t get to Bree myself, but I’d feel much better knowing we have eyes on her. I know there’s no reason to think Jeter is anywhere nearby, but...”
“I’ll get a couple of uniformed officers over to the coffeehouse right away. Better safe than sorry.”
“Thanks, man. I didn’t want to leave my post, but Bree didn’t answer my text and everything about Jeter makes me uncomfortable.”
“No need to explain,” Whitaker said. “Not to mention, we need Bree more now than ever. I’ll have somebody on her in less than five minutes.”
Tanner disconnected and immediately tried Bree’s cell again, biting back a curse when the call went straight to voice mail again and his text still went unread.
He was about to try again when the walkie-talkie in his hand clicked on.
“The perp is on the run,” Penelope announced. “Repeat, perp is on the run. He sneaked out some back door and is probably headed in your direction, Tanner.”
“Roger that. I’m ready.”
“No weapons unless you perceive a direct threat to you.”
“Got it.” Definitely didn’t make things easier, but it wasn’t Tanner’s policy to shoot a fleeing suspect in the back unless he was a direct threat to those around him.
Less than thirty seconds later Tanner heard the door open in front of him. He immediately brought up his weapon. He wasn’t going to shoot the guy, but the guy didn’t need to know that.
And, damn, this one was definitely much bigger than Elliot Webster. Guy looked like a linebacker.
“Police,” Tanner shouted. The perp didn’t need to know that Tanner wasn’t Dallas police. “Stay where you are and put your hands where I can see them.”
The guy didn’t even slow down. He was running at Tanner at full speed.
Damn it, Tanner did not have time for this. He didn’t want to chase this guy down the block and waste valuable time that could be used making sure Bree was safe. He didn’t care if the guy looked like he was going to run over Tanner. Tanner had played some football in his time too.
He knew how to take a hit. And he definitely knew how to keep an opponent from reaching his objective. In high school that had been keeping a running back from scoring a touchdown.
Now it was keeping this guy from escaping the alley.
Tanner bent his knees and braced himself for the impact as the guy paid no heed to the warning of the gun and continued to barrel toward him. At the last moment Tanner dropped even lower in his stance and flew toward the guy, tackling him low in the legs.
The guy wasn’t expecting the move from Tanner, obviously betting on the fact that Tanner wouldn’t shoot and never considering Tanner wouldn’t just get out of the way.
The bigger they are the harder they fall was a saying for a reason, and this guy hitting the ground hard just further proved it.
Penelope had asked him not to shoot the perp, and Tanner didn’t. But that didn’t stop him from clocking the guy in the jaw with his elbow when he tried to stand back up and get away again.
“You have the right to remain silent. You’re under arrest, you son of a bitch.”
The guy grunted and threw a punch at Tanner. He saw stars as the guy’s meaty fist caught him on the jaw.
Tanner returned the favor with a blow of his own, flipping the guy over while he was dazed. “You have the right to remain silent, although I personally hope you’ll sing like a canary.”
Tanner didn’t even care that he was making a mockery of the Miranda rights.
Somebody was going to have to reread them to him when they arrested him for real.
Tanner was basically babysitting until then.
Babysitting a six-foot-two, two-hundred-pound baby struggling to get away from him, but babysitting nonetheless.
It was only a few more seconds before some members of the SWAT team burst through the door and ran up to Tanner, taking over the arrest process. Tanner was more than happy to let them do it.
Whitaker came rushing around the corner, weapon drawn. He holstered it when he saw the SWAT team had the situation well under control.
Whitaker brought his walkie-talkie closer to his mouth. “Penelope, we’ve got the suspect in custody.”
“Good,” the woman responded. “We’ve got the victim. She’s alive and still out of danger with the water. We’ve got it turned off, but evidently this guy didn’t know we were coming like Elliot did.”
Tanner brought up his own walkie-talkie. “Penelope, I’ve got to go. I have reason to think Bree might be in danger.” He looked over at Whitaker.
The man shook his head. “The officers should’ve already been in contact with her and reported back. I haven’t heard anything.”
The walkie-talkie clicked back on. “You two go. There’s nothing you can do now anyway. I think we caught this guy before he could contact the others, so we definitely need to find Bree to figure out our next move.”
