Chapter 71 - What Now?

Hayden and Krista helped Natalia into the restroom. Actually, Krista helped while Hayden supervised. He couldn't stop the nagging feeling as though someone was watching them when they went for their walk. When they returned to the living room, Hayden looked at Dorian.

"Are you able to tap into the cameras outside the building?" He asked his cousin, who looked at him in confusion.

"Yeah, were you looking for something specific?" Dorian asked as he turned on his laptop. Krista sat next to him, plastered to his side. It was their favorite way to sit together. He had never been in love before, but he knew that's what he felt for her. He just hadn't had the nerve to say it yet. They'd only been together for about a week.

"When we were walking, I felt like someone was watching us. I may be paranoid, but I just want to be sure. We've had enough surprises." Hayden glanced toward Natalia, who was staring at him with concern. He hoped he was wrong. They had enough to worry about.

"Sure. Let me see what we can find." Dorian decided to start when they first left the building. He found a camera that was directly across the street from the apartment. When he went back, he saw them leaving the building. He and Krista studied the footage to see if they noticed anything.

After a few minutes, he switched to a different camera that looked at the other side of the street. They went back and forth between cameras looking for anyone that appeared to be following them or acting strange.

It didn't take long for them to see a man trying to hide in the shadows. He didn't walk close or seem to be staring at them, but he was clearly following their every move. They walked right past him when they turned around to go back home. After a few seconds, he followed the four of them to the apartment building.

Dorian got a good image of the man's face when he stood across the street. He took a screenshot of the picture before seeing where he went. He and Krista watched him enter a restaurant, and then he walked into the apartment building. After about forty minutes, he came back out. Dorian looked toward Hayden and Natalia.

"Does this man look familiar?" He asked as Hayden pushed Natalia's wheelchair next to the couch so they could look at the picture.

"I've never seen him before," Hayden stated, looking at Natalia, who was also shaking her head.

"Neither have I." She said with a frown.

"This man followed us on our walk and then came into this building before walking away. I'm going to run him through some databases for facial recognition to see if I get a match. I'm curious as to what he came into the building for. Do you think we should ask the rental office if he talked to them?" Dorian questioned Hayden as he uploaded the man's picture into his databases, which were better than most police use.

"Can you send the picture to my phone? I'll run downstairs to see what they say." Hayden looked at Natalia, who had a look of defeat on her face. He didn't like that look on her, not when he was supposed to protect her.

"It's going to be okay. Whoever and whatever this is, they aren't going to hurt you." Hayden said to her softly, kissing her forehead. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Is it ever going to stop? Every time we get over another hurdle, something else is thrown at us. How much more can we take before we decide it's not worth it to be together if it's going to cause us to get hurt or even killed?" Natalia spoke almost monotone, trying to remove herself from the desperation she felt inside. Why was there something always coming after them? Would they even know how to have a normal life together? Hayden sat on the arm of the couch and leaned toward her.

"It's going to stop. Sweetheart, I love you and don't care what gets in our way. We will get through it. Our love is more powerful than the hate that's trying to take us down. Before you know it, we will be back at NC working, and this will all be a distant memory." He didn't like this kind of talk from her. It worried him that she thought it would be better for them to separate. Hayden refused to let her go. She was everything to him, and there was no way he could live without her. He saw her studying his face, and she gave him a small smile.

"Don't look like that. I'm not leaving you or even thinking about leaving you. I just don't want to be the one that causes you to get hurt. Look at your arm. That's my fault. All of this is my fault. Everyone is coming after me, and you are getting caught in the crosshairs. It's time we show them what we're made of. It's time we fight fire with fire." Natalia had something in her eyes that took him back to when they first met. She was the ice queen. Injured or not, she was ready to reclaim her throne.

"That's the Natalia I fell in love with. I'm going to see what this bastard came into the building for. I'll be right back." He started to walk away, but Natalia stopped him.

"We do not go anywhere without the other. I don't care if all you're doing is going to the lobby; I'm going with you." Hayden smiled as he looked at Krista.

"Can you go with us, please? I don't want to take all day trying to push her with one arm." Dorian stood up with Krista.

"I'll go too." He said, getting behind Natalia. She smiled, knowing how they looked, all four of them going to the office to ask about the man in the picture.

Pam was just closing up for the day when they got to the office. She smiled at Natalia and Hayden. She knew both of them but wasn't sure who the other two were.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" She asked politely. Natalia smiled warmly at her.

"Hi, Pam. I know you're getting ready to leave, but we have a quick question. Can you tell us if this man came to the office today?" Natalia looked up at Hayden, and he showed Pam his phone. When she saw the picture, she smiled and nodded.

"Yes, he came in to apply for the evening maintenance job. He's supposed to start tomorrow. His name is Todd something." Pam looked at them with concern. She had a feeling something was going on, but they didn't seem to want to share.

"Thank you. We'll let you go home now." Hayden said as they started heading back toward the elevators. Pam watched them leave, wondering if she should say something to Karl. Just as quickly as the thought came, she let it go. She was sure they would talk to Karl if there was a problem.

When the four of them got back upstairs, Dorian lifted Natalia onto the couch before returning to the computer. Hayden sat behind Natalia so she could lean on him.

Dorian quickly hacked into the apartment building's employee database and pulled up Todd's application. Even though it was a paper application, everything was entered online for the background check.

Todd's full name was Todd Kramer. Dorian looked over his previous jobs and references. He cross-checked them to see if they really existed. They did, but something was telling him this information was fabricated.

When he did a search on his name, date of birth, and social security number, they came back as Todd Kramer. However, Dorian looked deeper where the standard background check didn't. He found the identity was only created a few months ago.

Dorian returned to his database using the picture to search for Todd's real identity. It was flashing that it had found something. He clicked on the link, and when it opened, his eyes widened as he looked toward Hayden and Natalia.

"The name he used to apply for the job isn't his real name, and he's not a maintenance man. His name is Simon Allegri. He works as a hired hitman."