Page 36 of Cold Silence
“No,” Eryn said. “They were estranged from him.”
“We need to call the police,” Claire said.
“We can’t without telling them why we’re looking into White to begin with,” Gage said.
Travis looked between her and Gage. “I suggest we keep this info to ourselves until I contact my CO and read him in.”
“But this dark web business says he could be our guy, right?” Claire asked.
“I’m not ready to go there,” Eryn said. “There’s no trail of him trying to sell the prototype and software on the dark web. Or engage in any other nefarious activities. And my other checks say he’s a real Boy Scout. Literally and figuratively. Leads a squeaky-clean life. Like he’s taking advantage of having changed his background.”
Interesting.“Then why was he on the dark web at all?”
“He was posing as a hacker, trying to gain info on network intrusion techniques. I think he was doing it to discover how better to defend against attacks on your network.”
“Boy Scout or not, we’ll be looking into him more,” Travis said. “But for now, we hold off reporting him until I get permission from my CO to read the police in.”
“Agreed,” Gage said.
“Me too.” Claire didn’t want Warren to get away with stealing his friend’s identity for another hour, but it was the best thing to do right now.
The moment Colonel Vogler gave them the green light, she would be on the phone to Detective Purcell and Warren White or Fitz Ellwood—whatever she called him—would be arrested and put behind bars where he belonged.
9
Outside the seafood restaurant, where the savory scent of garlic oozed from the building, Travis ended his call with Colonel Vogler. His CO wanted them to wait to report White. To do additional research and see if they could learn more. To see if Nick’s report would tie the hack to White.
So Travis had no choice. He would wait. And while he did, he would focus on Robb.
He entered the restaurant albeit reluctantly. After hearing Warren White might be a murderer, Travis hadn’t wanted to leave Claire behind. Sure, White was out of town, but guys changed plans all the time. Still, Claire had promised to stay at the institute with Gage, and Travis trusted in Gage’s skills to protect her.
He looked around the large dining room. The lunchtime rush was in full swing as tangy spices mixed with the salty ocean smell of seafood scented the air, but Travis had no appetite. Not when he was tracking down the man who could be stalking and could’ve tried to abduct Claire.
He searched the narrow room overloaded with tree branches and twinkling white lights for the man who resembled Robb’s personnel photo. Travis quickly spotted the muscled guy with thinning hair sitting at a long counter near the back. Just seeing the man who was at the very least stalking Claire sent Travis’s anger vibrating to a quick boil.
Stop. Breathe. Anger will get you nowhere. You’re on a mission. Like any other mission.
He drew in a few cleansing breaths and crossed the room to slide onto a vacant stool next to Robb. He had no telltale marks on his face from Claire headbutting him, but he might not bruise easily. Then again, could Claire really have succeeded in fighting this guy off? He was easily six foot, two hundred pounds of muscle. He clearly still worked out.
Travis tapped a colorful menu lying on the counter. “Can you recommend anything here?”
Robb looked up from his lunch and ran his gaze over Travis.
Here it comes.Travis waited for the guy to blow him off.
Instead, he got a welcoming smile. “For a fellow Army grunt, sure. The crab cakes are great.”
“You active duty?” Travis knew the answer, but he wanted to get Robb talking.
“Nah. I decided to take my chances as a civilian.” He stabbed his fork into a golden-brown crab cake. “We don’t see many uniforms in the Orlando area.”
“I’m on assignment but also visiting a woman.” Travis leaned closer and gave a conspiratorial wink. “Thought the uniform would impress her, if you know what I mean.”
A lecherous grin distorted Robb’s face, twisting it into an ugly expression. He was probably thinking about Claire, and Travis wanted to wipe the look off the guy’s face.
Robb thrust out his hand. “Mike Robb.”
Travis gripped the creep’s hand and resisted the urge to twist it around his back and slam him against a wall. Instead, he forced a smile and offered a fake name in the event Robb still talked with anyone at the institute. “Do you live around here?”
