Chapter 2 #2
He should've pushed harder, three months ago, for a chance to talk to her in person.
But he didn't want to argue with her parents.
They were already livid with him. They didn't believe their son was guilty of anything.
They blamed Knox to his face for Allie getting shot and for Leo taking off.
Apparently, they thought Leo fled the country because he was afraid of Knox.
Knox couldn't understand how they could deny the facts after that night, but he didn't have kids, and he didn't have kids who'd committed felonies, so he tried not to judge their reactions.
It was still hard to believe how fast his simple surveillance assignment spiraled into such a train wreck. Initially, WhiteRock was conducting surveillance because they had a client who suspected Leo was stealing from them.
Simple. It was supposed to be so simple.
After that night, WhiteRock was ordered to hand everything they had on Leo over to the FBI. Knox was relieved. He didn't want to be the one to bring in Leo. He didn't want to cause Allie any more pain.
Two feet away, she sat tapping her pen against a map of Isadora Island.
Leo was out of his hands, but Allie was here. And he was determined to repair the last three months' worth of damage to whatever was between them.
"He'll meet you at ten tomorrow morning."
Jason's pointed look dragged Knox's attention back to the briefing. "Um, sorry. Who am I meeting?"
Jason let his question swing in uncomfortable silence for a few beats before responding. "You with us now?"
Knox leaned his forearms on the table. "Yes. I'm here. Who am I meeting?"
Jason shook his head. "You and Allie are meeting Henrik Kurtz.
Drakos suggested he could be helpful. He owns a business near one of the properties purchased by Byron Industries.
He's agreed to share his security video with us.
We're hoping to get some facial recognition of anyone on that property.
" He handed Knox a piece of paper with Henrik Kurtz's name, phone number, and address.
"It's not much, but it's a place to start. "
"Got it."
Jason glanced out the window. "We need to make the most of what's left of the daylight.
There's not time today to travel to any of the other islands, but we can try to get some usable drone footage of the areas owned by Byron Industries here on Isadora.
Rowan, you're with me. Knox, you and Allie take a drone to the Byron property on the west side. It's not far."
Allie pointed to a spot on the map in front of her. "It's here. I have the address." She looked at Jason. "Anything else?"
"No. The drone is already in one of our rental cars. The . . . " He raised his eyebrows at Rowan, who was chugging a Red Bull.
Caught mid-swig, he coughed twice before answering. "There's a drone in the gray SUV and in the black SUV."
Jason handed her a set of keys. "Take the gray one. You're good to go. But"—he turned to Knox—"I have that charger you needed. It's in my room."
"Okay, thanks." Knox tried to face Allie. She hadn't made eye contact since the meeting started. "Hey. I'll get the charger and meet you in the lobby. Okay?"
She glanced his way. "Sounds good. Meet you downstairs."
Her answer was polite. Professional. Civil. Not as warm as . . . before. But he shouldn't expect more yet. He prayed their time alone in the car would go well.
Knox knew there was no charger in Jason's room. His comment was an excuse to speak privately.
And Knox was sure he knew why.
He followed Jason into his room. The moment the door closed, he started talking before Jason could get a word in. "I know. I'll keep my head in the game. Allie won't be a distraction. You have my word."
Jason was Knox's best friend. But he was lead on this mission, and he needed to know he could count on Knox.
Jason raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because that," he pointed toward Room 336, "was not you being 'in the game.'"
Knox leaned against Jason's dresser with a long sigh. "I know, man. I'm sorry. I saw her for the first time right before the meeting. You wouldn't believe it—she kept apologizing, saying she needed to earn back my trust."
"What?"
"Yeah. I was stunned. I didn't know what to say. She wouldn't even look at me. She kept saying she needed to prove herself."
Jason's face scrunched up. "That's crazy. I had no idea she was beating herself up over what happened."
"Me either." Knox rubbed his temples. "I should go. She's waiting. I'll talk to her in the car."
Jason gave a slow nod. "Okay. But get things settled soon. I need you both focused for this assignment. I don't have a good feeling about Byron Industries."
"Don't worry. You can count on both of us."
"I know. But Knox . . . "
"Yeah?"
"I know she means a lot to you. So, don't screw it up."
He responded with a humorless laugh and a thumbs-up.
He'd been denying how much Allie still meant to him until he saw her today. But now, a new determination settled inside him. He needed to tell her—if she'd let him. "I'll do my best."