Acceptable Risk, page 4
“Tanner, I need you to be straight with me,” the sheriff said after he’d finished. “It’s no secret you’re involved with Bree. Do I need to pull you off this case? I’m worried you can’t stay neutral.”
“The guy is dead. I’m not sure my neutrality makes any difference.”
“You still have a killer to find, and it’s no secret you weren’t a fan of Newkirk’s.”
Tanner swallowed a curse. “I hope nobody was a fan of Newkirk’s. Just because I’m not sad he’s dead doesn’t mean I won’t bring down his killer.”
Sheriff Duggan was quiet for a moment. One of the things Tanner appreciated the most about the woman he’d worked for for over ten years was that she thought things through before she spoke.
But when she did speak this time, it wasn’t something he wanted to hear.
“I’m going to send Richard Whitaker out there. And before you start arguing with me, because I know you will, this is not a punishment or because I don’t trust you. He’s fresh eyes, and he doesn’t have a history with either Bree or Newkirk.”
Tanner knew this was what was best, but it still rankled. Not to mention nobody got along well with Richard Whitaker. The guy was a grade-A jerk.
“You know I don’t like it, but I’m not going to fight you on it.”
“Good. Because someone has been murdered. And whether we liked the dead guy or not, our job is to find out who did it.”
Chapter Six
Richard Whitaker, Tanner’s counterpart in the northern part of Grand County, showed up an hour later. Tanner and Ronnie met him out front as he pulled up.
“Whitaker.” They both shook the man’s hand.
“Dempsey. Kitchens.” Richard nodded at them before tilting his head toward the crime scene in the back. “Sheriff said you finally had a little bit of excitement out here.”
Tanner caught Ronnie’s eyes roll in his peripheral. He couldn’t blame the man. Everybody tended to want to roll their eyes around Richard Whitaker. The guy had moved here from Dallas six or seven years ago because his wife was from this area and wanted to return. Ironically, when they’d divorced eighteen months back, Richard had been the one who’d stayed and his wife had been the one who moved away.
Whitaker was a good cop. He had gotten quite a bit of experience in his years with the Dallas PD—a fact he never let anyone forget. But his disdain for small-town life and police work was pretty evident. Sometimes it was hard to understand why he stayed.
“Yeah. Victim’s name is Joshua Newkirk. He was a convicted felon—a rapist.” They walked toward the crime scene. Owen and his colleague were now searching for any blood traces that might show where Newkirk came from if he stumbled here on his own.
“Based on body temps,” Ronnie continued, “looks like he’s been dead a little over six hours. Body was called in a little over two hours ago.”
“But Miss Daniels didn’t call 911. Is that correct?” Whitaker looked pointedly at Tanner.
Tanner crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah, that’s right. She called me. She knows me. It’s not a huge stretch.”
“Maybe. But when I was on the Dallas force, a lot of times we would find the person who called in a crime had something to do with it. Seems like they thought it made them look more innocent.”
Tanner stiffened. “Well, you’re not in Dallas, and Bree didn’t have anything to do with this.”
Whitaker tilted his head to the side. “And that right there is the exact reason why the sheriff sent me out here. You’re not neutral, Dempsey.”
Tanner’s teeth ground together. He stopped walking. “Just because I’m not going off chasing wild rabbits doesn’t mean I’m not capable of finding out who did this to Newkirk.”
Ronnie stopped next to him. “I’m not involved with Bree, so, by your definition, I’m much more neutral, and I concur with Tanner. I don’t think she has the physical prowess to get the drop on someone Newkirk’s size. Plus, I definitely don’t think she’s stupid enough to drop a body in her own backyard. The woman has an IQ of 832.”
Whitaker looked like he was going to argue the point further, but finally he just nodded. “Fine. We won’t concentrate on Miss Daniels at the moment. But if evidence suggests she had a part in this, I can damn well promise you I’m going to bring her in. Just because Risk Peak is a small town and everyone knows everyone else doesn’t mean we’re going to ignore facts and proper procedure.”
Tanner could feel Ronnie rolling his eyes again. “Yeah, we get it,” Tanner said. “Facts and solid procedure are the same regardless of whether you’re in a big city or small town. But Bree didn’t do this.”
Whitaker gave another hard nod and walked the rest of the way to the body.
Tanner stayed behind and turned to Ronnie. “Can you finish up here with him? I’m going to take Bree out to the ranch so she can get some rest. I’ll be back in this afternoon.”
Ronnie slapped him on the shoulder. “Absolutely. I wish this hadn’t happened in her backyard. Literally. She’s been through enough.”
Tanner scrubbed a hand over his face. “I know.”
“Go take care of her.”
The one good thing about Whitaker being here was that it allowed Tanner to leave with complete peace of mind, ironically, because of the man’s big-city police force expertise. Whatever inexperience Ronnie may have working with a murder, Whitaker made up for. And the sheriff was right: two sets of eyes were always better than one.
But Whitaker was still a jerk.
Tanner walked through the back door of Bree’s apartment and found her sitting at the kitchen table, hands wrapped around a mug. Exhaustion seemed to drip from her features. She looked more like she had when he first met her months ago—tired, haunted.
