Chapter 244

“You have to take me with you,” I said.

“Absolutely not,” Asher replied.

“Well, you can’t expect me to let you go off looking for him by yourself.”

“That’s what I’ve been doing…”

I crossed my arms and frowned at him.

“It’s too dangerous, Cyn.”

“It’s dangerous for you, too. It will be fine. The minute we see him, we’ll call the police.” I gave him a flat look and hoped he could see my conviction. No way was I going to let him chase after Joseph all on his own, not now that I knew that was what he was up to.

His eyes met mine and we had a bit of a staring contest. I knew he was trying to get me to back down first. I wasn’t going to.

Eventually, he conceded with a sigh. “Okay, you can come with me. But only on the condition you do exactly what I say. And no matter what, we do not engage Joseph.”

Those conditions seemed reasonable. “Agreed.”

Asher looked at me a moment more. From his crinkled brow, I knew he was still worried about bringing me, but he eventually nodded. “Follow me.”

We fell in step on the sidewalk. Asher led me towards the outer edge of campus and then into a commercial district. Eventually, we came to a brick building that housed a laundry mat on the first floor with a set of apartments on top.

“I think he might be hiding here,” Asher said.

I looked up to where the apartments were, but no lights were on in the windows. “What should we do?”

“Same thing I’ve been doing every night. We wait.”

In the building across the laundromat was a small café. Asher led me inside and then had me sit at a table near the window, so that I could look out and watch across the street without immediately being noticed.

He ordered a coffee for himself and a hot chocolate for me and then settled in across the table from me to begin our stakeout.

“So this is what you’ve been up to?” I asked him. “Drinking coffee and watching doorways?”

“More or less,” Asher said. “Though not always. I’ve been using all of my resources – my friends, my connections, my owed favors – to track down Joseph and his lackeys. We’ve caught a few of them by now. But they’re like cockroaches. They scatter at the first sign of trouble.”

That sounded like Joseph.

“This isn’t the first place I’ve looked for Joseph. It isn’t even the third. But I won’t give up. I’ll never give up until we find that asshole and put him behind bars where he belongs.” Asher glowered down at his coffee cup. “I won’t let him hurt you ever again.”

“How could he hurt me, with you here to protect me?” I gave him a small smile, which he did not return. I had said it in truth, but also to help him feel better. But he only looked angrier. “Asher?”

“I heard some of Joseph’s plans for you. Every act of terror against you has been just that. The bastard knows you have to be careful with your stress levels. He’s trying to literally frighten you and your baby to death.”

My own fury coiled up within me. Of course he was. The coward wouldn’t want dirty his own hands. He’d find some way to attack me without actually murdering me outright. My hands formed fists in my lap.

No wonder Asher was so angry.

“We can’t let him get away,” I said.

“We won’t.”

We stayed in that café well after midnight, with no sight of anyone who even looked remotely like Joseph passing by. Until finally, at around one in the morning, a nervous-looking man in a hoodie crept toward the laundromat.

“Asher!”

He looked over at once and his eyes narrowed. “That him?”

“It is.”

I didn’t blame Asher for his uncertainty. Joseph looked terrible, like he hadn’t slept in a long time. His hair had grown out. His face was sallow. He seemed too thin, and nervous, hunched over and looking all around.

I had my phone in my hands in an instant. “I’m calling the police.”

Nodding, Asher rose from his seat and came to stand beside me at mine. He was protecting me, even as we sat in the relative safety of our stakeout spot inside the mostly-empty café.

He placed his hand on my shoulder. His fingers curled, not so much to hurt, but enough for me to feel his presence.

When I hung up the phone with emergency, I looked up at him. “The police are on the way.”

Through the window, we continued to watch Joseph as he paced inside the laundromat. Was he waiting for someone? He doesn’t wait long before he goes to the door that led up to the apartments and disappeared inside of it.

“We’re losing him!” I meant to sit up, but Asher’s hand on my shoulder kept me in place. “Shouldn’t we follow him? Asher?”

“It’s not worth the risk. If he’s up in those apartments, the police will catch him.”

I understood what he meant. Safety, both his and mine, was a top priority. But it ached in my soul, to be so close to catching him, just to let him slip away.

Still, I stayed put.

The police showed up, sirens wailing, not five minutes later.

“Stay here,” Asher said, then walked to the door to greet them. The late-night patrons of the café, as well as the employees came toward the windows.

“What’s going on?” one of them asked.

I didn’t want to answer. It was such a long story that I wouldn’t even know where to begin. “I’m not sure,” I said instead.

After speaking with Asher, the police rushed toward the laundromat, and raided through the door leading to the apartments. Asher turned toward me and watched me through the window.

My heart pounded. My breath caught in my throat.

Could this be the moment? If they caught Joseph, would this nightmare finally be over?

I waited, hope and fear tangling in my heart. I wanted this to be over so badly I could taste it.

Yet several agonizing minutes later, the police returned back down from upstairs, and Joseph wasn’t among them.

One of the policemen spoke with Asher, whose face hardened further while they talked. He nodded and said something in reply. Then he made his way inside the café.

“What was that all about?” someone asked Asher.

“They’re hunting down a fugitive,” Asher replied. “Almost caught him tonight. Stay cautious.”

Some of the patrons quickly went to pay their tabs. The workers seemed just as nervous.

Asher came to the table. He didn’t have to say it. I knew.

“Joseph escaped.”

“The police said the apartments were empty,” Asher said. “But there was an open window to a fire escape in the back of the building. He likely sneaked out that way when he heard the sirens.”

A small growl slipped through Asher’s words. “So close this time. The closest I’ve ever been.”

I reached out and placed my hand on his arm. “We’ll get him next time.”

Asher looked like he wanted to argue but thought better of it. He sighed. “I’ll feel better when I have you safe at home.”

I agreed wholeheartedly with that notion. At home, I could hold him until the worries went away. And with our recent admittance of love, I was ready to be alone with him for other, sexier reasons as well.

I placed my hand in his offered one and we left the café.

Asher kept me close to his side the entire walk home, eventually shifting his hand from mine, to wrap his arm around my shoulder instead.

We’d only just made it back to our dorm, when a figure pounced at us from the shadows.

Asher yanked me behind him and we faced the intruder.

It was Joseph. His eyes were crazed and he carried a knife.

“You could have left it alone. Left me alone,” Joseph snarled. “But no. You had to keep pushing. Keep chasing. I’ve had enough. Enough!”

He was desperate, that much was clear, and that desperation made him extra dangerous.

“I’ve had enough,” he said again. “If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me, Cynthia.”