Calculated Risk

by Janie Crouch

  She slid the door open quietly and stepped back into the alley. Glancing both ways, she turned and walked rapidly in the opposite direction from the way she’d come.

  It looked like she was going to make it out of the city alive after all.

  She was about to round the corner into the larger avenue when a hand reached out from the shadows, covered her mouth and yanked her hard against the wall.

  Chapter Nine

  Tanner kept his hand tightly over Bree’s mouth and pushed her harder against the wall. Her back went ramrod straight, and he knew it would only be a split second before she panicked and started fighting him.

  Which was definitely going to draw the attention of the three armed men less than twenty feet away. Bree had been about to walk into them.

  “Bree.” His voice was so low it was almost silent. It was only because his mouth was right against her ear that she’d be able to hear him. “It’s Tanner.”

  Her body relaxed enough that he at least knew she understood him and didn’t think of him as a threat.

  He couldn’t help but be aware of all the feminine curves pushed up against him, but he forced those thoughts from his mind.

  He loosened his hand on her mouth just the slightest bit. “We’ve got trouble. Do you understand?”

  She nodded.

  He heard footsteps and pushed up against her more tightly, making sure he was between her and the guys he’d seen carrying weapons at their waists a few minutes ago.

  She pulled at his hand. He let her mouth go, and she immediately began wiggling around, shifting her small body until they were front to front.

  Perfect—if ignoring the sexy back curves of this beautiful woman wasn’t hard enough, now he had to ignore sexy front curves also.

  He brought his finger up to his lips, and she nodded once more. He tucked her more firmly up into the doorway corner, drawing his own weapon from its holster.

  It wasn’t the best odds against three armed men, but it was better than nothing.

  “Where is she?” one voice said from about ten feet away now. If the men shifted much closer, they would practically fall over him and Bree.

  “She didn’t come down my way. We had both exits covered,” another voice said. “Did you see her inside?”

  Bree stiffened as the third man responded. “I just got in there, since we were given the wrong info. I had to take care of the priest so he didn’t wander out and see anything.”

  “Dead?”

  “No. Seemed unnecessary. Unconscious. Weathers was talking to someone, but I didn’t get there in time to see who.”

  All three men got quiet as a phone rang.

  “Hello, Mr. Jeter,” guy number one said.

  Bree began breathing rapidly and was all but trembling in Tanner’s arms now. What the hell was going on?

  “We followed Ms. Weathers to a church in Denver. It looks like she was talking to someone, but we’re not sure who.”

  Tension continued to rocket through Bree’s slender body as the person on the other end spoke.

  “No, sir,” the first man finally replied. “No positive ID or pictures. We’re working on that now.”

  Another pause.

  “No, I don’t think coming here yourself is a good option.”

  The trembling in Bree’s limbs became more pronounced.

  “By the time you got here, the scene would be cold. Let us continue to search. It might have been a random stranger. Ms. Weathers has been known to stop and talk to people since the accident.” He paused.

  “Yes, sir. We’ll keep looking and keep you posted.” He obviously disconnected the call. “If we don’t want the boss here trying to do our job for us and handing us our asses, let’s find out who Weathers was talking to.”

  “Maybe she’s still in the church. Whoever it was couldn’t have gotten far,” the third voice said.

  The men’s voices began to fade as they walked back toward the church door.

  “The third one was inside the church,” Bree whispered. “He was on the phone, talking about communion. He walked not five feet away from me.”

  “And if he had found you?” Tanner whispered in her ear.

  She didn’t say anything. Had he really expected her to? At least she wasn’t shaking anymore.

  He was going to have answers, but first they needed to get out of here.

  A few moments later, he stepped back from her and took her hand, and they moved quickly together down the alley. As soon as they were at an open corner, relatively safe since people were around everywhere, he grabbed his phone.

  “I’ve got to call this in.”

  He wasn’t prepared for the utter panic that blanketed her features. She grabbed his wrist with both of her hands.

  “No. Tanner, please.”

  He shook his head. “Those men were armed. You heard them. One said he hurt the priest. Were they going to hurt you if they had found you?”

