Distant Shadows

Chapter 1

Drew's POV

"Do you really have to be at work so early?" Rowan asked me.

"Yeah and I should have left five minutes ago," I told her

She laughed and I grabbed toast straight out of the toaster. Neither of our other two flatmates were up yet and honestly I was surprised that Rowan was. I had a quick look around to make sure that I had grabbed everything I needed before heading out.

"Don't forget we have a flat dinner tonight and Juliet won't be pleased if you are late," Rowan called after me.

I shouted agreement over my shoulder as I headed out. I was eating my toast still as I headed down the lift before heading out onto the street. I didn't work far from our apartment so I was able to make the walk in ten minutes.

My boss, Blake, was already sitting at his work station when I made it up into the small office building. I was his employee so it didn't need to be large and I never used my own station. Blake was a little older than me, probably early 30s to my 24. He had light brown hair with very studious green eyes that were hidden slightly behind thick framed glasses.

"What are we doing today?" I asked.

He pointed to the whiteboard in front of him with a single picture on it.

"Cleo Bains was recently assaulted by her boyfriend but the NYPD haven't done anything about it," he explained.

Blake and I work together to help the people that the Police don't help. Often people abused by their partners or families or people caught up in something they couldn't help. Blake was the tech guy that would stay here and could feed me information.

I was the one that would go and save people. It was far more interesting work for me than anything else after serving 4 years in the military. It got me out there helping people and it was something that I was good at.

"What do we know about the boyfriend?" I asked.

He stood up before adding his photo to the board.

"His name is Milo Rojas. They have been together for three years before this. There is no reported abuse before this but I don't think that this is the first time. Cleo is currently working is a shop assistant at a small shop downtown."

"So, she won't be home for a while. Will Rojas be there?"

Blake nodded so I pulled my jacket back on before putting my earpiece in. Being 6 foot 4 with dark hair and eyes I was a pretty intimidating person, especially when I paired it with a dark leather jacket and dark pants.

"I'll see if I can see anything else while you talk to him," Blake told me.

We worked well together because we were exactly the opposite. He liked to stay behind the screen and in the shadows and I preferred to be out in the city.

The couple lived in a small apartment not far from our office so walked there as well. I knocked on the door but no one opened it.

"Rojas just left to go to the store by the looks of it," Blake told me.

I pulled a set of lock picks out of my pocket and managed to pull the door open in seconds. The apartment was tiny so I locked the door behind me before having a look around the small place. I headed for the bedroom first and started looking inside the wardrobe.

After moving a box of shoes aside I found a secret compartment which when I pulled it open I found probably a kilo of white powder.

"He's five blocks from the apartment Drew," Blake told me.

I acknowledged the information before grabbing the bag and settling on the couch in the lounge. I had just kicked my feet up on the coffee table when I heard a key being jammed into the lock of the door.

I smiled when I heard the door open and a Latino man a bit under 6 foot tall jumped when he saw me on his couch.

"Who the fuck are you and what the fuck are you doing in my apartment," the man snapped.

"That doesn't matter. I'm here to tell you to leave your girlfriend," I told him.

"What are you on about?"

"I know that you are abusing her and the Police doesn't have time to do anything about it."

"You are fucking lying," he snapped before rushing over and taking a swing at me.

Unfortunately for him I can hold my own in a fight so he got one punch to my cheek before I got his arm twisted behind his back. I pulled a cable tie out from my pocket and quickly tied him to the radiator.

"You can't do this to me."

"Oh Milo I can. And I found your stash in the wardrobe," I told him.

He was about to say something when I grabbed my phone out and called 911.

"Hello, what is your emergency?"

"There is a man here with drugs," I told the operator.

She asked me where I was and I rattled off the apartment address. Milo clearly then figured out what I was doing because he started swearing up a storm.

"It's what you get for hurting Cleo," I told him before letting myself out of the apartment.

"Is Mr Rojas dealt with then?" Blake asked me.

"Let's just say he won't be hurting Cleo anytime soon," I told him.

I was just slipping out of the building when cops showed up and I could help but smile at the thought of what they were going to find.

"Ready to go and talk to someone else?" Blake asked me.

I nodded and started back towards the office. There was always someone else that needed help but I could imagine doing anything else.

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Welcome to my new book. It is going to be a little darker and little different to what I usually write but I hope you like it.

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The Wise One