by Kahlen Aymes
I walked over to where she was standing and ran my hands down her arms, pulling her back against my body, savoring the closeness. “We’ll get some more things for the apartment and before long, it will feel like home,” I said, doing my best to comfort her.
I turned my head to kiss first, her temple, then her cheekbone. My body started reacting as she leaned back into me and arched her neck to give my exploring mouth access. My breath rushed out over her skin making her shiver. “I missed you.” I let my mouth open over the skin at the base of her neck where her shoulder began. “I’ve been thinking about you day and night.”
“Me, too,” she whispered. I turned her in my arms, and hers slid up over my chest and around my neck as my mouth swooped down to capture hers in a soft, but hungry kiss.
“So… enlighten me. What’s really bothering you,” I demanded softly when the kiss ended.
Her forehead dropped to my shoulder, and she turned her face into my neck; saying nothing.
“Missy, you’re scaring me.”
The doorbell rang, and she startled unnaturally in my arms before she could answer.
“The pizza’s here! The pizza’s here!” Dylan came barreling out of his room and toward the door to the apartment.
“Dylan, wait!” Her voice had a frantic note to it that puzzled me. “Don’t open the door!”
I released her, eyeing her skeptically. What could have her so upset? “I’ll get it,” I said, pulling out the wallet from my back pocket. “Be right back.”
I watched as Dylan opened the door and a man I didn’t recognize was standing there, but he wasn’t holding a pizza box from Vincenzo’s.
“No!” Dylan began to cry uncontrollably. “Go away!” he screamed. He turned, slamming into me in his rush to get away from the man at the door.
My hands closed over his shoulders then one moved up to cup his soft dark blond head. “Hey, buddy, it’s okay.” My eyes narrowed on the man. “What’s this about? Who are you?” I asked the stranger.
“I just want to see my kid,” the man answered, and realization dawned. My eyes narrowed. This was Missy’s ex-husband?
“No!” Dylan said again, clamoring around until he was behind me and clinging to and peeking around my legs. “No! I don’t want to see him, Jensey!”
“Go away, Derrick!” By now, Missy was walking up behind us. “You’re not wanted here.” Her words were shaky, and I could sense her fear.
“Take Dylan inside,” I commanded softly.
“Shhh, baby. Come on.” She pulled him away and lifted the crying little boy into her arms before disappearing into the apartment; down the hall into his room.
“Melissa has no right to keep me from my son,” he commanded roughly. I could see the anger rising within him. His face was mottled, and the muscles of his neck and jaw flexed as his teeth clenched. “You sure as hell aren’t going to stand in my way.”
“Obviously, a judge in Wyoming didn’t agree,” I said in a low, but serious tone. Every cell in my body was poised to pounce. “Missy has every right.”
The man backed up a step or two, and his demeanor softened. “Just let me talk to him. I mean no harm.”
So, this was the mother fucker who hurt Missy and Dylan. I put an arm up until my hand wrapped around the door jam. I shook my head, a deadly calm overtaking me. He was shorter than me, but I could tell he was strong and worked with his hands. He was dressed in work clothes with Ellington Contracting embroidered over one pocket.
My blood ran cold that Missy still used this bastard’s last name, but I’d pictured him differently; like some hot shot mob boss. Maybe he had been on a job site today, but his hair was slicked back with gel; I could still see he was a slimy bastard; as clear as day.
“That isn’t going to happen.” I put up a hand to hold him off. “Missy and Dylan have made it clear they want nothing to do with you, so you need to leave.” My voice was fierce, making sure he got the point. “Now.”
“Who the fuck are you, anyway?” he demanded, getting more and more agitated, using both hands to shove my chest angrily. It was a brief touch, but forceful and it hurt. “Are you fucking my wife?” His voice was loud, and the neighbors were probably getting an earful.
“Hey, asshole,” I growled, incensed. “Touch me again, or either of them, and I swear to God, I’ll lay you out. Don’t let the pretty face, fool ya. Now, get the fuck out of here.” I started to slam the door, but he used his body to block it; using his weight to keep it open. My muscles strained painfully against the force he applied.
