Karson and Drew bend their heads together. Drew looks my way as if he’s in as much shock as I am.
“Gemma,” Charlie chides. “You told me we aren’t supposed to stare at people like that.”
I hold a hand to my thundering heart. Staring has become the least of my worries. “He said I have a warrant out for my arrest.”
Kai chuckles as if he thinks I’m telling a joke.
“That’s preposterous.” Charlie shakes his head. “Unless …”
My head snaps his direction. “Unless what?” Does he know about my parking tickets?
“Wait.” Kai rubs his chin. “You’re serious?”
Both men scoot closer and form a huddle.
I motion for Charlie to continue. “Unless what?”
His long forehead wrinkles, drawing dark eyebrows together. “Remember when we were making that student film in college?”
The scene hits me like Jason Bourne remembering how he joined Treadstone. No, I wasn’t an assassin, but I did hold a gun in the staged robbery of a Dairy Queen. Passersby apparently like calling the police on me. “Oh no.” I cover my mouth.
“What college film?” Kai’s dark eyes ping back and forth between Charlie and me.
I’m still trying to connect the dots. Yeah, the ice-cream shop had been surrounded by squad cars, but once I’d gone out with my hands up and Charlie explained, no charges had been filed. That I knew of.
Charlie wipes his forearm across his forehead before responding to Kai. “Remember the 48 Hour Film Project where you were having an Achilles surgery and couldn’t join us?”
“Yeah.” Kai grimaces at the memory he does have before focusing on the experience he missed. “That was the only film competition you didn’t win, due to poor editing by my replacement.” Before either of us can explain further, his head straightens and his narrowed eyes lock on mine. “That’s the time the cops thought you were robbing a DQ.”
I hold my arms wide, both shrugging and enjoying my freedom before handcuffs restrain me. “I didn’t do anything.”
Kai nods. “Exactly. Now you know how I felt when Officer Angry Eyes accused me of kidnapping.”
Kai has never had a warrant out for his arrest. Plus, Karson’s eyes aren’t necessarily angry. More like justice-seeking. “Not helping.”
Charlie slices a hand across his throat in the “cut” motion before turning from Kai to me. “I’ll vouch for you. Again.”
“Again.” Kai echoes with a snicker, still not taking my situation seriously. “You know this kind of thing would never happen to anyone else, right?”
Charlie’s face scrunches in contemplation. “Maybe you’re more suited to writing romantic comedies than suspense, Gemma.”
I’d never considered writing romantic comedy before, but I really hope this is something we can all laugh about later. Unfortunately, as Karson heads back our way, his justice-seeking eyes flash police-light blue.
Charlie steps in front of me. “She didn’t actually rob a Dairy Queen. It wasn’t even a real gun.”
My roommate blocked Karson’s face from my sight, which is probably a good thing. I can’t imagine his statement caused a positive expression.
“What gun?”
I peek around Charlie.
Does Karson seriously not know about the gun?
The set of his jaw tells me he’s even more serious than usual. If he doesn’t know about my almost-arrest for armed robbery, then what could my warrant possibly be for?
“No gun,” I rush to explain. “I was acting in a robbery scene and someone called the police.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Kai quips.
