Forgotten Dawn (Forgotten Book 2)

Chapter 23

Chad pulled into the designated parking spot for apartment 215 at the Alpines. He scanned the quiet surroundings, but in the early hours of the morning, nobody was out. The apartment windows were all dark with their curtains drawn. The sound of Anna's rhythmic breathing filled the car.

She had drifted into sleep before they had even pulled out of the parking lot. Now he watched her in the light streaming from the street lamps. All of the tension and worry that had been on her face the past week that he had known her was gone. In that moment, he knew he would hunt down the bastard causing all of her stress.

Quietly, Chad opened the car door and pressed the button to engage the locks. Taking the keys with him, he approached the unit and climbed the stairs to the second floor. At the end of the building, he found apartment 215. Sitting on the welcome mat was a red gift bag. A growl emanated from him as he whipped around to check that nobody was near the car parked below. Satisfied that Anna was safe, he picked up the bag and peered inside at its contents. There was a coil of rope and a card.

Carefully, he pulled the card out of the bag, only touching the corner. The words scrawled in red ink filled him with rage. It's time that you are mine. "Not likely, asshole," Chad seethed.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and searched through his contacts until he found the one he was looking for. Justin's groggy voice answered, "This better be damn good."

"I'm calling in the favor," Chad said to his old friend.

"A guy saves your life one time, and you get woken up in the middle of the night. You should have let me bleed out."

"Too late for that now. Although, I could cut your other leg off, and give you a second chance of bleeding out," Chad teased.

"Asshole," Justin laughed. "What do you need?"

"Do you have any connections with anyone with Denver PD or the state police?"

"What in the hell are you doing in Colorado?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. So, do you know anyone?" Chad asked, leaning against the railing.

"My company handles the security system for all of the city buildings. I have the chief of police's personal number. What do you need?" Justin asked.

Chad let out a sigh of relief. "Perfect. I have a friend who has a stalker. I think the guy is about to make a move on her. She called the police a couple days ago. I need to know what came of the investigation. I am standing at her front door right now, holding a bag with rope and a threatening note."

"Fuck, call the police."

"I don't want to scare her any more than she already is. Can you call the chief and set up a meeting for me? I have to be at work at 3:00, but I can meet any time before then."

"I'll call him as soon as he's in his office."

"Thanks," Chad replied.

"By the way, how are you? How long are you in town for?"

"I'm alright. I just got here a few days ago. I'm not sure how long I'll be here, but at least until this bastard is caught. We should grab drinks soon. You can come see where I'm working. I think you'll like it," he laughed.

"I'm intrigued. Count me in."

"I've gotta get going. Let me know what you find out."

"Yes, sir," Justin said before disconnecting the call.

Chad hadn't planned on contacting Justin, despite being in the same city. Especially not with all of the nightmares making a comeback. By some miracle Justin had survived the original blast that took his leg and the secondary blast that took out the rest of his unit, Xena included. Chad was credited with saving the veteran's life, but he had always brushed off Justin's insistence that he owed him big. He had only been doing his job, but it helped his current situation knowing the owner of a security company that supplied security systems for half the city. He didn't feel guilty for calling in the favor, because it was for someone else's benefit.

Now, he needed to decide what to do about that someone else. He didn't want to cause any more stress, but he also didn't want her to be unaware of the dangers. Keys in hand, he let himself into her apartment. There was no way he was letting her come up until he was sure there was nobody inside. He entered the front room and flipped on the light. The space was open into a dining and kitchen area behind. A hall ran to the right of the kitchen.

Like her vanity at work, the rooms before him were chaos. A jungle of plants covered shelving in front of the window. There were fashion magazines strewn all over the coffee table. A pile of laundry sat unfolded in a gray armchair. The matching sofa had a rumpled blanket and a pillow. The dining table had a stack of mail, and there were a few dishes in the sink. He opened the pantry door and checked inside. Finding nobody hiding there, he started down the hallway.

The first door was a guest room. It was neat and tidy. The only contents in the room was a bed with nightstands and a small dresser. Chad checked the closet. Inside, he only found boxes. The next door opened to a bathroom. Beauty paraphernalia was covering every visible surface of the counter. He checked behind the shower curtain, but found nothing but bottles of soaps. The door at the end of the hall opened to what could only be Anna's bedroom. The large bed was unmade. A pile of laundry lay at the foot of the bed.

"This woman needs a housekeeper," he said to himself as he checked the closet. Satisfied that nobody was in the apartment, he went back downstairs. He placed the gift bag in the trunk before opening the passenger door.

Anna stirred and yawned. She arched her back to stretch, and Chad had to consciously keep his eyes on her face and not let them wander to her chest. "Sorry I fell asleep."

"It's been a long day," he said, stepping back so she could exit the car.

"You don't have to walk me up. I'll be fine. I do need my apartment key though." Anna held out her hand.

"It's already unlocked. I went ahead and checked to make sure nobody was lurking inside. Hope you don't mind."

"Oh my God, it's such a mess." She covered her face with her hands. "I have been so busy."

"Don't worry about it." Chad stopped himself from asking her to come stay at his hotel for the night. He felt nervous leaving her alone, but he knew she would refuse. "I'll wait until you are inside. Make sure to lock your door."

Anna nodded, "Always. Thank you. I'm trying not to let this creep disrupt my life, but I'm not naive enough to think I'm not in any danger."

"Have a good night. I'll drop your car off tomorrow after I get my tires fixed."

"Night," Anna waved as she walked toward the building.

Chad waited until she was safely inside before climbing into the driver's seat. The car's clock told him it was already after five. If he was lucky, he'd get to the hotel in just enough time to grab a couple hours of sleep and a change of clothes before he would need to either go get new tires for his truck or meet with the chief of police.