  She nodded slowly.

  “Then I need to call this in,” he continued. “I don’t know why you’re protecting them, but it ends now.”

  “I’m not protecting them. I’m protecting me. If you call this in, I’m as good as dead.”

  “Because you’re on the run.”

  Her face was ashen, huge green eyes dwarfing the rest of her features. “Yes, but not from the law.”

  It was the first time she’d admitted there was something bad going on with her.

  He shook his head. “I can’t do nothing.”

  She rubbed her fingers over her eyes. “I know this is going to sound crazy, but can you drive to the nearest police station and tell them in person rather than call?”

  He shook his head. “That will take too long. The priest might need medical attention. What if I call anonymously? I can even call the police department directly, so they won’t trace the call like they do 911 calls. I won’t give them my name.”

  He would do it, even though it went against his code as a law enforcement officer.

  “No, they’ll still be able to link it back to your phone. And it will draw even more attention because you didn’t do what was expected.” She began to look around frantically. “Plus, being here in Denver at the exact same time. They’d be stupid not to put that together.”

  “Exact same time as what? And who is they?”

  “You’re only going to believe me if I show you.”

  Tanner wanted to throw up his hands in frustration. “Bree.” He put his hands on both her arms. “Show me what?”

  “Do you trust me?”

  He rolled his eyes. “About as far as I can throw you.”

  “Well, do you think you could throw me across that street?” She pointed at a man who was talking on his phone, standing at a coffee shop kitty-corner from the church.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Go to that man. Get him to call 911 and tell them the priest is in trouble. But as soon as he does it, you’ve got to get out of sight. They’re in the area, so it won’t take them long to pinpoint the location of the call. So have the guy make the call, then get back over here quickly.”

  This was a lot of cloak-and-dagger stuff even for a cop. But he had no doubt Bree’s fear was real.

  “You stay right here.” He pointed to the ground. He wanted her where he could see her.

  She shook her head. “I can’t be out here. I can’t be around anybody else when this happens. They’ll immediately utilize every cell phone in a half-mile grid.”

  Tanner gritted his teeth. Before this day was over, he was going to understand what the hell she was talking about. “Remember that part about not as far as I can throw you?”

  “If you don’t trust me, can you at least trust that I want to get back to the twins without leading any sort of danger to them?”

 
He grimaced, but he had to agree. Bree wouldn’t do anything to hurt the babies. They were wasting time. He nodded at her, and she took off to a little park with no people around.

  Tanner jogged over to the man still glancing at his phone in front of the church. He pulled out his badge. This would be the easiest way.

  “Excuse me.” He flashed his badge in front of the guy. “My phone just broke and I need you to call 911. We’ve got a priest inside who passed out and injured himself.”

  The guy’s eyes got big. “Are you serious, man? Sure, no problem.”

  Tanner stayed long enough to make sure the guy was really calling, then slipped away toward the park.

  And didn’t see Bree there.

  Damn it, had she run? He was on his way to getting well and truly angry when she stuck her head out from behind a large tree and gestured frantically for him to come over. He just made it to her, and was about to read her the riot act, when a car—multiple cars—came screeching up behind him, pulling right up on the guy who had called 911.

  “What the hell?” Bree’s slender arm grabbed his shirt and yanked him behind the tree with her.

  There was no way emergency response could’ve gotten there that fast, less than a minute after the call. And even if they had, they wouldn’t have wasted their time going to the guy on the phone when there was a possibly injured man inside the church.

  Tanner peeked out to see the men in suits questioning the 911 caller. Bree was between him and the tree, her back to him, but she wasn’t looking. She already knew who was there.

  “Those are the same guys from the alley, right?”

  She nodded.

  “How did they get there so fast?” Tanner asked. “Are they tracing 911 calls or something?”

  “No, it wouldn’t have mattered what number he called. He was flagged because he mentioned the priest in the church. Only a witness would’ve known about the priest.”

  Tanner looked again before pulling his head back. “Those men are dangerous. Are they going to hurt that guy?” He couldn’t sit by and let an innocent bystander get hurt.

