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She knew he meant it as encouragement, but sometimes, being a part of this over-the-top family felt just as suffocating as…okay, yeah, being in a cave filling with tidewater in the middle of the night. And maybe that was overkill, but really.
Everybody just calm down.
“The lockers are this way,” she said, pointing to a ramp that led to the parking garage. Big windows overlooked the river on one side, the city on the other. “Near the garage entrance.”
Ned stepped up to them, cutting his voice low. “Someone is following us. He’s in a red jacket and has been hustling up behind us since we got off the escalator. I’m going to cut away and watch him.”
Iris glanced at him. “Seriously?”
“Just keep walking. Act normal.”
She wasn’t sure this family could do normal.
Jonas came up beside her. Ned took Shae’s hand and pulled her away with him toward a shop. He wandered inside and started looking at a display of purses.
Oh. Hence why he’d needed Shae.
Iris cut her voice low too. “What do I do? What is normal?”
“I don’t know,” Jonas said. “I’m not a SEAL.”
“Just keep walking. Which locker is it, honey?” She glanced at her father. He still walked with his hands in his pockets. Ahead of them, the hallway with the banks of lockers cut off on both sides.
Jonas had gone stiff-faced, moving just his eyes.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, I’m sure no one is—”
Scuffling sounded behind her, and she whirled around.
To her horror, Ned had grabbed a man and shoved him up against a locker, his arm twisted behind his back. A big man with blond hair, he wore a black sweater, black pants, but no other identifying marks.
“Ned!” Shae stood back her hands over her mouth.
“What are you doing following us?” Ned said.
“Weg von mir! Ich bin ein Polizist!”
Oh no. “Ned—he’s a cop!” Iris ran up to him. “Let him go!”
“Prove it,” Ned said.
“Lass ihn gehen!”
She froze and put her hands up even as she turned around. Oh no—two German security officers wearing black sweaters, black vests, black pants strode up to Ned.
“Ned, let him go! It’s the cops!” Jonas shouted.
Ned pushed off the man, then turned, his hands up.
Shae screamed as the two men—the wordPolizeiwritten on their sweaters—came right up to Ned, grabbed him, and sent him to the floor.
The other man turned and landed on Ned, his knee in Ned’s back.
“Get off him!” Shae screamed and ran toward him.
Jonas grabbed her, his arm around her waist, pulling her back.
“He thought you were following us!” her dad said, but Iris grabbed his arm.
