Fatal Obsession

Chapter 53

  Aaron paused outside the door when he heard footsteps walking up the stairs. He backtracked to the third door just in case whoever was walking up the stairs decided to search the first two rooms. He opened the door and slipped inside before he could be seen, twisting the knob lock.

This room had enough light shining through the window, allowing him to see around without using the flashlight. He pressed an ear to door, listening to hear which direction the footsteps were heading.

The footsteps suddenly stopped at the top of the stairs.

"I told you we should have gotten rid of him sooner."

"The boss wanted to keep an eye on him."

"Why does the boss wants this guy anyway?"

  Aaron listened intently as they kept talking. He tried not to make any sound because he didn't want to draw them over to his hiding place.

"I don't know. Roger had taken some stuff from his collection and the boss wants them back."

 A door opened, their voices faded as they disappeared into the room.

Aaron stepped away from the door and sent Kyle a message. He placed the bag on the floor and looked around the room but this one was bare of any furniture. It was just an empty room.

  He walked over to the window and peeked out. Although the moon was out, there wasn't much light, making it impossible for him to see outside.

  Aaron whirled around at the noise of a door slamming then footsteps marching across to the other door.

He couldn't understand why they were making so much noise. Even if they thought no one was in the building, why not be more subtle?

  Ten minutes later, Aaron heard someone walked down the corridor to stand in front of the door, leading to the room he was in. Aaron lifted the gun, aiming at the door. Another set of footsteps followed a few seconds later.

"The bag is missing."

"What do you want to do now?"

"Let's check this room. If nothing turns up, we'll leave."

  Aaron backed away from the door and glanced at the window then at the door when the handle started jiggling. He grabbed the bag from the floor then stride over to the window, lifted the pane and swung his legs over the windowsill barely closing the pane just as the door was kicked inward.

  Holding on to the windowsill, he heard the two guys entered the room.

Looking around, he saw no place he could use to get a good footing.

The most he could hold on for was a couple of minutes before his arms would get tired. His phone vibrated in his pocket alerting him to an incoming call.

  Aaron pressed himself closer to the wall when the window above his head was lifted up. He pressed himself closer to the wall, his body seeming to disappear into the darkness. He didn't know how long he hang there, but his arms began to strain as he waited for the intruders to leave.

"This room is empty also."

"It was a waste of time coming here."

  Aaron pulled himself up a little to see into the room. He recognized the intruders as the same guys from the woods. He lowered himself down when one of the intruders shined his light at the window.

"Let's get out of here."

"The boss isn't going to like this."

  The intruders footsteps receded as they left the room. Aaron waited five more minutes to make sure they wouldn't backtrack to the room.

When no one returned, he pulled himself up over the windowsill and back into the room. He closed the window before quietly walking to the door.

  Aaron slightly opened the door to peek out. With the coast clear, he left the room and went downstairs to find Kyle.

"What took you so long? Why didn't you answer your phone?" Kyle bombarded him with questions as he entered the room.

"I was busy hanging on to a windowsill."

"Why?"

"Did you find anything?"

"Nothing much. I found a videotape but it's old. I don't know if we'll be able to watch the footage."

"Keep it. We can ask Kaia to take a look at it."

  Kyle finally looked down at the bag in his hand. "What's in the bag?"

  Aaron hesitated for a minute whether he should tell him but Kyle was his partner. He had this attitude about things concerning his well-being. He handed the bag to Kyle without a word.

  Kyle took the bag from his hand with a frown. He unzipped the bag and looked through its contents.

"I found it in a room upstairs."

"Why are there photos of you here?"

  Aaron had told Kyle about his childhood when they were in the academy.

"I don't know."

"Harold is going to hit the roof."

"We're not going to tell him."

"Are you crazy? Have you met the man?" Kyle shuddered as a faraway look passed over his face. "I've never known a man to be so vicious."

  Aaron chuckled, "I have enough sense not to upset him but let's keep it between us for now." Kyle opened his mouth to object but Aaron held up his hand. "At least until we find out who's after me."

"I'm going to regret this." Kyle said with a sigh.

"I need to protect Logan. He's safer with me."

"Is that the only reason?"

  Kyle stared at him but Aaron had schooled his features not to give anything away. He had slept with Logan and that is a conflict of interest in this line of work.

"We should leave before anyone else shows up here."

  Aaron turned away from Kyle and headed to the exit of the building. He was almost to the door when he suddenly stopped walking. With his usual subtlety he put on the grip of his gun and whirled around when he heard his name.

  He was barely able to avoid getting hit by a baseball bat by blocking the swing with his arm. The bat cracked against the wall above his head as he managed to get out of the way. He ducked a fist and maneuvered around a kick, snatching the intruder's body and shoving it hard into the wall.

"Aaron, behind you!"

  Aaron spun around just as a gunshot rang out.