Chapter 1 #2
She pursed her lips. “Look, I’m not telling you anything unless I know why you’re interested in Leland Faraday.”
“Okay.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “I believe we’re at an impasse.” Which wasn’t good. Time wasn’t on his side. And he definitely needed to know why she was looking for Leland.
“Really, if you have nothing to say, you’re wasting my time.” She stood.
He held up his hands. “Please. Please sit down. I’ll share a little more. Then, how about you reciprocate?”
“Maybe.”
He almost let himself smile. He found her determination admirable, attractive even. Which was not a comfortable feeling. “I work with Leland Faraday.”
Her gaze narrowed. “Where?”
“At WhiteRock.”
There. Finally. He saw something click in her mind. Maybe she would—
“Well, that’s easy enough to check.” She pulled out her cell and immediately called someone from her contact list.
Interesting. “Who are you calling?”
She held up a finger for him to be quiet.
Apparently, someone had answered. “Hello. Yes, I’m okay.
I’m sorry to bother you, but does a Jason Bridger work for you?
” Relief washed over her expression. Her shoulders relaxed.
Her eyes locked with his while she talked.
“ . . . Oh, interesting. . . . Yes, we just met. . . . Yes, I am. It’s a long story.
. . . Of course.” She held the phone out to Jason.
“He wants to talk to you. It’s Eric Kitts. ”
This woman was blowing his mind. His boss’s number was in her contacts? Not many people had Eric Kitts’ number.
He took her phone, keeping his eyes focused on hers. She seemed more at ease. And pleased with herself. “Hello?”
“Jason? What’s going on? What’s Tayla doing on Isadora Island?”
“Tayla? So, that’s her name. I don’t know, Eric, you tell me. She’s looking for Leland Faraday. Any idea why? She’s hesitant to speak with me.”
“She’s looking for Leland? On Isadora?”
“Yes.”
Frustration twisted Eric’s groan into an almost-growl. “I didn’t contact Leland, Jason, I only called you. Find out why she thinks he’s there. And if he is there, find out what in the world he’s doing.”
The clicking of keyboard keys joined his boss’s words.
“I’m sending Knox to you. And Rowan. You’re still lead on this, but right now you need to find Gus and Leland, and we still need a threat assessment on Alec Drakos—who has called me twice today, by the way.
“ Irritation laced his words. “We’ll keep a small footprint, but I still haven’t heard from Gus, so Drakos might not be as paranoid as we thought.
You might need some help. And . . . “ His speech slowed. “Jason, about Tayla . . . she’s Leland’s niece.
She’s been through a lot. And I don’t think she has a clue what WhiteRock really is.
Leland made something up. Wanted to protect her, I guess.
I don’t know her too well, but I gave her my number a few years ago.
I told her to call me if she or Leland had an emergency.
But I don’t think she could fathom a reason for needing it until today. ”
“Understood.”
“Hand the phone back to her.”
He returned the phone to Tayla and took a sip of his water while she finished her brief conversation. When she ended the call, her expression softened.
“He says I can trust you.”
Jason wasn’t sure ‘trust’ was what he saw in her eyes. “How well do you know Eric?”
She shrugged. “Not very. We’ve only met maybe twice. But Leland knows him well.” She slipped her phone back into her purse. “So, that will have to be enough.”
Her eyes narrowed with her last statement, but he could’ve sworn she almost smiled.
“Enough for you to trust me?” Jason asked.
“Yes, I suppose.”
A waitress approached their table. Jason ordered coffee.
Tayla asked for tea—which prompted the waitress to launch into the hotel’s lengthy catalog of teas.
Jason watched Leland’s niece politely listen to the well-rehearsed recital of all things tea.
She was kind. And patient. And she’d traveled a very long way to find her uncle.
He found her more than a little interesting.
When the waitress finally concluded her spiel, Tayla said, “Oh, the chai sounds wonderful, thank you.”
The waitress turned to Jason. “And just coffee for you?”
“Yes.”
“With cream? We have—”
“Just black, thank you.”
The waitress looked a little disappointed, but nodded and finally left them alone.
Jason checked his watch. This was taking longer than expected. “Look, Ms. . . . I didn’t catch your last name.”
“Faraday.”
Leland’s last name. Okay, so not married. He noticed her ring finger was bare, but he was still surprised she was single. “Ms. Faraday, why do you think your uncle is on this island and why did you decide to travel all this way to look for him?”
