Page 16 of Ground Truth

Brand sauntered toward the exit. When he reached the entrance to the club’s private lounge, a big cheer from a group of men watching football on the television over the bar erupted into the foyer. He turned his head to glance at another TV hoping to catch the replay.

Instead, on the second television an entertainment news show was on. They were rehashing the most recent royal wedding, laughing about a young boy and his balloon in the crowd.

When the cameras panned the spectators, a woman’s face magnetized Brand’s gaze. The satisfaction he’d felt when he confirmed Rush’s procedure a moment ago vanished like a magician’s rabbit.

He stood as if glued to the spot, staring at a woman who looked too much like her. He couldn’t turn his head away from her image.

She was dead. Long dead.

And then the image was gone.

The show moved on to a different film clip.

Brand shook off his slack-jawed trance and continued mindlessly toward the exit.

He waited half a moment for Tito to open the door and ambled outside. Unaware of his surroundings, he somehow moved along the sidewalk toward his office.

Preoccupied, he walked into an intersection that seemed to be busier than usual. Two vehicles swerved to miss him, laying on their horns and shouting obscenities.

The angry cacophony jolted him back to the present.

He shook the woman’s image from his mind and hurried away from the intersection. Like a metronome, he used each forced step to manage his mounting anger.

He was in control.

She was dead.

He’d survived.

One last rich transplant recipient to handle today.

One more fortune to claim.

He shrugged off his uneasy feeling, reassuring himself.

That woman in the crowd couldn’t possibly be his long-dead wife.

He’d only caught the briefest glimpse.

He hadn’t seen her clearly.

He’d been working long hours lately.

That woman was not her.

By the time he reached his office, he’d regained confidence and control.

No reason to notify his mistress or Hedinger about the woman in the crowd.

At least not yet.

-

Chapter 10

Miami

Drake ran his own one-man shop. Gaspar wasn’t sure exactly what his business was. But he supplied muscle, and from time to time Drake served as Flint’s wingman. They’d known each other going back to their military days.

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