by Tiffani Lynn
“What do you mean I don’t let anyone in? I’ve got Judson, Quinn and the kids, and Stu’s family. And I think you and I passed being acquaintances a long time ago.”
“It’s not enough, Dex. Women like her don’t come along often. She’s true to the core, sweet and she’s got a great ass too. Just listen to this old man, okay?”
After ending the conversation, I run another couple miles so I can contemplate what Marv’s said. I know he’s right. I know I’m in love with Mari and I know that I’ll struggle without her. Luckily, I already called the lawyer for her before I left the office, so she should get out first thing in the morning. I need to make sure I’m there to pick her up so we can talk about all of this.
As I’m approaching my apartment building, a strange sound like I’ve never heard before draws my attention to the narrow alley that runs between buildings three and four. I turn to see what it is and something hard catches me across the side of the head. My vision goes black and I feel myself falling.
When I wake up my head is pounding and my muscles are cramping. My wrists and ankles are bound too tight and I’ve lost feeling in both. I try to stretch as I open my eyes and find that I’m tied to a radiator in what appears to be a small apartment that I swear I’ve been in before. I wonder if I’ve responded to a call here. I blink a few times to clear the blur of my vision. The place is familiar, but at the same time it’s not. Where am I? Am I alone in here? Tugging and wiggling my hands, I look for a weakness in this cord I’m wrapped in. So far there isn’t one.
The sound of someone whistling a cheerful tune halts my movement. Footsteps approaching alert me to a presence entering the room, out of my line of sight. I crane my neck back enough so I can see who it is. The skinny guy that appears is not what I expected with his shoulder-length, black, stringy hair and powder-white skin. He’s wearing a black, Nirvana T-shirt and faded black skinny jeans. Worn-out black Converse shoes are on his feet and the guy actually has black eyeliner around his eyes. This is almost the exact description Marv gave the sketch artist after his beating. Mari said the guy who tried to abduct her had long black hair too. Shit! It all makes sense. Without a doubt this is the guy who tried to take Mari and I’m suddenly so thankful for her arrest. At least I know she’s safe from this crazy freak while she’s locked up.
With the realization that this is Mari’s stalker, the familiarity of the room makes sense. Everything in here is hers and by the looks of it, we’re in the same building she used to live in. I never saw her stuff, but I read every line of the report and know the description of what she had. It looks as if he recreated her apartment for her in this specific unit. If my assumption is correct, there should be a collage of pictures of Mari with Dee on the wall near the kitchen and a red, white, and blue plaid blanket folded up on the floral couch.
“I see you finally decided to wake up. You might be a little sore. Can’t guarantee I didn’t break anything getting you in here. You’re a heavy bastard.”
This guy has to be stark raving mad and working on pure adrenaline, or with someone else, to have gotten me in here as dead weight. I’m at least twice his size, if not more. The freaky blend of contentment and insanity that I’m seeing in his eyes is scary as hell. Under the thumb of a deranged son of a bitch is not somewhere a control freak like me wants to be. I have to focus on how I’ll get out of here. I need to start by throwing him off his game.
“You know Marina’s in jail, right? You can’t get to her.”
“She’ll find her way here once she realizes you’re here. It doesn’t seem like she can stay away from you for very long, no matter what kind of prick you are. She should find my appreciation of her more to her liking after being with a big, heartless ape like you.” He wanders out of the room again and I can feel the panic attempting to rise in me. It’s not in my nature or my training to give in to panic so I need to keep a lid on it.
My brain is moving a little slowly as the throb from the hit continues to hurt, and my blood runs cold as it dawns on me that he plans to lure her here using me as bait. I wish I could get out of these bindings, but there is almost no stretch to them at all.
Several hours go by and the light that was peeking through the blinds gets brighter, suggesting that it’s late morning or early afternoon. The crazy guy’s continued whistling can be heard clearly where I’m tied up and it’s obvious he’s in the kitchen. I’m dying to take a piss, but I’ll be damned if I’m going in my pants. I refuse to let him humiliate me.