“Not until I see my son!” He grunted.
Instinctively, I pulled back my right arm and landed a punch to his diaphragm causing Derrick to lose his breath. He grunted heavily and doubled over in pain.
“You’ve seen him. Stay away from them, or I won’t be responsible for my actions. Be thankful you can still walk; you pathetic fuck.”
This time, I was able to slam the door and throw the deadbolt into place. I inhaled deeply, running a hand through my hair as I walked back to find Missy and Dylan. If her ex didn’t leave, we’d need to call the police.
Missy was sitting on his bed with Dylan cradled in her lap, rocking back and forth, trying to comfort him, and stroking his hair as he sobbed. “I don’t want to see him! He’s mean!”
“You don’t have to see him, baby,” she soothed, but her eyes were full of panic and tears.
I sat down beside them and put my arm around her, my hand cupping the back of her head. “When did he show up?” I asked softly.
“Jensey!” Dylan cried at the sound of my voice, looking up, then reaching for me. I pulled him onto my lap, and he wrapped his small arms around my neck, holding on for dear life. “You won’t let him get me, will you?”
My free arm wound around the frightened child, while the other held his mother close. “No, buddy. He’s not going to do anything bad to you, I promise. Well? When?”
“He called a couple of days ago,” she answered softly.
“This is why you’ve been so quiet, isn’t it? Why didn’t you tell me?”
She nodded. “I didn’t want to burden you.”
Fuck that, I thought.
“I want to know everything.” Emotions surged through me; anger at Derrick, and love and protectiveness for Missy and Dylan. “I want to know whenever or wherever he contacts you. Every time, Missy. Do you understand me?”
She nodded and wiped at a stray tear.
“You’re not gonna let him take me, are you Jensey?”
“Never.”
Not in a million fucking years, my mind screamed.
I stood, lifting Dylan in my arms. “Pack some things. You’re coming home with me.”
“Jensen,” Missy stood and put a hand on my arm. “I won’t let him run me out of my home. I don’t want to give him any control over us.”
I understood what she meant and what she needed, but there was no way on God’s green earth that I was leaving her alone in this apartment with that creeper lurking about.
“Fine,” I said tightly. “Then, I’m staying.”
Dylan’s arms squeezed my neck as he clung to me and I rubbed his little back with the flat of one hand.
“I’m staying,” I said again.
JENSEN
“Teagan mentioned he might be a problem,” Chase said. I’d just begun to tell him about Derrick Ellington showing up at Missy’s place earlier in the week.
“Really?” I was surprised that he knew.
“Yes. I picked the kids up from school on Monday, and Missy stayed the night. I wondered why, considering she had a new place. Teagan told me once we were alone in our room.”
Anger began to rise up. It pissed me off that Teagan told Chase before Missy told me. Even when we spoke on the phone the night before, she said nothing. He could see by my expression what I was thinking. “So, this has been hanging over her head all week?”
“Chill out, man. Think about it. What could you have done from Bristol? It wo
uld have just messed with your head, and what good would that have done?”
He was right, but it still irritated me. “It doesn’t matter. She should have told me that he called. I didn’t find out until the fucker showed up on her doorstep.”
“What the hell?” Chase asked incredulously, pushing the weight bar until his arms were locked in a bench press. I was spotting for him as I told him about the altercation at Missy’s place. “You gotta be careful, man,” he said through gritted teeth as he lifted the bar again. “He might be violent.”
“I know. He has been in the past.” It had been almost a week since the night when Derrick Ellington had stopped over at Missy’s apartment. So far, he hadn’t called her, and she was getting ready to head out with the crew on another assignment in a few days. “I don’t want her to go to Philadelphia on Saturday, but I can’t get her to agree to my going along. She doesn’t want Bryan to know. The last thing she wants is for our boss to know she has a stalker.”
“He can’t fire her, can he?”
