Chapter Twenty-Five
They took a different route back to the city, stopping at another motel for the night. They arrived late and left early, neither of them getting much sleep.
Sam asked Drew to take a turn driving the next morning so he could make some calls to try to get them an appointment with a lawyer.
In between the calls, Vex rang.
“Sam, your apartment has been broken into.”
“What? When?”
“At best guess, last night. No one heard or saw anything. Whoever it was, was quiet but thorough. The whole place has been turned over. Your gun safe was opened…”
“I have it on me.”
“Good. I’ve called the local precinct. They’ve sent a couple of uniforms and they’re going to call in the crime scene unit to take fingerprints. I also told them about the guys watching the building. They’re going to pull CCTV footage. When you get back, they’re going to want to talk to you.”
“Yeah, thanks, Vex. How bad is the damage?”
“They put effort into not being heard, so not too much irreparable damage. A bit of a clean-up, a new lock, and it’ll be good as new. There is one thing though.”
“What’s that?”
“Drew was staying in your guest room, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Did you take his stuff with you when you left? Clothes and things.”
“No.”
“Well, the room has been completely cleared out.”
“Alright. Thanks, Vex, I’ll let him know.”
“Sam?” He knew Drew had heard most of it but filled him in anyway.
“Russell,” was all Drew said when he’d finished.
“Yeah. I guess when he didn’t see you or me going in and out of the apartment, he got impatient and sent someone in there to see what the story was.”
“I’m really sorry, Sam. Is anything salvageable?”
“From what Vex said, it sounds like it’s nothing that can’t be put to rights, except for your belongings.”
“I didn’t have much. Nothing I’ll miss.”
Despite Drew’s words, he could see he was shaken. They switched seats, Sam taking over the driving. Half an hour later his phone rang again. It was Matt’s sister. He pulled over to take the call, getting out for some air. Drew got out too, stretching his legs.
Hearing her upset tone, he walked away a little to get some privacy. When he ended the call a few minutes later, he turned to see Drew leaning against the car.
“What’s wrong?”
“Matt had a visitor at the hospital.” He wasn’t sure how much to tell Drew, not wanting to scare him.
“I don’t understand. Is he okay?”
“Yeah, he is. He’s upset but I think his mother and his sister are more so.”
“Why, what happened? Who was it?”
“He said he was family and staff let him into Matt’s room. He told Matt he was a family member of Matt’s boyfriend, Jon. The one who died in Afghanistan. Apparently, he said a lot of things, about it being Matt’s fault and Matt not doing enough to save him. Left Matt a razor blade and told him to end it. Thing is, they got a friend of Matt’s to call the family and they didn’t even know he was in there. But this guy signed the visitor log with the name Russell.”
He was shaking with anger as he spoke. Drew went white, falling against the car as if his legs wouldn’t quite hold him up.
“Russ went after Matt?” His voice was barely more than a whisper.
“I guess, when he couldn’t find you, and he couldn’t find me, it pissed him off. He’s trying to make a point, about who he is and what he can do.”
“Is… is Matt...” Drew faltered and fell silent.
“He’s okay, like I said. Shaken, but was able to tell a staff member what had happened and they took the blade. They’ve made security aware and only people who’ve been pre-approved can visit. They’re going to get pictures so they can confirm identities before visits.”
He felt sick to his stomach. Matt was already so vulnerable and what Russ did was stick a knife right in the heart of his vulnerability then give him the means to yank it free and bleed out. Wiping a hand across his mouth, he tried to collect his thoughts.
“They’ve made statements to the police. We’ll need to make statements, too. I think they have CCTV, you’ll need to ID Russell, if it was him and not one of his lackeys. God, this is such a mess.”
Glancing up at Drew, Sam was just in time to see him turn a shade paler, stumbling forward a few steps before bending at the waist and throwing up. He was by his side in an instant, holding him upright and rubbing a hand across his back.
Once he was done, Sam helped him over to the car and sat him in the backseat, pulling a bottle of water from the front and handing it to him.
“Sorry, Sam. I just can’t believe Russ is doing this. Matt has nothing to do with anything. He’s been through enough, he doesn’t need this.”
He put a hand over his mouth, muffling a sob.
“This isn’t your fault, Drew. He’s trying to get to you through me, that’s what this is. Matt is safe and we’ll make sure he stays that way.”
“What about Logan? What about your family? Matt’s mother and sister? Vex? How many more people have to get hurt?”
Drew took a sip of water, then a long swallow, choking out a handful of tears.
Sam took the bottle from him then tugged him into an embrace. “It’s going to be okay. Once he realizes what we have on him, how serious this is, he’ll stop all this crap.”
Now, more than ever, they needed to get the information to someone who could use it. Once it was out there, there was no going back, nowhere for Russell to hide.
“Is it even safe to go back to Jed’s? What if he’s tracked us that far?”
“I’ll call ahead, check the coast is clear. We’ll switch the car for my bike and get to the lawyer’s office. From there, we make a plan to meet with this FBI Agent and get the ball rolling.”
It took another few minutes to coax Drew back into the passenger seat and get back on the road. They were both shaken and neither of them spoke much as they drove, Sam keeping his attention on the road and Drew staring out the window as the world raced by.