by Janie Crouch
She forced the memory from her mind now as she wrapped her arms around her knees once again and pulled them against her chest.
She closed her eyes. “It wasn’t beyond their capacity. They used starvation and sleep deprivation first, but then realized that wasn’t conducive to me actually being able to get the Trojan horse made. So then they went with physical pain—broke my legs in three different places over the course of the year. Finally, they started torturing my mother to get me to cooperate. That worked best.”
“God, Bree...”
“Bethany. Bethany Malone. That’s my real name.” And she hadn’t been able to say it out loud in ten years. “Melissa named Beth after me. But I’m Bree now. Bethany Malone died ten years ago when she hobbled out of the Communication for All campus with a mother who was hanging on to the last grips of sanity.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tanner wanted to grab Bree and pull her into his arms. To comfort both her and the child inside her who had suffered so much.
But the way she said it all with almost no emotion—how they tortured her and her mother—told him she wouldn’t respond to comfort right now.
“My mom gave me eight hours and forty-five minutes’ warning that she’d found a way to get out,” Bree continued, her voice getting more and more distant. “I used that time to do as much damage to the Organization as I could. I made sure to set them back for years, while also erasing every image that had ever been taken of me or my mom. I didn’t want them to be able to find us.”
“That was smart of you.”
“The damage I did to them in eight hours set them back years. I know for a fact Michael Jeter hated me after that. I wish I could’ve seen his face when he’d found out what I’d done.”
But her own face got sadder, not happier. Tanner couldn’t stay away anymore. He sat down and pulled her up against his chest. “You got out. You survived. You bested them. That’s what matters.”
“If I had worked that hard when they wanted me to, they wouldn’t have hurt my mom. She never recovered, Tanner.” She shook her head against his chest. “She never stopped looking over her shoulder, convinced the Organization was there. Never stopped being terrified. Even at the end, she was convinced she was being betrayed and the Organization was coming to get her.”
Bree rubbed her shoulder in the peculiar way he’d seen her do multiple times in the last few weeks.
“She never got over it?”
“No. We moved around all the time. Sometimes we even lived apart if she thought they might be gaining on us. Split up a lot.”
Which explained why she’d wanted to do that when they were in trouble.
“Toward the end...” She trailed off, rubbing the front of her shoulder again so hard he was afraid she was going to leave a mark on her skin.
He pressed his hand over hers so it lay flat against her shirt rather than moving. “Toward the end...she hurt you?”
Bree’s eyes flew to his. “She didn’t mean to. She was confused. Sick. The last few weeks, she was convinced I was working for the Organization. That I was helping them take us back into captivity.”
That didn’t make any sense, of course, but he didn’t need to point that out. Bree was well aware her mother’s fears had been irrational.
“She stabbed me in the shoulder because she thought I had poisoned her. Then she ran outside and right in front of a car. Killed her instantly.”
He gripped her hand in his and brought it down from a wound that was years old but obviously had never healed. Might never heal.
He brought her fingers to his lips. “She needed more help than you could give her. She had a breakdown.”
“She needed a daughter who hadn’t let her mother be tortured until she was never right in the mind again!”
It was the most emotion he’d ever heard out of Bree.
He pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. “No. She sacrificed to get you out of there. She wouldn’t have wanted you to give the Organization what they were demanding. But her head muddied it up.”
She held herself stiff for a moment before relaxing against him with a sigh. “I know. I know she wanted us out of there. I just wish we could’ve gotten out earlier. That I had been smart enough to figure out how to do that rather than just useless computer stuff.”
“Useless? You formulated technology that was years before your time. And you were a child when you did it.”
“And then I destroyed most of it before I left.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Tanner wasn’t sure if that had been the right call or not. But it had definitely been the only choice a teenager who’d been tortured physically, mentally and emotionally had.
“Where does Melissa fit into this?”
“Melissa didn’t know what the Organization really was until recently. She lost everything.” Tanner listened as Bree told him about how Melissa’s fiancé had been killed and how she hid the babies so she could try to make her move against Communication for All.
“But she can’t do it,” Bree said. “She’s not good enough. I’ve known that the whole time but ignored it because I’ve been afraid. They have to be stopped right now, and I’m the only one who can do it.”
“That means coming out of hiding. I can put you in protective custody.”
“No. I’ve been thinking about this all day. In order for this to work, I’ll have to be at the symposium myself. I’ll use their own system against them.”
“I’ll make sure you’re safe.” And he damn well meant it.
A soft sound came from the monitor. Beth was awake. She generally woke up from sleep first and played contentedly for a few minutes until Christian woke and made the entire world aware of his unhappiness.
Bree stood and pointed at the baby monitor. “Those kids need to grow up with their mom. Not with their emotionally stunted second cousin,” she said.
Tanner stood also. “Technically, it’s first cousin once removed.”
