Page 62 of Protection for Rowan

“Sure. Let me enter your number into my contacts.”

Shine gave the kid a number that would ring Thario's computer, which would be answered by a voicemail box. He'd learned early on not to give out his number to random people. It was just easier that way.

After the kid was inside, Shine texted Thario the gist of the conversation. The drive home was lonely. He missed Rowan and wanted her home, but she needed this time away to get her head on straight.

Once home, he pulled out one of her shirts and sniffed. It still smelled like her, and he closed his eyes, praying she would come back to him. Hopefully, this wouldn't spook her so much that she took off to live in another part of the country.

Chapter 46

The next morning,armed with new information about when Charles had been in San Diego, Shine and Thario worked together to figure out where Charles had been staying. Griz showed up close to ten, and the rest of the guys were there before noon. They had a good idea where Charles was last week. Now, they needed to figure out where he was right then.

“Hey,” Apple said. “Look at this.”

The guys crowded around the chair where Apple was sitting in front of a computer. He had up an image of a man at the airport. It looked like Charles.

“We need to see if he bought an airline ticket,” Sharp said.

“Give me a minute. He hasn’t popped up on any of my searches.” Thario pounded away at the keys, shaking his head. “No, he hasn’t traveled, according to TSA.”

“What about buses or trains?” Griz asked.

Thario pulled up another screen then texted the address to Shine. He parked himself in front of a computer and pulled up the link. It was for cameras at thebus station. He started combing through the video, starting a little after Charles had been seen at the airport.

Squat was looking at the feed from the train station when he shot up from his seat. “That’s him. That’s him, right?”

They all moved to stand behind Squat and watched as Charles loaded onto a train.

“When was that?” Shine asked.

Squat sat, and his cursor highlighted the time and date stamp. "Two days ago."

“Fuck. Where was that train headed?”

“On it,” Thario said.

Shine's stomach knotted with worry. Where was this guy going? Was he headed to San Francisco? Rowan was in a safe place. At least, he thought she was. How could this guy have found out where she'd gone?

“Shine, is there any way that guy could have gotten into her house?”

He thought about the night before and her place. One screen had been knocked off, but the dude who lived next door had distracted him. He could have missed something.

“Maybe.”

Griz grabbed his keys from his hand. "I'm going to head over there. Apple, do you want to come with me?"

Apple headed toward the door. “Let’s go.”

Shine was thankful his friends were so good. The guys didn’t have to spend their weekend helping him track down Charles, but they were doing all they could to help him find out if Rowan was safe.

Thario tapped the computer screen. “He’s headed north. That doesn’t mean he found Rowan, but if it was me, I’d be on a plane to San Francisco.”

“I guess I’m headed to San Francisco.”

Jay turned to him. “You’re not going alone.”

“I don’t want you to get in trouble. We probably won’t be back before Monday.”

Sharp shook his head. “I’ll cover for you two. Let’s get you on a flight tonight. You need to be there.”

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