I try to dissect the situation in my head and as I do, it becomes clear that this guy, who stole her stuff, lives in the building. Which also explains how he knew her schedule so well when she claims to never have seen anyone following her. I must be deep in thought because I don’t hear him approach this time.
“I’ve already sent her a text from your phone, asking her to come here.”
“She won’t come. I told you she’s in jail, and we broke up because she can’t keep herself out of trouble. She’s as done with me as I am with her.”
“Well that will work in my favor once she gets here, I think. I was afraid it would take more convincing, but if you’ve already dumped her, then this will be easy.”
The whistling starts again, sending chills down my spine. This dude is totally ass over ankles crazy. With new-found fear coursing through my veins, I search for anything that might work to fray this cord enough to tear it off. When I finally locate a sharp notch on the underside of the radiator, I rub the cord between my hands as hard as I can across it, over and over. After what seems like forever, the cord starts to tear a little so I work more feverishly.
Chapter Seventeen
Dex
The doorbell rings and I freeze. God, please don’t let that be Marina. After he opens the door and greets her I can hear her saying, “Um, hi. Dexter said to meet him here?”
“Sure, come on in.” He closes the door behind her, locks it, and I know the moment she’s sees me tied to the radiator she realizes this isn’t the meeting she thought it would be. Her face loses all color and at the same time her eyes grow wide. I shake my head as subtly as possible and I’m praying she gets my message. Please let her be as strong and as smart as I think she is. Mari needs to go with the flow until I can get loose.
She swallows big before she turns to the obviously excited crazed man behind her. He’s practically hopping on one foot over this. With his hands clasped and pulled up under his chin, he’s waiting for her to say something.
“Wow! You found all my stuff! This is so amazing! But, um, what is Dexter doing here?”
“I thought you’d need him to get you here.”
“I couldn’t figure out why he wanted me to meet him here. We broke up. Apparently, I’m not high class enough for him. My recent arrest didn’t help that. Why didn’t you just tell me you found my stuff and invite me over? I would’ve come, I’ve been dying to get my stuff back and I love to meet new people.”
This guy is no idiot and she’s piling it on kind of thick. His head tilts as he studies her. The smile has slipped from his face.
“Are you fucking with me, Marina?”
“Why would I do that?” The innocent act works well for her.
“You never noticed me before.”
“Where would I have seen you?”
“At that bar, The Angry Lager, last summer.”
She seems to study him for a minute before she asks, “Was your hair shorter?” She motions to her neck. “If you lift your hair I should see a tattoo of scales running up the back of your neck in like blue or green. It’s hard to remember exactly. The lighting in that place was terrible.”
Nodding excitedly, he lifts his stringy locks and turns to show her his neck. She gulps and flashes a look at me that says she’s about to lose it.
“You do remember.” His voice is awed.
“One of the coolest tats I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe you cover it with your hair.” Her voice only shakes a little.
&nb
sp; He pulls his hair around so she can see some of it but it’s not quite long enough to stay like that when he moves. I go back to work on my hands while he’s preoccupied.
“So, I’m thinking you and I can go by Dexter’s house and get my clothes and come back here. It’s like I’m coming home again! I’m so excited to have my stuff back! How can I thank you?”
“We aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. I have a nice dinner ready for us and we need to decide what to do with the big guy now that I know you don’t want him. I don’t need him and I can’t let him go or he’ll arrest me.”
“Okay, we can come back to him. I’ll need to get clothes and a shower soon, though. I’m gross after sitting in that cell all night.”
“You’ve got nothing to worry about because I have all your clothes too.”
“You have all my clothes too?” The little squeak at the end of her words gives away her fear and I hope he didn’t hear it. I’m almost free of these restraints. The burn is getting to me but nothing beyond what I can handle. I’d rather have nasty rope burns than be stuck at his mercy. As Mari follows him to the bedroom, I tug and tug and tug until it finally breaks.
