Читать книгу Beneath Still Waters - Alex Archer - Страница 14

Griggs’s estimate had been right on the money; they landed at Miami International Airport just under three hours later. A black SUV with dark tinted windows was waiting for them next to the helipad. Griggs escorted them to the vehicle and then climbed in beside the driver. Annja assumed they would be taken to wherever Garin was staying, so she was surprised when the driver raced around several parked Airbuses and delivered them to a sleek business jet waiting for them on the other side of the terminal.

Annja was about to ask what was going on when she noticed the corporate logo of a gold dragon poised in midflight on the tail of the aircraft. It was the same one that had been on the tail rotor of the helicopter they’d just left behind.

DragonTech Security.

When the car stopped, Griggs escorted them up the steps and into the aircraft.

Garin Braden was waiting for them.

“Ah, Annja,” he said, as a broad smile swept across his face. “So good to see you.”

Garin was a big man, both physically and charismatically. He seemed to fill the room wherever he was. His dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail and his beard was immaculately groomed, as usual. This day he was dressed in a dark shirt and jeans, which was unusual for him. Annja was more used to seeing him in impeccably cut suits.

Everybody needs a dress down day, she thought with a smile.

Annja introduced Paul to him, noting that Garin held the other man’s hand just a moment longer than normal.

Had he recognized Paul? she wondered.

Garin didn’t say anything or acknowledge that the two had previously met, so Annja let it go. He ushered them into chairs opposite his own and got right down to business. “You said it was urgent. Tell me what is going on.”

Annja laid it all out for him: Doug’s kidnapping, the phone call, the package, the fact that the kidnapper knew she was in Jamaica, the demand that she find and recover the plane and its contents. The only thing she left out was the fact that she was romantically involved with Paul. She didn’t need Garin critiquing her choice of companions, but she knew he would do so anyway. No sense in giving him more ammunition for the task.