Free The Travelers: Book One by Sennah Tate

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Chapter 7
    Once they were locked back in the safety of Carson’s Camaro, they both took a pause to try to catch their breath. Gemma’s mind was still reeling with everything that had just happened. There were no words to describe the chaos and panic that swept over the police station. She didn’t know what to make of it all. But she knew now, more than ever, that they had to find Izzy as soon as possible. They had already wasted too much time.
    Carson started the ignition, his hands trembling still. In the rear view mirror he could make out the brawling mob right outside of the station. People jumped from the windows, police ran for cover and smoke began to billow from the besieged building. This was insanity; he looked at Gemma, again thinking that she would prove to be more trouble than good. He wondered to himself why he came back for her. He could have easily left her to fend for herself. His mind filled with images of the crazed man lunging at her as she tried to protect herself; no, he couldn’t leave her alone — she didn’t even have a broom this time. She needed protection and he would be the one to grant it; there was no arguing the point, something in him refused to let her go even when his intellectual mind was trying to find a way to ditch her.
    The tires squealed as he peeled out of the parking lot, narrowly missing an angry man that jumped in front of the car.
    “Where are you going?” Gemma asked, her voice trembling with the effort of holding in her panic.
    “To my office,” he grumbled, his forehead wrinkled with the firm line of his brow.
    “What? No. We have to try another police station.” She shrunk away from the answering look he gave her — a look that said all too clearly that he thought she belonged in an asylum.
    “You’re insane if you think the police can help us now, Gemma. Did you just miss all of that back there? It’s like a war zone.”
    She nibbled on her lip, fighting to keep her eyes on the road.
    “Yeah, but that was just one station… Maybe somewhere else…”
    He brought the car to a screeching halt on the side of the road. The streets were abnormally clear for this time of day and this side of town seemed to be deserted.
    “They couldn’t even keep control of their own station, what makes you think they have the resources to help us find Izzy?”
    Gemma stammered, stumbling over her words as she tried to find a reasonable response.
    “I… um… But they’re the police! They’re trained to deal with this stuff.”
    His resounding bark of laughter startled her and made her instantly defensive.
    “And you’re an idiot if you think they’ve ever seen anything of this magnitude. They don’t know what to do other than sit around with their thumbs in their asses. Trust me, sweetheart, if anyone’s going to find Izzy, it’s going to be me.”
    She noticed his sudden omission of her from his plans and it rubbed her the wrong way. Just because she wanted to seek help from the proper authorities didn’t mean he had any right to laugh at her or her opinions. She was just going to tell him so, but he continued talking before she could defend herself.
    “Look, you can join me or not. I don’t really care either way. Just make up your mind if you’re going to be with me on this or if you’re just going to keep wasting my and Izzy’s precious time.”
    He didn’t know why he lied to her; he definitely cared whether she joined him or not. If she didn’t want to come along with his plan, Carson didn’t know if he would be able to let her face this new world on her own. He didn’t know what the next day would bring, he didn’t know how far this thing would spread or how easy it was to get caught up in it. He didn’t like the thought of crazed junkies roaming the streets, barging into her house while she was sleeping, doing God knows what… No. She had to come with him. He would find a way to convince her, even if it meant taking her to every police