Bree pulled back from Cheryl, unable to bear her touch.Not with the way she was feeling right now.“I guess it was just hard for me, being without the kids.I was worried.”
That was true, but it wasn’t the whole truth.She’d been glad Christian and Beth were with the Andrewses so she didn’t have to drag them out in the middle of the night.But she’d desperately wanted to make more forward progress than she had.
The Wi-Fi at her apartment wasn’t safe to use because her activities would lead the Organization directly to her.So she’d chosen the library, since the internet was hooked up through a government-issued router that she’d been able to hack in under two minutes, and the signal reached out to the parking lot.Using their system would keep her digital fingerprint from being traced back to any single computer—it would all just get hidden within the state of Colorado’s virtual information flow.
But she hadn’t been able to make any forward progress.She was too tired, or maybe she’d just lost her edge after being out of the hacking game for so long.Every day her skin itched and her mind burned with the knowledge of her failure.
It was just like being back inside the Organization all those years ago.When nothing she’d done had been good enough.When failure had meant pain and that people she’d cared about would suffer.
Was Melissa suffering?
Compounding all Bree’s desperation was the knowledge that she was running out of time here.She felt eyes on her all the time.
Sometimes it was Tanner.She’d gotten used to his deep brown eyes watching her every time he was in here.Trying to figure out exactly what sort of threat she was to the people he was responsible for.
If he knew what sort of hell she could rain down on Risk Peak, he would’ve already escorted her to the county line.
But he didn’t, so he watched and bided his time, piecing together what he could from what he observed.Determined to figure out her secrets.
She sensed other eyes on her, too.She could feel them day by day.And they didn’t bring her a sense of comfort like Tanner’s eyes did.They made her feel like she was being smothered.
But that didn’t make sense.Why would anyone else be watching her?If it was the Organization, they would’ve made their move already.Killed her in her sleep if she was lucky.Dragged her back into hell if she wasn’t.
So it wasn’t the Organization.Bree drew in a shaky breath.That only left one option.
That she was following the same path of paranoia her mother had taken.That her mind was beginning to crumble in on itself the way Mom’s had.She rubbed her shoulder again, at the wound her mother had given her the day her mind had snapped.
Maybe Bree’s mind was snapping in the same way.Maybe somewhere down the road she was going to hurt the Andrewses or, worse, the twins, because her mind was convinced they were a threat.
She blinked rapidly and realized the older couple were both studying her now with abject concern.“I’m sorry, what?”
Cheryl gave Dan a worried look.“We’re just wondering if you should take the day off, too.I’m sure we can manage.”
She took a deep breath.“No, I’m fine.”She was going to need the money if she had to leave suddenly.“I hope Christian and Beth were okay for you.”
Cheryl smiled.“They were angels, as I knew they would be.Got up once during the night, but heck, Dan gets up more than that.”
Bree was surprised how much she’d missed the kids, even though it had only been ten hours since she’d seen them last.Beth smiled sweetly like she always did, and even Christian was content in his carrier.Bree began rolling silverware in napkins while sitting at the corner “baby booth,” but was soon scooted out of the way when some of Cheryl and Dan’s friends came in and wanted to hold the babies.
The people in this town were so good.Bree didn’t want to bring the Organization down on them.She had to be careful with her hacking.She was up against some of the most brilliant people on the planet, whose consciences were nonfunctional.They wouldn’t hesitate to slaughter the people here if it would stop Bree.
She wasn’t surprised when Tanner showed up a few minutes after she started her shift, looking just as haggard as she did.He didn’t try to talk to her, like he usually did, just ordered breakfast and sat at his normal bar perch.
When she did catch sight of his brown eyes, they were hard.Cold, almost.No sign of the subtle invitation to reach out to him that she’d seen for the past week.
Or was that just her paranoia talking?
He ate his breakfast but then surprised her by not leaving afterward.He stayed put, pulling out a computer and starting to do some sort of work.
Bree ignored him, as always—a little easier today because of the frigid air that seemed to surround him.She did her duties in the back kitchen and helped out at lunch when a group of half a dozen construction workers came in.
Her paranoia ramped up once again with their arrival.She felt eyes on her all the time.But the only one she ever saw looking in her direction was Tanner.
She forced herself to shake off the feeling through the lunch rush and was clearing off the tables once the diner had nearly emptied when a buzzing noise caught her attention.She looked around, trying to figure out where it was coming from.
Then she realized it was coming from the phone in her apron.
She slammed the tray full of dishes down on the nearest table, wincing at the noise, thankful when nobody else seemed to notice.She started to hide the fact that she was looking at a message on her phone but realized that was absurd.People used phones all the time.No one would think twice about her getting a text.She flipped it open.
