Fractured

Chapter 25

We left the hospital early on the following morning, wanting to have a full day to stop into the Sergeant Jasper and collect fresh clothing and toiletries for the guys, check out the house I had purchased, and work out what work needed to be done immediately so we could move in and organise a temporary apartment so we had somewhere to stay for the immediate future.

The drive to the apartment was quiet and I knew the guys were all deep in thought, just not what they were thinking about. The plan was that everyone would gather what they needed while I pottered around the main apartment. There wasn't much for me to gather, since I had a small bag with some clothing that I had been using while staying here and some now useless tech, since I was compromised again.

My bag had been beside the hall table in the entryway, but not actually touching it. Walking into the apartment and seeing the bag pressed up against the legs of the table I was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling that someone else had been here.

"Guys, has anyone been in here since the incident?" I called out.

"Not that I know of, why?" Axel responded.

"Huh. No reason. I'm just sure I left that bag in a different position."

Axel moved to grab the bag now that everyone was ready to leave.

"I don't need it and it might be a good idea to have some clothes here. Besides, knowing Gabriel, he would have overdone the shopping and we'll find a mountain of clothing at the house", I reasoned, unable to shake the feeling of someone else having been in the apartment and the thought that they had at the very least been near my bag, if not had been through it; and if they had been through it, whose to say they didn't place some sort of tracking device inside. Though, it could have been the stress of the last few months catching up to me leading to me having these thoughts.

"So what exactly are we expecting with the house? Like what needs to be done before we can live in it?" Marc asked as we hopped into the car and started heading out to the property.

"From what I could see, it is mostly cosmetic. The interior paint needs updating, the carpets could be redone and the hardwood floors refinished. A few of the first floor windows look weather worn and could be replaced, but that won't affect being able to live there. The porch is probably the biggest issue. There is a hole in it, created by vandals, rather than termites so it isn't something that will impact on structural integrity on the home. My property manager had actually already gone over the house, looking at it as a potential future investment and was more than happy to give me his assessment when I called him about it." What I hadn't told them was that Owen was my property manager. He helped me establish a property portfolio when I moved back from New York.

Small talk continued for the rest of the drive and about half an hour later we were pulling into a driveway lined by a variety of fruit trees - an added bonus. You can never have too much fresh fruit. Even more unexpected were the moving trucks and trades vehicles in the driveway. The house had been advertised as being vacant, the previous owners having moved out years ago. As we got closer to the house, I spotted a couple of familiar cars and it instantly dawned on me.

"What are South's team doing here?" Raven asked.

"Mmmm. I probably should have figured this would happen. Owen is my property manager. He would have had Charlie and Silas check over the plumbing, so at least we know that will be in top shape. North would have seen Silas getting ready to come check it out and insisted on helping to check out the structural side of things and as the others caught wind of what was going on, they would have found an excuse to be involved. We grew close after they got me out of New York and we often worked together on a lot of different projects over the years." I replied, suspecting that they had been working on the house from the moment I contacted Owen about it.