Five days ago, Akeem touched down in the city. Intel from his brother Axton—including facial recognition, now cold trails of expenses tied to prepaid debit cards, and traces on two burner phones—led him to Crescent Falls. He’s been scouring the city looking for her and lucked up this morning when he saw that face and those eyes curbside at the airport. He followed her to these apartments, waiting and watching.
The entrance to building fifteen is one-third of a mile.
Two ways into the building, front and back.
Fire exits mapped out in each apartment.
Balconies on floors two through five.
Apartment 1505 has a small back patio. Easy access and easy escape.
Before the iDrive is out of the complex, Akeem texts his brother the license plate and Axton responds within three minutes with the driver’s name and the final destination of the ride. The total route is thirty-one minutes, which means he has at least an hour to survey the building and get into the apartment. As soon as he arrived and saw her enter building fifteen, he informed Axton. An hour later, he had copies of all twenty tenant leases and the floorplans. Only one had been executed in the last two months, apartment 1505 on the ground floor, and the tenant’s fake name is very close to Tanjaya—Taya Jane.
After double checking that no one notices him, Akeem pulls his encrypted cell out of his pocket to silence it. It rings. He glances at the screen and sees it’s his ex. When he ignores the call, it rings again. This time it’s Quise.
“What’s up, Quise?” he answers.
“So I have to use his phone to get you to answer?” Charis asks.
“What do you want, Charis? I’m in the middle of something,” he says, unwilling to hide his annoyance.
Just like he didn’t have time for her last week at Quise’s game, he doesn’t have time for her now. Nothing has changed, especially not him and his beliefs. Love and loyalty are non-negotiable, and once loyalty has been destroyed, there’s no love.
Charis’s heavy sigh of regret could be felt through the phone but it doesn’t move Akeem at all.This is her; this is what she does.Her regret only surfaces after he’s been in her presence. Seeing his handsome face and watching him love on her son the way he used to love her cripples her and sends her on solo trips down memory lane.
“Quise misses you,” she says.
“And I miss him too. I’m not sure if I’m going to make his first home game,” he admits. “But I’m gonna try. Plus, I’m still going to scoop him his first week of winter break.”
“What about me? Do you miss me?” she asks.
“Charis, this dynamic we have now, you wanted it. You chose to fuck another man and now you gotta deal with what comes with that. We don’t have shit together but our son, and no, I do not miss you. Tell Quise to get at me ifheneeds something.Get off my line, Charis,” he says and she ends the call without another word.
He closes his eyes, a trick he uses to recenter and refocus. When he opens them, he’s pushed all thoughts of Charis out of his mental and he’s ready to get into the apartment. With all assignments, the goal is either to blend in with the surroundings or navigate as invisibly as possible. For a large apartment complex with multiple buildings, blending is the best option.
After securing his guns in their usual spots and gloving up, he grabs the large black food warmer bag from the back seat.After clocking twelve deliveries his first hour monitoring the apartment, he discreetly placed a tiny Bluetooth camera in front of the building and rushed to the store to buy the bag. With the camera, he was able to see Tanjaya didn’t leave the apartment.
Once inside the building, he journeys toward 1505, and using the mini DoorStorm in the bag, he breaches the door and enters. Luckily, there’s no alarm system. Once inside, he checks his watch. Seeing he has at least another forty minutes, he looks around. He quickly discovered there isn’t much in the apartment. The refrigerator has no food, only drinks. The cabinets are bare and only a few snack items are in the pantry. The living room has a television, one table, and a small loveseat. One bedroom is completely empty and the other is badly furnished.
Either she’s just setting up this apartment or it’s just a temporary stop.
Right as he wanders into her closet, his cell vibrates in his pocket. Because of his last interaction with Charis, he’s hesitant to check the phone, but his gut tells him to. When he pulls it out and sees it’s Axton, he answers quickly. Before he can get his greeting out, Axton talks.
“There’s a change in her route. She didn’t make it to the restaurant. I don’t know what happened but the driver is turning around. Her route has been updated to return to the apartment. Her ETA is thirteen minutes.”
“Fuck!” Akeem grits, then sighs. “Thanks for looking out.”
“Always,” Axton replies and ends the call.
With his time now more limited, Akeem removes a smile vial of an effective sedative and a syringe. After he fills the syringe, he goes back to the front door, checks for traces of his breach, then locks the door. The next five minutes are a waiting game. Strategically positioned in the right corner of the bedroom, outof the line of the door, Akeem stands motionless, waiting for her to return.
Minutes later, Sunjiya storms into the apartment loud and frantic. “Where did I leave my damn wallet?” she yells to herself the moment she’s inside. Akeem spots a small brown wallet on the bed. “I was in the bathroom,” she begins and it sounds like she’s getting closer to the bedroom.
Unbeknownst to her, with each step she makes, another person in the apartment is making strides too. By the time she makes it to the door, Akeem is already behind it, ready to make his move. The moment she steps in, he inches from behind the door. In fifteen seconds flat, from behind, he covers her mouth and nose with his large hand. The overwhelming fear that blankets Sunjiya only lasts for a flash. Before she can even feel it, there’s a tiny sting on her neck. Her fear is replaced with a warm and calming sensation coasting through her veins. Her eyes close then her body falls limp in her captor’s arms.
Chapter
Three
