An Eye For An Eye

Soixante-Deux

Taking a deep breath, I left the car. Charles had said that Mark Hampton was tall, incredibly pale and had dark hair. Apparently, he had worn the same battered orange hoodie to the office. And a man fitting that description had just been turned away by two burly men in security uniforms.

I was careful when I followed, not getting too close and if I did, I stopped and checked the time or tried to adjust the shoes I was pretending to occasionally be struggling to walk in.

There was still the fear that he would notice, that he would somehow corner me and I’d have to fight my way out. Jack had given me a small pistol, Chris would have known the exact model but it was what I had to use if he did try to attack me. It was what I had to use to avoid shifting, if I could avoid it. But there wasn’t much of a choice, I had to avoid it, I couldn’t risk shifting and I didn’t want to. Shifting meant I wasn’t in control and that meant I was likely to hurt someone.

For a moment, I had thought I had lost him in the small queue outside of shops but I spotted him turning left at the end of the street. I quickened my pace to keep up with him. I had been following him for almost ten minutes.

Deuc seemed so certain I wouldn’t hurt anyone or destroy anything. I didn’t know where his confidence in me came from. Even if I wasn’t aggressive, I didn’t have an anchor.

I could feel my legs shaking as I walked and stopped for a moment and pretended to adjust my shoe, it was always the left shoe. If someone was watching, it was consistent and hopefully not too suspicious.

I followed him for another ten minutes before I started to recognise my surroundings. We weren’t too far from my apartment, though it wouldn’t be my apartment for much longer. I had handed in the 30 day notice yesterday, along with the money for the rent for the month. My landlord hadn’t been too surprised and seemed rather happy to find out that I was moving in with a boyfriend.

I froze as I recognised the street we had turned on to. My apartment block was on this street. Now a little weary of where he was going, I slowed my pace a bit. It took everything to stay calm as he turned to go into my apartment block. For a moment, I thought he was visiting someone but he pulled out keys and unlocked the door.

“Hey!” I called out after him. I exaggerated my fake limp from my imaginary pain as he turned to look at me. “Could you hold the door for me?” Mark held the door open for me as I walked towards him. I thanked him and headed to my apartment, rummaging for my keys in my pocket. I pulled them out, unlocked the door and headed inside.

As I shut the door, I could see him lingering on the stairs. He knew I had been following him, I was sure of it. I pulled my shoes off as I sat on the couch and stood to grab my boots. I sat on the couch to pull them on. I was glad I had left some things here, I wasn’t completely ready to let go of this place. I put my other shoes in my bag. Looking at the photo of Chris and of my sister-in-law and niece who I could no longer see, I decided to bring it with me. That photograph would likely stay in the guest bedroom but I didn’t feel like leaving it behind this time.

I was shaking slightly as I left my apartment and locked it behind me. There was no one watching me as far as I could tell, no one waiting on the stairs or outside. I shut the outside door behind me slowly and stared at the names on the list for the buzzers. ‘M. Hampton’ was apartment number 14. Grabbing a pen, I wrote the number 14 on the back of my hand so I didn’t forget and walked back the way I had gotten to my apartment.

It didn’t take as long to get back to the offices since I wasn’t trying to keep my distance from a possible murderer. It was strange, I was weary of the man who was believed to kill three wendigos and yet I was friends with murderers, I was in love with one. Even if Deucalion had killed two in self-defence, he had likely killed others in the past and he had openly admitted to wanting to kill Gerard. Chris had killed people too and I still trusted him, I still considered him family.

As soon as I had shut the car door, I fastened the seatbelt and started the engine. I could feel my heart beating in my chest as I headed back home.

As soon as I shut the front door, I headed to the sofa and sat down. Feeling Jack’s gun in my pocket, I pulled it out and set it down as quickly as I could. I hadn’t held a gun in months and I didn’t plan on doing so again.

“Is everything alright?”

Deuc.

I sighed and shrugged, even if he couldn’t see.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. I could hear him walking towards the sofa. “He didn’t attack me but he knew I was following him.”
“It’s good that he didn’t attack you,” said Deuc. I nodded, it was good.
“But he watched me walk into my apartment, he lives in the same building, number…” I checked my hand. “14. Number 14, upstairs.”

“At least we know where he lives now,” he said as he sat beside me. His arm wrapped around me and I realised I was still shaking. Or maybe I had stopped and had started shaking again.
“Yes, but he knows where I live too,” I said. Which also meant he knew who I was. “So he knows my name.” He knew I was an Argent and if he knew anything, he knew I was a hunter.

I couldn’t escape my past as a hunter, as much as I tried.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
“Deuc, this man has killed three people and knows that I’ve been following him,” I said. I rested my head on his shoulder but the terror wouldn’t leave. “And if he is supernatural, if he’s a werewolf or a wendigo, he’ll know I’m a hunter.” Deuc pulled me closer to him.
“He shouldn’t have anything to worry about if he hasn’t killed anyone.”
“But we’re fairly sure he has,” I said, closing my eyes in hopes that I could ignore it. Deuc’s hoodie was soft, but not as soft as his sweaters. “What if he breaks in? Or tries to attack me before I can get him.”

“Liza, I’ve promised that you won’t hurt anyone. I can promise that I won’t let him hurt you.” I opened my eyes and looked up at him. He didn’t have his sunglasses on. “I couldn’t let anyone hurt you, my love. No one will hurt you.”

I believed him.