“It depends on how disruptive this dickhead gets. I mean, at face value, she’d have a discrimination case, but if this guy disrupts business, then Bryan would be justified.”
Chase nodded. “Yeah.”
We were at the gym where I had a membership while the women were at his house with the kids. The fortress-like security at Chase’s place was the only reason I’d agreed to come out. Chase had weights and a couple of other machines at his house, but I wanted to talk to him without Missy around, so he’d agreed to go with me to get in a workout.
After his final set, Chase lifted the weight bar up, and I helped bring it up the last few inches until he replaced on the resting bar.
He sat up on the bench and grabbed a towel and his bottle of water from the floor next to the equipment. He wiped the sweat off of his brow and opened the water, about to take a long pull. “Is he stalking, or has she only seen him that one time?”
There was the rub. “Just once, but he’s called a couple of times.”
“Has Missy called the police?” Chase got up from the bench and wiped it down, making it ready for me to take my turn.
“Yes, but they told her that unless he tries to kill her, there was nothing they can do.” I laid down and wrapped my gloved hands around the metal bar, getting ready to lift. I pushed the bar up and then lowered it to my chest with Chase’s help. I started a series of bench presses, feeling my muscles strain more and more with each one. “Even if he threatens to kill her, they can do nothing until he tries. It’s nuts. Unless that prick actually hurts her, they do nothing. It’s driving me fucking crazy. I’m worried sick.”
“I would be, too. If someone were sleazing around Teagan or Remi, I’d go fucking ballistic.”
I pushed the bar up and down a few more times until the muscles in my arms began to shake and I had to grit my teeth. He was standing above me, his hands hovering beneath the bar as I lifted. “That’s another thing. I’m worried about them, too. What if he comes around when they’re all together?”
“Well, that shit isn’t happening,” he said, concern showing clearly in his expression.
Chase helped me put the bar back in place before I sat up, sweat running in drops down the side of my face and my entire torso. The bench press was the last exercise in our circuit. Both of us had pushed ourselves to the limit and were dripping with sweat. I stood up, and we started walking back to the locker room. “I know it’s asking a lot because having Missy and Dylan staying there puts your family at risk, too, but—” I began.
Chase waved off my response. “It’s the best place for them, but they can’t be prisoners there, either. I can’t picture either of the women agreeing to that, even if they didn’t have work, school, or doctor’s appointments on their schedules. We should probably hire security.”
I huffed out my disgust. “You mean, like bodyguards?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.” Chase pushed open the door to the locker room, and I followed him inside.
“Missy won’t even let me follow her around, let alone some muscle-head in a suit.”
“You’ll need to convince her. If she’s hanging around with my pregnant wife and daughter, then she’ll have to allow it. If this fucker is as bad as you say, she should welcome extra protection. If she still protests, then you can say it’s for Teagan and Remi. The result will be the same.”
I didn’t think it would be that easy. If she didn’t want Bryan and the crew to know about her issues, then the bodyguard would be too conspicuous. I also knew she’d regret the expense. “Maybe for Dylan…”
“What about another restraining order? I’ll get my lawyer on it, right away. I just have to make a call. What do you know about this guy?”
“Chase, you don’t need to pay for all of this,” I said. I’d already been thinking about how I’d handle the expense by cashing in some of my 401K, but lawyers, security and private investigators were going to add up fast.
We were pulling off our shoes and sweaty clothes, leaving them in a pile by our duffels and heading to the showers. “I told you before, I have more money than I can ever spend, Jensen. What’s it for if it’s not to help a friend and keep my family safe?”
I sighed. It was a massive weight off of my shoulders but getting Missy to accept more financial help from Chase and Teagan would be a stretch. She was very proud, and she didn’t like to let anyone know about the past abuse she and her son had suffered at her ex-husband’s hands, let alone have someone else pay for her lawyers. “That’s very generous, but it’s not going to be that easy. I know she feels you and Teagan have already done too much.”
