Ninety-eight point six percent match to a girl who was supposed to be dead.
Michael had denied his friend’s findings, ordering him to run her image through his system again. After three separate tries yielded the exact same results, he finally accepted the science for the truth that it was.
I spared the little bitch’s life that night and for what? So she could come after me twenty-six years later?
Well, she wasn’t a kid anymore. And whether the woman wanted money or revenge, it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t get the chance for either.
“You run him?” he asked of the man seen with the Owens woman.
“Facial rec got a hit,” Doug confirmed. “Name’s Slade Garrison, and he’s a former Navy SEAL-turned-insurance salesman.”
Insurance, my ass.
“What else do you know?”
“Guy’s background is pretty thin. He entered the Navy right out of high school, then boot camp to BUD/S. According to what I’ve found out so far, Garrison was part of the most decorated SEAL unit on record. He was given an Honorable Discharge a few years ago, after which, he went to work for Owens.”
As the other man’s words sank in, everything suddenly began to make perfect sense.
“Owens knows about the shooting,” Michael spoke his theory aloud.
“How can you be so sure?”
“The man is nothing if not a loving and protective father. If he thinks his daughter is in danger, he’ll do whatever it takes to protect her.”
“Including assigning his former SEAL employee as her personal protective detail,” Doug surmised.
“Exactly. And if that’s the kind of man watching over her, we’ll need to approach this thing with caution.”
“Don’t worry.” The other man did his best to reassure him. “I already have a plan in the works.”
“You’d better.”
“I tagged his car after they went inside the building,” Doug let him know. “From what I can tell, both the woman are holed up in a cabin in the middle of the fucking woods.”
“A cabin?” Michael frowned.
“Before you ask, I already checked out the property’s deed. It’s owned by a shell company with no known ties to Owens or any of his people, but given the guy’s background…”
The other man didn’t finish, but Michael already knew what Doug was thinking. A former MI6 operative would have no problem hiding the fact that he owned the wooded hideout.
“It’s a safe house,” he told his trusted confidant. It was the only thing that made sense. “At the very least, there will be an alarm system and cameras. And if this guy really was a SEAL?—”
“Don’t worry,” Doug interrupted with an attempt at appeasement. “I’m putting a plan in place as we speak that will almost certainly draw them back into the city.”
“Make it quick. And this time, make damn sure that it’s done.”
Rather than wait for the other man to give him an unnecessary response, Michael ended the call and shoved the phone back into the hidden bottom in one of his desk drawers. Locking it tight, he pushed himself up out of his chair and headed for his private bathroom.
He checked his watch on the way there to see how much time he had left before his next meeting. This one was with a group of Girl Scouts and their leader to discuss the importance of some sort of bullshit cause.
Michael smiled when he saw he had just enough time to grab a coffee on his way there.
CHAPTER7
I’m dreaming.
Even in his subconscious state, Slade was aware that none of what was happening was real. Which was why he let the best fucking dream of his life continue because he was with her. He was with…
