A few minutes later she pulled up outside what looked like an old strip mall with adjoining shops. It might have been a thriving part of this neighborhood at one time, but had long been abandoned.
“Just come in through the pawnshop door,” Jeter said in her ear.
Bree got out of the car and marched slowly toward the entrance. Each step got harder and harder, like a prisoner walking to execution.
It wasn’t much of a metaphor if it was happening in reality.
She opened the door and walked inside. The interior of the building had been completely gutted. All the windows were blacked out, leaving the inside barren and completely dark.
Bree waited a few seconds for her eyes to adjust, then walked a little farther inside the building.
“That’s right,” Jeter said. “Just keep walking straight. You’ll find my little office.”
Bree used the light from the screen to guide her toward the only thing she could see inside the building besides boxes—a small room in the back corner.
It wasn’t completely unlike the rooms that had been used to hold the kidnapped women.
“Let’s go, Bethany. We don’t have all day.”
Bree gritted her teeth and reached for the doorknob, then pushed the door open. There stood the man she’d been running and hiding from half her life, smiling with his arms outstretched like they were old friends.
“I’m here.” She shut the door behind her, but stayed close to it. “Now where’s Tanner?”
Jeter gestured at one of the multiple monitors sitting around the room. There were at least half a dozen different computer systems, although Bree wasn’t the least bit surprised. Jeter would always be surrounded by computers.
“Deputy Dempsey is right where I left him.”
“We had a deal. I came here, and you let Tanner go.”
Jeter just smiled. “It’s so good to see you, Bethany. The last time we met, when you betrayed me, the circumstances weren’t optimal. I’ve had a lot of time to think about you the last few months. About you and I and how we fit together.”
He took a step closer as he continued. “About how we can’t allow things to stand in our way even when methods might sometimes seem cruel. About ends justifying the means.”
“You’re not going to let Tanner go, are you? You never planned to let him go.”
“Come over here and look at your Tanner.”
Bree didn’t want to move away from the door, but had no choice when Jeter picked up the gun on the table and pointed it at her.
“Come look.” He gestured with the gun.
She wasn’t going to move. She knew firsthand there was a lot worse he could do to her than to kill her quickly with a bullet. If Tanner was going to die anyway, then Bree wasn’t going to subject herself to a life of horror with Jeter. Wasn’t even going to subject herself to one single touch from him.
And then she saw just the slightest bit of movement on the monitor with Tanner. Something was happening over there, around the closed casket. Maybe Penelope had figured it out.
She had to keep Jeter distracted. Gritting her teeth, she took a step away from the door.
“There’s a good girl.”
“You know I’ll hate you forever. For killing Tanner? I’ll never forgive you.”
Bree forced herself to hold completely still as Jeter closed the distance between them and reached over to touch a strand of her hair. “We both know I can break you,” he whispered. “You’ll be whatever I mold you into.”
She glanced at the monitor again while Jeter was obsessed with touching the side of her face. There was definitely something happening.
“But I’m not a complete monster. I’ve attached a canister of carbon monoxide to Tanner’s casket. All I have to do is flip the switch and he’ll die without any pain within seconds.”
He stepped back from her a little and she knew he would be turning to the monitor. She couldn’t allow that to happen. With a scream she pounced toward the table, sweeping her arms across it and dumping everything, including the monitor with the picture of Tanner’s casket, onto the floor. Screeching, she dived for more of the computer equipment, ready to drag it off the table also. She kicked everything her feet came in contact with for good measure.
