We both get into our cars and drive toward her house. In the rear-view mirror, I notice a small black SUV trailing just far enough behind. I’m watching it like a hawk as I follow her.
Contemplating what to do next. I ask my car to call one of the guys I know on the police force to see if we can have an officer pull this dickhead over. I’m in luck; he’s on duty and only a minute away. I keep looking in my rearview mirror and watching Kendall in front of me. My hands tighten around the steering wheel; my knuckles turning white. I loosen my grip only slightly.
After what feels like an hour but really was a few minutes, I see blue lights flashing, and the SUV is being pulled over. The guy I know will give me an update once he figures out who was following us. I bet it was Jake, and now he’s on the force's radar. Not a place anyone wants to be with a restraining order against him, but he brought it on himself.
It doesn’t take us long, and we are pulling into Kendall’s garage.
We both get out of our cars, and she says, “What was that all about? I saw the police pull over the SUV that was following us.”
“Let’s just say I called in a favor.” And right on cue, my phone rings. “I’m going to take this inside. You coming?”
“I mean, if that’s what you want to do,” she says as she winks and smirks at me. She is going to do me in, and I don’t mind one bit.
“Hey, Craig,” I say to the police officer I called earlier.
“Jake Cross. He said he was in town visiting family. I continued to question him. He seemed like a solid guy at first, but he became agitated when I kept asking questions. I asked him how long he was in town for, and that seemed to bring out the beast in him. Started screaming like a lunatic. I asked him to calm down, and he went to grab something from his glove box. Long story short, we arrested him for illegal possession of afirearm without a license to carry. Then he attempted to punch me and run, but we have him in custody.”
“What the hell!”
“Yeah, we’re transporting him in the morning. I’m glad you called. This guy is unstable.”
The way Kendall spoke about him, I got that from her. Even when I spoke to him, he seemed fine at first, and then the façade slipped. This is why I’m not leaving her side, and I’m lining up private security.
“Craig, thank you. Keep me posted with any information. I’ll do some digging around to see who his judge will be.”
“You bet. I’ll be in touch.”
I hang up, and when I turn around, Kendall is firing darts from her eyes, and her arms are folded across her chest. She doesn’t look happy.
Walking toward her, I raise my hand to put my arm around her, and she moves away.
“What was that all about?” she demands, standing firm, her tone serious. I actually like it when she’s feisty.
“You haven’t given me a chance to tell you what happened on the ride here.”
“Okay, well, we’re here, so start talking.”
I fill her in on what Craig told me. Slowly, her arms fall to her side, and her face goes from angry to shocked.
She gasps and then says, “What would have happened if you hadn’t been following me? He would have found a way to get to me. How do we keep him away?” Tears well up in her eyes, but she holds them back.
The overwhelming need to console her and never let anyone hurt her overtakes me. My blood is boiling. I should have taken care of him when I had the chance. One step and I’m grabbing her tightly in my arms, rubbing her head and back. She rests herhead on my chest. I’m going to make him pay for making her feel this way.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Kendall
I’ve been torn about whether to let Dane get too deeply into my life. But it appears he's already here, deeper than I’ve ever let anyone else. What a disaster this has turned into. I never thought I’d see Jake again, and here I am shaking like a leaf. The trauma of his mind games comes tumbling back.
Tucked in the bottom of my closet, I have a box of all the letters he left me after we broke up. It also has pages and pages of threatening text messages and pictures of him following me everywhere. I keep it as evidence supporting my stance and restraining order.
I’m still wondering why now? And then I realize that there was an article in the newspaper with my picture showcasing the grand opening. I bet he saw it and decided to try to claw his way back into my life.
I intertwine my fingers with Dane and bring him down the hall to my bedroom closet. The door is already open, so I walk him in with me. Stooping, I grab the box from the floor, open it up, and hand it to him. He’s an attorney; maybe there’s something moreI can do. Right now, I’m out of ideas, and I don’t know what to do.
With his eyebrows furrowed, he says, “This Jake guy is a real piece of work. Start from the beginning; give me the rundown.”
I hesitate for a split second, and then it all comes pouring out. I tell him about Jake and how we were just a normal couple. Then, a couple of months into the relationship, he became extremely irritated with everything, especially when I was late or when men would come into the salon and talk to me. Then I tell him about that night, when he was parked outside the salon, and how it all came to a head. He lied about where he worked and where he went, but I needed to give him a play-by-play of all my locations and where I would be if I wasn't working. Then he started telling me I couldn’t hang out with my friends.