Bree laughed, a beautiful sound he wanted to hear more of. “I notice you don’t try to argue the emotionally stunted part.”
He stepped closer. “You’re emotionally guarded, not stunted. And that’s completely understandable.” He slid a hand under the thick brown hair at her nape. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with taking it slow. Believe me, slow can be very, very good.”
He kissed her. Tenderly, aware that this woman—brilliant, brave and about to bring down a major group of criminals—had never known tender kisses. Outside of him, had probably never known any kisses at all.
He would be more than glad to show her any type of kiss she wanted to learn.
She sighed, leaning into him, her trim body brushing against his. He had to struggle to remember to remain tender and gentle.
When Bree’s little tongue brushed against his lips, all thoughts of tender fled. His hands came up to cup her face, tilting her head so he had better access to those sweet lips.
He nibbled at them until they opened then deepened the kiss until it was a melding of their mouths, no space left between them. He knew he should slow things down, but Bree’s arms wrapped snugly around the back of his neck weren’t going to allow it anyway.
Not that he wanted to.
But still he was impossibly cognizant of the need to take this at a speed she could handle and process. No matter how much her lips were driving him crazy.
In the end it wasn’t either of them who broke the kiss, it was Christian letting the world know he was awake.
Bree let out a sigh as they broke away from each other, but at least her eyes still met his. “That kid sure can scream,” she whispered.
“If it wasn’t for him crying, I never would’ve walked down that aisle at the drugstore. But I’m glad both of them aren’t like that.”
She let out a sigh and tilted
her head against his chest. He would’ve gladly stood there forever and let her lean against him. “I don’t have much time to stop the Organization. I have to start right away.”
“What do you need?” he said against her hair.
“A safe place to work, preferably on a government computer so I can more easily cover my tracks.” She pulled back and looked up at him. “And someone to watch the twins. It’s going to take every spare minute before the symposium for me to get inside the Organization’s system. I won’t be able to care for the babies the way they need. It nearly killed me when I was trying to do that before using the library’s internet.”
“That’s why you were there in the middle of the night when you were supposed to be resting?” That made so much sense now.
Those green eyes widened. “How did you know?”
“I saw you there that night. I had no idea what you were doing.”
She nodded. “I was trying to help Melissa. But she told me to stop and focus on the kids and let her worry about the Organization. I don’t even know if she’s still alive, Tanner. She might have risked it all calling me and telling me to get out of the apartment.”
“I know people in federal law enforcement. Omega Sector can have someone knocking on Communication for All’s door today. If she’s still alive, we can get her out.”
Bree thought about that for a moment. “No. If they didn’t catch her, going in there will tip them off and we’ll never be able to stop them. Mellie wants to be free. Wants the twins to be free. The only way that will happen is for me to stop them from the inside.”
“Then we’ll make it happen. Whatever you need. I’ll make sure you have it. You’re not alone in this anymore, Bree.”
Her big green eyes blinked up at him. “I...I...” She faded off with a shrug.
He put a finger over her lips. “You don’t have to know what to say. You don’t even need to know what to feel right now. Let’s go get those babies fed and then let you go to work so you can save the world.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
After helping her feed the kids, Tanner left, telling Bree to pack up everything for the babies. She was crying by the time she got the second armful of baby stuff into the car Noah brought over.
She knew there was every possibility she might not see them again. Despite Tanner’s assurances that they could handle the Organization, he and his federal law enforcement friends in Omega Sector who were waiting on standby really didn’t have any idea of who they were up against.
Tanner thought he could protect her, but she still knew the odds were that she would be dead or, worse, back in the Organization’s clutches by the time the symposium was done.
She couldn’t live through that again.
But she couldn’t do nothing any longer, either.
“You want help loading?” Noah asked. He was standing at the end of the porch, Corfu at his feet.
“No. It’s not heavy. I’m just an emotional basket case.”
Noah didn’t try to argue or placate her. She appreciated that. “Being close to people is hard,” he said. “The price is high.”
“Too high?” she muttered, more to herself than him.
He answered anyway. “Almost always.”
Right at this moment, she didn’t disagree with him. How much simpler her life would’ve been if she’d never opened the door to Melissa in the first place.
She placed the last load of stuff in the car. But how much emptier.
Would it be worth it in the end?
She knew when Tanner was about to show back up by the way Noah disappeared without a word. Sure enough, a car pulled up the long driveway a few moments later.
But when she saw who it was with Tanner, Bree almost burst into tears again.
Dan and Cheryl.
When they rushed out of the car and hugged her, this time, for the first time, she hugged them back.
“Oh, sweetheart! You’re okay!” Cheryl kept her arms around Bree almost in a choke hold, but Bree didn’t mind. “When Tanner told us what was going on, we came right over here to help. I’m so glad you’re safe.”
