Page 43 of Lost Without You
“It’s not worth the risk.”
Sure enough, about ten seconds later Rachel heard the wail of emergency sirens.
“Look!” she murmured as she motioned to the front door.
A lone figure bolted out of the house and down the driveway, heading left. Ethan ran after him, and Rachel was right on his heels. Between the speed at which the person ran and the soft reflection of the streetlights, it was too dim to make out any identifying features. But Ethan was gaining on them.
A police car turned down the street and the bright headlights almost blinded them. The figure in black pivoted quickly and ran up a neighbor’s driveway, vaulting up and over their fence. Ethan ran to do the same, but his pants snagged on the wire fencing.
“Fuck, they’re getting away!” he growled as the police car stopped.
Two cops exited the vehicle and yelled at them to stop and hold up their hands. Ethan dropped down to the ground, turned and did as they asked, as did Rachel.
“I’m the one who called the police, I still have them on the line,” Ethan’s phone was in his hand.
“Ethan?” One of the officers yelled out. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Hey, Gabe, just give me a moment.”
Ethan bent over, his breathing labored as he began to explain what had happened. The other officer walked over to the fence and shone the light into the backyard.
“Whoever it was that broke into my house, they took off and headed for the neighbor’s when you showed up,” Ethan panted.
“I saw them briefly, but they had a mask,” Rachel commented.
“I tried to hop the fence, but I got caught,” Ethan pointed to his jeans that were now ripped. “I’m too old for this shit.”
Another squad car showed up and Gabe instructed two officers to search the area.
“Let’s head back to your house and see if anything’s missing.” Gabe murmured then looked expectantly at Rachel.
“Sorry. Rachel Desoumas, this is Lieutenant Gabe Farnum. Gabe and I play in the local soccer league.”
“I would say it’s nice to meet you, but under the circumstances…” Rachel replied and shook Gabe’s hand.
Gabe looked to be in his thirties, with dark red hair and a cocky grin.
“Any friend of Ethan’s. I mean, I assume you’re his friend,” Gabe replied.
“Girlfriend,” Rachel replied.
“Too bad,” Gabe murmured with a flirty smile.
“Can we stick to the urgent matter at hand? Like the break-in at my house,” Ethan bit out.
“Of course,” Gabe paused and turned to his partner, who was still walking the perimeter of the fence with his flashlight. “Hey, Rico, you spot anyone?”
“Nope, just some sandy footprints in the backyard, but I don’t know if we can get molds. Everything’s wet with the evening mist.”
“Flint and Ruiz are on their way to help you canvas the neighborhood. I’m heading back with Ethan to look around his house.”
“You got it.”
“I’ll drive over,” Gabe murmured as he walked back to his car.
Ethan took Rachel’s hand.
“Sorry I couldn’t catch that asshole. I’m so embarrassed.”