Tanner and Whitaker were running for the car before she even finished the sentence. As soon as they got inside, they were both on the phone—Tanner trying Bree’s cell again and Whitaker calling the officers who should have found her already.
Tanner once again got no response and whatever Whitaker heard had him cursing.
“Well, did you talk to any of the employees and ask if they’d seen her?”
Whitaker didn’t like whatever the officer answered and Tanner could feel his heart begin to hammer.
“We’ll be there in less than five minutes. Make sure you’ve checked every possible spot in that café that she could be. Bathrooms. Storage room. Bree can sometimes want to have privacy, so check the places that might seem unusual to you.”
What Whitaker was saying was right, but why would Bree be hiding when it had been such a short time? Why would she leave the safety of the coffeehouse at all?
She wouldn’t. She’d be working.
It was all Tanner could do not to yell at Whitaker to drive faster. The man was driving as fast as he could. Instead, Tanner redialed Greg’s number.
Greg didn’t waste time when he answered. “Tanner. I’m still working on it. The last thing I heard was that Jeter was sent to Parkland Hospital. I’ve sent one of my people over there to confirm. But the word is still that none of the prisoners escaped. Is Bree okay?”
“We can’t get ahold of her and she’s not where she’s supposed to be.”
Greg let out a curse. “As soon as my guy arrives at the hospital I’ll give you a call back.”
“Thanks.” Tanner disconnected the call as they pulled up in front of the coffeehouse and he rushed inside. The uniformed officers were talking to the staff behind the counter. Tanner and Whitaker double-checked all the possible rooms where Bree could be.
She wasn’t there.
Fear emptied into him like an icy downpour.
He pulled a picture from his phone and held it up in front of the manager. “Her. Was she in here? Did she leave with anyone?”
“Yeah, I remember her,” the manager said. “She was mad because the internet hasn’t been working right today.”
The tightness in Tanner’s chest eased just slightly. Not having working internet would be one of the few reasons why Bree would have left of her own volition. He pulled out his phone and dialed hers again.
It was only because the rest of the room was so quiet that they heard the vibrating of a phone in the back corner as Tanner called. Whitaker ran back there.
“It’s her phone.”
The manager nodded. “Yeah, that’s where she was sitting.” Tanner disconnected the call and walked over to the corner. He and Whitaker both looked around.
“There’s no sign of a struggle,” Whitaker said. “And somebody would’ve seen if Jeter was here and tried to take her out.”
Tanner nodded. “And no internet here means she could’ve left on her own. It’s the one reason she would.”
They both looked up as the bell chimed on the door as someone entered.
The ball of ice around his heart eased when he saw it was Bree, laptop held in one arm, typing with the other hand, screen up to her face, completely unaware that everyone in the coffeehouse was looking at her. She literally nearly ran into Whitaker before she even looked up.
“Excuse me, I left my phone and I—” She finally realized it was them. “Oh, hey. What are you guys doing here?”
Tanner scrubbed a hand over his face. This was Bree. He’d seen her get lost more than once while working on computers. Couldn’t remember to do even the most basic of tasks like feed herself or go to sleep. He couldn’t get frustrated with her for being herself.
The most important thing was that she was safe and he was going to make sure she stayed that way.
“We caught the bad guy and got to the victim. The victim is going to be okay and we don’t think the perp was able to get word to anyone else,” Tanner said, taking the computer from her, setting it on the table and pulling her against his chest.
She was fine. Thank God, she was okay.
Bree didn’t question his actions, just snuggled against him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Good. I’ve sent separate messages to the other two. As long as they are not conferring with each other separately, I think they both will eventually take the bait.”
She finally reached back and took a good look at him. “Are you sure you’re okay? I thought you said the woman was alive.” She reached up and smoothed her small thumb across his brow. “Why so worried?”
He couldn’t hide this from her. They’d come too far in their relationship, in their trust in one another, to keep something as critical as Jeter’s whereabouts from her. Tanner respected her too much for that.
But damn he didn’t want to tell her that her worst nightmare was unaccounted for.
“It’s Jeter. There was a crash of the prison bus and no one is completely sure where Jeter is.”