“Get out of this car,” the officer demanded, any former patience and curiosity gone. “You’re gonna call daddy and think he can get you out of the mess you’ve created?”
Greer pushed open the door as the officer stepped back. He stood as Papa answered through the Bluetooth. “Greer, why are you stopped?”
“Highway patrol,” he told Papa. He pushed the button to take it off the car’s speaker and put it to his ear.
“What? Ah, sorry, I wasn’t thinking with everything going on. I’ll have to call in a clearance. Let me talk to him.”
“Give me that phone,” the man demanded at the same time. He looked up at Greer as Greer handed over the phone. “A big cowboy, huh? Wouldn’t figure you for driving a Tesla.”
Greer would’ve laughed, remembering Emery teasing him about a sissy car and wearing pink underpants, but his heart hurt too badly.
The man put the phone to his ear and said amicably enough, “Well, Papa Bear, is it?”
Papa must’ve launched in immediately because the guy shut up and listened. He strode away from Greer, back to his sport utility. The conversation sounded animated. Then the guy slammed himself into his driver’s seat. At least that meant he knew Greer wasn’t a danger to him. Greer wanted to take off, but he couldn’t leave his phone or risk getting arrested. Even Papa had limits to what he could do.
Greer paced around his car. A few cars drove past, but it was quiet at this time of night. The summer night air was a perfect temperature, but nothing was perfect for him.
Almost twenty minutes passed. Precious minutes. Who knew where Emery was or if she was okay? What if she crashed driving because she was angry with him? What if she was heading to the Voice and the guy hurt her?
Finally, finally, the officer’s door opened and he slowly approached. He placed the phone into Greer’s palm and gave him a serious but curious look. “Your Papa is quite the impressive guy.”
Greer nodded.
The man pursed his lips, and a muscle worked in his jaw. “I’ve been instructed to let you get to youremergency. You slow it down though, you got me?”
Greer couldn’t lie to him. “No, sir.”
The guy looked him over and then grinned. “She must be some woman.”
Greer could only nod. Emery was. She was incredible, and he’d ruined everything.
The guy shook his head. “Strong, silent type. Well, go get her, and maybe open your mouth and try a little groveling when you find her, but don’t kill somebody driving.”
“Yes, sir.”
The man lifted a hand and strode back to his vehicle. Greer felt bad for the guy. He was just trying to keep his highway safe. Greer would drive safely… at well over a hundred miles per hour. Emery’s safety was more important than his own.
Three more times on the Colorado highways, lights came on behind him. He’d groan every time, but thankfully the lights would turn off and the highway patrol would fade away before Greer could pull over.
Papa called and said the police had found his abandoned truck at the storage unit Emery had parked her car at nine days ago. Or was it ten now? Then he had confirmation that Utah police had seen her Camry and matched the plates. She had to be heading to her home in Mesquite.
Greer hit the Utah border at about two a.m. His eyes were gritty and he needed to pee, but he would not stop. Two different police came after him in Utah, but they also faded away. Then he heard the annoying beep. His Tesla could go over four-hundred miles without needing to be charged, and he had almost reached that limit.
Shoot. He found a station not far away. It took twenty minutes of precious time, but he used the bathroom, splashed cold water on his face, and bought himself a Snickers, a water bottle, and a Rockstar to give him some energy. He downed the candy bar and the drinks so fast he almost choked and then he thought of Emery teasing him about slowing down and savoring his food. He longed to be near her again.
He strode back to the Tesla and unplugged it. Before he settled into the seat, he opened the console, strapped on his hip holster, loaded his Smith & Wesson .500, and slipped it in. He wanted to be prepared when he got to Emery’s. He was probably being overly cautious, and he was probably just exhausted and now had too much caffeine racing through his veins, but he was concerned.
Finally he got back on the road, anxious to find Emery and terrified the Voice would find her first.
He was cruising through the southern Utah town of St. George, almost to the Nevada border when the lights came on behind him. It made his stomach turn every time, but they always went away. He kept racing along the freeway, but this police car stayed right with him.
Greer pushed out a heavy breath and knew he needed to pull over.
He rested his head on the steering wheel as the guy came up to his window and banged on it. Greer pushed the automatic window button and looked at him through bleary eyes.
“I don’t care who you are or what kind of clearance you think you have. One-forty-two through my town will not be tolerated.”
Oh, boy. Greer had a bad feeling. This guy was ready to throttle him. Could Papa’s connections even get him out of this one?