Page 69 of Last Chance

“No, but what choice do I have?”

“You could let me and one of my teammates talk to him.”

“We don’t know where he’s staying.”

“It won’t take long to find him. Our tech people are excellent, especially Jesse’s girlfriend.” He cupped her face between his palms. “Are you sure I can’t take care of this for you?”

Janie shook her head. “Thanks for wanting to protect me. I can’t lay this responsibility on you because it’s hard. Besides, you don’t know my brother as well as I do. I’ll know if he’s lying.”

So would he. However, Sawyer wouldn’t insist. Janie Moran was a strong woman who knew her own mind. If she felt she needed to do this herself, he had to step back and walk beside her instead of in front of her. “All right. Finish your order for the shop. I’ll contact Fortress and have them locate where your brother is staying.”

Sawyer grabbed his phone and stepped outside the back door. Walking the perimeter while he talked to the Fortress tech sounded like a great idea. He needed to walk off his frustration.

Zane answered his call. “Miss me already?” his friend teased.

“Ha. Only your wife misses you that quickly, my friend.”

Zane chuckled. “Ouch, man. That hurts. What do you need?”

“A location on David Moran.” He summarized the conversation with Moran and the suspicious exchange between Moran and two Vatos Locos soldiers.

A soft whistle broke the silence. “That’s not good.”

“Tell me about it. Janie’s having a hard time accepting her brother might be responsible for the attacks she’s endured for the past few days.”

“What’s your gut say?”

“He’s involved in this somehow. I don’t know how deep he’s in, but he’s not as innocent as Janie wants to believe.”

The sound of Zane’s fingers clicking his keyboard at a rapid pace drifted through the speaker. “Got him. He’s at Kingsbridge Inn, Room 217.”

“Next question. How long has Moran been registered there?”

More keys clicking, then, “Three days.”

Sawyer stopped walking. “Are you sure?”

“No question.”

David Moran had been in Hartman before Janie had returned to the states.

CHAPTER 17

SAWYER ENDED HIS call and slid the phone into his cargo pocket. As he continued his circuit around the property, he considered how best to tell Janie that her brother was holding back information.

By the time he finished the circuit, he’d still not come up with a good way to pass on the information to Janie. Sawyer grimaced. There wasn’t one. Perhaps her brother had an explanation for his presence in Hartman. He already had a pretty good idea what Moran would say. Whether or not it was the truth was anyone’s guess.

He entered the safe house to find Janie sipping tea while she stared at the screen in front of her.

“Everything all right outside?” she asked without glancing up.

“No signs of incursion.”

She flashed him a quick grin. “I’ll take that as a yes. Brody made a fresh pot of coffee since you took his perimeter check.”

He made a beeline for the coffeepot and poured himself a mug of the steaming brew. A sip of the liquid had him sighing in satisfaction.

“That good, huh?”

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