Page 48 of Spotted at Lighthouse Bay
“Yeah.” He paused. “Actually, no. Phil said you met with Mia yesterday.”
She scrunched up her nose. “Busted.”
“You told me you were going to stay put,” he said.
“I know.” Addy sighed. “But Mia found the guys my mom had talked to! We met them in the neighborhood and I got their real names.”
Blood rushed in his ears. “You talked to them?”
“Yes, and it was fine. Now we can file a police report and –”
“This isn’t a joke, Addy,” he said, cutting her off.
She blinked at him. “Nothing happened, Rick.”
“It could have.” He couldn’t control his voice, booming out of him now. “You can’t go provoking criminals like that. They could have done something to you. They have nothing to lose.”
She waved a hand. “I have to take matters into my own hands sometimes.”
“This is exactly what you’re not supposed to do,” he said.
“I’m not a child, Rick. I can do things.” She walked past him, through the door and into the parking lot.
This had nothing to do with her competence and everything to do with her safety. Where was this coming from?
He jogged after her. “Where are you going?”
“I need to talk to Chief Hank about this,” she said. “Now that you’re back, you can come along. I mean, if you’re ready to go, you can. If you need some time to decompress –”
“I don’t need time to decompress. This is a bad idea. “
She stopped, crossing her arms over her chest. “You think I’m incapable of doing anything, don’t you?”
He scoffed. “That’s not true. I never said that.”
“You’re acting like it.”
Rick sighed. “I’m here to protect you.”
“I don’t need to be protected like this! You’re treating me like –”
“Like you’re being a reckless danger to yourself? Yeah, because you are.”
Her face twisted into a scowl. “That’s such a Shane thing to say.”
She turned and kept walking.
“What are you doing, Addy?”
“I think I can drive myself,” she said, raising her voice. She got into her car and slammed the door shut.
He knocked on the window. “Adelaide!”
She pointed a finger to her ear and shrugged. “I can’t hear you,” she mouthed.
The car reversed and he jumped back. It rolled and rolled, out of the parking lot, rumbling onto the grass, then meandering downhill until it hit a tree with a solid whack.
He ran. “Addy! Are you hurt?”
