41. Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Two
I Mistakenly Threw Caution to the Wind
Kaden
A hand covers my mouth, and I’m thrusted forward into my apartment as I unlock the door. I struggle but can’t get out of his grasp.
“Surprise. You should really pay more attention to your surroundings, Kaden. Your guard dogs can’t be here 24/7.” Tyler’s warning is mixed with anger and amusement all at once.
“Did you think I would give up so easily? Your boyfriend doesn’t scare me.”
He walks us towards the living room, keeping his hand over my mouth, his other arm on my chest holding me against him. I throw my elbow back into his stomach as hard as I can in this position. It throws him off balance enough for me to break his grip.
He stands in the path to the front door with a smirk, blocking any chance to escape.
“Tyler you have to stop. I don’t understand why you’re doing this. You left me. You didn’t want me.”
“Whether I wanted you or not I couldn’t have you. My father wouldn’t have let us happen. He made it very clear when he found out about us.”
Tyler’s words start to make sense for a change. Since the day we became friends he always said his father controlled everything he did, even choosing his career path.
“He doesn’t get to have you, Kaden. I won’t let him.”
“Tyler please just go home to your wife. This needs to end here.”
“Marissa said the same thing when she found out about us this morning. It’s over.”
The thought of his wife ending their marriage scares me as much as Tyler does right now. Having no reason to stop pursuing me, he will be more unpredictable than we thought.
Tyler’s eyes fill with determination as he charges at me, grabbing my arms. “C’mon we’re leaving.”
Knowing I can’t let him take me somewhere else I swing at him, my fist connecting with his cheekbone. His rage is evident as he recovers and grabs me by my throat holding me at arms distance. Tyler is squeezing hard enough to block my airway. I swing my fist at him but can’t quite reach him. I kick my leg up, thankfully hitting him directly in the balls. Tyler hunches over, letting go of my throat but quickly recovers, punching me in the face. I instantly taste the blood in the back of my throat as I stumble backwards falling on the floor. On the way down my head knicks the corner of end table next to the couch.
Everything turns fuzzy and I can’t make out the sudden loud noises in the room. I touch my temple, cringing at the pain and feel something wet on my skin. My hearing finally able to focus on the screaming in the room.
“Luke, stop. I got him. Go help Kaden.” I can’t tell whose voice that was, but I heard Luke’s name, and the sudden warmth of his skin is on me.
“Fuck, you’re bleeding.” I hear Luke’s voice over the yelling in the background.
“Luke?”
“I’m here. Just relax, everything is going to be okay now.” Luke sits on the floor and lifts my head and shoulders enough to rest on his lap.
I’m able to open my eyes and focus on those green soul stealers once again. Except this time, they’re laced with agony.
“Hi, Bug.”
“Hi, Angel.” That soft smile of his melts me every time. “I was so worried about you. The thought of losing you…” Luke clenches his eyes shut. “Losing you would break me, Kaden.”
“You aren’t going to lose me. You’re stuck with me, babe.” I give him a faint chuckle.
“Being stuck with someone has never sounded so good.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t more caref…” I get cutoff by shouting behind us.
“Jackson get him the fuck out of here,” Luke yells across the room to where I see Tyler face up against a wall, Jackson detaining him in cuffs. Tyler is shouting at a woman standing behind Jackson. It takes me a second to realize it’s his wife.
What is she doing here?
Dakota comes rushing into the apartment with another officer in uniform just as Jackson is walking Tyler towards the door.
“Guys take him out of here. I need to stay with Luke and Kaden.” Jackson hands Tyler over to the officer.
Marissa walks over to Luke and me from the kitchen, while Jackson gives the others details. “Here’s a wet cloth to wipe up some of the blood.” She cautiously hands it to Luke.
“How did you all wind up here?” Confused how this all transpired, I stare at Marissa.
“I’ve known of you for a while, Kaden. I just didn’t know why or how much Tyler was obsessing over you until recently.” Marissa’s words leave me even more confused.
“I think you need to hear what she has to say Kaden.” Jackson joins us when the others leave.
Marissa moves to the chair next to us while Luke helps me sit up on the couch.
“We got married less 6 months from the day he proposed. Both our families pushed us to not have a long engagement since we’ve all known each other forever it seems like. A couple months after the wedding, I saw Tyler looking at one of your profiles on social media. I didn’t think anything of it.” Marissa’s solemn expression conveys more than you’d imagine.
