Chapter Twenty-Five
Fear was a fist in Tanner’s throat, blocking his airway. He let out a vile curse. “What the hell is going on here, Fletcher?”
Tanner rushed toward them, but Fletcher pulled out a knife and held it against Bree’s ribs. “No farther, or she’ll be dead before she hits the floor. Oh, wait—she won’t hit the floor. She’ll just dangle there in the air.”
Tanner stopped his approach. He didn’t want to tip her balance in the chair or cause Ryan to do anything to hurt her further.
“Fine.” He held his hands out in front of him in a gesture of surrender, wishing desperately he’d brought his weapon.
Bree’s arms were restrained behind her back, and there was a piece of industrial tape covering her mouth. Her beautiful green eyes were wide and frantic as she struggled to keep her balance with her toes on the chair.
Yes, this was a very familiar scene, and Tanner knew exactly what she was going through.
“Hang in there, freckles,” he said in a low voice.
Ryan laughed, the sound cruel and ugly. “Hang in there? That’s a pretty poor choice of words if you’re trying to provide her any comfort.”
“I don’t know what kind of sick game you’re playing, but it ends now. Cut. Her. Down.”
Fletcher’s handsome face contorted into a sneer. “No, I don’t think so. Not after all the trouble I went through to get us to this place. I think it’s about time that you learned what it’s like to lose someone.”
Tanner’s body twitched with the need to move as Ryan took the point of his knife and ran it down Bree’s bare arm.
“My original plan involved you rotting in prison for a few life sentences, but it didn’t take me very long to realize how deeply you have everyone fooled. Everyone in this entire damn county thinks that you’re some sort of hero. They have no understanding of what you really are—a murderer.”
Tanner tried to wrap his head around what Ryan was saying, while keeping his eyes glued to Bree’s face. “I didn’t kill those guys. Glen Carrico admitted to it.”
Ryan shook his head. “Glen Carrico had about twenty-three more seconds to live and was willing to do whatever he could to keep his baby brother from being transferred to big-boy prison. I was happy to scratch Carrico’s back if he scratched mine.”
It was all starting to make sense to Tanner. “You are behind the whole thing from the beginning. Did you kill Anders, Newkirk and Duquette yourself?”
Tanner grimaced when Ryan gave the chair Bree was balancing on a little push, causing her to rock haphazardly. Tears squeezed out of her panicked eyes.
He made his peace right then and there that he was going to have to kill a man he thought was his friend.
And he wasn’t going to hesitate.
He let out the breath he’d been holding as Bree finally found her balance again.
He knew the terror she was going through.
Knew how tired the muscles in her legs would be from trying to hold her weight at an awkward angle and just on her toes.
It wouldn’t be long before her calves would begin to cramp and seize.
He could feel the phantom noose around his own throat like it was yesterday.
“Yeah, I killed them.” Ryan raised an eyebrow. “So what? The world should thank me for removing people like them from the streets. Hell, you were the one who stated outright that they should stay in jail.”
“But that didn’t mean I thought they should be killed.”
Ryan shrugged one shoulder carelessly. “They were just a means to an end, anyway. Their deaths were supposed to be your fall from grace. But nobody was willing to believe the great and mighty Tanner Dempsey could possibly be the bad guy.”
There was no point in trying to argue that Tanner hadn’t actually killed anyone and that was why no one believed him capable of it.
“Why are you doing this, Ryan? Because of Nate? Why now? You and I have been hanging out for years.”
“And never once during that time did you mention the fact that if you would’ve broken that rope around your neck sooner—tried a little harder—you could’ve saved Nate’s life.”
It all became clear to Tanner.
“You got into Dr. Michalski’s hacked files.” That had to be it. Besides Noah and Bree, Michalski was the only other person he’d talked about Nate’s death with.
And he’d said those very words. Felt that very guilt. That if he’d just made an effort and snapped the rope sooner, he could’ve stopped Nate from being shot.
“Michalski’s files are what brought Carrico and me together.
All the times I talked with you, I always thought you had done everything you could to save Nate.
That you weren’t to be blamed. But I was wrong, wasn’t I?
You are to be blamed, yet no one ever did.
Not even so much as a mark on your file. ”
“Ryan—”
“Don’t try to talk your way out of this.
Don’t forget I’ve had plenty of time watching you work people on the stands.
I used to admire you for it, how smooth you were.
But that was before I realized that you were a murderer.
