Chapter 8
Nate
Ipulled into the parking lot of Liz’s building, my headlights landing on her car.
I barely had my bike shut off before she was out of the car with her arms around my neck.
We had touched in the gym. We’d grappled, and I’d corrected her form, but this was the first time she had touched me in a way that wasn’t teacher and student.
I pulled her in close, my hands closing over the tense muscles of her waist as she clung to me for one long moment.
“I’m sorry to bother you so late. Somethings not right, I know its not.”
“Hey, it’s okay.” She pulled back a little, and I slid my hands to either side of her face. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, but her eyes were wide.
“Did you see anything?” She shook her head.
“Hear anything?” She shook her head again.
I pulled her in and hugged her as guilt slashed through my gut.
I had been here today looking for her. I’d seen a man leave her house and assumed the worst. Now, she told me she wasn’t even home, and she had a bad feeling.
Someone was in her house today, but he wasn’t with her.
I didn’t want to freak her out, but I wasn’t about to keep this from her either.
It wasn’t my place to filter out the scary parts of life to keep her safe.
I would help her in any way I could but not with lies and half-truths.
I pulled away and held her at arm’s length.
“Liz, I came by here to see you earlier today around six o’clock or so, and I saw a man leaving your apartment.
” Her eyes went wide so I hurried on. “I thought… I thought maybe you had company, so I left. But now that I know you weren’t even home and that something seems off, I think we need to call the cops. ”
She narrowed her eyes and looked over her shoulder towards her apartment. She looked exhausted.
“Do you know who the guy was?” I tried to be gentle, but this was an important detail. “Liz?”
She turned back and met my gaze, shaking her head.l.
“The fucker was in my condo. What the hell?” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“After the trades event where we first met, I found a note on my car. It said that I should quit my job and that women can’t drive.
Since then, I swear I’ve seen this silver car everywhere I go, but it’s such a common car that I can’t be sure if I am paranoid or—”
“I think we can agree you are not paranoid. Did you tell anyone? Give the note to the cops?”
She shrugged. “What was I supposed to tell them? The note didn’t threaten me, and all I have besides that are bad vibes and a super common-looking car being on the same street as me.” She swiped a hand over her face.
The tightness in my chest threatened to strangle me.
She could be in real danger. I wished she would have told me rather than deal with it herself, then again, who am I?
I’m her martial arts teacher. But I’m also the one she called when she needed someone.
I had no doubt she could handle herself but I was glad she trusted me as backup.
I opened her car door and had her sit, then I squatted down so we were eye level.
“I have a friend who is a police officer. His name is Brock, and he is a really good guy. He’ll listen to you; I know he will.
Can I call him for you?” I’d love to be the knight in shining armour here, but realistically, this situation was ten kinds of fucked.
I may not be the right person to help her with this, but she did need help.
Getting the cops involved was the smartest option at this point.
“You trust him?” God, she looked so tired. I hated that she was going through this.
“I trust him one hundred percent.”
She nodded, and I stepped away to make the call.
Brock told me to have Liz write down anything she could remember and then we hung up.
Once Liz was locked in her car working on her list, I started to pace the lot.
He was off duty but said he would come by anyway.
Given her concerns, it was probably best if he was off duty anyway.
It was tempting to bust into her condo and beat the living hell out of anyone I found inside, but I carefully kept my pacing to the confines of the parking lot.
The sound of tires crunching over gravel caught my attention.
“It’s about time.”
Brock got out of his truck and held up his hands. “It’s the middle of the night, I’m not on duty, and my cat was asleep on my arm. You’re lucky I’m here at all. Now, what’s the problem?”
Liz jumped out of the car as I was giving him the basic run down. Brock smiled at her, and when she returned it, a spark of jealousy ignited in my chest.
“Give me your key, and I’ll go have a look. You two stay here.”
Liz and I both protested at the same time.
“Like hell I will.”
“Not a chance”
Brock took a deep breath. “You can come as far as the end of the path, but any sign of trouble and you move and call 911, got it?”
Liz and I looked at each other and nodded like children in trouble.
The three of us moved towards her door. It had been a warm day, but a chill settled over me as we moved across the grass.
Ground floor. Why did her place have to be on the fucking ground floor?
Liz and I waited out front, and I wasn’t sure if I had taken one breath the whole time he was gone.
I felt like I was on my way to the ring for a big fight, all full of adrenaline and nerves. Time ticked by with agonizing slowness.
Brock came back out a few minutes later. “The bedroom window is broken in the back but no one’s in there. You’re right, there were boot prints on the floor. Based on that and what you told me, I would say he broke in through the bedroom window and then just waltzed out the front door.”
I didn’t want to even think about what he would have done if she had been home.
“Can you have a look around and let me know if anything is missing? You can grab some spare clothes and stuff if you need to. I’ll file the report for your insurance and get someone out here to work the scene. Do you have somewhere you can stay until you get the window replaced?”
I intertwined my fingers with hers. “She’s staying with me.”
******
I woke the next morning to the sound of my alarm.
It was only six, but Paisley would be here in the next half hour.
I had a quick shower and threw on a pair of sweatpants before making my way downstairs quietly because Liz was still passed out on the couch.
I’d tried to offer her my room, but she wouldn’t hear of it, and we were both too tired to care.
Brock had escorted her into the apartment to let her grab a toothbrush and some clothes without disturbing the crime scene.