He hated it.
“Hey,” he whispered. “You doing okay?”
Those green eyes that had enthralled him from the very first time he’d seen her looked up at him now.
“I’m okay. Just tired.”
“Why don’t you pack a bag? You can’t stay here. I want to take you to the ranch.”
Those eyes lit up a little. “Really?”
“Is that okay?”
She nodded with more energy. “Let me get my stuff.”
A few minutes later, they were headed out to Tanner’s SUV. “I’ll just bring you in to work later. Is that okay? Then you can get your car. I know the drive will be a hassle, but I don’t want you staying in town on your own.”
“That’s fine.”
He opened the door for her, then went around and got in himself, starting the vehicle and pulling away.
He kept glancing over at her as he drove, waiting for some sort of outburst from her. But she actually looked a little happy.
“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” she asked when they were about ten minutes outside town.
“Occupational hazard, I guess. Just want to make sure you’re all right. I wouldn’t blame you if you were upset. Hell, I convinced you to move to Risk Peak because it was supposed to be a safe place. And now this happens.”
She actually smiled at him. “I was most concerned the dead person was someone we knew. When you told me it wasn’t, that was a huge relief. Plus, now I get to stay at the ranch. I’ll get to see Star every day rather than having to wait five more weeks.”
He couldn’t help but smile back at her. That was Bree, wasn’t it? She never quite reacted the way people would expect someone to.
It was one of the many reasons he was falling in love with her.
But then the smile fell off her face. “That’s wrong, isn’t it? How I’m feeling. I should be upset that someone is dead.”
“Believe me, you not being hysterical is helpful in this situation.”
She turned to look out the window and was silent for a long while. “But it’s not normal. Once I found out it wasn’t anyone we knew, I didn’t really care that there was a dead body in my backyard. It was more stressful that there were so many people at the house than anything else. And it can’t be normal that I care more about getting to the ranch and seeing a dog.”
He grabbed her hands she was twisting in her lap. “Bree—”
She turned to him, face distraught. “I don’t have correct emotions, Tanner. I’m broken.”
He flipped on his hazard lights and pulled the SUV over to the side of the road, then turned to her, cupping her cheeks with both hands.
“I don’t ever want to hear you say that again. Your emotions are just fine. Just because you’re not hysterical doesn’t mean you’re broken. Never feel bad for how your brilliant mind fortifies you so you can survive.”
“But—”
“No buts.” He reached between them and kissed her briefly. “You survived what would’ve broken most people. And you’re amazing just the way you are.”
He wasn’t sure if she believed him, but he meant every word. He waited until she finally nodded before releasing her and pulling back on the road again.
It wasn’t long before they were arriving at the ranch. He grabbed her overnight bag, and they walked inside.
“We both need to get a few hours’ sleep,” he said. “I’ll take the couch and you can have the bed.”
She walked toward the bedroom but turned at the door. “Come with me. Just to sleep together like before.” Those big green eyes studied him as she reached her hand out toward him.
There was nothing he wanted more than to curl up with her in his bed. But with his anger and frustration so close to the surface, he couldn’t discount the fact that he might wake up swinging. The thought of Bree being the recipient of his night terrors made him break out into a cold sweat.
“Never mind,” she said quickly, misreading his hesitation, hand falling back to her side. “You don’t have to.”
Damn it, he’d rather never sleep again than see that wounded look in her eyes from something he’d done.
He stepped toward her. “I want to. Trust me, there’s nothing I want more. But...I just don’t want to take a chance on waking you up if I get called back in to Risk Peak early.” That was at least a partial truth.
The haunted look fell away from her eyes, and a shy smile broke on her face. “I don’t mind. I’ll take a shorter amount of sleep if it means I get to sleep next to you.”
He would have given her anything in the world to keep that sweet smile on her face. He took her hand, and they walked into the bedroom together.
They took turns changing into sleep clothes in the bathroom, then got into the bed together. The act was so innocent and yet so intimate.
Tanner rolled over onto his side and pulled Bree’s back against his front. He breathed in the sweet scent of her hair as her head rested in the crook of his elbow. His other arm wrapped loosely around her waist.
She was out within minutes, her smaller body relaxing against him, trusting him to shelter and protect her while she slept. Tanner wouldn’t betray that trust, even if that meant protecting her against himself.
Besides, sleeping was overrated when he could be awake and feel every curve that had been haunting his dreams for months pressed against him.
Definitely worth it.
Chapter Seven
“Coffee?”
The fact that Ronnie was already at Tanner’s desk with a cup of the steaming brew right under his nose before Tanner even realized he was in the room was testament to Tanner’s exhaustion.
It had been a hell of a week. He’d spent all day every day working the Newkirk murder case. Running into dead end after dead end.
And then night after night near Bree, loving being around her but trying not to let her get too close. It was a fine line he was walking with her. They needed to have a long conversation about his PTSD as soon as this case was done.
Because there was no way he was going to be able to keep his hands off her for much longer.
Tanner took the cup from Ronnie and nearly scalded himself as he swallowed a gulp. “I was looking over the suspect list again, hoping something might jump out at me this time.”
