“Leland!” She ran to her uncle—her living, breathing, all-in-one-piece uncle—ignoring stares from startled guests in the lobby. Just before she hugged him, she registered the shock on his face.
Hands on her upper arms, Leland pulled her back. His mouth literally dropped open. “What?Tayla, what are you doing here?”
“That’s a question for upstairs,” Jason answered, ushering both of them into a waiting elevator.
As the door closed, Tayla hugged her uncle again, then stood back and punched his arm. “You worried me to death! Why aren’t you answering your phone!?”
She watched Leland’s baffled expression turn from her to Jason. “What is she doing here?Are you out of your mind?”
Jason leaned his back against the elevator wall and hooked his thumbs in his pockets. “Don’t look at me, Faraday. She came on her own. Talk toher. We just met an hour ago.”
The elevator doors opened, and all conversation paused. Walking down the hall, Tayla realized she wasn’t sure where they were going. Jason must have read her mind because he pointed up ahead and said, “My room, three twenty-four.”
Moments later, they were standing in Jason’s suite and Leland was staring at her with more anger and worry than she’d ever seen on his face. She could relate.
“Tayla, what are you doing on Isadora Island?”
She took a deep breath before explaining the events that led to her abrupt trip. She took another breath and circled back to the detail worrying her the most. “They hadguns, Leland. And they were lookingfor you.”
Her gaze bounced from Leland to Jason, and back to Leland. Both men’s body language told a clear story—armed men looking for them wasn’t as disturbing as it would be for normal people. The only thing that seemed to shock Leland was that Tayla was involved.
“Tayla, I’m so sorry. I should’ve thought about them possibly going to the house. But I had no idea you would be there.” He looked at Jason. “I suspected they hacked my cell.” She could tell Jason wanted to say something, but when his eyes flitted to her, he apparently changed his mind. Leland turned to Tayla again. “That’s why I wasn’t answering my phone.” He took her hands in his. “Are you sure you’re alright? Are you sure they didn’t see you at the house?”
“Yes, yes. I’m fine.” She released his hands and collapsed in an overstuffed chair. “Leland, did you come here looking for Gus? I know Eric Kitts didn’t send you. Is Gus in trouble? Are you? What’s going on?”
That’s when Leland’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He laser-focused on Jason, the telltale vein in his neck throbbing.
Jason didn’t look rattled. He simply raised an eyebrow. “Don’t look at me like that.Shecalled Kitts. And she recognized Gus in the security footage while she was looking foryou. Your niece is very intelligent, Faraday. She figured most things out on her own.“ His mouth remained neutral, but his eyes smiled—clearly entertained by Leland’s underestimation of her.
Her uncle was still glaring at Jason, but the neck vein settled back into a reasonable rhythm. “Tayla, could you give us a moment?”
Was she being dismissed? That didn’t sit well. But she knew they both wanted to say things they weren’t voicing. She could give them some space—whatever they needed to resolve this, find Gus, and keep her uncle out of danger.
“I’ll be on the balcony.”
Leland’s smile looked forced. “Thank you, Tayla.”
Jason’s nod to her response included a look . . . that lasted one second too long. Only one second. And it was probably her imagination. But those deep brown eyesmade her feel safe all over again. Even if it was only her imagination.
“I have questions, Leland,” Jason said. “But you can start.” He walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. “You want some water?” He asked, holding up a water bottle.
“No.” Leland looked like he was grinding his teeth. His lean, six foot tall frame stalked through the living area. Jason guessed Leland was about thirty years his senior, but he knew the tough as nails agent could be the most intimidating person in the room—any room—when he wanted to be.
Leland jerked his jacket off and threw it on a nearby couch. “I have plenty of questions for you, too. First, I assume neither you nor Kitts have heard from Gus yet?”
“No.”
Leland ran a hand through his short, gray hair. “I figured.” He paced while Jason chugged half the water bottle. “He’s in trouble, Bridger. I got here as soon as I could, but I haven’t located him. I know he was doing a threatassessment on Drakos. He didn’t think it was serious at first. He agreed with Eric that Drakos was simply paranoid. But then, I got another call. He said he was being surveilled. Told me to destroy my cell he’d called me on. He’d found something he needed to check out. He said he’d call me back in an hour on a burner number I gave him months ago.”
“He didn’t tell Eric that. He never called back?”
“No.”
“And you don’t know what he found?”
“No.”
“So, we’re assuming whoever is surveilling Gus sent goons to your house to find out what you knew? They couldn’t have traveled from Isadora that quickly.”
