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“That happened about an hour ago,” Slade told him.
What the hell is Chloe doing in Jawhara?
17
"Is that all there is?” Trent’s mouth felt dry as he looked at the video of Chloe exiting the terminal at Jawhara and getting into a limo with Anna Neills.
“Bethany is scrubbing through CCTV coverage in San Diego, and I’ve notified Talib at the palace….” Slade’s voice slowly disappeared into white noise as Trent watched the video again.
What was she doing there? Had she lied to him too?
Trent jerked out of his thoughts when his brother grabbed his arm. “Hey!”
Travis lifted both hands and sat back slowly. “Bro, it looks like she played you.”
Shaking his head, Trent couldn’t believe that was true, not after what she’d said to him about not lying to her. Shit, was this Bosnia all over again? No, he couldn’t believe that. Wouldn’t believe that.
“No. She didn’t. Whatever is going on, she didn’t go to Jawhara by choice.”
“Are you sure?” Slade spoke carefully.
Looking back at the video, which was paused on Chloe standing next to the open door of the limo, he said, “I am. Something’s going on. Can we get eyes on her dad to make sure he’s okay?”
Slade typed quickly, the clatter of the keys sounding loud in the cabin. “I’ll send Carlos over to check on Mr. Baker. I’m asking again. Are you sure about this?”
Trent stared at the photo, trying to figure out her mood. Did she look happy to be there? If anything, she looked tired. No. He would have known if she’d planned to go to Jawhara, he was sure of it.
“I’m sure. She’s not there by choice. They’re holding something over her. Maybe it’s her dad. Let’s be sure.”
Travis snorted and Trent glared at his brother. “What? It’s not like you have the best track record with women,” Travis offered, and it was all Trent could do to keep from punching his brother in frustration.
He took a deep breath. “While that’s true, I’m sure about Chloe. The reason she moved to San Diego was for her dad. His accident was as real as his injuries.”
Slade interrupted Trent. “That’s good enough for me. I’ll have Bethany and Maria dig into both her and her dad’s background, finances, and anything else. We’ll assume she isn’t there by choice.” The room was quiet with the exception of Slade’s typing. “Okay, we have sixteen hours until we touch down. Let’s discuss contingencies.”
* * *
The next twelve hours crawled by for Trent, and the interior of the cabin felt like it was closing in on him. Carlos had arrived at the rehab hospital as the staff was preparing to transfer Chloe’s dad to a private facility. One call to Slade’s lawyer and they’d put a stop to it. and there was now security in place to keep an eye on her dad.
Bethany and Maria couldn’t find anything in Chloe’s or her dad’s background to indicate that they had anything to do with the Guardians other than her temp position. As far as the temp agency was concerned, Chloe was still under contract with the Guardians.
They needed to be in Jawhara now.
The cabin lit up when the screen on the wall came to life. He looked up to see Bethany, Maria, Talib, and Brock filling up the screen.
“We’re due to land in four hours, so let’s bring everyone up to speed. Who wants to start?” Slade asked.
Bethany cleared her throat and all eyes shifted to her. “The forensic accountant is still tracking the money trail from Trent’s donation. The money was transferred multiple times before landing in a Panama bank, which he can’t trace without an account number.”
“Is there any way to track it?” Slade asked.
“Sort of,” Travis interrupted. “I placed a digital tag on the funds, so if the money surfaces and hasn’t been scrubbed, then we’ll know, but we have to wait for someone to make the transfer.”
Slade leaned back in his seat. “Anyone have eyes on Myers?”
"He boarded a plane for Mexico two hours ago,” Maria chimed in.
“Let’s keep eyes on him in case he’s headed to Panama to physically pick up the money. It will be harder to track if he does that. Let’s also notify the Feds and the IRS as to what’s going on. If he’s attempting to steal the donation, then they’ll want to know. What’s next?”