Ronnie grabbed the tennis ball that rested on Tanner’s desk and began bouncing it. Bounce the ball as they bounced around ideas. They’d been doing it for as long as they’d been working in this building together. “Maybe Whitaker will have some insight after talking to Newkirk’s family again.”
Tanner nodded. At least the other cop was out of their hair. He’d finally left yesterday after being in Risk Peak for three days.
The few details they had about the murder were set out in the case file on Tanner’s desk. Joshua Newkirk had been stabbed in the back six times. He’d definitely been wrapped and transported into Bree’s yard. The crime lab team had not found any traces of blood anywhere around the body. So there was no way he could’ve stumbled into her yard of his own accord.
Whitaker had not taken Tanner’s insistence that Bree was innocent at face value. Only after thoroughly investigating any possible ties between her and Newkirk and coming up empty had Whitaker deemed her cleared. He’d even brought her in for questioning, which Tanner chalked up to just wanting to piss him off.
He set down his coffee cup and held up his hand so Ronnie could toss him the ball. “Why Bree’s place? That’s the only thing about this that doesn’t sit right with me. Why dump the body in Bree’s yard?”
Ronnie nodded. “It’s not like there’s any shortage of people who might want to kill Newkirk. Guy has enemies all over the state. But nothing to do with her.”
Tanner bounced the ball back to him. “And he had no real ties to Risk Peak. I was part of the group who arrested him, but I was helping to work the case up north. I didn’t even have a major role in any of it.”
Ronnie flipped the ball back and forth between his hands. “Yeah, I don’t get it, either. I’m hoping Whitaker comes up with something after today.”
Tanner sighed. “As long as it doesn’t mean he has to come spend three more days here.”
“Maybe we could start a pool to guess how many times in a day Whitaker will say the words Dallas or big city.” Ronnie tossed the ball back to him.
He chuckled. “I’d be down for a piece of that action.”
“Is Bree doing okay? I can’t blame her for not wanting to move back into her apartment. Hell, Cindy would make us move to an entirely new place altogether if a body showed up in our yard.”
“Bree’s doing good. I don’t think she’ll have any problem moving back into her apartment. I just want to give her however much time she needs.” Tanner set the ball back on his desk.
He’d brought up the topic of moving back into Risk Peak very casually with her yesterday. He didn’t want her to feel like he was forcing her away from the ranch.
It would probably be best for her to move back to town. That way she wouldn’t have to drive so far to get to work every day, and he could get a good night’s sleep in his own bed without having to worry about hurting her.
But hell if he wanted that. He liked having her on the ranch. Definitely because he knew she was safe, but also because he liked having her around. For meals. For coffee in the morning out on the porch. For watching her play with that damned puppy.
But he couldn’t go on the way he’d been going. He was way past burning the candle at both ends—his life was more of a roaring bonfire at both ends. He wasn’t getting the sleep he needed, and knowing that Bree was wondering about the distance he kept between them ate at him.
Definitely time for a talk about what had happened to him on that undercover op three years ago. How it had affected and changed him. How PTSD might be something he had to live with for the rest of his life.
But it was something he hated to talk about. Just ask Dr. Michalski. He’d been trying to drag details out of Tanner for three years.
Tanner also didn’t want to talk about it with her since Bree had known such pain in her own young life. He didn’t want to add to her burden by asking her to help carry his trauma also.
But not talking wasn’t going to make it go away. Bree was part of his life now. The biggest and most important part. If he couldn’t get his PTSD under control, then it was something that he had to share with her so she understood what was going on.
But damn it, he wished he could be someone who just came to her with no baggage. She deserved that. Deserved someone who could help her carry her own.
“Until we hear from Whitaker, I’m just going to put the Newkirk case on the back burner.”
Tanner looked up at Ronnie. “Yeah. Nothing we can do.”
“Also, high on the fun scale...we’ve promised Mr. Dunwoody that we would stake out his auto shop over the next week and try to discover who’s vandalizing him. So I’m going to be out there for the graveyard shift tonight.”
Dunwoody’s auto repair shop was on the southeast edge of the county, in the middle of nowhere. Much to Mr. Dunwoody’s chagrin, someone kept breaking into his shop and painting rainbows everywhere. Mr. Dunwoody threatened to wait for it to happen again with his shotgun ready, but Tanner had talked him into letting them try to catch the vandals first. Especially since it was probably teenagers from the nearby high school.
“Great. I guess I’m lucky and get tomorrow night’s shift, then.”
Ronnie rolled his eyes. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and I’ll catch them tonight. Pacify Mr. Dunwoody.”
Ronnie gave a little salute and walked out of the office. It was time for Tanner to go also. All the stuff involving Newkirk, Mr. Dunwoody or any of Risk Peak’s other problems would have to wait. Even the hard talk he needed to have with Bree would have to wait.
Tonight he was leaving this behind. Taking Bree to possibly his favorite place on earth. It was exactly what he needed, and he was looking forward to it. Tonight would be the opposite of what the rest of his week had been. It would be fun, relaxed, easy.
