Page 73 of Constant Risk
“No!” Jeter screamed.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw him dive for her. She grabbed the master switch and yanked it over.
Everything went black. She dived for the back of the room like she’d planned.
Then screamed as everything began to explode around her.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Tanner wasn’t a particularly claustrophobic person, but trying to keep calm minute after minute inside a casket was difficult even for him.
He wasn’t sure why Jeter hadn’t used the carbon monoxide like he’d threatened, and at this point Tanner was beginning to think that might be less of a blessing and more of a curse.
Maybe Bree hadn’t gotten his message. She had to have been scared out of her mind to interact with Jeter. She wouldn’t have known that Tanner knew where he was and that he was trying to signal in some way.
If he was going to die here, he was going to die praying Bree had done the smart thing and had run in the opposite direction. That she’d made her decisions with that computer brain of hers, and known that there was no way Jeter was ever going to let him go.
A year ago that’s what she would’ve done. Hell, maybe even a few weeks ago. But he knew the truth now. Bree loved him the way he loved her and she would never leave him here to die if there was any possible thing that she could do.
Now he just wished he’d asked her to marry him any of the times he’d had the chance, even if the situation hadn’t been perfect.
He began to fade in and out of consciousness. It wasn’t so bad. When he was out he could hear Bree’s sweet voice talking to him. And sometimes others, like Whitaker and Penelope. Although he’d much rather hear Bree.
“Tanner! Are you here?”
Tanner opened his eyes. Whitaker’s voice sounded a lot louder this time.
“Tanner. Call out.” Penelope.
“Hey!” Damn it. His voice was too weak. Instead, he brought his elbow as hard as he could against the side of the casket. At least that cheap bastard used wood.
“Everybody shut up. I heard something,” Whitaker yelled. “Do it again, Tanner.”
Tanner continued to thump. The effort was excruciating. He was definitely running out of oxygen in here.
“I’ve got him!” Tanner heard something on the top of the casket. “There’s a lock. Get something to cut it with.”
There was a lot more commotion, and he tried to focus on that rather than the dwindling air. Finally the casket flew open.
The light was blinding, but the air... Oh, the precious air. Tanner took great gulps of it while Whitaker and Penelope helped get him out of his restraints and sit up.
Somebody pressed a bottle of water into his hands as Tanner took in the scene around him. “You got my message.”
“Actually, Bree got your message and then made sure we saw it,” Penelope explained. “But we don’t know where Bree is. I gave her my car thinking we’d be able to track it, but she changed vehicles for some reason.”
Tanner stood all the way up. “Jeter would’ve thought of that. But he’s close by with her. He’s set up some sort of headquarters around here.”
“If Jeter kidnapped you, then who is the guy in the hospital?” Whitaker asked.
“Somebody willing to lose all his freedom to make sure the real Jeter gets his. It’s a plan they’ve had in place for years. It was always just a matter of time before it was implemented.”
“We’ve got every Dallas PD officer available nearby,” Penelope said. “And Jeter is on the top of everybody’s most-wanted list, so we can have everyone from the FBI to Homeland Security here within the hour searching for him.”
Tanner shook his head. “An hour will be too late. And Jeter is crazy when it comes to Bree. He told me he set it up so that if he can’t have her, nobody will. If we go on a door-to-door hunt, he’s going to kill her.”
“I can have Jeremy pull up the building plans from around here and send them to us,” Penelope said. “There are only so many places where Jeter can keep himself hidden. He’s too well-known to be out in the open.”
“No.” Tanner shook his head. “That’s sure to tip Jeter off. He would have some sort of alarm set if someone pulls the building files. That’s what Bree would do. And like it or not, Jeter taught Bree a lot when it comes to computers.”
