Watching Emmeline and her friends.
I’d followed the girls back to her house, both concerned for her safety and unable to drive aside the intense desire.
I should have followed my instincts from before. The jerk was wily but not very fast. An amateur. Wearing all black, there was no doubt the asshole had been up to ill intentions.
While I wasn’t certain, it would appear he had a weapon in his hand. The anger continued to sweep through me, leaving blind spots in my eyes. I’d need to be careful. This was a residential neighborhood, expensive homes covering several blocks. While the backyards were substantial, they weren’t huge, yet almost every house had a fence or garden, a half dozen places to hide.
That’s why went I shot out onto the next street, it seemed the perpetrator had disappeared. But I knew better.
Given the time of night, most residents were safely tucked away behind closed and locked doors.
Remaining quiet, I remained where I was, listening to the subtle sounds of nature. There was also very little traffic, making the moment that much more serene.
I heard nothing for a full five minutes.
Then footsteps.
After realizing the direction he was headed, I took off running once again.
If he believed he could get away from me, he had another think coming. I worked out almost every day, including jogging a few miles when I had the time. Evidently, the stupid prick actively trying to get away wasn’t into physical exercise.
The moment he knew I was following him, he made the critical mistake of looking over his shoulder.
That was all the time I needed to pitch forward, knocking him to the ground in between two parked cars. There was no time to rethink my instincts or my training. I hauled off and punched him in the face, the brutal sounds of cracking teeth filtering into the serene night.
His cry was ripped with anguish. While he wasn’t actively trying to fight me, he was attempting to protect the weapon in his hand. “Get off. Get off!” His cries were muffled. Another brutal punch made him grunt.
Instead of firing off my weapon and getting my nice new suit bloody, I smashed his hand against the pavement.
He finally let go, the object flying away several inches.
“My… camera…”
The muffled words stopped me cold. A fucking camera? I rose to my feet, snatching the object off the pavement. Sure enough, I held a smashed Nikon in my hand.
A photographer. A fucking photographer. I hadn’t made such an egregious mistake in a long time. Fuck. Rubbing my jaw, I tried to think about how best to handle this. So far, the noise hadn’t been enough to draw any attention, at least that I could see. However, leaving the scene quickly was in my best interest.
Although the asshole had been stalking her, he’d only been taking pictures instead of planning a crime. Unless someone had hired him to keep tabs on her.
It was a heavier piece of equipment with a telephoto lens attached. Fortunately, the sim card seemed to be intact, which I swiped.
Crouching down, I tossed the camera aside and dangled my weapon between my legs. “You want to tell me who the fuck you are?”
“You broke my camera!” He cupped his broken nose, whimpering as he did. “And my nose.”
“You’re lucky I didn’t put a bullet in your brain. Stalking is illegal in case you didn’t know. Now, you have one chance to tell me who hired you and trust me, it’s in your best interest.” I didn’t expect the scumbag to answer me right away, which was why I took the time to yank the silencer from my jacket pocket, clipping it onto the barrel while he watched.
At least his eyes opened wide. Just a stupid guy who’d accepted the wrong job.
“I’m just a photographer. You broke my goddamn nose.” He was more worried about his nose than his camera or his life.
“Why were you trying to take pictures of the women inside the house?”
“Just one woman.”
“Name.”
He dared try to scuttle backwards, now half sitting against the bumper of a sports car. I’d certainly hate to damage the pretty red Miata, but would if necessary. The guy obviously was missing a few brain cells. I pressed the end of the silencer against his forehead.
