Page 44 of Aftermath
Stop looking.
Those were the only two words scrawled across the sheet. My heart felt like it was exploding through my chest, and I could barely manage a deep breath.
“Len, what is that?” Mal asked.
“Nothing,” I said weakly, trying to crumple up the piece of paper.
Mallory stood from the couch and made her was across the room faster than I could dispose of the threat. She held out her hand, but I clung to the ball of paper.She stepped forward and reached for it, but instinctively, I back away.
“Seriously, Len?” she asked, raising a brow. “Let me see it.”
“I-” I tried to come up with an excuse, but my mind went blank. “Fine,” I sighed and handed it over.
She worked to flatten it out, bringing it into my kitchen and smoothing it out on the island countertop.“Len…” Mallory warned. “What is this?”
“Probably just some dumb prank.”
She pushed past me and opened the apartment door, but no one was out on the landing. The door slammed shut as she moved to the windows, looking out all of them frantically.
“They’re probably long gone by now,” I said.
I leaned against my kitchen counter for support. My head was spinning, and my stomach felt nauseous.How did these things keep happening to me?
“We’ll check the cameras,” she assured me.
I wasn’t sure who was more spooked, me or Mallory. Her face was a new shade of pale, her eyes filled with concern for me.
“I’ll be right back,” she said and hurried out of the apartment.
I didn’t have the capacity to move from where I held myself up. One of my hands slid across my chest, over my heart. Its consistent pounding was the only thing I could focus on. The steady beat thrashed against my hand. I could hear it ringing in my ears.
My apartment door opened again, but I barely registered it.
The laptop was opened and pulled up to the security system Mal used before I could even wrap my mind around everything. She scrolled through footage for a few minutes while I continued to stand in the corner, growing more nauseated by the second.
“Here it is!” she said triumphantly.
I snapped my head in her direction, finally pulling myself together. I couldn’t let someone hold so much power over me, not after all these years spent rebuilding who I was. I was different now, better.
I moved closer to Mallory to get a better view of her laptop screen. She tilted it toward me, and I hovered over her shoulder, watching as she clicked play on the camera feed.
At first, there was nothing, just the empty sidewalk and the view outside her shop. It was closed now, most people having gone back to their rentals and homes for the day, so there was no foot traffic on the camera.
I almost thought Mallory could be mistaken until I spotted a shadowy movement on the pavement. It took a second before the person came into view. They were dressed fully in black, and from the angle of the camera, it was hard to tell their height and build looking down on them.
They kept their head down and avoided the camera, like they knew it was there. It wasn’t hidden; that wasn’t the purpose of it. Mallory had it installed for general security on the front door of the shop. It was meant to be seen and deter.
The person rounded the corner into the alley, and we watched, waiting for them to return. It took five minutes before they came back around, this time walking directly toward the camera. Their head was still down, and I couldn’t see any of their face.
It was barely anything, but it was a start.I took a deep breath, my heart finally no longer pounding.
“Can you email me this?” I asked.
“What’re you going to do with it, Len?” Mallory asked slowly.
“Give it to Agent Beck. It could help him,” I started.
“Isn’t this proof enough you should stay far away from him? The note literally said stop looking,” Mallory exclaimed. “I think you should listen, Len. That man has brought nothing good with him to this town.”
