Chapter 37

They took the elevator up one floor and Justice looked for the apartment. Finding it without any problems, he stood in front of the door wanting to beat it down, then meet the person inside. Chances were good this would be the male who’d destroyed Holly’s life, and he wondered how the monster would feel having his spleen removed from his body through his mouth.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm the anger that raged within. He brought up his fist and knocked on the door, almost hoping it would be answered.

They waited a moment, and he knocked again. Certain no one was home, he then realized he had no way to get into the apartment, and he felt like a fool. Maybe he would have to knock down the damn thing.

“Here,” Holly said, pulling out a credit card. He watched as she slipped it into the crack between the panel and the frame, jiggling the doorknob with one hand while moving the credit card with the other. A moment later, the ‘snap’ of the door lock opening sounded.

She stepped back and he grinned at her.

“I’m impressed.”

Shrugging, she smiled. “My brother taught me how to do that when I locked myself out of our place once. These locks suck.”

He stepped inside the apartment, his respect for Holly growing, if that were at all possible.

The apartment had the same layout as Holly’s and held the basic amenities—a couch, a small coffee table, and a flat screen television lying up against the wall but which hadn’t been bolted to it. No pictures hung on the bare, white walls; no mail on the kitchen counter. He opened the fridge and found a pizza box, some beers, and a gallon of milk.

Although they hadn’t discovered anything damning, the hairs on the back of his neck began to tingle—they were on the right track.

“Let’s check the bedroom,” Holly whispered.

He nodded and led the way down the hall. His body hummed with adrenaline and he tried not to think about the fact that they were breaking the law.

Opening the first bedroom door, he found an empty room. The neat and tidy bathroom sparkled, the toothbrush on the sink giving the only indication that someone actually used the space.

The bedroom door at the end of the hall was closed, and he took a deep breath before turning the knob, hoping he wouldn’t run into the apartment’s occupant sleeping. But at the same time, he wanted to lay a fist in the guy’s face.

A single, twin bed stood in the middle of the room. The black bedspread hung neatly and symmetrically, almost as if the occupant had spent more than a few minutes making it.

Three pairs of shoes lined the wall just under the window, and when he opened the closet door, four white, button-down shirts hung, all about two inches away from each other.

Holly stepped up beside him. “It looks like this guy has a little OCD.”

He had no idea what that could be, but nodded in agreement.

She turned and moved over by the dresser.

“Oh my God!” she whispered.

Her trembling hand reached out and grabbed something hanging off the edge of the mirror. It looked like some type of necklace, and as he got closer, he realized it seemed to be dog tags covered in what he thought at first had been rust but now figured out was blood.

“These are my brother’s,” she murmured. “It’s him. The murderer lives here, Justice!”

Hope brightened her eyes as she stared up at him.

“We’ve finally got proof!”

He nodded as relief ran through him. Holly would be safe, cleared to live her life as she pleased.

His happiness quickly gave way to panic as he heard the front door open, then shut. Taking two large steps to the bedroom door, he silently shut it.

How the hell would they get out of this one?

Holly stuffed the dog tags in her pocket, and he put his hand on her forearm to stop her.

“No,” he whispered. “We need them to stay here so the police can find them.”

She nodded as panic crossed her face, and she hung them back up as she had found them.

“We need to get out of here,” she said, turning toward the window and flipping the latch. “Follow me.”

She climbed out the window to the fire escape, and just as Justice was about to follow, the bedroom door opened.

His gaze locked with the occupant’s, and rage passed over the man’s face as he lunged for Justice.

“Watch out!” Holly yelled.

Justice figured he had a good hundred pounds on the guy, as well as a significant advantage in height. The male hit him in the gut with his shoulder, and Justice grabbed his left arm, spinning him onto the bed. As he took in the plain male with the brown hair, white, hot rage poured through him, and the need to kill him became almost unbearable. This waste of space had caused so much pain in Holly’s life; he couldn’t see anything wrong with avenging her.

“Come on!” Holly shouted as he walked over to the bed and raised his fist.

The sound of her voice cut through his anger and he became slightly more reasonable. Killing the killer would bring him a lot of satisfaction, but it wouldn’t be legal, and laws needed to be followed.

Turning, he went to the window just as Holly started her ascent upward. She moved quickly, and he wondered if he could actually keep up with her. The assailant came at him again, and he kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying across the room. As the male gasped for breath and held his midsection, it gave Justice time to climb out the window and shut it. Then, he looked upward and followed Holly, hoping the rickety ladder would hold him.

When he reached the roof, she glanced at him and motioned for him to follow her.

“Wait a minute!” Justice yelled. “Why are we up here? Why didn’t you go down?”

“Because he won’t be able to follow us!” she said, her voice laced with panic.

She took off across the roof at a dead run, and his stomach clenched as she headed for the side of the building. With ease and the grace of a ballerina, she sailed into the air, landing on the next building. Her feet hit the ground and she tucked into a roll, then stood back on her feet again, motioning for him to come.

“God of Light and Life, please protect me.”

Taking a deep breath, he ran as hard as he could, hoping the momentum would keep his weight airborne. While Holly was small and compact, those would not be the words to describe his bulky, large frame.

He reached the edge and flew off the roof, concentrating on landing on the next building, not six stories down. As he sailed through the air, his heart raced. Would he make it?

A surge of adrenaline and gratitude ran through him as his feet hit the gravel of the rooftop. He dropped into a roll just as Holly had. When he came to a standing position, he found her gaze. It seemed she looked at him in terror.

She began to run again, and he glanced over his shoulder. The assailant stood on the edge of the building staring at them, as if gauging if he could make the jump.

Justice didn’t bother to stick around to find out. He took off after Holly, who had soared to the next roof, and as he approached the lip of the building, he noticed her scrambling down the fire escape to the street.

He followed her path and found her waiting in a doorway in the alley between the buildings.

“Let’s go,” she whispered, her breath heavy.

She ran down a maze of alleys and side streets at an unrelenting pace until they had reached the car. As he trailed her, he realized the danger of both the assailant, and jumping from building to building had his blood racing, but in a good way. In a nutshell, he enjoyed the danger.

Pulling the key fob from his jeans, he pushed the button to unlock the car before they reached it. They both slid in, and he jammed the key into the ignition and tore away from the curb. His instincts told him to go faster, to maneuver around the cars in his way, but his logic took over as his heart slowed, and he knew he had to keep it cool. He didn’t need the police after him.

“Oh my God,” Holly murmured with a slight laugh. “I’m not sure what to say about all of that.”

He chuckled, chalking it up to the adrenaline, because frankly, there wasn’t anything funny about the situation.

They’d blown it.

If that guy had seen Holly, which was questionable since she’d been outside the whole time and he’d only seen her at a distance while on the roof, he’d have no trouble recognizing her. If that were the case, they guy would destroy all trinkets he kept from his murders, such as Billy’s dog tags.

If he hadn’t gotten a good look at Holly, then hopefully, he would think they were just two burglars.

Whatever the case, the thrill of their little adventure pulsated through him. But was it the physical aspect of it, or the woman he was with?