“And I’m so glad I will eventually heal from the bruises Mrs. A’s smacks gave me when she found out you were here and that I hadn’t really run you out of town,” Tanner muttered.
But he grinned and winked at Bree from where she remained trapped in Cheryl’s arms.
“Dan and Cheryl are going to take the twins and leave town,” Tanner explained.
Cheryl finally pulled back. “We’re going to go visit my son and his wife in Texas. Stay completely out of the fray. Tanner explained that you’re doing something important and dangerous.”
“Yes.”
Dan placed himself so he was between her and Tanner. “Bree, you don’t have to. You can come with us and the babies. We’ll hide out until this all blows over.”
She reached out and grabbed Dan’s hand, something she wouldn’t have been able to do a month ago. “This will never blow over. I have to make a stand here or the babies and I will never be safe.”
Once the Organization uploaded the software to the phones, they would be able to find her no matter where she hid.
“Okay,” Dan said. “I just wanted you to know you have a choice.”
She squeezed his hand. “This is my choice.”
“And I’m going to make sure she’s safe,” Tanner said. “If they want to get to her, they’re going to have to go through me.”
They all spent the next few minutes getting the babies ready for their road trip. Bree kissed them both tenderly before placing them into the car seats. Way before she was ready, they were pulling away.
Bree didn’t cry. Didn’t stare after the car. Didn’t let herself dwell on the fact that she might never see Christian and Beth again.
Instead she pulled on every bit of strength she’d developed from years of living on her own—strength her mother had instilled in Bree before her own strength disappeared—and turned to Tanner.
“It’s time to get to work.”
The Organization had stolen way too much of her life.
She wasn’t going to let them steal any more.
* * *
TANNER HAD NEVER seen someone do what Bree could do with a computer. She had been working for nearly three days straight to try to get into Communication for All’s inner computer system.
She’d tried to explain exactly what she was doing the first day, but he hadn’t understood ninety percent of what she said. So he’d just tugged on her ponytail until she’d looked up from the computer screen and kissed her to shut her up.
He was pretty sure her fingers hadn’t stopped typing the whole time.
The woman was completely focused on the task at hand.
He’d been tempted to distract her. To force her out of the emotionless bubble she’d encased herself in, because the bubble hadn’t included him.
Any other time he would. He had no plans to let Bree shut him out just because she’d always kept people shut out in the past.
But right now that bubble was what was allowing her to function. To stay firmly committed to the task at hand and take down these murderous bastards.
They’d set up Bree’s workspace in the Sunrise, since it was closed while the Andrewses were gone. She was working in the office, a space already familiar to her, which gave her access to food and a bathroom, and didn’t have any windows that would allow someone to spot her.
Plus, the Andrewses’ absence gave Tanner the excuse to look in on the diner without suspicion. Noah and some more of his former Special Forces friends from Wyoming were providing invisible around-the-clock security for Bree, since Tanner couldn’t do it.
Tanner was being watched. He had no doubt about it. The question was, by who?
Had Steele backtracked to Risk Peak, looking for Bree?
Had the Organization sent someone else to see if they could find her here?
Or maybe it was just the townspeople who were still angry with him for sending Bree off on her own, and then, worse, causing the town’s favorite diner to shut down for a couple weeks because the Andrewses were so heartbroken.
Tanner could take the evil eye from the town. But he knew they were running out of time. The symposium was in just a few hours, and Bree was exhausted. She hadn’t gotten more than a couple hours’ sleep here and there since she started. Hadn’t even stopped for a full meal.
Tanner didn’t like it. Every instinct had him wanting to pamper and protect her, and teach her how to accept it.
And he would. But right now he would accept/ acknowledge she was a woman on a mission and he was backup. So he would encourage her strength.
He let himself in the back door of the Sunrise like he had each day. He walked over and kissed Bree on the top of the head before removing the plates and cups piled up by the Grand County laptop she was using.
“We’ve got a problem,” she said. Her fingers stopped typing.
That wasn’t a good sign.
“How bad?”
“The Organization knows I’m in Risk Peak. They don’t know who I am or what exactly I’m doing, but they know someone’s pushing at them.”
He muttered a curse. “We’ve got to get you out of here.”
“I can’t leave now. I’m too close to breaking through, and we’re out of time. We need to leave for the symposium in no more than six hours in order for this to work.” She looked up at him with those green eyes. “Tanner, I need you to buy me some time. Make them think I’m somewhere else. But they’re going to be monitoring every cellular transmission anywhere they can within a fifty-mile radius of here.”
Tanner pulled out his dumb phone. “This still safe?”
She nodded. “Until tomorrow. Once the Organization’s new system goes live and they start piggybacking off the manufacturers’ systems, then no cellular phone will be safe. Every phone will broadcast data to the Organization. But I still wouldn’t use it just in case I’m wrong.”
