Page 59 of Fractured Devotion
The van had been there, parked three spaces down. Still. Too still.
She didn’t exit until minutes after it pulled away.
She’s seen it.
And she’s waiting to see if it returns.
I make a note in my side file.Van. Black. Two doors. Same plates as before. Window tint: moderate. Return watch: 72 hours.
She’s not the only one being watched.
And that’s where the problem lies.
I switch again, this time to the sensor override script. My fingers dance over the keys, inputting new protocol. If anyone who doesn’t belong comes near her apartment, I’ll know. And if they try to get in… well, they won’t.
Not before I do.
But something gnaws at the edges of my calm.
Mara. Alec.
They’ve been snooping around more than usual. Alec’s access pings have shown up in system logs adjacent to mine. They’re not overlapping, but uncomfortably close. Mara flagged a looped feed near Storage B12. It was mine. I patched that loop in myself.
She’s starting to connect things.
And Celeste… she told Alec someone’s watching her.
Fuck.
I’d been careful. Precise.
But the deeper I slip into her world, the more I want to leave fingerprints behind. And it’s going to cost me if I’m not more careful. Or it could be about the van. But all the same, I’ll have to be more careful now.
I scroll through my recent logs, cross-reference timestamps, then scrub the system traces Alec might’ve followed. One by one, I erase anomalies and push false flags into the system to mimic third-party interference.
If they find anything now, it won’t lead to me. Not directly.
Let them think it’s someone else.
Let her think the van is something bigger and more dangerous.
I can use that. And I will.
I craft a new plan. I’ll find a way to approach her. Casual and real. Maybe we’ll cross paths outside the clinic, near the bakery, in her hallway, or someplace normal.
And I’ll tell her the truth.
That I think I’m being watched too.
That I’ve seen the van.
That I’ve felt the eyes on my back.
And I’ll let her connect the dots I plant in front of her while I bury the rest.
She’ll run to me when the fear builds. And I’ll be ready.
My phone vibrates once. It’s a message from Rourke:Status?
