35. Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Arlo
Waking up with Rina in my arms is everything.
I know I overwhelmed her last night, but it was like the truth just bubbled out of me. I couldn’t stop it. I don’t regret it, per se. I just don’t know if bearing my soul will be a setback in what has been significant progress between us.
The sun is just starting to rise, and with it a new day to show I meant every word I said. The buzzing on the makeshift nightstand I have makes me sigh. The downside to being the sheriff in a small town is always being on call.
I carefully slip my arm from a still sleeping Rina and roll over to see who it is. When I see Oakley flashing across the screen, I’m instantly hit with a shot of adrenaline.
Rolling off the bed and carefully standing up, I swipe to answer even though it takes me a minute to get up off the floor. Once I walk to the living room, I bring the phone up to my ear.
“Hey.”
“Sorry if I woke you,” he says.
“I was awake. What’s up? ”
“I have a lead.” The silence is deafening. I’m simultaneously excited, worried, and anxious. “We got a hit on the IP address, and it conveniently lines up with one Tyler Ramsey.”
“No shit?” I’m shocked. It feels easy, and I know things like this are never easy.
“The problem is it has to run through Rosedale’s system to get a warrant. I’m not sure how long that’ll take, and if his escalations are anything to go by…”
“We don’t have much time,” I finish.
“There’s also no guarantee that it is Tyler. It could all be some insane coincidence.”
“It’s not.” I know it’s not. Ever since we ran into him at the bistro, I knew something was wrong with him.
“We have to let this go through proper channels,” Oakley says like he knows my thoughts are turning to how I can go get this asshole.
“Sure,” I clip.
“Arlo…”
“Just let me handle this.”
“You’re the one who asked me for help, man. I’m not going to let you get yourself into trouble if I can help it.”
I sigh, knowing I’m being an overbearing dick right now. “You’re right.” I think about what I can do to expedite things, and the only logical thing is to go check out Tyler’s house and tail him if I’m able to. “Can I ask another favor?”
“Anything.” He offers it so freely. It’s such a change from when he first moved here.
“I need someone to be with Rina while I’m … out. Can she stay at Grind Time while I go check things out? ”
“What exactly are you checking out?” he asks.
“I won’t do anything stupid. You’re right, it needs to go through proper channels. I just want to check out his house and see if I can get anything. If I’m able to follow him, I’ll do that as well, but I won’t be noticed.”
“I gotta be honest; I’m not loving this plan, but I also know men do stupid shit for the women they love.” I laugh at his response because he isn’t wrong, although Willow ended up saving his ass in the end.
“Can Rina stay with you? You’re the only one I trust with this.” A vulnerable truth I wouldn’t have admitted a few months ago.
“I can’t force her to stay, but I will keep an eye on her as best as I can, even if she leaves,” he concedes.
“That’s all I ask. Thanks, man. I’ll keep you updated.” I hang up without preamble. We don’t need to harp on shit, and I need to figure out exactly what my plan is.
“Who am I apparently staying with?” Rina’s annoyed tone startles me.
I turn to look at her and see her standing in my bedroom doorway wearing nothing but one of my Sheriff shirts. It’s sexy as fuck, and if I didn’t just get the phone call I did, I’d drag her back to bed.
Sighing, I know being one hundred percent honest is the only way she’ll do what I tell her.
“Oakley found a lead, and I want to investigate it today. The problem is, I need to know you’re safe.”
“You can’t watch me twenty-four seven, Arlo.”
“I know, but right now? With everything that’s happened, I need to know you’re safe at all times. I know that’s irrational, but I’m not apologizing for it. I can’t let anything happen to you, and if that takes eyes on you all the time, so be it. I won’t change my mind on this.” My words are stern.
Her shoulders slump as she walks to where I’m seated on the couch, leaning into me so my head is on her stomach. I wrap my arms around her, running my thumb back and forth on her lower back. “I don’t like it, but I understand it. Where am I going today?”
“Grind Time. I know it’s not ideal for working, but hopefully I won’t be gone long.”
Her fingers softly scratch my head, and I can feel the moment she caves. It settles my heart more than I thought it would. This entire stalker situation has me so on edge, but I’m trying to hide it from Rina so she doesn’t freak out more than she already is.
“I’m going to need unlimited food and coffee.”
My shoulders shake with my laughter. “Tell Oakley to put it on my tab.”
“Be careful giving me that power. I’ll be buying shit for everyone,” she quips.
“If it keeps you safe, buy the whole damn town breakfast.” I chuckle. She doesn’t join me; instead, she leans back so she can look at my face.
“This whole thing is making you really nervous.” A statement, not a question.
“Truthfully? Yeah. Stalkers are unpredictable, and the fact that you are the one being targeted is … fucking scary for me,” I admit. Her eyes hold mine before she nods.
“Okay. If it makes things easier for you, I will try very hard not to be my usual stubborn self.”
“Be stubborn, but just do it at Grind Time with Oakley around, okay? ”
“I can do that,” she whispers before leaning down and pressing a kiss to my lips. Relief hits me hard, and I take the moment to just hold her.
She has no idea how much relief her concession gives me, and I mentally make a note to find some way to make it up to her. To show her how thankful I am that she didn’t fight me on this.
Walking back from dropping off Rina and having a quick conversation with Oakley is only giving me too much time to think. I also have a forty-minute drive with nothing but the open road to do more thinking. I’m not sure my anxious mind can handle it, honestly, but I don’t have much of a choice. It will be the ultimate test in using what my therapist has been helping me with. Coping with the stress, the self-doubt, and trusting myself.