After that, she followed me in her car to my place.
After making a cup of coffee, I snuck past her and out onto the front stoop to wait for my kid.
I was still half asleep after the unexpected long night, but I was excited for it to be my day with Paisley, even if she spent most of it at school.
Regina pulled up a few minutes later, leaving Paisley in the car and coming up the driveway alone.
This should be good.
We had a deal that we wouldn’t fight in front of our daughter, and we both mostly stuck to it. The thing I couldn’t figure out was why so many of our fights were instigated by her, given how our marriage ended.
How am I the bad guy?
“Nice to see you’re up and, half-dressed.” I was bare-chested and barefoot, but hell, it was my house, and there was nothing indecent about it. Regina never went anywhere looking less than perfect but that didn’t mean I had to.
“Didn’t realize I needed a suit and tie. I assume you have something you want to talk about besides my clothes.” I sipped my coffee. I’d put too many grounds in the machine, and it tasted like shit, but I was going to drink it anyway.
She nodded. “I just want to make sure you remember everything you have to do for the next few days. She has school fees that need to be paid and she has swim lessons on Saturday.”
I held up a hand. “We’ve been over this; I know. We have a shared calendar with everything on it. Trust me, I’m on it.”
She scoffed. “Please. You knew Paisley was coming this morning and you’re not dressed, you don’t look like you’ve slept. You need to step it up, Nate.”
“I’m her parent just as much as you are. Just back off and let me.”
The sound of my front door opening drew both of our attention, and Liz made her way out onto the front stoop, then froze.
“There’s a walk of shame if I’ve ever seen one.” Regina cocked a hip and watched Liz shut the door and make her way down the driveway. “You couldn’t get rid of your one-night stand before your daughter got home to see her stumbling out of here?”
“Put your claws away.”
She scoffed. “What? So, I’m the bad guy now? I don’t want my daughter to be around your random hookups. As her dad, you shouldn’t either.”
Fuck, I didn’t have the energy for her shit today. I still hadn’t talked to Liz about why she ran out of the gym the other day, and I wanted to know if she had heard anything about the break-in.
Liz either hadn’t heard the exchange or had chosen to ignore it as she made her way over to me. Regina’s eyes tracked her.
“Thanks for letting me crash on your couch.”
“Anytime. Hey, are you okay?” I lowered my voice since I knew Regina would be listening in.
She gave me a curt nod, avoiding my eyes, and moved with purpose past Regina, heading straight for her car. Before she got to the sidewalk, Paisley jumped out of her mom’s car and came bounding towards her.
“I remember you. You showed me the big machine.” Paisley didn’t always take a shine to people, but she didn’t have that problem with Liz.
“I remember you too. I’m Liz; you’re Paisley, right?”
She nodded and beamed. “What are you doing at my daddy’s house?”
Regina smirked. “What indeed?” She answered before Liz had even opened her mouth.
“Sunshine, why don’t you go and put your backpack away, I’ll be in to make your breakfast in a few minutes.”
“Okay, Dad. Bye, Mom. Bye, Liz.” She skipped past us and into the house.
Regina’s a stranger.
The realization hit me hard. This sneering, hateful woman who used our daughter as a pawn and never saw fault in her own actions wasn’t the woman I had married.
I would always be grateful to her for bringing my daughter into the world.
I should be more disciplined about building a civil relationship with her for Paisley’s sake.
What I wouldn’t do was love her. I didn’t love her. Not anymore.
And while I was arguing over nothing, the woman I was interested in walked away.
“I don’t need you micromanaging my time with Paisley.
I can be a parent just as well as you can.
What I do need is for us to be able to talk to each other without fighting for the good of our kid.
You know I love Paisley more than life itself and would never do anything to hurt her.
I know the same about you, so let’s just keep it civil, okay? ”
She breathed hard out of her nose. “Fine, it doesn’t matter anyway.
Your little friend scares easily.” She tilted her head towards the road where Liz struggled to put her key in the lock of her car.
Clearly flustered, she dropped her bag, her belongings scattering over the sidewalk.
She looked up to the sky and closed her eyes for a moment before bending to shove everything back into her bag.
Ignoring Regina’s snicker, I jogged past her to where Liz knelt on the ground.
“Hey, let me help you.” She jerked her bag to her chest and stood.
“I’m fine, I just- I have to get to work.” She moved to open the car door, and I pushed it back shut.
“When is your window getting replaced?”
Half of her hair had escaped her ponytail, and she blew a wayward strand out of her face. “Not for a few days. It’s boarded up so it’s fine.”
She pulled the door handle again and again I pushed it shut. She exhaled hard. “Look, Nate, I appreciate you coming when I called you last night, but I need to get to work, and you need to get out of my way and go back to your life.”
Go back to my life? How was I supposed to do that when I wanted her in it. “Stay here tonight. Please, Liz. Whoever this note-writing guy is, he knows where you live and has broken in once before. Just give the cops a little time to sort this out and stay with me.”
She turned to face me fully. Her eyes were smudged with dark shadows, and I was almost sure her hands had a slight shake. She was running on adrenaline and stress. I longed to pull her into my arms and make this all disappear by sheer will.
She gave me a long look that searched my face. “Fine, I’ll stay tonight. After that, I am either going home or to my sisters.” She cleared her throat. “Thank you.”
I took a step back and let her drive away.