“Oakley found a lead, and I want to investigate it today. The problem is, I need to know you’re safe.”
“You can’t watch me twenty-four seven, Arlo.”
“I know, but right now? With everything that’s happened, I need to know you’re safe at all times. I know that’s irrational, but I’m not apologizing for it. I can’t let anything happen to you, and if that takeseyes on you all the time, so be it. I won’t change my mind on this.” My words are stern.
Her shoulders slump as she walks to where I’m seated on the couch, leaning into me so my head is on her stomach. I wrap my arms around her, running my thumb back and forth on her lower back. “I don’t like it, but I understand it. Where am I going today?”
“Grind Time. I know it’s not ideal for working, but hopefully I won’t be gone long.”
Her fingers softly scratch my head, and I can feel the moment she caves. It settles my heart more than I thought it would. This entire stalker situation has me so on edge, but I’m trying to hide it from Rina so she doesn’t freak out more than she already is.
“I’m going to need unlimited food and coffee.”
My shoulders shake with my laughter. “Tell Oakley to put it on my tab.”
“Be careful giving me that power. I’ll be buying shit for everyone,” she quips.
“If it keeps you safe, buy the whole damn town breakfast.” I chuckle. She doesn’t join me; instead, she leans back so she can look at my face.
“This whole thing is making you really nervous.” A statement, not a question.
“Truthfully? Yeah. Stalkers are unpredictable, and the fact that you are the one being targeted is … fucking scary for me,” I admit. Her eyes hold mine before she nods.
“Okay. If it makes things easier for you, I will try very hard not to be my usual stubborn self.”
“Be stubborn, but just do it at Grind Time with Oakley around, okay?”
“I can do that,” she whispers before leaning down and pressing a kiss to my lips. Relief hits me hard, and I take the moment to just hold her.
She has no idea how much relief her concession gives me, and I mentally make a note to find some way to make it up to her. To show her how thankful I am that she didn’t fight me on this.
Walking back from dropping off Rina and having a quick conversation with Oakley is only giving me too much time to think. I also have a forty-minute drive with nothing but the open road to do more thinking. I’m not sure my anxious mind can handle it, honestly, but I don’t have much of a choice. It will be the ultimate test in using what my therapist has been helping me with. Coping with the stress, the self-doubt, and trusting myself.
Way easier said than done, but here goes nothing.
I’m ten minutes into the drive when the panic starts to override logic. The what-ifs, the thoughts of this stalker actually getting to Rina, become overwhelming.
All I can picture is finding Rina how I found Lennox, tied up in the dilapidated cabin with blood everywhere.
My knuckles turn white as my grip on the steering wheel tightens. My chest feels too tight, like I can’t get enough air.
I breathe in deep, holding it to the count of five before blowing it out slowly. I repeat this process until the tightness in my chest lessens.I consciously stretch my fingers, attempting to get the blood flow back into them as I start to feel more focused.
It won’t get to that point because I’ll keep Rina safe. I can do this; I can figure out who this person is and take care of him before it gets to any of that. Thanks to Oakley, I have more resources at my disposal than I ever have. The panic subsides, bringing resolution to the forefront. Failure isn’t an option, not when Rina is at stake. If I remember that and hold the fear at bay, I can catch this guy. I know I can.
I turn my thoughts to what I need to do today. There isn’t a ton I can really do since I technically don’t have a warrant and we’re mostly working off of hunches at this point. Checking out Tyler’s house and possibly tailing him are the best I can do, but you can learn a lot about someone’s everyday habits, and I’m hoping he fucks up, missteps just enough to give me the in I need.
Pulling up in front of one of his neighbor’s houses, in perfect view of his, I’m impressed with the neighborhood. It’s nicer than I anticipated, more of a family neighborhood and less of a place that screams “a stalker lives here”. Although, I’m not sure what a place like that would look like.
I park, grab my notepad from the passenger seat, open to a fresh page, and poise my pen at the ready. A list starts to form, first with license plates, then descriptors of people I see. It adds up to a few pages of notes, and I haven’t even gotten a glimpse of Tyler yet.
A sigh escapes me as I toss the notepad onto the dash. Picking up my phone, I shoot a message to check in with Oakley, and he reassures me everything is good. I know if I text Rina, I’ll get distracted, so I have to be happy with his vague reassurance.
I glance up and glimpse of movement in front of Tyler’s house, doing a double take before I realize it’s him. Scrambling to grab my notepad, Iwrite down everything I see. His clothes, his demeanor, and his activity. Any tiny detail may prove to be the thing that solves everything. You never know.
He moseys around his property, not overtly looking for anything or doing much of anything, and it’s strange. I get a tingle in the back of my neck, and my gut says he’s our guy. I have exactly zero evidence to prove that, but there’s something about him that makes me uncomfortable. He disappears into the backyard, and I wish I had a fucking warrant to just bust into his house. This waiting and observing when I’m so sure he has something to do with all of this is quite possibly one of the hardest challenges I’ve had in a while.
Fifteen minutes later, there’s no movement and I’m losing my mind. I seriously contemplate just busting in, the law be damned, but I know that’s irrational. Drumming my fingers on the steering wheel, I try to calm myself. Being antsy won’t help anything, and staying level-headed is key. As I’m talking myself down, his garage door opens and his car pulls out.
