Why did you do it?
I held no confidence on Baptiste’s involvement, but it was the closest I felt to the truth about Zola’s stalker. The psycho had shot paint at her in perfect precision with the same red paint I’d used.
Baptiste did that. It’s his kind of shot. He could’ve executed it with no problem.
I couldn’t think of why he’d done it all, but I knew I would have to kill him. He’d scared Zola. That was enough to pull a gun on my close friend.
She’s always come first. Always.
Stone Mason stepped up to accept his award from Zola.
My heart twisted with the dark future I had before me.
Then, the fire alarm rang. A collective gasp ripped through the room like a gust of wind. The lights shut off, and red emergency ones turned on high above us.
No.
I grabbed Zola fast with one arm and pulled my gun out with the other. There was no way Baptiste would get close to Zola. It didn’t matter what his goal of stalking her had been. He would not win this evening.
“Everything is going to be okay,” I whispered in her ear.
She trembled against me. I had no idea if she heard me.
Chaos ensued. People, chatter rose. Many of the wait staff came out to calm the guests. It was clear that the signal had been a false alarm, but I knew Baptiste had pulled it.
Where are you?
I found my answer seconds later. The fire exit door opened twenty yards on my right. My adrenaline spiked, and Baptiste’s silhouette stood in the doorway.
“Stay behind me.” I moved in front of Zola.
“Okay.” She held me from behind.
The craziness continued as I focused on the door. People ran back and forth, at times obstructing my view.
Red light spilled into the room, backlighting Baptiste’s frame in the doorway.
“Let’s get the psycho first and focus on the devil later.”
“Sounds good. Just understand that you will have to deal with the devil eventually.”
Even at this distance, there was no mistaking it was Baptiste. His silhouette remained motionless. I checked his hand. A glint of metal came from what he clutched. No doubt he held a gun. My heart boomed. My mouth went dry. I gripped my gun harder, ready to raise it and shoot across the crowd, if I needed to.
This can’t come to that. What happened to you, Baptiste? Did Nakita’s death make you a monster?
I swore he smiled.
And then, just like that, he turned around and rushed away.
Fuck. I’ve got to go after him.
Stone Mason’s bodyguards rushed to us. Thankfully, I’d caught his director of security up on Zola’s stalking situation earlier that day. Further phone conversations today showed that we shared a few duty stations during our army years. He’d offered two guards at my disposal, if anything arose.
The director was smart enough to sniff out trouble from the false alarm.
“Zola, I need you to listen to me.” I didn’t have the time to tell her everything, and I damn sure didn’t want to leave her alone. But this had to end tonight. I couldn’t let Baptiste get away. Only the gods knew if I could find him.
I taught him too well. He’ll be able to hide from me.
“Stay here with these two men.” I gestured to the guards that arrived right in front of us.
“What?” She turned to them and then back to me. “Who are they?”
“Stone Mason’s guards. I talked to their director earlier.”
Worry creased the corners of her eyes as she nodded.
“Listen. Zola, Baptiste is your stalker.”
“W-what?”
“I have no time to explain, but if you see him, notify the guards.”
“Be careful, Hunter!” she called out to me as I jumped off the stage, raced through the crowd, and headed for the door where I’d seen Baptiste.
Adrenaline burst through my body, giving me rocket fuel energy. People got in my way, trying to figure out where I was going and if they should run too.
“Move!” I yelled. My legs, my lungs burned. It took no time to get to the door. I opened it and lead the way with my gun. If I spotted Baptiste, I would shoot first and ask him questions later.
The hallway was empty, silent.
There were twenty different doors along the walls. I rushed to open several, ducking in the rooms with my gun and doing a quick search.
Where are you?
I must’ve checked out ten rooms before I gave up. Sweat dripped down the side of my face. I barely had my breath.
Goddamn it.
I’d lost him. I felt defeated. I sucked in air and attempted to catch my breath.
What the fuck, Baptiste? Why? Why would you do this?
“Fuck!” I ran my hands through my damp hair, jerked the tie from around my neck, and shoved it in my jacket pocket. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”
Then, I noticed a door in the far back on the right that had been inched open a crack as if someone had rushed through it but didn’t have the time to properly close it.