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He raked the food from their plates into the garbage disposal. There was no need to fantasize about what he couldn’t have. Working out would do his mind and body much better. He started to walk to the door and leave but decided to tell Tiera where he was going.
He strode to the guestroom and placed his hand on the door. He wanted to touch her but had to settle for putting his hand on the wooden barrier between them.
“Tiera, I’m going to the gym. A guard will be just outside the front door if you need him.”
“Okay.”
“Do you want me to bring you anything back?”
“No.”
“When I get back, I’ll shower, and we can head to work.”
“Okay.”
One-word answers. He would rather she go off on a tirade than give him one-word answers. That meant she’d shut herself off from him. Frustrated, his hand slid down the door to his side. He went to his room and grabbed his ear pods. He slid into a pair of sneakers and headed out of his condo.
Dimir of Bruiser Security greeted him with a serious glare and head nod.
“I’m heading to the gym downstairs for about an hour. She’s your responsibility until I get back. Don’t let anything happen to her,” Caleb instructed.
Dimir Gusev’s no-nonsense glare met his with assurance. “You can rest assured that she will be fine. Do you want me to put a trail on you?”
“There’s security downstairs, so I’ll be fine. Plus, I can handle myself.”
“Okay. Enjoy your workout, Mr. Fitzgerald.”
Relieved she’d be well protected, some of Caleb’s tension over leaving her alone eased. Only Tiera could alleviate all of the stress flowing through his body. Only Tiera held the key to making everything right in his world. Only Tiera made him lose it by having her so close without having her the way he wanted.
Caleb strode to the elevator and pressed the down button. He looked back at Dimir, who nodded, nonverbally assuring him that he had Tiera’s security detail covered. Feeling more confident, Caleb entered the elevator and pressed the button to go down to the lobby, where the gym was on the first floor.
A quick scan of his surroundings didn’t present any danger. A husky old man was working the front desk, and a tall, medium-sized guard was by the doorway. A few residents came and went as per their morning routine. Nothing out of the norm.
“Good morning, Mr. Fitzgerald,” the new front desk person said.
“Good morning,” Caleb said with a slight smile. He would have corrected the new front desk person and told him to call him Caleb. However, his mind was partially committed to figuring out how to break the ice bolder between him and Tiera while partially paying attention to his surroundings.
With all the pent-up energy flowing through him, he would love for Stuart Braswell to show his face. Even someone close to his build walking around looking inconspicuous would lead to an altercation. An altercation where that unlucky person would have to be carted off in an ambulance. No such unfortunate person was wearing a hoodie to take his frustrations out on, so he made his way to the gym.
One of his neighbors, an older white woman who works out religiously, was on the treadmill running full speed. He spotted the empty elliptical beside her and stepped on it. He set his goals for an hour workout and a five-hundred calorie burn. He put his ear pods in and started pushing the bars as he began to glide.
Thirty minutes later, he was working out vigorously when he felt a shift in the room. He quickly pulled out his ear pods and looked around. His neighbor was gone, and he was alone. Yet, he didn’t feel alone. He turned off the machine and stepped off of it. He scanned the room and saw the door glide to a close. He tried to shrug it off as his neighbor leaving, but his mind wouldn’t rest with that logic.
He thought about how paranoid he looked, sprinting toward the door. He looked to the left, and the hall was clear. He glanced to the right, and a dark figure quickly turned the corner. His instinct was right. He hadn’t been alone.
Caleb speed-walked in the direction of the dark figure. It could have been another one of his neighbors, but Stuart Braswell decided to upend his life, so he wasn’t leaving anything to chance. Intent to catch up with the shadowy figure, Caleb quickly turned the corner and made it to the front desk. A person in a hoodie was walking briskly toward the exit. They glanced over their shoulder and bolted through the door when they saw him.
“Hey, stop that person!” Caleb yelled to the guard at the front door.
“Sir, stop.” The guard’s brain moved faster than his body. When his movements caught up with Caleb's request, the hooded person got in their vehicle and sped off.
As he tried to read the tag, Caleb recognized the red and black frame around it. All of his suspicions were confirmed. He no longer had an inkling Stuart was after him. Without a doubt, he looked into Stuart’s face and identified his vehicle. Stuart attended Troyer University and proudly wrapped his tag in his alma mater. Before he stole funds from Fitzgerald and Wright, Stuart drove a gray 2014 Nissan Altima. He was back in that vehicle since he could no longer afford his foreign cars.
That SOB is getting too close to him for comfort.
“How did he get in here?” Caleb asked the husky man at the front desk.
“I don’t know, Mr. Fitzgerald. No one comes in unless they have an access code, but I can check the cameras to see how he got past the guard.” The front desk clerk logged into the recording system and pressed rewind. He began reviewing the front door camera footage. Within seconds, worry lines formed on his forehead. “He walked in with Mr. Cohen when he returned from walking his dogs. Mr. Cohen has a condo on the second floor,” the clerk said.
