I’m trying to be a patient man, baby doll.
That’s three messages you haven’t responded to. You know the punishment for that, too.
Lucille. Answer me.
I’m waiting.
“What’s wrong?” Rylie said, reaching over and resting his hand on my thigh.
“Asshole just broke the restraining order and has my new number.” I screenshotted the messages, and texted the lawyer so he could would have them for his file.
“You are sure they are from Justin?”
I turned the phone so he could see when we stopped at the light. “He’s the only one who ever called me baby doll. He had this rule, that I had to text him back within five minutes, or I would get punished.”
Rylie’s hand gripped tighter. “He got served the paperwork shortly after BMT refused to run with his statements. I’m not surprised he’s pissed, but how did he get your new number?”
I shrugged. “There’s any number of ways. I use it so much for work, he could have impersonated a client.”
His fingers tightened on my thigh again as he looked at me while we were at the stoplight. “You, okay?”
Surprisingly, I was. “I know I freaked out at your office, and I’m sorry for that, but…” I knitted my eyebrows together, took a deep breath and said, “I am okay. I don’t know why, but I’m really okay. It might have something to do with you being with me.”
The light turned green, and Rylie hesitated for only a moment, before continuing onto the apartment. I stared out the window as I watched the storefronts, and life I was leaving behind, stream by.
The minutes went by in silence, and Rylie continued to study me each time we stopped. When we got to the light before we would turn into the gated community, I turned to him, squeezing his hand on my leg saying, “Seriously, Rye, I’m okay. It’s just another reason why I should move in with you, immediately. Your place has more security, and I’ll be further from him.”
“He found out you were in the Bay Area, though. When you moved from Sac, I thought you would be able to hide better amongst the people from him. We all did.”
“Sacramento isn’t all that far though, Rylie. A day trip would be easy for Justin. Besides, it’s not that hard to find someone.”
“Not my point. When he put you in the hospital… I almost couldn’t handle it. Then you got that restraining order, it gave me, all of us, peace of mind. I know it’s only a piece of paper, but you started going to the range again, and… Then you moved. You were going to be closer to Katie, closer to most of our friends…”
“I can’t live in fear.” I said to myself more as a mantra than something I accepted. I knew I couldn’t live in fear, but… “Healing is hard.”
“It is, but I’m a bit scared by the difference between yesterday and today’s reactions.”
“I wasn’t anticipating him showing his cards that quickly yesterday.” I kissed him quickly before the light turned green, and said, “Now today, and these texts? I’m surprised he has the number, but the fact he tried to reach out after you so gloriously shut down his plan to…” I waved my hand in the air, “Do whatever it was he was planning? No. That doesn’t surprise me.”
Rylie shook his head, as he turned into the entrance to the complex, and entered my access code for the gate to open. There was a spot close to the walkway, and as we got out of the car, he took my hand and squeezed it hard.
“The sooner you are moved in, the better I’ll feel.”
I pulled him to a stop and kissed him on the cheek. He was worried about Justin, but they were only texts. “That’s what we are here for.”
I got to the gate to my building, and punched in the code. I changed it every couple of months to ensure that even if Justin ever got it, he wouldn’t be able to get in. Once through, we walked down the brick walkway to my door. I turned the key in the lock, threw my keys into the bowl by the door, and flipped the light on. Rylie had me behind him and against the door a second later.
Chapter nineteen
“Rylie.”Imuttered.
“Just me, you, and Katie have a key, right?”
“Yes.” I drawled, and then looked around Rylie’s shoulder to see that my living room was completely wrecked. I blinked when I saw my apartment. Furniture was tossed, drawers thrown open, papers strewn all over the brown carpet. I looked to my bedroom, where my bedding had been stripped and thrown to the side, and even the mattress was halfway off the box spring. My clothes were thrown in every direction, including my underwear drawer completely dumped out right at the doorway.
I looked toward my kitchen and there was a picture of Rylie on the wall, where someone had taken each of my kitchen knives using his face for target practice.
I quickly grabbed Rylie’s phone from his back pocket and called 911. I turned the sound down, and when I vaguely heard them answer, I rattled off the address. “Someone has broken into my apartment and trashed it.”
