Page 22 of Shadow Redemption
“Send me and Zane the plate picture. We’ll see what he turns up.”
A minute later, Cal said, “Done. If you want to shower, I’ll stay until you’re finished.”
Ben glanced at Ruth, still asleep on the couch. “Yeah, I’ll do that. Thanks.” He grabbed his Go bag from behind the couch and took the stairs two at a time. Fifteen minutes later, he returned to the first floor dressed in black cargo pants and t-shirt and his tactical boots to find that Cal had brewed another pot of coffee and was sipping a mug filled with the steaming liquid.
He dropped off his bag and detoured to the kitchen for his own mug. After downing several sips, he stood beside his friend. “I’ve got this if you want to go home now.”
Cal yawned and finished the remaining coffee in his cup. “Call me if you need me.” After taking his mug to the kitchen, the operative left.
Ben stayed at the window, watching the sunrise and the neighborhood stir to life. He’d replenished his coffee one more time before Ruth stirred.
He turned from his vigil. “Good morning.”
“Where’s Cal?”
“He went home. How do you feel?”
She smiled. “Good considering a car tried to run me down yesterday. I can’t believe I slept last night.”
“I’m glad you did. You needed it. I know you have to be at The Garden Hotel by noon. Is there anything else on your agenda?”
“Working out and packing.”
“Shadow is meeting at 3:00 p.m. at Fortress headquarters. Have you talked to Bridget or Trace since the parking lot incident?”
Ruth grimaced. “I didn’t want to worry them.”
“Be ready for recriminations. They won’t be happy that you didn’t call.”
“They’re newlyweds. They need time together, and I trusted you to take care of me.”
He squelched the grin threatening to form on his mouth at her snippy tone. “Still, they’ll gripe.” Ben didn’t blame them. He wouldn’t be happy if she kept him in the dark. “There’s coffee in the pot if you want it.”
“Maybe a little. I can’t work out with anything much on my stomach.”
“What about food when you’re finished?”
“I don’t have much in the house. I’m not good in the kitchen and I’ve only been here a couple of days.”
“After you work out and pack, I’ll take you to breakfast. We can check in with Zane on our way to the hotel.”
A moment later, she stood beside him with a mug half-full of coffee. “Anything happen while I was asleep?”
He glanced at her, wishing he could keep the truth from her. She didn’t need anything else adding to her stress level. However, Ruth needed to know she could trust him to tell her information that might keep her safe. “We noticed a black Camaro idling a few houses away with the lights off around five this morning. Does the car sound familiar?”
Ruth shook her head. “I’m not here most of the time, though. One of the neighbors might have purchased a new car although I can’t see them buying a sports car. Soccer moms and gray-haired grannies live around me. Did you or Cal confront the driver?”
“What makes you think we would?”
“You aren’t one to sit back and wait.”
He grinned. Smart woman. “We didn’t confront the driver, but Cal took a picture of the license plate and sent it to Zane to trace.”
“What was the result?”
“The car and the plates don’t match.”
“What does that mean?”