Then it was like my blinders were ripped off and I could finally see you for what you really were—an egotistical bastard who thinks he’s better than everyone. ”
“Ryan, please believe me. I would’ve saved your brother if I could’ve—”
“Liar!”
Tanner watched in horror as Ryan pulled the chair out from under Bree’s outstretched leg. Without its support, she fell forward and the rope began to strangle her. She began to flail, her body instinctively trying to do whatever it could to ease the pressure on her throat and allow oxygen in.
Tanner rushed toward them but stopped when Ryan brought the knife tip up to the side of Bree’s neck. The way she was jerking caused her to jab herself into it. Blood soon began trickling down her throat.
“Stop, or she dies this second.”
“Get the chair back under her legs, right damn now.” Tanner could feel every muscle in his body tensed to attack. Could he get to Ryan before he dealt Bree a fatal blow with a knife?
He relaxed the slightest bit when Ryan pulled the knife away from her neck and placed the chair back under her legs.
The pressure was off her throat now, but she was still panicking, unable to breathe under the tape.
“Ryan, take that tape off her mouth.”
Bree’s chest was moving at a way too rapid pace for the amount of oxygen she was able to get in. She was going to hyperventilate, and that would be deadly in her current state. Passing out might lower her breathing rate, but it would also mean she couldn’t keep her balance on the chair.
“Freckles,” he said, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. “Look at me. You can do this.”
He didn’t even know if she heard him. Her eyes were still wild and darting all around the room, her chest heaving.
“Goddamn it, Ryan, if she passes out, you won’t have any leverage over me whatsoever.” And Tanner was damn well going to kill him. “Take the tape off now.”
Ryan let out an annoyed sigh. “Fine.” He reached up and ripped the tape brutally off her face.
Bree flinched, then began sucking in big gulps of air. They weren’t out of danger yet. The oxygen now flooding her system could make her just as dizzy.
“Freckles, I need you to slow down your breathing. If you pass out, there’s nothing to keep you balanced on that chair. Look at me.”
Those green eyes finally settled on his face. She watched him, and he took slow breaths with her, getting her to match his. “That a girl. You’re amazing.”
Ryan just watched the entire exchange, shaking his head.
“You know, she is the reason I really couldn’t tolerate this anymore.
It’s bad enough that you fooled everyone who knows you into thinking you’re some sort of hero.
Then you actually get to fall in love? Have a wonderful future with someone?
Nate didn’t get to have that. So it was totally unacceptable to me that you would. ”
“So your grand plan was to frame me for murder?”
“It wasn’t enough just to kill you.” Ryan was so angry, spittle flew from his mouth as he spoke. “The world needed to know the truth about you. That you’re the enemy and to be feared, not to be revered.”
Tanner took a slight step closer. He needed to keep Ryan distracted long enough to be in diving range. And he had to be able to tackle him from an angle that would lead him away from Bree.
“I guess I played right into your hands by running. That was a nice touch.”
Ryan shrugged. “It definitely would’ve been more difficult to pin all this on you if you had been there to answer all their questions. It’s so ridiculous how much people wanted to believe you were innocent.”
“Even Whitaker?” Tanner took another slight step forward. He wanted to look at Bree, to reassure her, but he knew he needed to keep Ryan’s attention focused on him.
“Especially Whitaker. I thought for sure that guy wouldn’t be blinded by your halo since he’s not from around here, but he fell for your lies just as much as everyone else.”
Ryan wasn’t actually interested in the truth.
Whitaker didn’t like Tanner much at all, and he definitely wasn’t blind to Tanner’s faults.
If Tanner had been the real killer, Whitaker wouldn’t have hesitated for a second to take him down.
But all Ryan could see were the lies he’d convinced himself of.
“So when it became apparent I wasn’t going to be able to convince the people around here of your deceit and depravity, I decided I had to change my tactics. I wouldn’t have the joy of seeing you rot in prison for the rest of your life, but I could still put Nate’s ghost to rest by killing you.”
“Then kill me. But leave Bree out of this. She has nothing to do with you, me, Nate or any of it.”
“Tanner...”
Hearing her shredded voice absolutely gutted him. It had been weeks before his own voice had recovered from his ordeal. Weeks of not being able to swallow without pain.
Ryan turned to her but thankfully didn’t move the chair again. “Did you know your boyfriend was a murderer? Did you know that if he just tried a little harder he could’ve saved my brother’s life? That Nate would still be here?”