“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 tobother 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 outwhat 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 GusandLeland, 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.”