Glancing around I try to find anything that can help me knock him out. It’s the only chance I’ve got with my ankles tied and he’ll catch me before I get those undone. My best bet is the dining room chair halfway across the room. I roll and push myself to my knees and do the best I can to scoot over to where the chair is. If I hop he’ll hear me. Mari catches a glimpse of me and I hear her beg, “Wait! Show me the scales again. I’ve always wanted to touch them. I’m surprised I didn’t get up the courage to ask at the bar. You never noticed me staring?”
“No. You were always talking to that douchebag bartender.”
“Well I probably didn’t want to come across as a little creepy. I’ve been told guys don’t like that.”
When he’s turned fully away from me, I maneuver to my feet and slip a little further to the side so the dividing wall to the kitchen is my cover. Once the chair is above my head, I wait. Thank God I’m a patient man because it takes forever. My arms are beginning to shake from fatigue when he calls to her from only a few feet away from me, “Can you wear the little blue dress with the white flowers?”
“Sure,” she replies and steps a little past me so I can reach him. He must catch a glimpse of me because as I’m swinging the chair down he punches out at me. I connect with some part of him, which part I’m not sure though, and he screams like a girl. But I’m off balance from his punch so I hit the floor with a thud. Crazy guy stumbles backward holding his shoulder and arm. I may not have hit him square on but I did some damage. I swipe at his leg, trying to pull him to the ground, but he kicks me in the cheekbone, stunning me. My hands fly to my face and I instinctively protect it. Fuck!
I hear a lot of rustling and grunting, and by the time I can see again, Mari has the guy pinned face down with the arm I hit pulled tight behind his back as he shrieks. If the whole thing wasn’t so insane, I’d be laughing at the little wisp of a woman who has the crazy man completely under her control. She’s breathing hard and practically snarling at him she’s so angry. I’m a little afraid of what kind of adrenaline crash she’s going to have.
I reach down and fight with the knots on my legs as she lets off just enough to stop his screaming. Curse words are flying left and right between the two of them and she’s telling him off. I can’t understand what he’s saying but she’s loud and clear.
Once I’m free I dart for the phone on the counter and dial 911. As soon as I have someone on the way, I relieve Mari. She’s still spitting mad as she moves away from him.
“You stole all of our stuff! You tried to kidnap me! Did you think I’d fall in love with you after that? Why didn’t you try asking me out instead of watching me from a dark corner of the bar every night for over a month? I don’t think I was hard to approach. I know I was never rude to you. You left me with nothing! I had to wear clothes from Goodwill!” She’s screaming now and I understand she’s upset but I need her to calm down or the cops will have her in cuffs too.
“Mari,” I say, but not loud enough since she continues yelling at him.
Louder this time, I snap, “Marina! Knock it off. I can’t think so I need you to settle down for me, please.”
The rise and fall of her chest reminds me of an angry gorilla and I’d like to get up and help soothe her, but I won’t give this guy a chance to run.
“Mari. Trust me, okay? Just trust me.”
Huffing, she stomps over to the couch and plops down but stays quiet.
“You’re hurting me!” the idiot below me whines.
“Yeah, I’m not really caring too much about that right this second.”
Within five minutes everyone arrives—cops, paramedics, my boss, and Quinn. Quinn called Dee and she’s on her way too. Once they’ve taken custody of the freak, I usher Mari out of the apartment to the parking lot. I need a quiet place to talk to her. There are so many things I need to say because so many things are clear after an event like this.
When we’re outside, I realize she’s not making eye contact, instead, she’s looking at the people milling around the parking lot. Some are watching us with curiosity and some are huddled in groups talking.
When I reach out to place my hand on her shoulder, she flinches, but I grab her anyway, as softly as I can so I don’t hurt her. She’s had a long 24 hours and I don’t want to make it worse than I already have.
“Mari, look at me, baby.” Her eyes are still focused on the group off to our right. “Mari, please.”
