Chapter Eight
Shane
In the morning, I check in with Ian, then we proceed with the next part of our plan.
I am relying on the bug and the people who planted it and have been listening to our conversation to head in the direction of the hospital, but I also know there is every chance they have at least one guy with eyes on Talia.
The fact that she doesn’t have the entire cure in her possession and they now know it, however, will definitely buy us time to get to the cabin.
Because the people after her will wait for her to lead them to the remaining pieces of the formula.
Meeting in a public place with plenty of people around will prevent anything dangerous from happening. At least that is my hope. Considering I haven’t a clue how they keep tracking Talia, I am wary of taking anything for granted.
Not with Talia’s safety at stake.
We sit inside the coffee shop with a view of the window and the sidewalk outside, waiting for Jonah Goodwin. I wrap my hand around a warm coffee cup, my second of the morning.
“It’s been years since I’ve seen Jonah,” Talia says, taking a sip of her latte.
“Were you close?” I ask, wondering about the relationships in her life.
“He was my professor in medical school.” She smiles at what must be a good memory.
“He drove students crazy with his erratic schedule, requirements, and theories. But I liked him immediately. He took me under his wing.” She shrugs.
“Got me my current position because I wanted to follow in his footsteps and work on the cure for what my mother had.”
Her eyes suddenly light up. “Oh! Here he is!”
I turn to catch sight of an older man who looks just as I pictured for a reclusive eccentric.
His hair is to his shoulders and bushy, his face covered in a grayish-white beard.
His jeans are old and faded, a plaid flannel shirt covering a T-shirt.
And probably because he didn’t expect this urgent meeting, he keeps looking over his shoulder and glancing around.
He steps inside and Talia shoots out of her seat. “Jonah!”
The big man sweeps her into a hug, confirming their close relationship despite not having seen each other in a while.
He ends the embrace and meets her gaze. “Who’s this?” He gestures to me, hovering protectively nearby.
Talia steps back. “This is Shane Landon, my bodyguard.”
Goodwin narrows his gaze. “You need protection? What’s going on?” he asks without acknowledging me or shaking my hand.
“Let’s sit,” Talia suggests. She gestures to the table and chairs behind us.
He pulled out a seat and settled into it. Shane and Talia did the same.
“Talk to me,” Jonah says, never truly relaxing.
“Okay, so the good news is that Christopher and I were finally successful in working out the right treatment. We were ready to go into the testing phase, and the company knew it. Next thing I know, someone wiped my lab clean, took the computers and equipment, and I’m sure they assumed they’d gotten the whole formula. Of course, they didn’t.”
“Because you listened to me and broke up your results,” he says, nodding as he takes in her story.
She rubs her palms against her leggings. “Someone’s been after me ever since. They want the rest of the formula.”
“And the only reason for that to happen is if someone wants to keep the medicine from ever getting to market.” He rubs his beard thoughtfully. “You have your part?”
“Right here.” I pat the duffel I haven’t let out of my sight.
“And I assume you have a plan?”
I lean in. “It requires your trust.”
“And you can trust Shane,” Talia assures the older man. “I’ve known him practically my whole life.”
Jonah scowls. “I don’t trust anyone. Well, very few people, anyway. But if he’s kept you safe, he has my thanks. What do you need from me?”
I lean closer to the older man. “We need the first part of the formula. And that means we need to go with you to your cabin,” I say. “Look, I work for McKay-Taggart Security in Dallas.”
“I’ve heard of them,” Jonah says, his facial expression less harsh now that he thinks I am legit.
“Eventually, whoever’s after Talia is going to realize I sent them in the wrong direction this morning, or they have someone following Talia. Either way, we might have a tail as we go to your cabin.” I place a hand behind Talia’s chair, my fingers brushing against her back as I speak to the doctor.
“I want to give my people your address and set a trap for whoever’s been after her,” I explain. “The cops can take over dealing with the bastards from there.”
“And the formula?” Jonah asks.
Talia places a hand on the man’s forearm. “I want you to reach out to Sheila. If we can get this into her hands, her company can take over from here.”
Jonah shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “I haven’t spoken to her in a while.”
“I don’t believe she hasn’t tried to reach out,” Talia presses. “The only reason you two aren’t together is because you decided withdrawing from life was what you wanted.”
“Yeah, I hear from her,” he mutters.
She blows out a long, relieved breath.
“Good. So can you call her and set things in motion?” I say. “Because we’ll need to transfer the formula to her quickly. Call her and—”
He shakes his head. “I don’t have her number memorized.”
