You Belong to Me – 77

 

Although he hadn’t told Corey, Scott knew the stalker had been to the apartment he was using. His alarm system notified him via his cell phone that someone had disarmed it. That was the call he’d gotten just as he was about to leave Corey’s place. He was certain, since it hadn’t been rearmed, that whoever had done that was still there.

 

Now he took the service stairs up to the apartment, approaching the rear door very cautiously, gun drawn. He knew there was a fifty-fifty chance the man would be watching that door rather than the front one. The only thing in his favor was that the stalker couldn’t watch them both at the same time.

 

Scott was well aware he should call for backup. But this had become personal. Still….

 

Discretion and training—the better part of valor or some such, he thought as he eased back down the stairs and out the back door of the building.

 

As soon as the lieutenant answered the phone, Scott told him what might be going down. “Yes, sir,” he replied at one point, almost but not quite smiling at the lieutenant’s astuteness, “I did consider doing this on my own.”

 

The lieutenant told him that backup, including Darin Foster, would be there ASAP. “Until then, you stay put!” he ordered.

 

Just get the hell over here before he decides to vanish.

 

With that thought, Scott moved swiftly to the side of the building next door, staying deep in the shadows. From his position he could—barely—watch both the front and back entrances. Now I just have to be careful not to try to take out a tenant who’s decided to run out to get cigarettes from the convenience store.

 

After what seemed like forever—although he realized when he checked the time that it had only been seven minutes—Scott saw dark figures converging on the building and stepped out of the shadows. Darin was beside him immediately, asking quietly, “Are you certain he’s inside?”

 

“Unless he left out the front while I was out back calling the lieutenant. Okay, amend that. Someone disarmed the security system about twenty-five minutes ago. What they don’t know is that I set it up so that when that happens, it alerts me on my phone. Best guess is, they’re still inside. If it’s the stalker, Corey and I gave him reason to be very, very pissed at me.”

 

Darin nodded. “Given what he did to Mr. Reynolds, who was only a casual friend of Corey’s, I suspect he’s got something comparable or worse planned for you.”

 

“Exactly. Okay, if everyone’s in position, let’s do this. You take the front.” Scott handed him the keys he’d need. “I’ll lead the way up to the back door of the apartment.”

 

Darin was on his two-way radio seconds later, issuing instructions. “We don’t move until everyone’s in place,” he said once he’d ended the call.

 

Scott nodded sharply. “That’s a given.” He walked swiftly to the back of the building, joining the two officers who were waiting for him. Silently they made their way up to the back door. Then he texted Darin they were ready. The detective acknowledged and gave the order to move in.