“Over the next few months, I noticed him watching you on different platforms more than a few times. I finally asked him who you were. He had never caught me before, so when I made it known that I noticed he didn’t take it well. I got accused of snooping and was told you were just a friend from college. So, I let it go. I didn’t think anything further about it, until the night we saw you at Luke’s restaurant.” She looks down at her hands, fiddling with her cuticles. “It was a spur of the moment dinner. I thought he was trying to be nice and spend time with me. We had been arguing a lot lately the couple months before that night. When we passed your table, I noticed you and the look on your face when you saw him. When he followed you to the bathroom I was afraid to go see what was going on. I knew he would be mad.” Marissa pauses taking a few deep breaths.
“Did he hurt you, Marissa?” I had to ask her.
“Let’s just say he’s a scary man when he’s angry, but I have a feeling you were already aware of that a long time ago.”
I nod, reaching out I take her hand in mine to comfort her.
“When Luke walked you out of the restaurant, I knew there was more to what was going on between you two. I never mentioned it to Tyler, though. I started searching his office for anything I could find when he wasn’t home. I watched your social media posts and noticed every time you made plans to go somewhere, suddenly Tyler had plans with his friends.”
“A couple weeks ago I followed him out and saw him go into that big bar, The Garden. I didn’t go in being too afraid he would see me. But when I saw you and Luke come out a little while later, he followed you out.” Marissa cheeks turn red.
Mine mimic hers already knowing what she’s witnessed.
“I saw him watching you both. I think that’s when it really hit me. I knew this wasn’t just old friends that had a spat or something. Then I followed him again yesterday afternoon after I saw him infuriatingly typing on a phone that wasn’t his. It was one of those pay-per-use burner phones. I saw what happened outside your office. I was dialing the police when your friend came up and stopped Tyler.”
“I followed you home, sorry.” She half laughs at her apology. I smile in return. “I saw Jackson running into the building a few minutes after you. With him looking so much like Luke, I figured he knew something was going on, as well.”
“When Tyler came home all banged up this morning I confronted him. Told him I knew everything, and he needed to stop what he was doing. He became erratic telling me it’s over and he never wanted me anyway. He started packing his bags, so I figured he was just leaving, until I heard him mumbling to himself. It was about you.”
Marissa look behind her at Jackson as he nods to her. “I didn’t know your name, so I started scouring the internet them. I found Jackson by making the connections between their last name, the restaurant’s name, and Luke’s profile. I was going to go to Luke first, but when I saw Jackson was a cop I went to the precinct looking for him. Told them everything that I witnessed over the past year.”
“Micah reached out to me to verify what Marissa claimed about yesterday. I was near the precinct, so I went to meet up with them. I called you as soon as we left the precinct to come here. When you didn’t answer I called Luke.”
My mind is attempting to process everything Marissa told us, “So, he’s been following me for how long? Since you got married?”
“Honestly, Kaden, I think it was way before that. Probably since you guys graduated. He was always guarded when looking at his phone or talking about any of his friends during dental school. It seemed he was content watching you from afar, until Luke came into your life.”
Luke grips onto me from behind me on the couch. “He mentioned something in the text messages about the party where Luke and I met. He must have followed me there.”
“He was probably watching us all night.” Luke’s assumption is in line with mine.
“I can’t believe I was that oblivious.”
“Kaden, you couldn’t have known he was following you. He obviously did a good job at hiding it from all of us.” Marissa tries to ease my mind.
“This isn’t on you. Don’t let him make you feel any worse about yourself than he already has.” Luke kisses my temple, pulling me into his embrace.
“Jackson, what happens to him now?” Luke asks the question that was on the tip of my tongue.
“I don’t know exactly, but I’m sure he’ll be charged with assault and restraining Kaden, and with all that Marissa witnessed and our corroboration, I think stalking will be on that list, too. As for him going to jail for more than a couple months, it depends on the judge and if he considers the other offenses and the degree of the assault. Tyler strangling Kaden doesn’t help his situation.”
“So, he may essentially get a slap on the wrist?” Marissa is the concerned one now.
Jackson doesn’t respond, all of us already knowing the answer.
The silence is deafening .