Page 8 of Blue Summer

“Yeah, if he uses his knife to pin me to the ground, I can just wiggle out of them and keep on running.”

“Okay, sweetheart, I don’t think you need to be wiggling out of anything when I’m not around and you are right, it’s not safe for me to leave you here. Come on, angel. Let’s go find out if anything else has been messed with.”

He helps me out of the car, and we walk away from my vandalized vehicle. He takes time to talk to Joe at the front door who promises him to pull all the security feeds from the parking garage and send them to him. He’s not seen anything out of the usual or had any new people other than me and Roan come through in the last two weeks.

“I sure am glad you are here to keep an eye on Miss. Summer.” I try to smile at Joe, but I can’t help being worried about when Roan won’t be here with me. What then?

Roan goes into the penthouse first and I hang back far enough I won’t get in his way if he has to do something fast but close enough I can easily yell for him if I see something… or someone.

“Does anything look out of place?”

I shrug my shoulders, “I'm not sure. I’ve only been here for a few days.”

“We’ll have to call Pearl, and have her and Spade come over so we know for sure nothing has been messed with.”

“Oh, do we have to? I don’t want her to worry, and Joe said he didn’t see…”

He gives me a look that clearly tells me I am going to have to make that call or he is.

“Fine. I’ll call.”

“Thank you.” He pulls me in close to him offering me a warm hug. “While you do that, I’m calling this in.”

“What?!” I try to pull away from him, but he is having none of it. “Why would you…? No. That’s not…why?”

“Because, sweetheart, they need to know.”

Chapter Eight

Roan

“Roan… you’re gonna want to check this out, man.”

I come over to where John and my Captain are standing. “What’s up guys?”

“The name on our dead passenger came back this afternoon.” A sense of dread comes over me. I don’t think what they are about to tell me is going to be good.

“And?”

“It’s Gerry Barret, Roan.”

“Gerry Barret? Gerry Barret.” I say the name over again trying to place it. It sounds familiar.

John turns the tablet he is carrying around to show me and memories start clicking into place. He’s a small-time hood who has been getting into trouble since he turned twelve. It’s normally insignificant shit like boosting cars to go joyriding or knocking over an ATM overnight.

It’s who he hangs out with that has me worried. His picture is pulled up beside Gerry’s. Robert Allen. He’s held up quite a few convenience stores and even shot one of the cashiers while he was trying to make his getaway. He also runs with a dangerous crowd that would not think twice about killing someone to get what they want.

“Car was stolen. And being driven by Robert we think.”

I busted Robert a few years ago. God damn it. I step closer to the men, so no one overhears the next part of our conversation, “Is this him? Did he find out Summer helped me? Is he coming after her because of me?”

“Slow your roll, kid.” I’m only ten years younger than my captain but he still calls me kid. Instead of annoying me, I think of it as a nickname and it means he likes me. It pisses him off more than anything else I do. “There’s more. Tell him, John.”

He takes the tablet from me and starts hitting buttons before turning it back to show me.

“Your girl has a past.” I grab the thing from him and start reading the complaints and come across the restraining order she asked for.

I turn and make my way over to Summer who is standing next to Pearl and Spade. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”

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