Free No Turning Back (The Traveler) by Omar Tyree Page A

meet her at your office then. And tell her to make sure he has something
good
to tell us, especially if she can’t wait until Monday morning.”
    “Agreed,” the attorney told him.
    As soon as Gary was introduced to Jonah Brown at the law office, he immediately recognized her as the woman who had been in his store and the Louisville University weight room. Gary wasted no time boring into her with his questions.
    “Okay, so what, you’ve been following me all this time? What are you—a
stalker
? Who do you work for? Do you know my father?”
    He was grilling her harshly and was pressed for answers. And Burnett was right: In a woman’s dark-blue suit, she took on a commanding presence.
    She remained calm in her chair and crossed her legs, wearing sheer stockings with low, dark heels.
    She said, “I understand how emotional this must be for you. But I’m only here to help.”
    Gary read her concerned face and asked her the obvious question: “Why?”
    “Because I’ve been asked to. It’s my job,” she answered civilly. “But now I feel that you really need it. You’ve been through
a lot
this past week.”
    She had a familiar confidence and stateliness about her, as if she had known him for years.
    Gary took in her words and her calm demeanor and began to believe in her immediately. He was now certain that she was no fly-by-night woman. Burnett was right again. She knew things, and she played a strong game of poker herself. There was no bluffing her hand.
    “So, you do know my father,” he stated, confident himself.
    She nodded to him and carefully folded her hands in front of her chin. “Yes. I know your father very well.”
    Suddenly, both men were all ears. How did she know his father and in what way were they connected?
    Jonah read their masculine and sexual assumptions and quickly corrected them.
    “No, I don’t know him like
that
, I know him as a business man,” she stated firmly.
    Gary grinned. “Like father, like son,” he quipped. He would have surely come on to Jonah sexually had he been an older man. He liked her as a younger man, he and Taylor. But it was obvious that she would never respond to their flirtations. She seemed to be about business only.
    She looked at the smiling attorney and added, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to speak to him in private a minute.”
    Burnett was stunned. “You’re asking me to leave my own office?”
    Jonah didn’t bother to even answer him.
    Gary eyed the attorney and said, “Come on, man.” He could tell that she wouldn’t budge. He already knew her type. It was her way or nothing. He could read it in her determined eyes.
    Burnett got the point from both of them and stood up to leave. Gary could be as determined to have his way as the stranger was. They were both spoiled.
    Yeah, they deserve each other
, he thought with a grin.
    “All right, I’ll go out and grab a sandwich or something.”
    Once he cleared out, Gary asked her, “Is it that serious? What’s so secretive about him?”
    Jonah didn’t flinch or smile. She took a breath and answered, “Yes, it is. Your father’s a very important man who likes to keep his privacy.”
    “Is that right?” Gary responded sarcastically. He felt more comfortable with her in private, and he spoke his mind as always.
    But his frequent sarcasm vexed her. She said, “I know how much you like to play hard ball, but how
smart
can you be? Now, I’m here to give you some important information, but I need you to be ready to receive it. Are you?”
    Gary chilled out and nodded. “Okay. Tell me something I don’t know,” he told her. “Who’s my old man?”
    Jonah nodded back to him. She asked, “Have you ever stopped to wonder how your mother was able to afford so many of your extracurriculars?”
    “Yeah, she loved me, and she worked hard for it,” Gary answered.
    “Well, I’m sure she worked hard for some of it,” Jonah hinted.
    Gary stared at her. “So what are you trying to say? Just spell it