Lasting Summer - [Loving Summer 05] by Kailin Gow, Kailin Romance Page A

eating right. She
wouldn’t let Drew in to check on her, too, I bet. And Rachel? Drew was supposed
to eventually let Rachel know about me, but I have no idea if he had.
    When Rachel gets angry, she expresses
herself through clothes, through her hair. She doesn’t actually hurt herself by
starving or not sleeping. Rachel, as much as everyone underestimates her, loved
herself far enough to not let her body go. She wasn’t self-sacrificing like
Summer was. And she had Drew to fall on. As much as the twins dissed on each
other, they were also their greatest supporters.
    So, of course, I was worried about
Summer. I could feel her loneliness even when all I did was sleep next to her
that night. I was just going to talk to her, check up on her, and leave, as
Drew requested. But I couldn’t. She needed me then, and I couldn’t leave no
matter what.
    So, I made the call.
    A call that may change everything.
     
    “Hello Lamar?” I said into my phone. I
had swept my place earlier this evening, making sure there weren’t any bugs or
surveillance anywhere.
    I’ve been doing this since I moved into
my low-profile condo. Upon entering my condo, I sweep the entire place before I
could let out my breath and relax. When I found a suspicious-looking device buried
into my roommate’s plant at the dorm, I knew I couldn’t live in a dormitory
with roommates and no privacy. Not with the kind of danger I was in.
    So now in my small condo, looking out to
the ocean, with a clear view of the beach, I can live in peace, yet still feel
like I was part of the place I grew up in with Summer…the Pad. The place wasn’t
cheap, but it was a few blocks away from the Pad, and from where I was on the
top floor, I could even see the Pad’s beachfront backyard, see Summer’s car in
the driveway, and the front door.
    In other words, I chose this place so I
could still watch and protect Summer. Drew didn’t even know it. Lamar didn’t
even know.
     
    “Hey kid,” Lamar said in his deep
booming voice. He suited his position well…an FBI handler who had arranged and
organized everything for me to disappear without a trace so I can start my life
all over again without being Nat. “What is it?”
    “When can I reveal myself to Summer?” I
asked. “When can I have my old life back?”
    “Ahh, so this is what you called me
for,” Lamar said. “I know it’s hard for you with this new identity, but
proceedings are going too slow. You have to hold on a while longer. But there is
another matter, and you calling me now is good timing. This news literally just
came up this afternoon.”
    “What is it?” I asked.
    “Word is out that one of the top bosses,
Xavier, has escaped and had entered the U.S. seeking revenge, especially for
the guy who shut down his center overseas. And guess who that guy is? You. So,
now’s not a good time to come out and announce to the world, ‘Hey World, Nat’s
back!’ especially when these guys were able to get a photo of you. You don’t
even know how grave your situation is, do you, kid?”
    “I have some idea,” I said. “It’s grave
enough you guys had to kill me off so they won’t come after me.”
    “You do get it, then,” Lamar said. “I
figure you would since you’re a genius, but when it comes to matters of the
heart, you’re vulnerable, and that vulnerability can get you, your father, your
mother, your brother and sister, and Summer killed.”
    My heart dropped hearing Lamar hit it on
the head with what I was thinking. I was being led by my love for Summer to
risk getting my entire family killed, not to mention anyone associated with me.
There was no way I could reveal my identity to Summer and my family now.
    “So, this Xavier…what does he look
like?” I asked, ready to arm myself against him if I ever see him.
    “That’s the thing with these criminals.
They are hard-core enough they change their looks with plastic surgery every
once in a while. The last time anyone has spotted him or