The bartender studied them.“Yeah, okay.Sure.”
They walked out the door.“Think he’ll call if Harper does show up?”Ashton asked.Liam had DEA experience before coming to work at Omega Sector and had used informants all the time.
“Maybe.People like to think of law enforcement as owing them one.”
The men walked out to the car and began the twenty-minute drive back to HQ.The only thing good about not having Harper in custody was that it would allow Ashton to get to Summer sooner.
The only thing he needed to decide about now was how to wake her up.
He showered quickly in the Omega locker room, then jogged out to his car.Patrick was on guard duty, so Ashton texted him to let him know he was on his way.
Five minutes later when Patrick hadn’t responded, Ashton called the man’s cell phone, frowning.Whenever Patrick had been on shift and Ashton had requested an update, the agent had been quick to respond.
But now the call went immediately to voice mail.
Ashton put his phone in hands-free mode and called Steve Drackett’s office.Cynthia, one of Steve’s four executive assistants, answered.
“Cynthia, it’s Ashton Fitzgerald.I just tried to reach the guard assigned at Summer Worrall’s safe house and it went straight to voice mail.”
Cynthia didn’t waste any time.“Hold while I check the system, Ashton.”
Guards checked in every hour with a code only they knew.
Cynthia came back on the line.“Patrick missed his assigned check in four minutes ago.One more minute and it would’ve alerted everyone in the system.”Guards were given a five minute grace period.
“I’m on my way there now.ETA twenty minutes.”
“I’ll get uniforms out there, also.But it will take them ten minutes at least.”
If Harper had found out the location of the safe house and left the bar an hour or two ago like the bartender said, he definitely could’ve already made it to the safe house and taken Patrick out.
Ten minutes was way too long.Ashton pushed the gas pedal down further.He disconnected with Cynthia, knowing the woman would do what needed to be done on Omega’s end, and called Summer’s phone.
* * *
SUMMERHEARDTHEdoor creak open downstairs and smiled.She should pretend to be asleep just so she could see how Ashton decided to wake her up.
Her phone buzzed on the nightstand and she grabbed it.
Ashton?
“Why are you calling me if you’re coming into the house right now?When I said to pick an interesting—”
“Summer.”He completely cut her off.“It’s not me in the house and we can’t get in touch with the guard.Take Chloe and get out now.Right now.Use the balcony.”
Summer sat straight up.Oh God.Someone was in the house and it wasn’t Ashton or one of the guards.
She flew out of bed without wasting time.She had no idea how long before the intruder would make his way upstairs.She pulled her door behind her as she exited, hoping it would buy her time, and eased Chloe’s door open.She saw her tennis shoes where she’d left them in the bathroom before her shower and grabbed them, toeing them on.
The silence was terrifying.All encompassing.Summer struggled to control the sound of her breathing.To her, it sounded like a freight train.
Did the intruder have a gun?Of course he did.Otherwise how would he have gotten by Patrick outside?Summer couldn’t even think what that meant.
“I’m in Chloe’s room,” she whispered into the phone as she closed the bedroom door behind her.
“Do you have shoes?A jacket?You’re going to have to run.”
“Shoes, yes.No jacket.”
