“She didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. Just ignore her.”
He shot her a warning look then removed his hand, a little afraid she might bite him. But she kept quiet.
“Look, your worst problem is your DNA showing up at Duquette’s murder scene. Psych opinions and possible motive play a very distant second fiddle to that. I don’t have all the details. I was just trying to get out of the sheriff’s office and to your ranch so that I could warn you. If you go into that building right now, you’re not coming back out a free man. Not today, at least.”
Tanner hated the look of fear in Bree’s eyes. “He’s right,” she whispered.
Tanner shook his head. “I’ve worked in law enforcement for a decade. My dad did for twice as long. I trust the system. It’s not perfect, but it works, by and large.”
“Unless you have someone working that system against you.” Bree’s small hand squeezed his. “I spent a good chunk of my life running from people who used the system against me.”
“I’m not telling you to run,” Ryan said. “As far as anybody in Grand County thinks, you don’t know anything about this. Why don’t you go off grid? A lovers’ getaway, where no one can get in touch with you. Use that time to see if you can discover further information. I’ll do the same.”
Damn it. Tanner didn’t want to run. It only made him look guilty.
“You can do a lot more for yourself out of a cell than you can inside one,” Ryan continued. “Whoever is doing this has a pretty big reach. If you’re inside, you’re leaving others unprotected.” His eyes shot to Bree.
She immediately shook her head. “No, I can take care of myself. I’ve been taking care of myself for a lot of years. If you feel the best thing is to turn yourself in right now, you should do that. I’ll be doing what I can to help you from out here.”
Which would undoubtedly be illegal.
While he had no doubt that Bree could and would take care of herself, he’d made her a promise a few months ago that she was no longer in this—inlife—on her own. That was doubly true after last night.
Ryan was risking a significant amount by trying to warn Tanner. Tanner didn’t take that lightly. The man could lose his job or even go to jail for obstructing justice.
He was being given a gift. A head start on figuring out who was hunting him. He’d be a fool not to take it.
“Okay, I won’t go in. For forty-eight hours, seventy-two at most, just to try to get a bead on who’s after me.”
The hunter was about to become the hunted.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“We need to go to my apartment,” Bree said from inside the SUV as they watched Ryan pull back onto the road. “This SUV is too conspicuous, not to mention they probably have some sort of means of tracking it.”
Tanner looked a little like he was in shock. She knew he wasn’t one hundred percent on board with this decision to run. But if they didn’t get moving right now, the option was going to be taken out of their hands.
Running, keeping away from people who were looking for you, was definitely in Bree’s wheelhouse. God knew she had enough experience at it.
Tanner was still staring out the windshield into the rain.
She reached over and squeezed his hand. “Dempsey, let’s go. Get safe first, fall apart later.”
Yep, she’d just quoted her mother.
Tanner gave a brief nod then pulled onto the road and drove toward Risk Peak. Thank goodness they’d dropped her car off here yesterday on the way to the prison. They were going to need it and what she had in her apartment.
“I’m not even sure where we should go.” Tanner’s knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel.
“We’re going to my apartment first. I have some things that will help us.”
And at least they still had her computer with them. They were going to need that most of all.
She put a call in to Cheryl and Dan at the Sunrise Diner to let them know she wouldn’t be in for a couple more days. She told them that Tanner had kidnapped her and taken her somewhere secluded and romantic, and she wasn’t even exactly sure where she was.
She felt a little bit guilty at how excited they seemed at the thought. But Ryan was probably right. The best thing she and Tanner could do right now was make it seem like they had a reason to be out of pocket. Andnotlook like they were on the run from the law.
She half expected Tanner to change his mind and decide to turn himself over to the sheriff, and fight this head-on. If he did, she wouldn’t try to stop him or discourage him in any way.
