Iparked several blocks away from Cal’s house and spun a silencer onto the muzzle of my Beretta. Tucking the gun into my hoodie, I hopped out of the car and slid my hands into my pockets.
I had a feeling that Damian had assigned someone to tail Cal and me. There was no way to be sure if he always had us under this much surveillance or if it had started when Cal had clearly become distracted by his new obsession with Ryan.
Either way, I wasn’t taking any chances. Before I scooped Naomi, I was going to have to make sure anyone watching the house was eliminated.
Not that I didn’t think Damian would figure out that I was using Fairview as a base, but I needed to make sure it was clear that I was not fucking around.
If anyone came near Cal’s sisters, I would fucking kill them. The best way to get that message across when you don’t speak is to pretty much just lead by example.
It’s true what they say:Actions speak louder than words.
I was living proof of that.
That being said, I took my sweet ass time meticulously canvassing the neighborhood before entering Cal’s house.
This is where Cal’s and my methods vastly differed. I would stay out here for days if I needed to, making sure all my bases were covered before making a move.
Cal tended to get bored after an hour or two max and would just move right into the action. In his defense, sometimes he was right, and I was being a paranoid little bitch… but you didn’t stay alive in this industry by making mistakes.
Maybe I was a littleoverlycautious and thorough, but I wasn’t dead yet, so I must be doing something right.
My hard work paid off when it became apparent that the house across the street was vacant.
My assumption was the family was on vacation from how much the mail had piled up at the front door.
This house was tall and narrow, like a townhouse, but it was detached. There were little gravel-filled alleys between it and its neighboring homes. I crept around back and made sure there wasn’t an alarm system that I would need to disable. Happily, there wasn’t anything to indicate there was something more sophisticated than a locked door, so I slipped out my lock-picking kit and slipped inside.
It was quiet, and it felt like no one had been here in a few days, though I wasn’t convinced.
Creeping deeper into the empty house, I kept my back covered in case my suspicions were correct and Damian had someone stationed here to watch Cal’s house.
I quickly but thoroughly cleared the first floor and then set my sights on the stairs.
Holding my gun in a two-handed grip with the silencer pointed at the floor, I started to slowly side-step up the stairs, keeping my back to the wall as I went. It wasreallyfucking quiet. Maybe I was wrong, and there was no one here…
Nope.
There was a shuffling sound upstairs. I tensed and tightened my grip on the gun as I slowly crept forward.
I tested each step carefully before putting my weight on it. The last thing I wanted was a creaky stair to be the reason I got busted.
It was slow going, but by the time I made it to the third floor, I knew for sure someone was upstairs. Peeking over the edge of the staircase, I surveyed the layout of the top floor before fully revealing myself.
The family who lived here had made this floor into a home office, and there was a man sitting in front of the far window with his back to the staircase.
He had a DSLR camera with a long zoom lens next to him, as well as a rifle with a scope. I narrowed my eyes.
What the fuck?
What was the rifle for?
My blood went cold when I realized it might very well be for me. I wouldn’t put it past Damian to order my ass killed, especially after my little microwave explosion.
See? Better Safe than sorry.
I didn’t bother alerting the man to my presence. He was small potatoes. Honestly, the fact that he set up with his back to the fucking staircase meant he deserved to die, in my opinion.
Careless.