When she finally looks at me, I say, “I’m so proud of you. You saved us both. If you didn’t think so quick on your feet, I’d probably be dead and you’d be handcuffed to the headboard for that guy. I’ve never seen someone untrained assess a situation and react like you did.”
Her eyes fill with tears and I’m waiting for them to spill so I can be the one to wipe them away. I’m a little disappointed when they never fall. Instead she blinks several times and wiggles out of my grip.
“Dex, I’d love to curl up in your arms and forget about the last 24 hours, but I can’t do that. You didn’t stand by me when I needed you. You didn’t hold me and help me through yesterday when I was scared and sad. You left me alone. Do I need someone now? Yes, but not as much as yesterday. The fact that you’re praising me on how I handled that situation in there feels good, I know you mean it, but you haven’t trusted me with anything else I’ve done since we met. I’m always going to be this well-meaning, nightmare of a girl because my heart is in the right place, no matter where my rationale is. I’m finally okay with that, but I know you never will be.
“I’m in love with you Dex, all of you. The quiet you, the closed-off you, the soft-hearted you, the open you, the sweet you, and all the you’s that I’m not naming. The funny part is everyone takes me for stupid. They think because I end up in bad situations that I must be dumb. I’m not, I just live in the moment and do my best to help the people around me. But here’s the thing: I’m finally at a point in my life that I want someone to love me and respect me for who I am, the way I deserve, no matter what stupid shit I pull. I want someone who knows that no matter how bad a situation looks, my heart was in the right place. You’ve proven more than once you don’t feel that way. I can’t live with the fear that every decision and move I make could send you back out my door as quickly as you arrived.”
As she lays the last of the words between us that are effectively crushing my chest like an enormous combat boot, Dee’s car pulls up and parks behind her. She turns to knock on the window and holds up a finger, telling Dee to wait where she is. When Mari turns back to me, the tears have returned and one slides slowly down her face. She reaches up and cups my jaw with her little hand. “I’m sure I’ll see you around. Thank you for trying to protect me. It means the world to me. Tell the detective he can reach me at Reggie’s.” Her soft lips touch mine and she turns to go without anot
her word.
I’m left standing there, stunned, as she climbs in Dee’s car and pulls away. Every word she said is correct. A direct hit with the arrow of truth and I’ve never been more in love than I am now. I always thought I wouldn’t get married because I was afraid of love and preferred being alone. The truth is now clear to me. I never wanted to get married because I didn’t think anyone had a heart big enough for me. There’s never been a woman that I loved so much it hurt somewhere inside, in a place that you can’t find with a physical touch, and I sure as shit never respected a woman other than Quinn and Leslie enough to settle down with her. Until now.
The problem I have now is, how do I convince her that it’s every part of her that I need, that I want, that I love? I have to find a way because I love her and I refuse to live without her. I don’t care how many times I have to bail her out of jail or explain to my boss I have no idea how she got into trouble. I just need her. How could I have been so dense? How did I not see this before now?
Within 48 hours, Malachi Robinson, aka Mari’s freaky stalker, was charged with breaking and entering, theft, stalking, kidnapping, two counts of assault, and a couple of other things they added for good measure. He should go rot in jail but the guy is so batshit crazy that the state is pushing for him to be placed in a mental facility long term instead of a regular prison. I’m all right with that as long as the guy is off the street.
It turns out that he’s been stalking Mari since the first night he saw her at The Angry Lager the summer before. He even moved into her apartment building to be closer to her. He followed her everywhere and had a detailed description of what she did every day for months written in journals. He knew her schedule and patterns better than she probably did. He stole all of their stuff so that when she moved in with him—which he really thought would happen voluntarily—she’d be more comfortable. It never occurred to him that she would stay with me when she had nothing left and that’s what sent him over the edge. His obsession grew to epic proportions, causing him to quit his job and confront people we both knew. When he was staked out at my apartment, he learned my patterns too and thought Marv would be an easy target to get information from.