Tanner straightened and helped Bree make it to the car, as Whitaker was getting her laptop out for her. She collapsed, sitting cross-legged on the front lawn, and began typing at a frantic pace. Tanner stood guard over her and let her work. Letting her get the code out now, while it was still fresh in her brain was critical.
Ten minutes later Penelope walked over. Bree was still typing at a frantic pace. “You guys okay?”
“Yeah. Just give her a chance to work.”
“Did she get hurt? Her nose is bleeding.”
Tanner had been watching that drop of blood leak slowly from Bree’s nose for the last five minutes. There was nothing more he wanted to do than wipe it away but knew it wasn’t a priority. “Yeah, she’s taxing her brain pretty hard.”
“What exactly is she doing?”
“She has a unique gift in how she sees and remembers computer coding. Almost a photographic memory. She’s re-creating what she can remember and will extrapolate the rest from what she finds.”
Jeremy walked up beside Penelope. “Damn. I’ve heard of stuff like this, but never actually seen it.”
Tanner shrugged. “Bree is the best on the planet. She said we’ve got to catch this guy before the next transmission goes liveor else he’ll be clued in that we are onto him. He may already be clued in.”
Penelope shot them a worried glance. “That’s less than thirty minutes. Do you have any idea how long this is going to take her?”
“No. But I do know she’s aware of the time crunch and is doing the best she can.”
“We won’t make the mistake of doubting her again,” Penelope said. “Let us know if there’s anything we can do to help.”
“Just be ready to move when she is.”
BREEFELTLIKEshe was coming out of a dream.
But a dream where she had been held down and kicked in the head multiple times.
“I’m done.” Her voice sounded much weaker than she had intended it to, reminding her of the weeks after she’d been strangled, when her voice wouldn’t work no matter how hard she tried to make it.
She cleared her throat and tried again. “I’m done.” Much better. “The program I built is tracing his and we should have a location any minute now.”
She tried to stand up but dizziness immediately assaulted her.
“Whoa, there.” Tanner’s arm wrapped around her, and a water bottle was lifted to her mouth. She gratefully drank, then didn’t argue when Tanner forced a candy bar up to her lips.
“Did everybody make it out of the fire okay?”
It felt so good to rest against Tanner’s chest as he pulled her against him. “Yes. You, me and Whitaker were the last ones out. Bastard set the whole house to burn.”
“We’re going to catch him. What I was able to remember was more than enough.”
He kissed her forehead. “You’re spooky scary when that giant brain of yours gets going. Sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Now that was what she wanted to hear. “Then how about we catch this guy and you take me to the hotel and show me exactly how sexy you think it is.”
“That would be my pleasure.”
Bree’s computer chirped. She pushed away from Tanner, ignoring the dizziness.
“That’s it. We’ve got him.” She turned the computer toward Tanner. “This general area. It will get more specific as we get closer.”
Tanner took the computer and showed it to the blonde perfect lady. Bree didn’t even try to remember her name this time.
The blonde nodded and called out to everyone. “Warehouse district on the south side. Let’s move!”
Tanner helped Bree back into the car. She was having a hard time keeping her eyes open, much less focusing. Whitaker climbed into the back seat and Tanner reached over from the driver’s seat and grabbed her hand, bringing it up to his lips. “I know you’re tired. Hang with us just a few more minutes.”
