Chapter 52
52
ASHER
“Are you okay?” I asked Frannie as she steadied herself.
“I’m not hurt.” The whites of her eyes gleamed in the darkness.
Given the circumstances, “not hurt” was the best we could expect. She looked shaken, and I had no doubt her pulse was racing. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if she started to go into shock.
“Let’s get back inside,” Dad said, ushering Mum and Frannie toward the resort. Dean held Marcy close, and Summer and I took up the rear.
As soon as we entered, Tabitha took one look at us and rushed around the reception desk.
“What happened?” she asked.
“S-someone nearly ran Frannie over,” Mum stuttered, tripping over the words.
“I’m calling the police.” I drew my cell phone from my pocket and found Nate’s number. Perhaps I ought to call the station instead, but Nate knew everything that was going on, and I had no doubt he’d want to be involved.
The call connected.
“It’s late,” Nate groused.
“A car just tried to run my sister down at the resort,” I told him.
“Shit.” There were muffled noises as he adjusted the phone. “Did you get their details?”
I winced. “No. Hold on.” I lowered the phone and scanned the others. “Anyone get the registration number?”
They all shook their heads.
“No, sorry. It was white though. Midsize.”
“That’s something, at least.” He sighed. “I suppose you’d better come into the station and make a statement.”
I glanced at Frannie. “Do you need all of us? Frannie is freaked out and Marcy needs to be put to bed.”
Nate paused, considering. “They can go home, but I’ll need to speak to Frannie in the morning. Can you let her know?”
“Will do. We’ll see you as soon as we’re down.” I hung up and addressed my family. “Frannie, you guys can head home, but Nate will need a statement from you tomorrow morning.”
She nodded, her teeth embedded in her lower lip. “Thanks, Ash. I just want to crawl into bed and pretend it didn’t happen.”
For tonight, at least, she could. Tomorrow she’d have to face reality.
The events of the past five minutes replayed through my mind on fast-forward. Fuck, there were so many ways the night could have ended so much worse.
“What were you thinking, yelling out at someone like that?” I asked Summer. “You knew that if someone was there, they might be dangerous.”
She raised her chin, her expression stubborn. “I was thinking that I’m sick of these stupid games and I want them to end. Whoever this is, they’re playing with us, and I hate that.”
I grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “You need to be more careful. You could have been hurt. Or Frannie might have been.”
She lowered her gaze for a brief second as the barb sunk in. I immediately regretted it, but she couldn’t ignore the risks.
“You know, I don’t like the fact that you regularly put yourself in danger to help others,” she said, raising her eyes again. “You do it every day as a paramedic. You know it’s dangerous, but it’s part of who you are, and it would be selfish of me to ask you to stop. Likewise, you can’t stop me from doing whatever I can to protect you.”
“I…” I didn’t know what to say. My gut twisted. She was right, but didn’t she realize that I’d be devastated if anything happened to her?
“Let’s all take a breath,” Mum said, interrupting our conversation. “Let’s get down the mountain and tell Nate whatever he needs to know. You can finish this after you’ve both calmed down.”
Dean nodded. “Good call, Brenda. I’d like to get my girls home.”
Everyone murmured their agreement.
This time, when we left the resort, we were on edge. Frannie was visibly jumpy as we crossed the parking lot, and Dean stuck close to her side, a silent source of support.
We got into our respective vehicles and Summer drove in front onto the road down the mountain. I expected her to go straight to the police station, but instead, she drove to Frannie’s place and pulled over. Dad parked behind us and Frannie and Dean got out of the car. Dean lifted a sleeping Marcy into his arms and carried her inside.
Once the door had closed behind them, Summer silently pulled back onto the road and headed for the police station. Only a few lights were on inside, but the front door was unlocked and we let ourselves in.
Nate was waiting in one of the interview rooms with a laptop in front of him. To my surprise, he was alone, and the place was completely silent.
“No Mehrtens or Patton?” I asked.
“Nah, no need to get them out here on a cold-ass night when we can handle this ourselves,” he said, fiddling with the voice recorder. “Any work they’re involved in can wait until morning.”
Mum and Dad entered behind us, and we clustered around the table. Nate started the recorder and began asking questions. He typed on his laptop while we spoke, and when we were done, he stopped the recorder.
“I’ve written up your account of events.” He turned the laptop so we could see the screen. “I’ve sent it to the printer. Can you read through and then sign the printout at the bottom to confirm it’s accurate.”
“Sure.” I read it first, and while it was a bare bones accounting, it was correct, so I slid the laptop across to Summer, who then passed it along again. By the time Nate returned with the printed form, we were all ready to sign.
As we left the station, Mum paused just outside and drew her jacket up around her cheeks.
“Be careful,” she warned us. “There’s a heavy snow forecast. Will you text and let me know you’re safe when you get home and then again tomorrow?”
I slung one arm around her and kissed her cheek. “Of course.”
We separated, and Summer still didn’t say much. It was unnerving, to be honest.
“Are you okay?” I asked once we were in the Ute.
She scowled. “I’m so freaking sick of this person taking potshots at us.”
I leaned across the divider and kissed her. Outside, snow was falling again, soft flakes landing on the windscreen.
“The police will find them,” I murmured, drawing away from her. “This will be over soon.”
A niggling feeling in my gut said I’d just lied to her. I might sound confident, but I wasn’t sure this would be resolved soon.
At least, not before someone got hurt.