Watchful

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I texted my brother as soon as the plane landed at Boston Logan International airport. His response was immediate, and the message made me grin. "Want me to start dinner?"

He was a decent cook, but very rarely offered to make anything, which probably meant he was starving. I was mostly the one who fed us unless it was warm enough that we could barbecue. Then he'd occasionally throw a couple of burgers or hot dogs on the grill, which I assumed would be my dinner this time, too.

I texted back, letting him know that would be great, and asked if he needed me to pick anything up on the way home.

The stewardess's voice came over the loudspeakers in the airplane, advising everyone it was time to exit. People already stood up around me, waiting impatiently to get off. I'd never understood why. It wasn't like they saved any time by standing up with their hand luggage before the doors opened. There was nowhere to go. 

My phone dinged again, signaling another text. It was my brother telling me we didn't need anything. I put the phone back in my pocket and got ready. When the rows in front of us cleared, I grabbed my hand luggage and followed the middle-aged couple next to me off the plane.

It was Friday evening, and the airport was crowded with what I presumed to be weekend visitors or business travelers arriving back home.

I walked through the terminal towards the luggage pickup area and terminal exit when I got an uneasy feeling. It had been so long since I felt that way that it took me a minute to realize what it was, that it felt like someone was watching me. And not in the kind of way Ellie had searched for me.

I quickly scanned the surrounding area but couldn't find anyone watching me or anything that looked out of place. And that was concerning because it still felt like I was being watched.

From experience, I knew the luggage carousels were off to my right. Recognizing those areas were usually crowded, I made a quick turnaround, changed direction, and walked towards a large group of people that had just gotten out of a transatlantic flight. But I cut through the crowd instead of walking around them, which got me some grumpy comments and disapproving glares, but it was worth it. The crowd kept me hidden as I backtracked back towards the departure hall.

After a quick stop at a small kiosk, to see if anyone had stopped to watch - which nobody did- I made my way over to the long-term parking and collected my small SUV.

The weather had been perfect all day, sunny and clear with little humidity, but the second I started up my car, it was like someone turned on a faucet. The weather changed in an instant, and it began to rain. Water came down like the sky was trying to beat some kind of record.

Not knowing whether I was still being watched, or if someone had actually watched me, to begin with, I eased my way out of the airport and onto the highway. As soon as I got up to speed, I immediately changed lanes into the fast lane and then went back to the slow lane again.

My car was purposely a nondescript, black vehicle, a few years old because it rarely drew any kind of attention. But I knew the importance of being overly cautious.

Because of the weather, it would be easy to lose any potential tail, but I still took extra precautions just in case. I exited the highway early and drove through the narrow neighborhood streets while staying alert and surveying everything around me.  

By the time I finally got home, I was over an hour late. I pulled into the garage and turned the car off, but I didn't step out of the car until the garage door was shut. There was access from the garage directly into the mudroom, which was located off the kitchen. That had been one of the requirements we'd given the realtor when we searched for a rental. We didn't want any of those freestanding garages, but something that connected us to the actual house, so we didn't have to go outside to get to the car. It had seriously limited our search, but that was okay. It was one of the safety features we weren't budging on.

Our wish list had been quite long, and it had taken the realtor a few months of searching before we ended up with the house we currently lived in. It had everything we needed and most of the things we wanted. It wasn't fancy by any means, but that had never been a requirement. My brother and I valued safety above everything else.

The house was a small cape style with a kitchen from the 1970s and two bathrooms that were older than that. But the location was close enough to the train that it was walkable and set far enough back from the main road that the hundred-year-old trees in the front yard provided plenty of privacy.

We used the dining room as an office because my brother worked from home, and had one bedroom each. It wasn't ideal, but it worked for us. Bear had his bed in the living room facing the front door. He knew his job was to protect the house, and he took that job very seriously. He alerted us of everything from leaves blowing to unusual deliveries.

The door to the mudroom opened as soon as I started to exit the car. Bear was at the car door in a flash, his wet nose making marks all over the window.

"Hey, good boy," I greeted him and rubbed his head. He knew better than to try to jump on me, but couldn't help himself from rubbing up against me and nudging my hands. I let out a small laugh as I gave him what he wanted and scratched behind his ears.

"Problem?" my little brother asked from the door opening. Not that he was little. He was about my size, maybe even a little taller, with a similar build that we both worked hard to keep. But we didn't look alike, and that was on purpose. My brother's hair was lighter than mine, and he had a full beard. Our eyes were the same, but he wore glasses for the most part.

"Not sure," I responded as I grabbed the bag out of the backseat. Bear was busy sniffing around the tires. I never used the trunk when I was alone. It was quicker and more convenient to use the backseat.

My brother cocked an eyebrow but waited for me to continue.

"It felt like I was being watched at the airport, but I didn't get the same feeling driving home."

He nodded once and turned to go back into the house.

I followed behind him with my carry-on.

"Come on, Bear."

"You took precautions just in case? That's why you were late?"

Bear rushed past me, and I turned and locked the door behind us.

"Yeah."

I followed my brother into his office area in the dining room after dropping my bag by the staircase. The blinds and curtains were closed as usual, and all his computers hummed as they ran through some kind of program.

"The dinner is in the oven," he said and pulled his chair out.

"Did you eat?"

"Yeah, and I fed Bear."

I glanced down at my watch and noticed that it was later than I thought. I was still on Central time.

"Appreciate that, thanks."

He nodded.

I ran upstairs and changed out of my slacks and button-up shirt into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. When I came back downstairs again, he sat in front of his main computer -with three large screens- and his laptop off to the side. I knew from experience that he was running through his usual searches and checking on our investments to make sure nothing was out of place.

"Do you think it's something we need to worry about?" I asked.

"I'm not sure yet. There are no obvious hits or anything that stands out."

"Okay. Do you think whatever I felt had something to do with Ellie? Maybe I wasn't being watched at all."

He looked up and met my eyes. "I doubt it. Ellie's plane has landed in Georgia and she was on it."

I exhaled the breath I'd been holding.

"It's possible that it was another one of your crazy lady friends," he teased, which drew a loud groan from me. I knew exactly what he was referring to. A few years earlier, I'd been getting some very strange messages on my phone and someone started to follow me home from work. We'd been on full alert at the time, but couldn't figure out who it was that was coming after me, and that created a problem. It turned out that it was a woman from my work that I'd been out with a few times and involved jealousy and drama. She'd expected a hell of a lot more than I'd been willing to give.

We moved shortly thereafter.

"I'm not seeing anything out of place, but maybe we should move some money around so we have cash if we need it?" he suggested.

"Yeah," I sighed, hoping it wouldn't come to that.

"Let's just step up our safeguards, okay?"

"Yeah," I agreed again. We knew what to do. It wasn't our first rodeo.


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