Page 108 of Not Your Little Girl Anymore

Right before Alec and I walk back to his car, Chloe pulls my attention back. “Summer, hold up.” She pulls out my backpack I left at her house from the back seat of her Toyota and jogs through the distance between us, handing it to me.

“Thank you,” I sigh. “I’ll see you there.”

Chloe gives me a quick hug. “It’ll be OK,” she reassures me.

***

Alec helps me out of his car just as Chloe pulls into the parking lot and parks directly beside us.

She comes up to me, replacing Alec’s arm with hers. “I’d still like to know what you did to your ankle.”

I hop a little bit, doing the best I can to ease off any pressure I may need to put on my foot. “Another time. Let’s just… get this over with.” I steal a small glimpse of Alec, giving him a sympathetic smile, but he only grimaces.

“I should be going in with you,” he barks.

I nibble on my bottom lip, worried that I’m making the wrong decision by having him stay in the car. But that is washed out the moment I remember everything my father said.

I place a steady hand on his chest. “Nobody will touch me with Chloe here. I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you may not be able to keep.” That’s all he says before getting back into his car and slamming the door shut.

I suck in a breath, trying my best not to let his reaction bother me as much. At this point, I shouldn’t expect anything less. He has every right to feel the way he does. The protective side of him is on high alert.

Samantha rolls the back window down. “Take care of her for him,” she says directly to Chloe.

“Always.” Chloe smiles and looks at me. “You ready?”

“Nope.” And I’m not. “But let’s go.”

I lean as much as I can against Chloe, trying not to take her down at the same time while holding onto the USB drive. We manage the best we can and make it across the parking lot to the front doors. We exchange worrisome glances before walking the rest of the way. My body feels weaker with each hop I take, and my throat feels like it’s officially closing on me. I stuff it down, reminding myself that the truth about my father’s corruption needs to be spoken about.

“Was it a sex accident?” Chloe asks.

I roll my eyes, groaning. “No. Which makes it all the worse.”

Chloe opens the first set of doors. “Ty said you fell out of the shower.” She wiggles her eyes.

“Fucking Tyler. No. We weren’t having sex. I literally slipped and fell out of the shower. OK. Can we get over my foot?”

“Suit yourself,” she says as if she doesn’t believe me. I ignore it, hopping into the tiny walkway.

Taking a deep, subtle breath, Chloe pushes the second set of doors open. My grip around the drive tightens as I leap through the doorway. The station mirrors the weight of the knowledge we’re sitting on. It’s dark and overwhelming.

As we make it to the desk, slow and cautiously, a sense of relief washes over me at the sight of Brentley behind the glass. However, I can’t help but notice the expression his face holds. It makes my stomach tighten. Something must be going on.

I shake off the curiosity inside me. “Hi, Allen.”

He looks at me and smiles, and then looks at Chloe, back at me. “Your father was called out on duty. He won’t be back until 3:30 or so.”

My throat dries, wondering if he even knows what happened. If he had, would that have been the first thing to come from him? I wet my lips, ignoring the discomfort.

“I… we are not here for my father. Actually, I was hoping I could talk to you.”

His thick brows narrow. “What is it?”

I open and close my mouth a few times, leaning farthing against the side of Chloe.

She sensed my struggles and took over for me. “Sir, we have a matter we’d like to bring to your attention. It’s regarding Alec Sokolov and Officer Raleigh.”

---