21. Dante
DANTE
Shit, that was close. What is wrong with me today? How could I be so careless when following her? She almost saw me. Almost a year of surveillance on her, and this was the first time I’ve ever slipped up.
My mind has been swirling since I left Harlem and followed the moving blue dot of Rose’s location to the design district.
This woman does something to my focus when I’m in her proximity.
Luckily, she also seemed lost in thought, and I was able to duck into a convenience store on the corner before she could look back for me.
I need Rose to finish up for the day and go back to her apartment so I can relax, knowing she is tucked safely away in her loft.
I’m running on zero sleep, and it’s making me sloppy.
I also need time to review the footage from earlier, when I was in my meeting, to ensure I didn’t miss anything.
The sooner she gets back to my place, the better.
I still need to convince her to stay with me, but I’m working on a strategy to make it her only option.
If all goes to plan, there won’t be a single room for rent available in a fifty-mile radius.
With any luck, she will have to ask me to stay at my house instead of me forcing her to.
Getting back to my place in the city, I continue to track Rose’s location as she makes her way back to her loft.
I didn’t want to chance her seeing me again, so instead of physically monitoring her, this will have to do until she gets back home, and I can view her on my camera feeds.
While she is out, I will use the time to review the recordings from earlier while I was in my meeting.
Watching Rose moving throughout her apartment is like poetry in motion.
She looks so at ease and confident in her own space, and I need to figure out a way to make her feel comfortable like this while she is in my home.
Maybe I’ll get some of the candles she is always burning.
I definitely need to add a high-quality espresso machine to my appliance requests so she can get her caffeine fix.
I’m lost in thought watching Rose pick out an outfit when she gets a confused look on her face.
I watch as she walks to her front door and opens it, likely for the food she had ordered.
But based on the audio from prior, she never confirmed who was buzzing her apartment.
She only told them to “come on up.” If she were mine, I would definitely have words to say about her lack of concern over safety.
Maybe I can find a way to bring it up organically.
She needs to be more careful, especially after the motel incident.
I know her building is secure, but not if she is buzzing in whoever calls her apartment number.
Maybe I overreacted…it looks like it is just a guy delivering her food.
I flip the audio of the video on so I can listen to their interaction.
“Oh, um, hi. You must be new. The other delivery guy normally just leaves my food by the door for me to grab.” Rose seems confused but not nervous with this guy, but I also know “the other delivery guy,” Joe, who I have already fully looked into, has been the only delivery driver to bring her food from this restaurant in a year, so who the hell is this guy?
“I’m just filling in. Would you like me to bring it inside for you?” the new delivery driver responds, ignoring Rose’s statement.
Now she looks nervous. A feeling of helplessness passes over me, knowing this interaction took place hours ago, so if something happened, I wouldn’t even be able to intervene.
But I quickly remind myself I just saw Rose on the street and she seemed fine.
Let’s see how this plays out and if I need to add another name to my growing list of people to remove from Rose’s life.
“Um, no, I can just take it. Thank you, though.” Rose reaches for the bag of food, and I almost feel like this new guy won’t hand it over and instead force his way inside, the way he is looking over her shoulder to get a look inside her apartment.
Luckily, he releases the bag, but before Rose can close the door, he puts his hand out to stop it from closing all the way.
“See you next time,” the new guy adds before turning and striding down the hallway toward the elevator.
Okay, he is definitely on the list now. I rewind the interaction to watch it more closely to see if I can find something to identify him when my blood goes cold in an instant and then boils in the next.
I pause the video on the image of the delivery driver turning away from the door just before walking toward the elevators, and there it is, all the information I need: a tattoo.
And not just any tattoo. A snake coiled around a rose on his neck.
The same tattoo as the men who trashed her motel room.
Turns out, there is more going on here than I originally thought.
Looks like it's going to be another long night. I can’t take a chance on something happening to Rose when I’m not watching, so I pour myself another mug of coffee and settle in for the night in front of my monitors.