“Of course not,” I say. “Just take out your cell and—”
Talia clears her throat. “He doesn’t have a cell phone.”
“Excuse me?” Surely I heard wrong.
Jonah shrugs. “I don’t like extra equipment on me. Nobody needs to reach me, and if they do, they know how.” He tips his head toward Talia, as if to say, you see? She found me.
“Fuck me.” I rub a hand over my face. “Guess we’ll handle that when we get to your cabin.
Can I at least have the cabin’s address to send to McKay-Taggart so we can set up an op?
” I ask the eccentric man. “Otherwise we’re going up there with no backup, and trust me when I tell you, somehow they will figure out how to tail us.
They’ve been one step ahead of us the entire time. ”
Talia frowns at the reminder. “He’s scanned me. We tossed my mother’s locket. I don’t know how else they’ve tracked me.”
“Hmm.” Jonah narrows his gaze, rubbing his beard thoughtfully. “You get your annual shots at the lab? Flu? Birth control? Anything like that?”
She nods, her eyes wide. “What are you saying?” she asks, but from the dawning awareness in her eyes, she is beginning to figure it out, I think.
“That they injected you with a tracker, the bastards,” Jonah says.
“What?” she asks, horrified.
My feelings are about the same. “Motherfuckers. And we’d never find it with a basic scanner.”
Jonah spreads his hands wide as he explains. “An RFID chip injected under the skin that can be used to track you. You have a problem with one of the shots? It take longer, or something hurt that shouldn’t have?”
She manages a slow nod. “Yes. My hip was sore for a while after the flu shot this past November.”
“If you even got a flu shot,” Jonah mutters.
“Those bastards! This is such a violation!” Talia’s cheeks flush red. “And to think I threw out my mother’s locket for no good reason.” Tears of frustration fill her eyes. “Get it out.”
“What?” I ask.
“Get it out now.” She begins scratching at her hip where she must have her injections.
I thread my fingers through hers. “Talia, we’re in public, not to mention it’s going to hurt. It needs to be done by a professional. A doctor. Not me.”
“I want it out,” she insists, chin lifted in stubborn determination.
Shit. I glance at Jonah, silently pleading with him to back up what I am saying.
“Girl knows what she wants. She always did. That’s why I admire her. I can’t remove it myself though.” He holds up his hands, which I now realize hold a fine but noticeable tremor. “But I can walk you through how to do it.”
So much for backing me up, I think in frustration.
I press my palms against my eyes. “You do realize that as soon as it’s out, they’re going to know we’ve figured out their game?
” I am already calculating their strategy.
“That means we get right on the road and head to the cabin. They’ll find the tracker where we leave it.
Then we just have to hope no one’s following you as an extra precaution. ” But I’m not holding out hope.
I’ll just have my team meet us there.
“So you’ll do it?” she asks me hopefully.
I incline my head. “You’re not giving me a choice. Besides, we don’t want to lead them to the formula before we can get it or a copy of it to safety. We at least want a head start. We just need to move fast.”
She expels a harsh breath, then clasps her hand tight in mine. “I’m okay,” she whispers, more to herself than to me.
But she doesn’t let go of my hand, and I am grateful to be her rock when she needs it.
I turn to Jonah. “Cabin address? Please?” I add, because I sense the older man is not comfortable sharing his personal information.
“Fine.” He rattles off the address and directions, which include off-road markers and indicators he put in himself. Because he is that far off the grid.
“But whoever’s following you can’t come in by car because I have a booby trap set up that’ll disable their vehicle.”
“What kind of trap?” I ask.
“You know those spikes they have at rental car companies? The ones that require signs that say Do Not Back Up Severe Tire Damage?”
“Yes?” Talia asks warily.
“Well, those are set to activate unless it’s me coming through with my remote to deactivate them first.” He shrugs as if it is completely normal. “A man can’t be too careful.”
Or paranoid. Jesus. “Can my guys get in by helo?” I ask, knowing Ian is going to shit a brick at the cost because there is no way I am letting any of this become a billable expense.
As far as I am concerned, this is personal.
Jonah nods. “Just watch out for my trees. But we’ll get those bastards,” he says, suddenly warming to the idea. The man is nothing if not mercurial.
But I can’t worry about the good doctor. I have my own issues to deal with, and those include removing a tracker from beneath Talia’s skin. And I am not looking forward to hurting her. Not for any reason.