“This is Harper?Like, a recent picture?”
“Yes, from last Friday.We caught him on a security camera.”
Summer stared at the picture.“That’s not the man who almost shot me today.”
She watched as Ashton wiped Chloe’s banana-smeared face with a wet washcloth, not even thinking twice about it.He tweaked her nose and she laughed.
“Are you absolutely sure?”
Summer nodded.“Yes.There is no way this is the same man I saw in the woods.”
Ashton flicked his screen to another picture.“What about this one?”
That picture was much more similar.“Yes.He didn’t look exactly like that, but we’d both been running through the woods for a while.But I would say that is the man I saw.”
Ashton picked Chloe up out of the chair.“I need to call this in.We know Harper is working with this guy, but we don’t know who he is.”
“Me, neither.He doesn’t look familiar to me at all.”
Summer took Chloe from Ashton and changed her diaper and clothes while he made his call.Ashton paced back and forth as he spoke, upset as everyone probably was at the whole situation.Upset that anybody had found the safe house.Upset over the loss of an agent.It didn’t matter if it was Harper or this mystery man.
The night was catching up to both Summer and Chloe.Now that her belly was full and all the excitement seemed to have passed, the baby’s eyes were beginning to droop.
Summer went and laid her on the bed so she could stretch out, then sat down on the couch.When Ashton was done, he joined her.
“Steve Drackett, my boss, agrees that we should probably get you out of here.I don’t like it, but until we figure out exactly what’s going on, I think it’s probably true.”
“I could go to my sister’s house in Atlanta.”
“Yes, that would be good.Lots of flights.There’s an FBI field office and we can make sure they’re aware of the situation.I will personally call their office and talk to someone who can be trusted.”
“Okay.When should I leave?”
“Early tomorrow would be best.”
“Oh.”Summer was torn.She wanted to be safe, to get her daughter to a safe place.But she didn’t want to leave Ashton.
“Believe me, I don’t want you to go.”He slipped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer.“But I do want you to be secure, so I’ll let you go.I don’t like it.”
“There’s something I need to say to you, Ashton.”She sat back a little bit so she could see him better.
“Okay.It’s about Tyler, isn’t it?”
She nodded.“I didn’t handle our last talk about him, about that situation, very well.”
“It was some shocking news, Summer.You handled it the way anyone would.”
“I want to tell you what I told Joe Matarazzo when he tried to take the blame for Tyler’s death.I don’t care if you had the shot or not: you’re not the killer.The man who walked into that office building with the intent to hurt others and pulled out that hand grenade.He’s the only one to blame.”
His name had been James Hudson.But Summer tried to say his name out loud as little as possible.She didn’t want to give him that much credit or space in her life.He’d taken enough.
“But I could’ve stopped the killer,” Ashton said softly.
Summer stood up and took a few steps away.“Says you and your crystal ball.Somebody hitting him with their car in the parking lot that day could’ve stopped him, too.Or maybe if he’d learned stress-management techniques in high school.”
“But I had a rifle trained on him.”
She shook her head.“If there’s one thing I know about Omega Sector, it’s that you guys are the best.You made the call you made.A split second changes everything in SWAT stations, I’m sure.”
