I head upstairs to the second floor. When I enter the main office suite, on my way to my desk I walk past the security console, where all the CCTV and security camera feeds are displayed on monitors. That’s when movement on one of them catches my eye.
I back up and stare, horror washing through me.
It’s one of the cameras focused on the private employee parking area directly behind the club, which currently shows the Audi is the only vehicle parked there.
Standingrightthere is my phantom dog creature, more solid than I’ve ever seen him looking before. I flip camera modes. He’s appearing on the IR feed, too, and when I flip it to FLIR, while he’s not clear, you can see a faint blob a slightly different temperature.
Meaning he has form, substance.
The scream locks in my throat, cold chills rooting me in place. I watch as it circles the car several times. Then, just as it’s about to head toward the club’s back door, the sun’s rays break over the tops of buildings to the east and illuminate the parking area, and the phantom fades from sight as if it was never there.
I gasp for air and only then realize I’d been holding my breath.
Fuuuuck!
When I run the feed back—yep, there it is. I most certainly did NOT imagine it. And it looks like it came from the direction we drove.
Like it was scenting the Audi.
Trackingme.
Without thinking, I grab my phone and snap a few pics of the image. I want proof I can look at later just to prove to myself and anyone else that I amnotfucking insane.
Well, I mean, Imightbe insane, but I’mnotimagining this thing, or making it up.
I’m on autopilot now. I grab all my things from behind my desk and bolt downstairs, heading to the front door. A well-honed checklist is already rolling through my mind as I feel a familiar, cool detachment settling within me.
Money stash… Cat and Dog… Burner phones… Clothes… Bathroom stuff… Bedding… Load the microwave and mini fridge first, what I can fit in the cooler and load it, pack everything around them…
The logistics are the only thing in my head as I ease the front door open to see the brightly sun-lit sidewalk in front of the club, then lock the door behind me.
I’m already halfway down the block before I flag a cab.
I have it drop me one building over from my apartment building and let myself in the rear entrance instead of the front. I don’t want to risk running into Garrett or Amber. Then I scamper up the stairs, because ditto the elevators.
I’m nearly panicked by the time I finally reach my apartment. I wish I could say good-bye to Dexter…
But he’s already safely locked away in the suite for the day, and I need to get thefuckout of Tucson so that thing doesn’t home in on him.
Now.
Unfortunately, this is an operation I know how to do all too well. I grab my suitcases and dump them in the middle of the floor, wide open and ready. I also grab the box of contractor’s bags from under the kitchen sink. I’ve learned to keep my life limited to what I can carry in them and fit in my car. I’ll lose the furniture, but that’s easily replaced.
If I can’t load it in the car, it’s not going. And as of right now, everything in the apartment, other than the furniture, will fit in my car.
Marie Kondo hasnothingon me.
More items filter through my mind.
Go through Mesa and check the mailbox… File a mail hold online for here…
The adrenaline spike doesn’t ease up as the morning rolls on. By ten a.m., I’m ten miles northwest of Tucson before the crash finally hits me.
Dex.
I pull over into a truck stop and park, drop my head onto the steering wheel, and sob.
This isn’t fucking fair!
