The Stalker

ZANE

We stepped out of the car, and Conner pressed a button to set the alarm. We huddled in the shadows, waiting for the blue car.

Headlights appeared at the end of the alley and stopped. I signaled my men to stay put.

I whispered, “If he gets any closer, we’ll attack. I want to see who this is. They’ve got guts, following us like this.”

The car sat at the end of the alley for what felt like an eternity. No one got out, but the car idled with the lights off.

Then the white lights flickered on again, and the car began to reverse slowly.

“What’s the plan now, boss?” Noah’s eyes were glued to the vehicle as it slowly retreated.

“Let them leave the alley, then we’ll tail him. Conner, don’t get too close. He knows our car.

“Try to blend in with the traffic.”

The car backed out and started to drive away. We hopped back into my Land Rover.

My love was on the floor, just as I’d told her to be, and she looked up as we climbed into the car.

“Did you catch him?” Her beautiful eyes met mine, a hint of fear in them.

“No,” I replied, shaking my head. “He backed out of the alley and drove off. We’re going to try to follow him from a safe distance.”

She slowly got off the floor and took a seat. Conner started the car and drove in the direction the blue car had gone. He maintained a steady pace, weaving through traffic.

“That’s it right there.” Shay pointed out the window at a car climbing a hill about a quarter of a mile ahead of us.

“Conner, don’t get too close. We don’t want whoever this is to know we’re following.”

He nodded, keeping the car in his sights. We trailed the car for miles when suddenly it made a sharp right turn.

“Has he seen us?” Shay looked at me, her eyes filled with worry.

“I’m not sure. Conner, take this turn slowly.”

Connor turned right, and there was the blue car, parked on the side of the road, facing us. A masked man stepped out of the driver’s side and opened fire.

Bullets ricocheted off our car as he unloaded his automatic weapon.

“Ram him!” I ordered. Conner hit the gas, but the man quickly jumped back into his car and sped off just before we could hit him.

Connor spun the car around and started to chase the blue blur as it darted down the road. It weaved through traffic with ease—this guy knew how to drive.

He squeezed between cars, forcing them to make room as he widened the gap between us. Our car was bigger, and we couldn’t navigate through the traffic as easily.

Conner did his best to keep up with the blue car, but as traffic thickened, we lost him in the sea of vehicles. I didn’t want to start ramming cars off the road and attract the attention of the police.

“Noah, did you get anything from the plate?”

“No, they’re not registered. He must have made them himself or something. I even tried to run the make and model of the car, but I can’t find it anywhere.”

“So, he pays for silence just like we do. We’ll find him again, and next time, he won’t get away.”

Connor took the next exit, and we headed back home. I glanced at my love and saw her sitting there, her eyes filled with tears.

“What’s wrong, love? Don’t tell me you’re thinking about leaving again because I told you that’s not an option.”

“I’ve heard stories about this life, but I never thought I’d be part of it. I’m just trying to process everything.

“It’s scary, but I feel strangely calm around you guys. My body is scared of this life, but my mind is at peace with it. Does that make sense?”

I pulled her into my lap.

“Maybe it’s because you’ve been training for this life without realizing it. Your fighting skills are impressive; I can’t wait to see how you handle a gun.

“I think you’ve been preparing for something like this for a while, even if you didn’t know it.”

She furrowed her brows, then her eyes sparkled in the lights as we drove home.

“Now that you mention it, I see what you mean. I’ve been training because of my…”

She trailed off and stared out the window. I wiped a tear from her cheek as it silently fell.

“You were trying to protect yourself in case you ever found yourself in a situation where it was better to know how to fight than to be hurt again.

“We can’t change the past—except when I find those bastards, they’ll pay for it.

“But we can learn to live a better life and try to forget the past, focusing on the present instead.

“You’re stronger, better, and more skilled than you were back then.”

“Hell, you’re smaller than me and you fought me like you were going to kill me,” Noah chimed in, turning around in his seat.

“I went easy on you until you showed me you weren’t backing down. I still didn’t give it my all—I don’t like hitting a woman—but I won’t hold back next time.

“Your fists are like cement. You hit me, and I almost threw up. Well, one, I wasn’t expecting it; and two, you hit hard.

“When you hit me in the back, I may not have shown it, but it had some force. It did make my muscles twitch a bit.”

Shay finally cracked a small, sweet smile, and Noah smiled back.

“If I’d known you were going to hit me in the balls, it wouldn’t have hurt as much. We can brace ourselves for something like that to lessen the pain.

“Next time, you won’t catch me off guard so easily,” Noah said, patting her arm before turning back around. We veered off the main road, onto the long driveway leading to the house.

As we approached the fork in the road, I noticed the gate was already open.

“Boss, were you expecting company tonight?” Conner asked, pulling up to the gate. He reached over and pressed a button in the car to open it further.

“No, the delivery isn’t due until tomorrow. If the gate’s open, where are the guards?”

Just then, we heard a rustling sound outside the car. We all reached for our guns. “Shay, stay put. Don’t leave the car.”

Noah was the first to open his door, and as he did, one of the guards emerged from behind a bush. We all jumped out and rushed over to him.

“Tom, what happened?” I asked, noticing the bruises on his arms.

“I’m not sure, boss. We got a signal that the gate was open, so we hurried over. Then, out of nowhere, we were ambushed. They knocked us out.

“I managed to land a few punches, but they had a bat. They hit me over the head.”

“Did you see who they were?”

“No, they were wearing black hoodies and ski masks. They took us down, then vanished.”

“Conner, drive down to the warehouse and check it out. Keep Shay in the car, no matter what. Noah, you’re with me. We need to get these guys to the doctor.”

Conner hopped back in the car and sped off down the road with Shay. Noah and I helped my men to their feet.

Four of them were in bad shape, so we took the first two to the house slowly. Then I went back with the golf cart to pick up the other two.

Back at the house, the doctor was waiting for us. He helped us take them down to his rooms. Each man was laid on a table and examined.

Some had broken ribs, arms, and legs from the bat. I headed to the security room to see if the surveillance footage could give us any clues.