Storm (Linear Tactical #10) - Janie Crouch Page 0,64

calm, steady. It helped cut through some of Marilyn’s fuzziness.

But still, she wasn’t taking a chance. “I need to get to the kids. They’re asleep at New Journeys.”

Cassandra nodded. “I’m going to call Barb right now and have her put the building on lockdown, okay? There’s absolutely no way Jared could get in that building. Hell, the kids will be safer than we are.”

Marilyn nodded and Cassandra got on the phone.

Then the alarm on Bree’s laptop screeched again. Bree rushed over to it but before Marilyn could even ask what that meant, Noah walked through the door.

His eyes met hers. He knew what was going on. He gave her their nod, then walked over to her and pulled her against his chest. “We’ve already got Ronnie standing guard over at New Journeys,” he said. “The kids are safe.”

Thank God.

“Jared’s tracker just went offline,” Bree told him.

“What does that mean, exactly?” Noah didn’t let go of her.

Bree gave a tiny shrug. “Technically, it means we no longer know exactly where Jared is.”

Noah’s arms tightened around Marilyn as she took a deep breath. She wasn’t in this alone anymore. Noah was here. And not just him. There was a room full of people who would help her deal with Jared. She had to remember that.

Tanner walked through the door while he was on the phone with the Denver marshal’s office. He hugged Bree with one arm as he spoke.

“I’ll call Sowers myself if that’s okay with you, Marshal, just to double-check. I’ve got his number.” Tanner kissed Bree on the top of the head as he listened to whatever the marshal said. “Will do. Thanks for calling us first.”

Tanner ended the call and looked over at Marilyn and Noah. “Adam Sowers, one of the marshals I met personally two days ago, is already on the scene. Everything is okay. Sowers was nearby when Jared’s alarm went off and he got the call. He immediately went to Jared’s townhouse, arriving within two or three minutes of the alarm. Jared was still there.”

“The monitor is offline now,” Bree said.

“Yes, Sowers confirmed this. Evidently, Jared developed some sort of rash under the monitor. He was trying to loosen it to keep it from chafing and knocked it offline.”

“You met this guy Sowers, and he’s on the up-and-up?” Noah said.

“Yeah,” Tanner said. “He’s young, enthusiastic about the job and about making a difference. I’m going to call him myself right now.”

Bree sat down at her computer to do something and Tanner called Marshal Sowers. Marilyn looked up at Noah. “I’m not sure what to do. What to feel.”

He wrapped his arm around her tighter. “It could very well be what it sounds like. Jared messing around with it and set it off. If anything, it’s proof the device is working as it’s supposed to—the marshals were over there in a hot second.”

“You don’t think he’s planning something else?”

“I think he was probably testing it out. Making sure it really worked. The rash gave him an excuse to try to manipulate the hardware and see what he could get away with.”

Tanner got off the phone a few minutes later. He seemed much more relieved at what he’d found out. Sowers had convinced Tanner there was nothing to be concerned about.

“It’s really safe?” Marilyn asked.

Tanner gave her a smile. “Jared will either go into holding until the ankle monitor can be fixed or someone will keep him under surveillance. We’ll be notified if anything changes.”

Bree came over and rubbed her shoulder. “This actually reassures me that the monitor is working the way it’s intended. I don’t doubt that Jared was probably trying to test it out and see if the cops came running to his door if he tried to remove it. Now he knows it works and they will.”

Marilyn looked over at Noah, who gave her a smile. He’d basically just said the same thing.

Tanner was smiling, too. “And we might be able to use this with Judge Osborne to get Jared moved back into jail until the trial. The judge isn’t going to put up with this nonsense.”

Good. These were all good things. But she still needed to get home and check on Eva and Sam. She felt terrible. Bree hadn’t had any sort of bachelorette party, so tonight was supposed to be her girls’ night.

“I know I was supposed to hang over here with you tonight,” she said to Bree, “but I need to go to the kids. See them with my own eyes.” She