Page 79 of Blackmailing the Bad Girl

He ran all the way through the station, but by the time he found the platform he needed, the train was pulling away.

“Crap, shit.”

He searched along the carriages, staring in through the windows, half expecting her to be staring back at him. She’d see him, and she’d leap up and run to the nearest door. She’d jump off and into his arms.

Or more likely, she’d break her leg or her neck or…

Anyway, it didn’t matter, because she wasn’t at any of the windows. And he was left staring after the departing train.

“I guess you didn’t find her,” Harry said, coming to a halt beside him, slightly out of breath.

Nik swallowed down his disappointment. Maybe this was for the best. He’d see Trenton first thing in the morning, make sure everything was sorted out, and then he’d go after her. How hard could she be to find? He would hunt her down, and then he’d tell her that she didn’t need to run anymore.

…

At eight thirty on the dot, Summer stepped into the police station. The place was quiet, so she could hear her footsteps. Maybe all the criminals were home in bed at this early hour or all locked in their cells.

I’m doing the right thing.

She repeated the words over and over in her head. That was the mantra she’d run through her mind through the long night. All the same, shivers ran down her spine, and she had to force one step in front of the other as she crossed the seemingly huge space between the door and the counter.

Behind it, a woman in uniform—three stripes on her arm showing she was a sergeant—watched her approach, her eyes narrowed. She glanced down to read something on the desk, then looked back at Summer, raising an eyebrow.

“Summer Delaney?”

“What?” How the hell did the woman know her name? She wasn’t that notorious. She peered down at herself, just in case someone had pinned a name tag on her when she wasn’t looking.

“Well?” the sergeant asked.

“Yes, I’m Summer Delaney. I’d like to—”

“Just take a seat over there.” She waved a hand at the row of plastic chairs that lined the wall opposite the counter. Summer tried one more time. “But I—”

“Sit down,” the woman said.

Summer gave in and backed away and sat, clutching her bag on her knee. It was big and full of things she might need. There was a good chance they would take it from her at some point, but until then, it was a comfort. The sergeant was speaking on the phone, but she’d turned her back so Summer couldn’t hear what she was saying, though she was sure she heard her own name spoken.

This was turning surreal, or maybe she was just tired. She’d spent much of the night walking. When she had finally gotten home, it was to find Regan and Darcy waiting for her.

Summer had explained what she was going to do and why. They hadn’t been impressed. They’d begged, argued, cajoled, threatened to tie her up so she couldn’t do it. Finally, they had given in and offered to come with her and hold her hand.

She’d turned down the offer. She didn’t want them involved or tainted by association. They were both on parole and vulnerable.

So here she was. But things weren’t going as planned. The sergeant put down the phone and turned back. Summer rose to her feet, but when the sergeant raised an eyebrow, Summer sat down again.

What was going on?

Maybe Trenton had already contacted the police. She’d hoped by giving herself up, she might get some sort of reduced sentence. Plus, she planned on giving back the money. There was more than a million now. Her mom’s house had appreciated in value.

She just needed something to happen, because she was going to go crazy sitting here, not knowing what was going on.

It felt like an age, but glancing at her watch, she saw only five minutes had passed, when the door behind the counter opened and a man came out. Tall, dressed in a dark gray suit, white shirt, and red tie, he had gray eyes and a dimple in his chin. He spoke to the sergeant and then came around the counter, headed her way, and stopped in front of her. “Summer Delaney?”

She nodded. “I want to—”

“Come this way.”

“But I…”

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