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Several seconds ticked by as he chewed at the inside of his cheek and looked me up and down. Finally, he said, “Have you had a chance to think about your little temper tantrum?”
I put a hand to my head. “Oh, my God. Are you serious? You’re out of your mind. You know that, right?”
The look on his face went from irritated humor to… something more sinister. I’d never seen that look on his face before. It made me take an involuntary step back.
He pointed a shaking finger at me. “This is your last chance. When I’m done with you, I’ll tell you I’m done. No one, no
woman, dumps me. I refuse to let that happen.”
The words came out as a hiss. He sounded like a snake. I glanced around, suddenly scared to be around him. Luis had always been intimidating, which I’d found kind of sexy and attractive. But this was different. I could finally see what I’d been blind to all these months. Luis was dangerous. I was terrified to learn what it was he did for money.
I backed toward a cluster of parents seeing their kids off. “Leave us alone, Luis. I’m sure you can find someone much better than me.”
I spun on my heel and walked away as quickly as I could without running. My breath was ragged and harsh, and I kept looking over my shoulder until I got to my townhouse. I locked every door and called the super to schedule getting the locks
changed. I never gave Luis a key, but the rage I’d seen on his face made me paranoid.
Instead of letting the girls walk home on their own after school, I was there to meet them. They both seemed surprised to see me. Surprised, but happy. I put on a good show, and didn’t let my face show the panic when I saw Luis was still near the school. He was sitting at an outdoor café and waved nonchalantly at me as I walked away with Jordyn and Mariah.
The next several days were torture. I kept getting text messages from unknown numbers, but the content told me it was Luis.
I watched you sleep last night.
Are you ever going to respond to me? I’m getting pissed. You really don’t want to see me angry.
You know, Harley, all the times we fucked, we never did any rough stuff. I’d like to try choking you the next time I have you. Maybe I’ll squeeze extra hard. AND extra long.
Maybe I need to talk to the girls? Get them to talk some sense into their mother.
That last text made me hurl my phone across the room. Thankfully, the floor was carpeted, and the screen was only slightly cracked. I called Sam’s old partner, Maddox. I needed some advice. Luis could threaten me all he wanted to, but going after my girls was too much.
Maddox answered after the third ring. “Hello? Harley?”
Letting out a breath, I said, “Maddox? I need you. I need advice, cop advice. Can I meet you somewhere?”
The panic in my voice must have been evident. I could hear him talking to someone, probably his wife, Julie, before he spoke into the phone again. “Yeah, Harley, name the place and time. I’ll do whatever I can.”
We met at a coffee shop off East 37
th Street. It only took about ten minutes to explain everything. At first, he seemed confused, then shocked, then angry. I sucked down the coffee that had gone cold.
Maddox sighed. “First things first. Restraining order. The texts alone should be enough to get one. They’re obviously threatening.”
“But he’s using burner phones. There’s no way to know who sent them.”
He chewed at his lip and glanced around before whispering, “Yeah, but… I can pull some strings. The right lawyer, the right judge? It’s not by the book, but I’ll do it for Sam.”
I knew he was going out on a limb for me from how he was talking. “Maddox, please don’t get yourself into trouble for me.”
He held up a hand. “Sam saved my ass multiple times, and… well… I wasn’t there to save him. It’s the least I can do.”
Acquiescing, I nodded in gratitude as Maddox started calling in favors and pulling strings. While he worked on helping me, Luis continued his stalking. It got to the point that I didn’t leave the house except for school runsI had groceries delivered and canceled dentist and doctor’s appointments. It was like we were in prison. Jordyn was confused, but I was positive Mariah had figured it out. She hushed Jordyn whenever she asked about Luis and why we had broken up. I was grateful to her for that.
Maddox called me four days after we’d met up. “Harley, it’s done.”
Confused, I asked, “Don’t I have to go somewhere? Talk to a judge? Something like that?”
“Like I said, I did it via back channels, had some people who owed me… big time. Luis was served with the paperwork this morning. He’s aware that if he gets within a thousand feet of you or contacts you in any way, he’ll be in deep shit.”
I sagged against the door and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Maybe this will get Luis off my back. Hopefully. “Thank you so much, Maddox. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”
“Like I said, it’s the least I could do for Sam’s memory. If you have any more trouble, don’t hesitate to call me. If… if things get worse, I may have another option for you. I don’t want to get into it unless things get really bad.”
“Thanks,” I said before disconnecting the call.
Life went on as normal for a few days, but at the end of the week, I found a copy of the restraining order taped to my apartment door. The word BITCH had been scrawled across it in red Sharpie. Luis hadn’t been at my apartment that morning when I took the girls to school, but another man stood on the sidewalk.
The man was thick and burly, like a walking brick wall. He smiled at me, and I knew, instinctively, that Luis had sent him.