Page 8 of Explosive Vengeance

But it wasn’t his aunt, or any of his cousins back home calling. It was his buddy Ty, from the UK. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Hey, man. Where are you?”

“Just grabbing a bite to eat. Something up?”

“Yes.”

Heath blinked and stilled at the serious tone, his loaded fork poised partway to his mouth. “Okay. Something wrong?”

“Are you in your room?”

“No, I’m at a café around the corner. Why?”

“Your line isn’t secure, and I need this conversation to be as secure as possible.”

Wow. Okay then. What the hell was going on? Was Ty in trouble?

“Hang on.” He set down his fork and stood. “Gimme two minutes and I’ll be in my room.” He drained the last swallow of his beer before hurrying away.

“I’ll talk while you’re walking.”

“Sure.” Concern started to build inside him. What the hell was so important that Ty would call him now and needed a secure place to talk? “Are you okay?”

“I’m good. But we’ve got a situation, and you’re the closest person I know who can help.”

Heath frowned and picked up the pace, digging his key out of his pocket. “Who’swe?”

“Megan and I. We need a favor.”

“Uh…okay,” he said slowly as he let himself into the building and jogged up the stairs to the second floor. He hadn’t met Megan yet, and Ty had been annoyingly vague about the girl he’d lost his mind over. So this must be one hell of a favor. “I’m almost there. One sec.”

He unlocked the door, did a quick visual check out of habit to make sure everything was as it should be, then locked it behind him. “I’m in. Now what’s going on?” His phone might not be encrypted, but he was alone and not under surveillance of any kind, so this was as secure as he could make this conversation.

“There’s a woman about to get on a train from Paris to Strasbourg. She’s an…old friend of Megan’s.”

“Uh huh,” he said, still unsure where this was going or why it concerned him.

“She’s in trouble.”

Heath stilled. “What kind of trouble?”

“The kind where dangerous people might come after her.”

“What kind of dangerous people?”

“Organized criminals.”

Like gangs? Terrorists? Heath hated how vague his buddy was being. But if Ty wasn’t spilling the details because the line was unsecured, then he had his reasons. “And you want me to do what about that?”

“I need you to find her and follow her.”

He blinked. “To Strasbourg?”

“Yes. And wherever she goes after that.”

Oh, no. “Look, man, I—”

“We’re too far away to get to her in time. I’m sending you a picture of her right now.”

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