How Owen can be so pleasant and reasonable while he’s talking to this asshole, I don’t know.
I’m ready to lean over and grab him by the shirt.
I glance back at Falcon.
He’s staring at the window.
The whole ride over, he’s been kicking himself for missing out on rescuing Robin before she could be taken away from us.
I hope he wakes the fuck up when we get to Barrister’s house.
“A member of staff?” the cop snorts. “You’ve come a long way to chase down someone you could replace in a heartbeat.”
Fuck this guy.I unbuckle my seatbelt.
Owen notices and clears his throat. “With all due respect, officer, we take pride in keeping every person under our roof safe. A vulnerable young woman has been kidnapped, and every minute we spend talking with you is a minute she’s spending with a volatile kidnapper. So, if you don’t mind …”
“I mind very much,” he snaps back. “The insinuation that one of our residents …”
“Who do you work for, exactly?” Owen asks.
“What?”
“You’re not Silver Valley PD. I’m willing to co-operate with local security teams, but only if they show us the same respect we show them.”
“I work for Silver Circle,” he admits, likely pissed that Owen didn’t mistake him for the local PD.
“What is Silver Circle, exactly?”
“Private security for the gated community.”
“Gated community?” Owen glances back at me.
I can only shrug. This neighborhood isn’t close to our apartment.
I don’t know much about this place, and I’ve never heard about a gated community.
“You’re headed there,” he says. “It’s on this road. That’s why I’m out here.”
“So, it’s your job to keep that community safe from outsiders.”
“We have a list of people who are permitted inside the gates. It’s not big, and you don’t make the cut.”
“Who does make the cut?” Owen asks. “Local PD?”
The guy sighs. “Of course.”
He passes back Owen’s licence and registration documents.
“We’ll be back.” Owen rolls up the window and turns the car around.
He glances at me. “Be cool. We’re just gonna park someplace nearby and find a way to walk it. Calling in local cops can be our Plan B.”
“We don’t know what this gated community looks like,” I complain, pissed that there’s a complication.
We’ve come all this fucking way, and we’re still too far behind her.
“Look it up on your phone,” Owen says. “Find us a route. And check if Silver Circle has a website or something. Maybe we can find out what we’re about to come up against before we get there.”
