paper on top of my groceries on the counter, feeling ill and shocked as I waited to be checked out. I felt like I was being railroaded toward some unknown destination and that each of the events of the last few days were tied into it. But untangling how it came together was beyond me right then.
Once everything was paid for and loaded back into my cart, I trudged to my car. I’d almost forgotten about Officers O’Donnell and Grady. They fell in step on either side of me once I emerged, drawing yet more unneeded attention. Sigh.
Officer O’Donnell piped up, his serious-cop-face on. “Ma’am, can we escort you home? We heard on the radio that there are an unusual number of paparazzi at the station asking about you. It might be best to get you back to the privacy of your home.”
“Ugh, thanks for telling me. Yeah, let’s go.” I paused. “Actually, do you guys want to come up for coffee or anything once we get back? I’ve got enough food here to feed a herd of elephants.”
Officer Grady finally cracked a smile, looking like a grumpy old bear who’d just been given a pot of honey instead of one woken from hibernation. His voice was surprisingly mellow, and didn’t match the gruff exterior. “Thanks, miss, but we should probably stay posted at our vehicle and keep watch outside.”
I shrugged and nodded, pulling open my trunk as I got to the car. As I dumped the groceries in the back, I thought about what to do next. The rest of my errands could wait. I could watch movies or fart around on the Internet until I needed to start cooking dinner. My answering machine was probably overloaded if paparazzi were asking about me at the police station. I could while away some time by returning a few calls and threatening to bring a suit if they didn’t retract the ridiculous stories about me.
Hopefully none of my friends or family had seen the stupid article.
Chapter 8
Though it was a little chilly, I put the windows down while I drove to help wake myself up. The cold air was nothing compared to the chill I was feeling wondering what would happen if Chaz or my parents stumbled across that article before I had a chance to explain.
The cops were once again in tow. At any other time it would’ve been funny how everyone around me all of a sudden found it vitally important to slow their pace to a crawl, but I was not in the mood for a laugh. The mix of good music and fresh air was helping my sour frame of mind. It’s hard to stay mad when you’ve got the wind in your hair with rock ‘n’ roll blasting out of the speakers.
I was only a few blocks away from home when a black sports car with tinted windows screeched around a corner and zoomed past us. It scraped a good chunk of paint off the cop car behind me and clipped my side mirror on its way, making me yelp in surprise. Jeez, the guy must’ve been going ninety in a residential area. Blue and red lights flashed to life, followed by the wail of sirens as my escort slid around my car to give chase.
“Stay put!” Officer O’Donnell shouted out the passenger window as they pulled away. I watched as they zipped out of sight, shaken and hardly able to believe some idiot would pull a stunt like that right in front of the cops.
I was so close to home that it would be stupid to let my groceries spoil while the officers were off chasing the speed demon. I started to take my foot off the brake when another black car pulled up at a slant in front of me, blocking any attempt to pull into traffic and forcing me to slam on my brakes again. I saw through my rearview that a similar car had pulled the same move right behind me. Now I couldn’t back up either.
Shit.
I put the car in park, rolled up the windows, and locked all the doors, watching with narrowed eyes as two men stepped out of the car in front of me. They looked like feds with their matching black suits and reflective shades. One of them walked up to the driver’s side door and unnecessarily rapped on my
Once everything was paid for and loaded back into my cart, I trudged to my car. I’d almost forgotten about Officers O’Donnell and Grady. They fell in step on either side of me once I emerged, drawing yet more unneeded attention. Sigh.
Officer O’Donnell piped up, his serious-cop-face on. “Ma’am, can we escort you home? We heard on the radio that there are an unusual number of paparazzi at the station asking about you. It might be best to get you back to the privacy of your home.”
“Ugh, thanks for telling me. Yeah, let’s go.” I paused. “Actually, do you guys want to come up for coffee or anything once we get back? I’ve got enough food here to feed a herd of elephants.”
Officer Grady finally cracked a smile, looking like a grumpy old bear who’d just been given a pot of honey instead of one woken from hibernation. His voice was surprisingly mellow, and didn’t match the gruff exterior. “Thanks, miss, but we should probably stay posted at our vehicle and keep watch outside.”
I shrugged and nodded, pulling open my trunk as I got to the car. As I dumped the groceries in the back, I thought about what to do next. The rest of my errands could wait. I could watch movies or fart around on the Internet until I needed to start cooking dinner. My answering machine was probably overloaded if paparazzi were asking about me at the police station. I could while away some time by returning a few calls and threatening to bring a suit if they didn’t retract the ridiculous stories about me.
Hopefully none of my friends or family had seen the stupid article.
Chapter 8
Though it was a little chilly, I put the windows down while I drove to help wake myself up. The cold air was nothing compared to the chill I was feeling wondering what would happen if Chaz or my parents stumbled across that article before I had a chance to explain.
The cops were once again in tow. At any other time it would’ve been funny how everyone around me all of a sudden found it vitally important to slow their pace to a crawl, but I was not in the mood for a laugh. The mix of good music and fresh air was helping my sour frame of mind. It’s hard to stay mad when you’ve got the wind in your hair with rock ‘n’ roll blasting out of the speakers.
I was only a few blocks away from home when a black sports car with tinted windows screeched around a corner and zoomed past us. It scraped a good chunk of paint off the cop car behind me and clipped my side mirror on its way, making me yelp in surprise. Jeez, the guy must’ve been going ninety in a residential area. Blue and red lights flashed to life, followed by the wail of sirens as my escort slid around my car to give chase.
“Stay put!” Officer O’Donnell shouted out the passenger window as they pulled away. I watched as they zipped out of sight, shaken and hardly able to believe some idiot would pull a stunt like that right in front of the cops.
I was so close to home that it would be stupid to let my groceries spoil while the officers were off chasing the speed demon. I started to take my foot off the brake when another black car pulled up at a slant in front of me, blocking any attempt to pull into traffic and forcing me to slam on my brakes again. I saw through my rearview that a similar car had pulled the same move right behind me. Now I couldn’t back up either.
Shit.
I put the car in park, rolled up the windows, and locked all the doors, watching with narrowed eyes as two men stepped out of the car in front of me. They looked like feds with their matching black suits and reflective shades. One of them walked up to the driver’s side door and unnecessarily rapped on my
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