A shadow of her earlier fear clouded her expression. She leaned forward, her voice lower than before. “I’m not sure where to start.” She tucked a strand of her lengthy black hair behind her ear. “Eric told you Leland is my uncle?”
“Yes.”
She nodded and straightened her posture.
“A friend gave me some Astros tickets she couldn’t use.
They were really good seats. Anyway, I hadn’t seen Leland for a couple of weeks, so I called to see if he wanted to go to the game with me.
I called again and again. He never answered.
” Her concern for her uncle bled through her words.
“That’s unlike him. He always calls or texts right back if he misses a call.
I started to get worried, so I went to his house. ”
“You live in Houston?”
“Yes, not far from Leland. I guess you live in Houston?”
“Yes, but keep going. You went to his house?”
“Yeah, his car was there, but he didn’t come to the door, so I let myself in with my key. I was afraid he was inside, hurt, or something. Anyway, I’d only been inside a minute when someone broke in through the backdoor. It scared me to death.”
He could see her shoving down her panic as she relived the terrorizing experience. “Did they hurt you?”
“They never saw me. It was two men. I hid in a closet. But I didn’t have time to shut the door all the way, so I could hear them talking. And I caught a glimpse of them twice.”
“What did they want?”
“Leland! They were looking all over the house for him. They had guns.“ She looked so scared. But he realized her fear was more for Leland than for herself.
“You’re sure they didn’t see you?”
“Yes. I was in a closet under the stairs. They flung the door open once. I can’t believe I didn’t scream. I was shaking so much. My heart was pounding so hard I was afraid I was going to have a heart attack.” She took a breath and looked a little embarrassed.
“That’s understandable. Sounds like you had good reason to be afraid. Good thing you didn’t scream, though.”
“Yes. Well, anyway, I’d moved against the back wall behind some boxes. They didn’t search the closest, just glanced in. They were looking for Leland, not me. He couldn’t have fit in the spot where I was hiding.”
The waitress returned with their drinks. Jason was sure she hadn’t heard their conversation, but she apparently sensed the tension because she didn’t say a word and quickly left.
Tayla’s eyes focused on him again. “You didn’t look surprised when I said they had guns. Why? Do you know what’s going on? Why would men like that be looking for Leland? What does this have to do with WhiteRock?”
“Drink your tea.”
Her eyebrows shot up—in that way that women’s eyebrows go sky-high when they’re offended.
He instantly regretted his tone. He didn’t mean for it to sound like a command.
He just needed to pause her rapid-fire questions.
“Sorry. Let’s slow it down. I’ll answer your questions, but please, enjoy your tea.
” He took a sip of his coffee. She tasted her tea.
But he doubted her chai would brace her for everything he was about to say.
“Before I explain WhiteRock, tell me why you think Leland is here, on this island.”
She set her teacup on its saucer. “I couldn’t hear every word they said, but just before they left, I clearly heard a one-sided conversation.”
“They called someone?”
“One of them did. He told the person on the phone that Leland wasn’t there. He said, ‘We got here too late. He’s already left for Isadora. Have your guys keep an eye on The Mandeville. He’ll show up, eventually.’” She blinked her eyes as if it could chase away the disturbing memory.
She gestured to the beautiful Victorian architecture surrounding them.
“I’ve never been here before, but I’ve heard of The Mandeville.
And they mentioned Isadora. So, I looked it up and confirmed The Mandeville Hotel was located on Isadora Island.
” She sighed. “As soon as the men left, I called the police. While I was waiting, I confirmed his suitcase and passport were gone.”
So, he was heading for Isadora just hours before Jason got the call from Eric. Not a coincidence.
She shook her head like she still couldn’t believe her own words. “I told the police everything. I told them the men were looking for Leland. They made a report about the break-in, but they couldn’t do anything about Leland, since he apparently left on his own accord.”
A spark of anger lit in her eyes. “I know it’s not illegal for a grown man to not answer his phone and leave the country without telling his niece. But it should be.”
“Absolutely.”
Her shoulders slumped. “You don’t have to patronize me. I just meant—”
Jason leaned in and placed his palm on the table, an inch from hers. He’d barely thwarted the urge to grasp her hand. “I didn’t mean to sound patronizing.” Why was he apologizing to her every two minutes? “I understand you care about your uncle.”
“Yes, I do. He’s my only . . . we’re all the family either of us has.”
Emotion seeped through her statement. And helped explain why she would fly to this remote island to warn Leland that armed men were looking for him.