"I needed a vehicle, and Nathan was right there. At the time, I didn't know where we were going. But I'm done explaining my actions. This interview is over. I have told you everything I know. If I am out of the investigation, then I'm going to my hotel. But I will need my phone back. If the kidnapper calls again, I have to be able to answer."
They'd already argued about the phone several times, and while Tracy had disagreed, ASAIC Hobbs had decided Bree should hang on to the phone and keep her connection with the kidnapper alive.
Tracy reluctantly handed over the phone. "You will let us know if any calls come in?"
"As soon as it happens."
"I still think you should have protection."
Another topic they'd already discussed at length. "I don't need a visible presence between me and the kidnapper," she reminded Tracy. "He needs to think he can still get to me."
"Which means he can get to you," Tracy couldn't help pointing out.
"I can handle myself." She grabbed her bag and headed out of the room before Tracy could come up with any more reasons for her to stay.
When she got outside, she flagged down a taxi. As it pulled away from the curb, she stared at the phone, knowing there was another reason they'd let her keep it. They wanted to track her.
Not so fast. She quickly disabled the GPS. They could trace and triangulate any calls she made, but for now, she was free.
"I'm going to change my destination," she told the driver, giving him a new address. Then she sat back and looked out the window at the city that was continuing to beat her down.
Tracy's boastful words about being a better agent because she acted from a place of logic seemed laughable to her. She knew without a doubt that she wasn't going to get Hayley back by following protocols. She was going to have to get down in the mud and fight like the street kid she'd once been.
*
Nathan opened the door of his apartment just after seven on Friday night, thrilled to see Bree in the hallway. They hadn't been in touch since she'd left the hospital, and that had been hours ago. She looked exhausted. He pulled her into his apartment and into his arms, kicking the door shut behind her.
She rested her head on his shoulder and they hung onto each other.
He could feel the tension in her body, the stress of the last few days, the fear, the worry—everything. But then he'd always been in tune with Bree. He'd never really been able to divorce his emotions from hers. When she hurt—he hurt. It was just a fact. It had started when he was thirteen years old, and it didn't seem to be ending any time soon.
It didn't matter that they hadn't seen each other in years before this week.
This was Bree. This was the girl of his dreams.
She was here. And she was in his arms. And that was all that mattered.
She lifted her head and looked up at him with her beautiful green eyes. "Hi."
He gave her a smile. "I wasn't sure the FBI didn't have you locked up somewhere."
"They're not happy with me. There was talk of suspending me, but I'm the only link they have to the kidnapper, so for now I still have my gun and my badge. I'm not sure how long that will last." She let go of him and stepped away. "Let's see your place."
"It's not much."
She walked down the short hallway that led into his one-bedroom apartment and put her bag on the kitchen counter. Then she headed straight for the balcony.
"You have a view," she said with delight, moving through the small living room to the sliding glass doors.
He followed her outside, smiling at the change in her demeanor as she took in the city from the thirty-fifth floor.
"Oh, Nathan, this is amazing," she said, waving her arm toward the city skyline. "The lights are beautiful."
"Better than the rooftops we used to get up on?"
"So much better. We never had access to anything higher than twelve floors. This is crazy."
"I have to admit the view is what enticed me to pay more rent than I planned. Someday, I'd like to own a house and put down some deeper roots, but when I took this place, I was looking for a way to feel on top of things."
"You're on top of the world up here."
"It's not the beach. I don't see sailboats," he said, reminding her of her dream view. "But for now, this is good."
"It's better than good." She drew in a breath and let it out. "It's been a long day."
"That's an understatement."
Turning to look at him, she said, "I heard Mark came through surgery. How long did you stay at the hospital?"
"I was there until about an hour ago. Mark is not completely out of danger, but he seems to be holding his own."
"I'm so relieved."
"Me, too." He could see the unspoken question in her eyes. "Lindsay didn't say much about your revelation, except to ask that I not tell anyone else in her family. I assured her that information wouldn't come from me, but with the police and FBI being filled in on the connection between you and Hayley and the kidnapper, I didn't know how long anything was going to stay secret."
"Probably not long."
"I reminded her that the only thing that matters to anyone right now is finding Hayley. Everything else can be sorted out later." He paused. "She did ask me how I knew you. She wondered about our relationship and what I thought of you."
"What did you say?"
"I told her we met when we were kids and that you are a really good person. I said I was there when you decided to give your baby a better life, and I knew how much it cost you, but I also knew how sure you were that you were doing the right thing."
She met his gaze. "Thanks for the character reference."
"I told the truth. You are a good person. You're a good agent, too. I hope the bureau knows that."
She shrugged. "Time will tell." She paused. "Lindsay is probably worried I'm going to try to get Hayley back after all this."
"And/or blame her for what happened," he said. "She is carrying a ton of guilt."
"I don't blame her or Mark for the kidnapping. That had nothing to do with them. The Jansens have given Hayley a great life. She has the family I always wanted for her. I just can't believe that she ended up in Chicago. I thought I was doing everything I could to keep my child out of Johnny's orbit. That's why I lived in Detroit, of all places. What was the point of me going there if they were going to give my child to someone in Chicago?"
"I don't know. Maybe the money was right. I'd like to know what Mark and Lindsay paid for that adoption."
"Ten thousand dollars," she said. "To a now defunct agency. I looked it up. But I'm guessing there was an additional cash payment that was not recorded."
"Probably."
She let out a sigh. "I've been keeping myself sane by telling myself that Johnny wouldn't hurt his own child. Family and blood are everything to him."
"I've been telling myself that, too. I also don’t think he would feel a need to hurt Emma," he said, bringing up the little girl from the train. "I know you have been worried about her, but I think she's probably someone in the neighborhood, who was happy to make some extra cash. Her older sister might have put her up to it."
"It's possible."
"So, do you want to fill me in on what happened on your end?"
"A million questions. I answered many of them several times. The FBI and the police are working hard to track Calvin Baker's whereabouts over the past several months. He disappeared from his apartment last week. Detective Benedict, who works in organized crime, assured my colleague, Agent Cox, that Baker has no ties to Johnny Hawke's operation."
"But you don't believe him?"
"No. And I think Benedict is still on the Hawke's payroll."
"Good chance. I talked to Benedict, too. It was right after you left, so it was before he knew anything about Hayley being your daughter. His questions to me were about Mark leaving the house, our actions at the silos, whether Mark said anything to me before he was taken to the hospital. I think he wanted to know if Mark knew who the kidnappers were, and if he'd shared that information with me."
"I hope you said no."
"I did, because it was the truth. He didn't tell me anything. He just said he was sorry he'd done what he did."
"Did Benedict ask you anything about me?"