I held Emily’s hands and promised solemnly, “Emily, don’t worry. I won’t let anyone hurt your child. I swear in the name of my mother that I will protect your child.”
Emily stared at me blankly. After a while, she managed to squeeze out a few words. “What should I do?”
Debra’s POV: I racked my brains for a solution. Looking around, I saw that the roads were clear and we were surrounded by open fields. If Emily got out of the car and tried to run, the police would catch her immediately. So I suggested, “Hide in the trunk first, or they’ll find you the moment they arrive.”
“Okay,” Emily said with a timid nod. Together, we got out of the car and I helped her into the trunk. She didn’t protest and simply lay there obediently.
After I closed the trunk, I rushed back to the passenger seat. But before we could drive away, the police patrol car stopped in front of us.
Harlan and I exchanged worried glances.
They got here so quickly. Did they know something?
The door of the police car was opened and slammed shut with a bang. A female officer strode over to us. Under her police cap was cropped purple hair that reached her ears. She looked especially sharp and cool in her police uniform.
A N G E L A ‘s L I B R A R Y
As soon as our eyes met, I recognized her. It was Zoe.
Zoe raised her eyebrows. She clearly recognized us, too. Her expression became defiant, and she pulled out her baton.
“Seems I finally caught up to you two. Why’d you suddenly pull over?”
Zoe looked very arrogant, as though she had caught us in the act of doing something illegal.
“It’s none of your business. I can pull over whenever I want,” Harlan said with hostility.
It was obvious that he hated Zoe with a passion. After all, Harlan was a senior police sergeant back home. In the Xeric Pack, nobody dared to talk to him the way Zoe did now.
Zoe cast him a sidelong glance. “If I say it’s my business, then it’s my business. What’re you going to do about it?”
With that, Zoe sneered and held up her police badge in front of us, as though to exhibit her power over us. “I’m going to do a routine inspection now. I’m ordering you the two of you to get out of the car right now!”
Harlan frowned. I knew he was going to refuse, so I quickly shook my head and warned, “We should listen to her.”
It was obvious that Zoe wanted to vent her anger on us. If we didn’t cooperate, it would arouse her suspicion, and then she’d give us an even harder time.
Harlan seemed to understand where I was going with this, so in the end, he reluctantly got out of the car.
Zoe then Looked inside the car and searched for anything incriminating, but found nothing. But she still frowned and Looked suspicious.
I was afraid that she’d think of checking the trunk, so I joked, “It seems we keep running into each other. Harlan and I are planning to settle down in Roz Town. Why not have dinner with us sometime?”
“No, thanks. I’m busy.” Zoe didn’t appreciate my kind offer and refused me.