  She shook her head. “Not when they find out someone else asked him to make the call. It won’t take them long to figure out he’s not who they want. You are.”

  “Fine. They can have me. I’m law enforcement. I can call in Denver PD backup and we can arrest them. We’ll end this right now.”

  She let out a small laugh that held no humor whatsoever. “Those guys are nothing more than hired guns. Arresting them wouldn’t accomplish anything.”

  “It would be a start. I’ve got at least one admitting to hurting the priest.”

  “If you arrest them, you’ll be bringing danger right to my doorstep. To Christian and Beth’s doorstep.”

  He snatched his head back behind the tree as the 911 caller pointed in their general direction. The men in the suits evidently wanted to know who had asked him to make the call.

  “We’ve got trouble,” he said. “We’re going to have to run.”

  She nodded. “I can keep up.”

  She wasn’t lying. They moved from tree to tree, using the natural park coverage for as long as they could. And then they bolted. He heard a shout from behind them, and they pushed faster.

  Tanner was in good shape, kept himself physically fit for the job and because it was how he liked to feel. Even with Bree’s assurances, he thought he would have to slow down significantly for her to be able to keep up with him.

  He was wrong.

  Bree was with him almost step for step. Was actually running faster because her shorter gait meant more steps. She was definitely very much in shape.

  They circled back around on the outside of the park, cutting sharply to the left down a crowded avenue.

  “If anyone has their phone out, try to keep your face averted,” she panted. “It’s important that they don’t catch your picture.”

  “If we don’t want anyone getting us on picture or video, we’re much better off blending in rather than bolting through.”

  She stopped running almost immediately. “You’re right. Damn it, you’re right.”

  It was like she was mad at herself for breaking a rule she knew about.

  They kept moving quickly, but not fast enough to be interesting to any passersby. Tanner glanced over his shoulder and saw two of the men in suits turning down the avenue. They obviously weren’t sure exactly who they were looking for, and their progress was slower because they had to look more closely at everyone.

  “We should split up,” Bree said.

  “No way in hell.” He reached down and wrapped her hand in his, a little afraid she might bolt.

  “They’re looking for a couple. Separating is logical. We could meet up later when it’s safe.”

  “But it also makes us more vulnerable.” He wasn’t worried about himself, he was worried about her. “What would happen if they caught you?” He held her hand more tightly in his, ignoring the relief he felt when she didn’t try to pull away.

  “I’d probably be dead before my body hit the ground,” she murmured.

  Damn it. “Then we definitely stay together.”

  They ducked around a family, and Bree turned more fully to him, putting her hand on his forearm and squeezing. “It’s me they want, not you. You don’t have to be in danger. This isn’t your fight.”

  He shook his head. “We stay together.”

  She looked like she wanted to argue further, but there was no time.

  When Tanner saw a suit enter the crowded street from the other direction, conspicuous because of his obvious observation of everyone, he wrapped an arm around Bree and pulled her into the nearest shop.

  “Someone just entered the street from the other end. Waiting them out is probably our best bet.”

  She nodded. “We need to find somewhere away from people. They’ll start scanning phones soon.”

  He didn’t know exactly what that meant, but it didn’t sound good. “Mine, too?”

  “No, your flip phone is too old. It’s safe.”

  Thank God Grand County was behind the times when it came to updating communication devices.

  Bree looked around the general discount store they’d entered and began pulling him toward the back and the restrooms, then into the separate handicapped bathroom that would give them full privacy. Tanner grabbed an out-of-order sign resting under the water fountain and hung it on the door’s hook as they went inside before shutting and locking the door behind him.

  Bree closed the toilet seat lid and sat down wearily. “This is one of the best places we could’ve probably picked to hide. But we’ll have to stay here probably an hour to make sure they’ve given up. Hopefully by then they’ll just assume they lost us.”

  Tanner leaned back against the sink. “Good. That should give us enough time for you to tell me exactly what’s going on. Starting with who those babies belong to. Because you’re sure as hell not their biological mother.”

  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?