Tanner didn’t hesitate.Three quick punches and the second guy was on the ground, unconscious.He jumped up, spun and a roundhouse kick to the first man had him lying next to his buddy.
The third guy, who was just starting to get his senses back after being knocked on the head by the door, groaned and began crawling toward the back of the van again.
Tanner just slammed the door against his head again, since it worked so well the first time, and watched him fall.
Noah came running around the van.“You clear?”
Tanner nodded, sucking in air to catch his breath, wincing at the blows he’d taken.Noah tossed him some zip ties and bandannas to use as gags, and soon all five men were restrained and sat up against the van.A few minutes later, the other four were dragged in by Noah’s teammates, also tied and gagged.
Noah and Tanner walked so they could speak freely without the transmitters hearing them, while the rest of the team stood guard.
“It won’t take the Organization long to figure out that their team is out of commission,” Noah said.“Then they’re going to start the hunt for Bree all over.Wiser this time, because they know we’re onto them.”
Tanner wiped at a little bit of blood that had formed at the corner of his lip.“I know.But I’ll be leaving with Bree for Denver in a couple of hours.Hopefully it will buy us that long.Once she’s into their system and has the proof we need, Omega Sector can handle the arrests from there.”
Noah nodded.“I hope it’s enough.”
Tanner did, too.“I’ve got to get out of here.If not, it will raise too many questions about why I didn’t go through official channels.”
“Okay, take off.I’ll call this in, in a little while.State that I thought someone was trying to rob me.Maybe that will buy another hour or two.”
Tanner clapped Noah on the shoulder.“Thank you—to you and your team—for what you did here today.”
“Are you kidding?Taking down asshole bad guys is what we live for.No thanks needed.Just bring some that are a little tougher next time.”
Tanner grinned and jogged toward his SUV.He wanted to check on Bree.They may have bought some time, but that didn’t mean she was out of danger.And while he trusted Ronnie, he wanted her back in his sights.
Permanently.
And wasn’t that scary as hell, considering he’d only kissed the woman a handful of times and she had more locks on her emotions than Fort Knox.
He planned to unlock every single one, picking a few if he needed to.
He made it back into Risk Peak in record time, parking his car at the station, intending to go straight to the Sunrise.But Gayle caught him in the parking lot.She was still mad at him for chasing Bree out of town.Before he could say anything, she held up a hand.
“I’m not going to ask you exactly what is going on.God knows I worked long enough for your father without always having the details.I trusted him, and I trust you.”
Tanner let out a breath.“I promise I’ll explain when I can.”
“This has something to do with that girl, doesn’t it?”
He nodded, glad she hadn’t said Bree’s name out loud.
“Fine,” Gayle continued.“I’m glad to hear you’re doing the right thing by her.”
“That’s my plan.”He gave her a nod and turned toward the diner.
“Oh, and I gave Scott the location of the last laptop like you wanted.”
Tanner stopped in his tracks.“What?”
She looked confused.“He said you said it was critical that he finish this last laptop before he left.So I looked it up on that system we installed a couple of years ago when we were doing the county-wide inventory.”
Tanner blew out a harsh breath.“Scott?I told him I would do it.”
“Well, that’s not how he understood it.He was adamant that he get a hold of it immediately.It was over at the Sunrise for some reason, so—”
“When?”His heart began to slam against his chest.
