It almost felt like Paige was trying to recruit her.Did she think that with enough time, she might convince Summer to join the cause?The idea was laughable.
But then again…perhaps if Summer pretended to go along with it, would she be able to escape when the time was right?Maybe she should stop arguing with Paige and start agreeing with her instead.
Summer said nothing, merely glared at Paige.
The other woman stood with a sigh.“I know you don’t believe me, but I am sorry you had to go through this.”
Summer shifted on the dirt.If she were going to make a break for it, now was the time.Paige was clearly too trusting.But where was this other guy, Nathan?Was there another house or building nearby she couldn’t see?Or was he waiting just outside with a gun in his hand?Waiting to shoot her if she made a run for it?Her head throbbed at that moment, reminding her she wasn’t physically able.There were too many unknowns.So Summer stayed where she was, kneeling on the ground, watching Paige retreat through the door.
“I’ll be back with some food in an hour,” Paige promised.She turned and hesitated in the doorway.“I don’t expect you to see it our way immediately.I certainly didn’t.But you should think about what I said.”She slid the entryway shut, and Summer was in darkness once again.
She reached for the bottle and swallowed it in two gulps, wishing Paige had brought two.Maybe when she came back with the food, she’d bring more water.And maybe when she came back, Summer might soften her stance against Tyrone.At least on the outside where Paige could see it.If she thought she was sympathetic to their cause, they might give her more freedom.Or even release her alive.Because at the moment, Summer didn’t believe Paige’s claim that they were going to let her go.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
MÅRTEN GLANCED AT the clock on the wall in the squad room.It was just after three.He couldn’t find the enthusiasm he needed to complete the paperwork for the break-and-enter down on Länggatan Road.The wealthy resident hadn’t been present at the time, but the intruder must’ve known about her impressive collection of diamond jewelry, because they’d targeted the safe without touching anything else in the house.
All Mårten could think about was Summer.Maybe he should head home early this afternoon.There wasn’t much going on at work anyway.It’d been a slow couple of days, apart from the break-in, and the paperwork Mårten still needed to catch up on from before he left to go on holiday to do.The Chief had been riding his ass all week to get it done.Chief Inspector Rydberg was still unhappy about Jacob’s defecting to America.And even though it wasn’t Mårten’s fault, it seemed because he’d been his police partner for so long, that Rydberg was taking his dissatisfaction at losing one of his best cops out on Mårten as the next closest thing.
Mårten put down his pen.Yes, he’d go home early, surprise Summer, Rydberg be damned.Maybe they could take a picnic out to Mörö Beach, where he could show her some of the archipelago.It was a bit of a drive, but it shouldn’t be too crowded.Or maybe they could find somewhere more secluded and have a replay of last night.
At the mere thought of the previous evening, his cock sprang to attention.Mårten quickly wiped away the image of Summer lying in the long grass, head thrown back in abandon, as he moved inside her.Shit, the last thing he needed was to get a hard-on at work.He slid his gaze sideways toward the desk that Aurora sat at on his left.She had her head down, a set of headphones on, as she wrote out yet another report on the jewelry heist.Thank the Lord she was so fixated on her task, she hadn’t even noticed him daydreaming, let alone working himself into a later.
He returned to his paperwork until his libido had subsided.But he wasn’t really concentrating.All he wanted was to get home.Summer was a distraction from his work, but not necessarily an unwanted one.Mårten had spent the last few years working long hours and weekends, building his career, his focus on his job, to the detriment of his personal life.Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing if he took a step back for a few days.Summer was only here for one more week, so maybe he should make the most of it.
“Hey, Aurora,” he said as he pushed his pile of paperwork to the side.
“Yeah, boss.”She lifted her head, pulling her headphones to the side, and looked at him with her intense gaze, reminding him of an eager puppy, straining to be allowed off the leash.
“I’m taking off for the day.”
“Oh.Okay.”
He had to hide his smirk at her crestfallen expression; she’d been hoping he was about to tell her they had a new job to attend.Had he ever been this keen when he’d been a rookie?He couldn’t remember.She readjusted her headphones with a sigh and went back to stabbing impatiently at the ream of forms on her desk.
His phone vibrated in his pocket just as he stood to slide his chair away from the table.It was Jacob.Mårten grabbed his bag and headed for the door, answering with a cheery, “What’s up?”
But he got the opposite of a pleasant reply from Jacob, whose tone was somber.“We think Tyrone King might be in Sweden,” he said without preamble.
“What?”Mårten stopped dead in the middle of the hallway.
“We got a hit from one of his aliases late yesterday.It looks like he boarded a flight to Stockholm two days ago.”
Shit.This wasn’t good.“And you’re just telling me this now?”Mårten was on the move again.He needed to get his car.Needed to check on Summer.He took the stairs to the underground car park two at a time.
“Sorry.”Jacob sounded grim.“This guy has a lot of aliases.It’s taken us a while to track them all down.It was Miller who found it.She only came across it this morning, and when we cross-referenced it…” Mårten could imagine Jacob’s face, his mouth tight with contrition.This wasn’t his fault.Or Miller’s.Not exactly.But it was still a giant stuff-up.There could be only one reason he was coming to Sweden.
“What identity is he traveling under?”
“Amir Kingadams.We think it’s his middle name, along with an addition to his last name.”
Simple yet effective, Mårten thought.He made it to the parking lot and ran to his car.
“We’ve got agents checking cameras at both airports to confirm, but I wanted you to know as soon as possible,” Jacob continued.
“Thanks.Keep me updated.I’m on my way home now.”Mårten ended the call, and as he jumped into his vehicle, he tapped his phone to pull up the app and check on Summer’s location.It showed that she was still at his house, and he let out a gust of relieved air.
Once he was on the road, he tried to call Summer, but it rang out and then went to voicemail.He tried again with the same outcome.This time, he left a message telling her not to leave the house and that he was on his way home.She could be in the shower, or taking a nap.He wasn’t worried.Yet.
