He was hooked already. Fuck! How was he going to make it all week until he saw her again?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Talon stood just off the tee box with one hand resting on the grip of his club. His gaze was fixed on the long fairway. The course was immaculate, and the weather was perfect for a late-afternoon outing.
Walking over to the tee, he could hear the faint voices of his colleagues as they traded jokes a few feet behind him. He placed his ball on the tee, lined up his shot, and swung. He watched the ball sail downrange exactly where he had intended it to go.
Suddenly, his phone buzzed in the pocket of his slacks. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen, and every muscle in his body seemed to tighten at once, seeing “unknown number” flashing across the screen. Mortis was the first person who came to mind.
He didn’t let his anxiousness show. Slipping on a polite smile, Talon looked back at the group and lifted the phone slightly. “Excuse me, gentlemen. I need to take this work call.” A couple of them waved him off with knowing grins, already turning back to their own game, and Talon used the moment to step away without hurry, crossing the manicured grass toward a line of trees that edged the cart path. He didn’t stop until he was far enough that the sound of their voices faded entirely. Only then, when he was out of earshot of anyone, did he answer. He hit the accept button and placed the phone to his ear.
“Talon,” he answered.
“It’s me,” Mortis replied.
“I assume since you are calling, that you’ve got something for me?”
“I do. I saw a man who looked pretty close to the man in the picture you sent me in the file. I couldn’t see much of his face because of the way he was turned, and the hat he had on was pulled low. But he did have a tattoo on the side of his neck like the one in the file. I didn’t get a good enough look at it to confirm, but…”
Talon’s jaw tightened. Mortis didn’t need to finish his sentence. For someone to have a tattoo in the same place Calvin did said something.Fuck!He was hoping that it was just a false alarm.
“Where did you see him?”
“He was outside the address you gave me. I think it was your old facility.”
That was one of the places Talon thought Calvin might venture to if it were him. The building they used was actually right in the middle of town. To anyone on the outside, it was just a medical office.
“That place has been shuttered since we closed it down.”
“Actually, the building was bought by some type of foundation and is currently being renovated. They’re supposed to open in the next week or two.”
“I wonder what he was doing there.”
“I don’t know for sure. However, I did see him hand an envelope to a woman who later went inside the building. Your guy didn’t really stick around. It looked like the woman tried to talk to him, maybe tried to get him to go inside, but he didn’t. In fact, he was pretty twitchy. He kept scanning the street like he knew I was there watching. He bolted.”
Talon’s grip tightened on the phone. His mind whirled with possible ideas of what Calvin could have given to that person.
“So, I take it you weren’t in a position to take care of the problem?”
“I followed him,” Mortis continued. “Got real close. But then he cut toward the road by the beach. At that point, there were too many people, and I lost him in the crowd.”
Talon closed his eyes briefly, controlling the surge of irritation.
“Do you know what the foundation is that bought the building?”
Mortis didn’t hesitate. “Yeah. I did some research on it. It’s actually an expansion of a foundation from the East Coast—Virginia Beach, to be exact. The founder is the daughter of a SEAL who was killed in action. It caters to military service members, veterans, and their families. The woman in charge here is Charley Taylor. The website lists her as the Executive Director. No criminal history. No immediate family except an aunt and uncle. She is a workaholic and lives alone. Actually, she just moved into an apartment near the beach.”
Talon listened, impressed with his friend’s investigative skills. However, it didn’t surprise him. The guy was very thorough when it came to a job.
The mention of the foundation tugged at something in the back of his mind, and then he remembered one of his colleagues rambling on about the place a few weeks earlier.
If Calvin were back, he would be planning something. If he hadn’t already. Talon couldn’t afford to sit on this.
“Since you’ve got a visual. When you get the chance, take him out. Until then, keep an eye on that building. If my gut’s right, I think Calvin might show up there again.”
“What about the woman?” Mortis asked.
Talon thought about it. He had no idea if she knew anything.