“You’re like my brother, dude. If I read you right, Missy and Dylan have a place in your future. So, by extension, they’re family. End of discussion.”
“Okay, but I’m going to chip in on the expense; I just got a promotion. We can speak to the women about it at the house, then.” I should have known better than to argue with Chase, but it was a matter of pride that I do what I could to handle the situation myself. He didn’t think helping me was charity, or make me less of a man, and I knew it.
There were a couple of teenage boys gawking at us as Chase turned on the water in the big tiled shower room. The two of them had hovered around while we were lifting, too, whispering to each other. At first, I wasn’t sure if they recognized me from ESPN, or they were big soccer fans, but it became clear the more they hung around. Shit like this made me uncomfortable, but Chase took it in stride. If he noticed them at all, he didn’t let on. I huffed out a laugh as I passed them on the way to the shower. “Stop staring, would ya? Yeah, he’s Chase Forrester. You aren’t delusional.”
Hearing me, Chase smirked without speaking and turned his back to put his head under the spray.
“Do you think he’d give us an autograph?” one asked sheepishly.
“Yeah, maybe, but not while his junk is on display, got it? Wait for us outside the locker room door.” I turned on my shower and adjusted the temperature, shaking my head as the two boys hurried away.
The larger of the two hauled off and slugged the other in the arm. “I told ya not to ask in there, dickhead!” he said, harshly in hushed tones as they moved out of the shower room. “You made us look stupid!”
“You’re right, this stalker shit is creepy,” Chase laughed out loud as he poured shampoo into his hand and lathered up his head.
I groaned. Like he didn’t already know what it was like. “Unless supermodels are doing it, huh?” Chase was world-famous, and he had people coming up to him everywhere he went.
“Naw. That’s just as creepy,” he teased with a glint in his eye. “I’m a one-woman man, brother! After the shit we went through? No way.”
I knew what my friend meant. He loved Teagan and didn’t even look at other women, and for the first time in my life, I knew exactly how he felt. He’d known Teagan was the one from the first moment he’d laid eyes on her, and that was how I felt about Melissa. I’d o
nly known her for a short time, but I felt centered and excited all at the same time whenever she was around. I’d never been happier, and it was looking like she felt the same way; until her bastard ex showed up. A resolve settled over me as I showered and dressed. I’d do whatever was needed to put Derrick Ellington in the past. I wasn’t going to let anything stand in the way of our new relationship, and more, I was going to do whatever necessary to keep Missy and Dylan safe.
MISSY
Teagan rubbed her lower back and her face contorted into a grimace. It was clear she was in pain as she stood at the stove making butter chicken. I felt guilty sitting on the chair watching. Dylan and I spent Monday night here, and last night at Jensen’s. I felt anxious to get back to my apartment and finish getting settled, but it had only been 24 hours since Derrick had shown up at my door, and I wasn’t convinced he’d left town. Until I was sure, I’d be in a constant state of fear. It would affect my work, and, my relationship with Jensen. As the weekend drew nearer and my next out-of-town assignment loomed, my uneasiness became more unbearable.
The kitchen smelled delicious; aromas of turmeric and cumin filled the air. I was amazed that Remi would eat something with such a complex flavor profile, but I had the peanut butter and jelly standing by for Dylan.
I slid off of the stool and moved toward the stove, where Teagan was stirring the piquant meat dish in the thick golden sauce. “Why don’t you let me help? You’re beat.”
She smiled tiredly, her eyes telling me all I needed to know. “Being pregnant isn’t the picnic I recall, but maybe I had too much other stuff going on, at the time, to really remember it.”
I nodded at the barstool I’d just vacated on the other side of the kitchen island. “Get over there,” I ordered good-naturedly. “I don’t remember pregnancy being a party, either. Trust me. The good news is; you look great.” I smiled broadly, knowing if Teagan felt anywhere close to what I felt when I was expecting, she felt like a beached whale with swollen ankles, and no amount of praise would make her feel differently. She did look amazing, though; the round baby bump the only tell.