Way easier said than done, but here goes nothing.
I’m ten minutes into the drive when the panic starts to override logic. The what-ifs, the thoughts of this stalker actually getting to Rina, become overwhelming.
All I can picture is finding Rina how I found Lennox, tied up in the dilapidated cabin with blood everywhere.
My knuckles turn white as my grip on the steering wheel tightens. My chest feels too tight, like I can’t get enough air.
I breathe in deep, holding it to the count of five before blowing it out slowly. I repeat this process until the tightness in my chest lessens. I consciously stretch my fingers, attempting to get the blood flow back into them as I start to feel more focused.
It won’t get to that point because I’ll keep Rina safe. I can do this; I can figure out who this person is and take care of him before it gets to any of that. Thanks to Oakley, I have more resources at my disposal than I ever have. The panic subsides, bringing resolution to the forefront. Failure isn’t an option, not when Rina is at stake. If I remember that and hold the fear at bay, I can catch this guy. I know I can.
I turn my thoughts to what I need to do today. There isn’t a ton I can really do since I technically don’t have a warrant and we’re mostly working off of hunches at this point. Checking out Tyler’s house and possibly tailing him are the best I can do, but you can learn a lot about someone’s everyday habits, and I’m hoping he fucks up, missteps just enough to give me the in I need.
Pulling up in front of one of his neighbor’s houses, in perfect view of his, I’m impressed with the neighborhood. It’s nicer than I anticipated, more of a family neighborhood and less of a place that screams “a stalker lives here”. Although, I’m not sure what a place like that would look like.
I park, grab my notepad from the passenger seat, open to a fresh page, and poise my pen at the ready. A list starts to form, first with license plates, then descriptors of people I see. It adds up to a few pages of notes, and I haven’t even gotten a glimpse of Tyler yet.
A sigh escapes me as I toss the notepad onto the dash. Picking up my phone, I shoot a message to check in with Oakley, and he reassures me everything is good. I know if I text Rina, I’ll get distracted, so I have to be happy with his vague reassurance.
I glance up and glimpse of movement in front of Tyler’s house, doing a double take before I realize it’s him. Scrambling to grab my notepad, I write down everything I see. His clothes, his demeanor, and his activity. Any tiny detail may prove to be the thing that solves everything. You never know.
He moseys around his property, not overtly looking for anything or doing much of anything, and it’s strange. I get a tingle in the back of my neck, and my gut says he’s our guy. I have exactly zero evidence to prove that, but there’s something about him that makes me uncomfortable. He disappears into the backyard, and I wish I had a fucking warrant to just bust into his house. This waiting and observing when I’m so sure he has something to do with all of this is quite possibly one of the hardest challenges I’ve had in a while.
Fifteen minutes later, there’s no movement and I’m losing my mind. I seriously contemplate just busting in, the law be damned, but I know that’s irrational. Drumming my fingers on the steering wheel, I try to calm myself. Being antsy won’t help anything, and staying level-headed is key. As I’m talking myself down, his garage door opens and his car pulls out.
It’s showtime.
Tailing him is simple. I don’t get too close, conscious of looking suspicious, as he drives to the center of town. He pulls into the on-street parking of a smaller Greek restaurant. I luck out and find a spot that has a good view of the front door and his car, so I can watch where he goes. He calmly gets out of the car, stepping onto the sidewalk and walking up to a woman who’s standing in front of the restaurant.
She turns, and the excitement on her face is obvious. The hug she gives him even more so. It’s not a familial hug but intimate, and it just creates more confusion in my head. He presses a kiss to her lips, and I see her melt into him .
What the actual fuck? I snap a quick picture with my phone before I lose the chance to.
They enter the Greek restaurant, and I contemplate going in and grabbing a table, but he may recognize me from dinner at the bistro, so I choose to play it safe. This also means I have some time to go back to his house and see what I can find through the windows. Maybe not my smartest idea, but I need something to work with.
I quickly drive back to his house and make sure there’s no one walking around, and double-check for any security cameras he may have before I walk the same route he did not that long ago. Every window in the front is closed up, and I’m starting to think I’m not going to get lucky today.
And then I walk around to the back. Technically, I’m illegally entering his property, but I’ll deal with the repercussions if they arise.
I slowly peek around the back, making sure I don’t run into anything like a dog before releasing my breath at being alone. His backyard is pretty unkempt. Lots of dirt and overgrown grass, but no dogs, thankfully. I look at the backside of the house and see no covering on his slider, and the blinds are open on all the back-facing rooms.
Jackpot.
Taking my phone out, I carefully walk up to each window and take pictures of what I see. The first window, along with the sliding glass door, doesn’t really show me much outside of normal living spaces. However, the last window has my teeth grinding so hard I feel like they may crack with the force.
A desk sits as the lone piece of furniture, but that’s now what draws my attention. It’s the walls covered in pictures that send me into a panic. It’s hard to make out who the women are, but I catch a glimpse of familiar brown hair. She seems to be the main focus on one wall, but the other three walls are other women.
Is he stalking more than just Rina?
I snap pictures as best as I can, knowing they aren’t going to be super clear and nothing we can use to gain a warrant, but it’s more information.
I take one last look at the room before I flee to my truck and head back to Bluebell Falls. I need to talk to Oakley, and then I need to go stand under the waterfall and let the water pound out all of my anxiety and fear from seeing that room.
Then, I’ll regroup and figure out how to catch this bastard once and for all.