Page 46 of Pretty and Loco

“Yeah, that’s my teammate.” He said, handing her the plate of food and letting his hand fall onto her waist.

“Small world.” She turned back to me. “I was just telling your wife that I’m new to Santa Clara, and we found out that we live in the same community. Maybe the two of you can hang out and set up playdates for the kids. Congratulations on the baby boy,” she said as she left me feeling sick to my fucking stomach.

I all but ran through the boat, looking for my wife and daughter. With Leah on board, all I could think was the worst. But I found them on the upper level.

“Hey baby, what’s wrong?” Eris asked as I approached her.

“Nothing, I couldn’t find you,” I said as I exhaled.

“The lower level was so crowded. Rocki is too small to play with all those kids; she’s having a blast up here.” She said, but kept her eyes on our daughter.

I sat down with my legs spread behind her, and she leaned her head into my chest while I rubbed her belly.

I hadn’t discussed Leah with Eris because at one point she just disappeared into thin air. She stopped calling, stopped texting, and that was months before Eris and I met. If she'd reappeared, then it would have been a conversation; instead, it’s been silence from Leah.

Now I know why. She’s been planning. I don’t think for a second that any of this is by chance. Especially knowing that she was capable of getting into my security system.

The fact that we were on the same cruise, her daughter matching mine down to the hairstyle, the kid that looks like mine, and the man that she was with who coincidentally plays for the same team as me and looks like he could be my cousin. Leah was back, and she was trying to replicate my life.

I don’t know how I was going to explain to Eris that she had been either hacked or followed. But I knew the games that Leah played. This time I wouldn’t be so easy on her ass.

As I rubbed Eris’ belly with one hand, I texted my attorney with the other.

Me: I need a favor. Can you find me everything you know on Leah Janae Blanco, date of birth May 25, 1998? It’s important; I need the information by the end of the day.

Jim: I thought you were on vacation, but you’re in luck. You caught me right before I left the office.

I blew out a breath, and Eris turned to me with a frown.

“Ricardo. What is wrong with you? You’re stiff as a board, and you keep sighing. Are you still drunk?” She fussed.

“It’s just work, baby.” I lied.

My wife was pregnant, and my biggest concern was making sure that I didn’t stress her out or worry her, especially not on vacation. I would handle all this shit with Leah on the backend. But I definitely wasn’t about to take my eye off them for another second while we were on this boat with her.

Rocki came up to me and tapped my shoulder.

“Yes, ma ma?” I asked, waiting to see what she wanted.

She pointed toward the pool.

“Get up, baby, let me take her in the pool,” I said to Eris as I took our daughter to the pool.

I let my daughter swim, and she was having the time of her life. The sun was starting to go down, and I was hungry as hell. After a while, we got out of the pool and then went to find food at the restaurant.

Once I made sure that they were seated and eating, I took out my phone and saw that Jim had sent me over 20 attachments.

I clicked the first one, and it was a police report from 12 years ago. The victim was Marcus Ramsay. Leah had barely turned eighteen when she caught a charge for stalking. I read the affidavit, and it seemed like Déjà vu. The second police report was from a man named Brandon Johnson. It was 9 years ago. There was so much shit attached to his name I couldn’t believe what I was reading. With everything she had done to him, I’m surprised he wasn’t hiding. There were at least 10 complaints related to him and his wife alone. There were restraining orders and violations of restraining orders. It was bad.

One of them even said she showed up to his wedding in a wedding gown.

I dropped the burger that I was holding when I read that the sentence for the last charge was her being confined to a mental institution for a year.

A memory from years earlier flashed back.

“Stop crying, Leah. You said that you wanted to work out with me”

“Well, I thought we would keep it cute for the first day; I didn’t expect you to kill me.” She groaned.