Chasing Bristol (The Finding Trilogy Book 2) by Shane Morgan

was much older than my dad.
He and his wife had purchased the building back in the eighties and they’d
settled in one of the apartments on the first floor. He was always willing to
help out his tenants.
    “Don’t mention it. In any case, my son
is around. He can help me fight.”
    Stumped by what he’d said, I tilted my
head to one side and furrowed my forehead. “I didn’t know you had a son who was
living with you.”
    “No, no. He doesn’t live with us
permanently. Only stays some nights,” Mr. Farris explained. “He’s a good man
who stops by now and then to take his mother out, give his old man a break.” A
proud chuckle gushed out of him.
    “I see.”
    “Well, I’ll let you get back to your
security stuff.” He patted my hand, then turned and went on his way.
    I paced around the living room, waiting.
A minute later the security guy rounded the corner. 
    “You’re all set,” he said. “We’ve set up
this main frame so you can see what’s going on inside your apartment from
wherever you are.”
    He handed me the device. I noticed there
were two frames with live feeds, one from the camera in the living room and one
from the camera in my bedroom, as I’d requested.
    “Thank you,” I told him, grateful. “I’m
so ready to catch this guy.”
    “You sure are,” he agreed, nodding.
“Remember, our office is also connected to your device and security alarm, in
case you need help.”
    “Thanks.”
    Giving me a form to complete and
confirming with the company to charge my credit card for the installations, he
treaded over to his equipment bag that he’d placed by the couch.
    Picking it up off the floor, he opened
the door and said, “Have a good day,” before stepping outside. I locked it
immediately after he left.
    I grew restless sitting around the
apartment. There wasn’t anything on TV that had piqued my interest and my
friends were working.
    Unable to relax, I hopped up from the
couch and went to my bedroom to change. I threw on workout clothes and grabbed
my gym bag from the closet. Perhaps I could sweat out all the stress from my
mind and body.
    I dropped the device and my cellphone in
the bag along with a towel and two water bottles, then headed out to the gym.
     

     
    I’d been on the treadmill for twenty
minutes and I was still frazzled. Sporadically, my mind would drift to the
device in my gym bag. I had an itch to check the cameras in my apartment.
    Turning off the machine, I stepped down
and walked to the lockers. When I flicked on the device, the cameras showed
nothing. Both the living room and my bedroom were clear. I ran the footage back
to make sure; relief engulfed me when nothing showed up.
    I tossed a towel over my shoulder and
wandered back inside the gym, placing the device, cellphone, and the bottle of
water on a table. I wanted to rest for a while before resuming my workout.
    “Bristol Armando?” a strong voice
bellowed from behind me.
    My head whipped around and I saw a tall
blond-haired guy coming toward me. He looked awfully familiar. I turned on the
device’s screensaver and rose from the seat as he drew closer.
    “It is you,” he confirmed. I
squinted at him. Realizing I couldn’t remember, he said, “It’s Ray, Tyler’s
little brother.”
    “Oh.” Of course. They had the same
hooded blue-gray eyes, that muscular boxed face and aquiline nose. “Ray. It’s
been a while.”
    His smile broadened, showing off his
pearly whites. “Yeah. The last time we saw each other was when you two first
started dating back in January last year.”
    “Yeah.” I shrugged. “How’s it been?
How’s your freshman year at college?”
    A conceited expression twisted his
features. “Great. New York is quite the city.”
    “I bet it is.” Ray was different from
his brother. Even though he was younger by three years, he partied more. He did
everything more than Tyler, like they were in a competition.
    I flung the towel around my neck, wiping
sweat that had streamed down