Page 69 of More Than a Fling
“But that didn’t stop him last night.”
“We weren’t wise to him then. Now we are,” Gabe said, brushing her hair back as he kissed her forehead.
“I’m frightened Gabe.”
“I know you are, and you need to be on your guard, but we’re all here for you, the cops are going to investigate his trespassing, that might just be enough to spook him.” She still looked doubtful.
“I’ll kill the bastard if he tries to fuck with you again. He will have to get through me to get to you.” Her fear broke Gabe’s heart. “You trust me don’t ya?” he asked gently.
She nodded yes. He tilted her head back and touched his lips to hers. Her breath shuddered then she began to kiss him back. Her desire broke through her fear for a moment as her body responded to him. She held him tight, wanting to forget everything but being held in his arms.
* * *
“The guy is unraveling!” Darcy said, a mixture of exasperation and anger in her voice. “There is no refuting the video evidence. It was Bradley.”
“What do you think I should do about it?” Sam asked.
“You have to report it.”
“Yes, but what about Annie? What if it makes him go completely unhinged?”
“I know but he’s had countless warnings. What else can we do?” Darcy said.
“My concern is that he’ll become more dangerous,” Sam said.
“That’s why we’ve held off until now, but I’m afraid he’s left us no choice.”
“He is desperate to have her back, not to harm her. I think it makes him crazy that she is with another guy.”
As always, his demeanor calmed Darcy’s nerves immediately. “I’m sure you’re right. I have no love for the guy, but I don’t think he is capable of actually harming her.”
“We’ll make sure Annie stays safe. Gabe wants her to sleep at his place for now. At work there are people around. She’ll just have to be on the alert until things blow over.”
“You’re right, me scaring the shit out of myself won’t help the situation any.” Darcy conceded.
“Do you want to talk to the Captain before I report this?”
“Yes, I’ll go over to the precinct now, actually, why don’t you come with me?”
“Sure, let me tell Gabe what’s happening then we can take off.”
* * *
They once again found themselves sitting across for the captain. “He seemed to back off after your warning, but Annie ran into him the other night and I’m thinking it stimulated his obsession,” Darcy said.
Bob swiveled his chair drumming his desk with his fingers, “I see.”
“I had some vandalism at my farm last week, so I had security cameras installed this past weekend. When I was reviewing last night’s footage, this morning, Bradley could be seen on the premises around midnight. Annie happened to be spending the night there with my manager Gabe Hunter, who lives in the tenant farmhouse.”
“Anything vandalized last night?”
“No. But when I played the tape for Gabe this morning, he informed me that it was the same guy that had showed up on duty in his police uniform a while back. The officer claimed he was responding to a call for a wellness check but when questioned he back pedaled and wouldn’t provide any proof. When Gabe pushed back and tried to get his name and badge number he split.”
“Annie is coming in this afternoon on her break to file a restraining order,” Darcy added.
“His little stunt at the farm, if it indeed was a fake wellness check, was harassment plain and simple, but it’s your word against his. However, the trespassing is criminal police misconduct and there is proof. I will file an incident report immediately. That will be placed in his file and there will be an internal investigation. He’ll be placed on a desk job while the investigation is pending.”
He looked deep in thought then said, “Safety is the most important factor here. Stalking is very hard to prove; a protection order is more enforceable. Regardless, they’d wait to see how the case went before they would rule on a suspension or termination.”