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Then faded as he obviously remembered where he was and realized what just happened.

The woman next to him clapped him on the shoulder and took his rifle, then walked away.Obviously she knew who Summer was and that Ashton had been keeping his profession a secret from her.That maybe hurt even worse.

They stared at each other from the yards that separated them.Chloe kept yelling for him and trying to get down.

At least now Summer knew what Ashton had wanted to tell her that she wouldn’t like.

Her handyman was SWAT.

Chapter Nine

How could she have been such an idiot?

Ten hours later, Summer paced back and forth at her house.Ashton would be there in a few minutes so they could talk.

She’d turned and left the grocery store this morning without a word.What could she say to him there, surrounded by his colleagues, surrounded by people who obviously knew who he was and who she was?

She could tell by the looks on their faces that his SWAT colleagues had all known he was in trouble.Which meant they’d obviously known he’d been lying to her for months.

Chloe had thrown an absolute fit when she’d been unable to go to her precious Ah-ta.Summer hadn’t cared.She let her daughter wail as she’d stuffed her stiff legs into the holes of the stroller and buckled her in.They’d both been crying by the time they’d made it home.

Why would Ashton have lied to her for all these months?

Just to make sure she had the facts straight, that Ashton didn’t work for Joe on the side or something, she’d texted Joe.

Need to clarify: does Ashton Fitzgerald work for you?

It hadn’t taken Joe long to reply.

Works with me.Not for me.At Omega.

Does he do handyman jobs on the side?Is that why you sent him to fix the garbage disposal in my unit a few months ago?

It had taken Joe much longer to respond to that one.He must have gone to talk to Ashton to find out what the hell Summer was talking about.

Evidently there was a miscommunication a few months ago.I asked Ashton to find you a handyman.He knew he could fix the problem himself so he did that.

Logical.Summer had to admit it.Joe had asked Ashton to do him a favor, and Ashton had just done the work himself rather than call in a stranger.Ashton had been able to fix everything she’d needed him to over the past few months, so it wasn’t like he wasn’t capable.

Why didn’t he just tell her from the beginning he was a colleague of Joe’s?At least then she wouldn’t have kept calling him back to fix every little thing.Pulling him away from his real job.

A sick feeling pooled in her stomach.She texted Joe again.

Did Ashton know about Tyler?About how he died?

A few moments later, her phone rang.But it wasn’t Joe, it was Ashton.She let it go to voice mail.She couldn’t talk to him right now.

But she pretty much had her answer, didn’t she?The rest she could piece together.

He had known about Tyler all along.Had come back to help her all those times because he felt sorry for the poor widow of the man Omega Sector couldn’t save.They probably all did.

Her phone pinged.Joe again.

Ashton wants to talk to you.

I don’t want to talk to him right now.

Give him a chance, Summer.He’s pretty torn up.

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