“Wait just a second…” East interrupted, but Wade cocked his head, watching us with a curious look. I blocked them out.
“East, can you get the booster from my car and pick up Opal after school? She knows you, and then we’ll meet you at the house. I’ll call the school and let them know you have my permission. Sage and I will finish up here and see if we can get any other data from the cameras inside, and I’ll tag in my security team.”
His jaw ground, but I could see him accepting the job Rhodes had given him as he gave me a nod. “Sure, of course, I’ll pick her up.”
Rhodes shuffled me from the van, but his eyes were moving, scanning the area as I found my footing. We’d drawn a few lookie-loos at this point, and I was feeling self-conscious, especially with my two brothers hovering like the overbearing men they were. For some reason, the same behavior in Rhodes was just filling me with a sense of calm.
Wade was already talking to Officer Palladino, who listened as he got directions on collecting evidence and looking for sightlines or something. I was already tuning out as he talked to the other officers.
“I’ll see you soon, Sage-O-Rama. You’re alright?” East leaned down to brush a kiss against my cheek. “I’m sorry this happened.”
“I’m okay,” I reassured him, but still moved even closer to Rhodes so that our bodies touched again.
East was my oldest and most protective brother. Even though my arms ached a little, my words were honest. It had been scary and startling, but I was really okay. More freaked out and startled than anything else. “I’ll see you later.” He nodded at me before giving me a long look, and Rhodes an even longer one.
“We’re going to get the camera footage before we leave. Stay with me.” Rhodes was succinct, his jaw clenched tight, his eyes fixed on the area around us. “Wade.” The last was nothing short of an order, and my brother responded instantly, shoulders straightening and on alert. This was another version of Wade that I hadn’t seen before.
Rhodes gripped my hand tightly and tucked me even closer. If he thought I was going to stray from his side, he was sorely mistaken. Right now, there was no place I wanted to be more than right next to him.
There was a teenage kid behind the register who seemed more interested in looking at his phone than paying attention to the commotion happening in the parking lot, even though there were two cop cars out there. You’d think he would have looked up.
Wade moved purposefully through the space, all the way across the store to the exterior door, the one with the push bar, which opened to the side lot. He gave it a shove, poked his head through it, where you could see that it led directly to the area where my van would be parked around the corner.
“Hey,” the kid from the counter finally said as Rhodes stopped at the counter. “What’s up?” He angled a look at his phone.
Rhodes gave a disgusted snort. “Security footage. Interior. Exterior,” he grunted. “Who do I talk to?”
He blinked sleepily. "Uh, what? I don’t know. That’s not my job, man. I’m just here to watch the pumps. You can talk to my manager, I guess. She’s ...”
"Get her,” Rhodes barked.
He scrambled to obey, but Rhodes didn’t apologize for his brusque attitude even when Wade joined us at the counter.
The older woman who followed the attendant looked harried, and it seemed likely we had interrupted her lunch, as evidenced by the greasy spot on her shirt and around her mouth. Creekside was located between Wildwood Meadows and Cascade Mills. Deliveries were always part of my job, so I had all the stations mapped out along the way. The van used a lot of gas, probably more than was economical. It was on my list to upgrade to something better, but everything these days was expensive, and it wasn’t like I was out here making a killing as a small business owner.
“Billy says you want to see the cameras?” she squinted at Wade. “What for?”
“Someone tried to assault this young woman here, so we’d like your cooperation, is all?” Wade’s tone was carefully modulated as he subtly tucked a thumb into his belt, pressing his badge front and center. He was much more polite than Rhodes and had toned down his alpha-hole-ness.
She let out a small gasp, looking over at Billy as if he were going to confirm the story. The kid just shrugged, which seemed to piss Rhodes off even more. That seemed to get her moving, and she straightened and murmured, “Of course. Whatever we can do. Just let me go get the tablet. It has the link.”
It took her just a moment to return with the aforementioned electronic device in her hand. She’d wiped her mouth and straightened her shirt. Billy had slunk off to the back room without a word, leaving her to deal with us without any apologies.
I stayed quiet beside Rhodes, slightly turned toward him as he furiously tapped on the tablet while talking to the manager, Bev. She didn’t ask many questions when she handed it to him instead of Wade, but looked at me, then at the three of us, seemingly sizing everything up.
“Sorry about your lunch,” I managed.
“It’s no problem. You okay?” Her brows furrowed, concern obvious on her face, which at least made me feel like she hadn’t realized I’d been struggling just outside while they’d all been in here, right on the other side of the door.
“Yes.” I didn’t bother to elaborate. All in all, I was lucky. Who knows what would have happened to me if I hadn’t managed to get away?
She seemed satisfied enough and went back to answering questions and talking to Wade because Rhodes was quickly sorting through electronic folders, as if he were emailing footage.
“I’ll review these at home and send them to Redhawk. There’s someone here, but …” he paused and showed the tablet to Wade. “Movements are suspicious. I can’t be sure.”
There was a figure dressed in dark clothing, a man who kept his head down as he moved through the convenience store aisles. If the teenager had been paying close attention, they would have become suspicious immediately, but Billy didn’t seem like the type to take action. After a few minutes, the man left through the back door. His face was turned away from the cameras, and he wore a hood despite the nice weather. Unfortunately, it wasn’t like I could identify the person.
Rhodes’ jaw clenched as he handed the tablet to Bev. “Thanks for your help.” Without another word, he guided me out the front of the store, his pace almost faster than mine.
