Chapter 17

It had been two weeks, and I still couldn’t believe that I had convinced the prettiest girl in the world to marry me. She was already in the process of moving in. I couldn’t be happier if I won the lottery.

Now that the hard part was out of the way, I had to ensure her safety. No matter what Anya said, it was my job to protect her. I had gotten her to get me a picture of her soon to be ex-husband so I could search the footage of the street cameras near where she was when her tires were flattened, or she ran out of gas.

I didn’t have to watch long before I saw him lingering outside of her apartment building. According to her, he didn’t know where she lived. Cameras didn’t lie. Picking up my phone, I called Anya. She was out shopping with Lourdess and Divine.

“Ny, go somewhere where you can talk in private right quick.”

“I’m in the bathroom.”

“Is anyone around you?”

“No. I’m the only one in here right now. The girls are waiting for me outside.”

“I got him, babe,” I told her.

“Got who?”

“Graham. As soon as I accessed the street videos near your complex, I saw him lurking around your building.”

“Wow. I mean, I knew he was behind all this foolishness. Just hearing that he knew where I lived and has been pretending not to is wild.”

“What do you want me to do, baby? You already know I want him dead, but I rather let you decide his fate.”

“Why would he sign the divorce papers if he was doing all this? Was he trying to pretend to be going along with it just to get me to lower my guard?”

“I don’t know, Ny. Some people are just weird. All I know is I’m watching him slink around on the parking lot before he gets back in a silver BMW.”

“That’s his car,” she confirmed.

“What do you want me to do, Anya?”

“I want him arrested. That’s stalking, isn’t it? He’s stalking me and even vandalized my property multiple times. I think jail will scare him into knowing he can’t keep messing with me.”

“OK. I’ll wait until you get back, and we can go down to the station together.”

It would be remiss of me to think that Graham would go down easily. I was sure that he had his story lined up already. If Anya would just let me take care of him, I could solve her problem without question. Still, I wanted her to know that I could be a reasonable guy. I didn’t typically solve my problems with violence, but sometimes, it just did the trick.

I couldn’t lie. I felt helpless as I stood back and listened to Anya explain the situation so that she could take out a warrant for Graham’s arrest. I didn’t like letting other people take care of my problems. I could have solved that shit hours ago. After Anya told the clerk everything, she gave her a stack of forms on a clipboard to fill out.

“This feels so crazy.” She laughed nervously as she fumbled with the pen that was chained to the clipboard.

“You don’t have to rush to do this. Now that we have proof that it’s him, you can do it any time. You’re not living in your apartment anymore, and you haven’t been driving your other car. If you want to take some time to think about what you want to do, I’m behind you one hundred percent.”

“I just want this behind me. I want it behind us so we can live in peace.”

“We will,” I assured her.

I knew that to be true because the next time the nigga moved crazy, I was sending him to the cemetery.

“Maybe I can talk to him first and let him know that we’re on to him. That should bring him back down to Earth.”

“It’s worth a try.” I shrugged.

“I’m going to call him now. If he’s still talking crazy, then I’ll just move forward with the paperwork.”

“If he’s still talking crazy, I’m moving forward with plan A.”

“Psalm, if plan A is what I think it is, then you won’t be doing that either.”

“Well homeboy better act like he got some sense when he’s talking to my wife.”

“We’re not married yet,” she reminded me as she stood and started through the glass doors.

“You backing out on me, Ny?” I asked, trailing her closely.

“I’m just saying, we gotta say I do first.”

“I do.” I raised my shoulders.

Anya thought that was funny, but I was dead serious. “In front of a judge.”

“I’m sure they got one in here. Let’s go tell him we do.”

“Psalm, you’re the one that wanted to have a big wedding in front of your family.”

“I didn’t say a big wedding. I said I want to show them that I’m actually married. I’m not sneaking off to Barbados and coming back claiming I’m married all of a sudden.”

“We can do it however you want, but you still owe me a trip to Rome.”

“Yes, ma’am. You know I like it when you get bossy.” I smirked.

She squinted her eyes and fought back a smile as she held the phone to her ear. “Graham, I know that you’re the one that’s been vandalizing my car. I found out that you know where I live too. Why did you break into my apartment? Were you just trying to scare me? You didn’t even take anything.”

“Put him on speaker,” I instructed.

She hit the button just in time for me to hear his response.

“Anya, I told you. You need to go to therapy. I’m not that pressed to get back together that I would do something like that.”

“Choose your next words wisely. You’re speaking to my wife.”

“Who the fuck is that?” he quizzed.

“Why is there video footage of you outside Anya’s apartment? Before you answer, you need to know that we’re outside of the police station. I wanted to kill you and get it over with, but Anya thought it would be better to spare your life and have you arrested. I’m not really into the cops like that, so I really hope you give me a reason to go through with my plan.”

“Anya, who the hell is that? Is that the kind of person you been affiliated with? You really are tripping. Trust me, bro. You can have her. She ain’t worth all of the trouble.”

“Answer the fucking question, Graham. Why were you outside of my apartment?” Anya asked again.

He sighed but didn’t readily answer the question.

“Before you lie again, you were dressed in a red polo and tan khakis. I’m pretty sure your company logo was on the left breast pocket. If I zoom in on the video, I can just send it over to them to have them to verify if that’s you stalking your ex-wife.”

“I was just… I was worried about her. I thought she was leaving me for another man. So, I followed her home from work one day to try to catch her in the act. I didn’t see her with anyone the first time. The second time I went by, I saw that one guy that she always claims is so harmless. I figured out that she’s probably been cheating on me for years, so I went ahead and signed the divorce papers. I’m assuming that was you. Good luck with her, bro. She’s a fucking headache.”

“Aye, watch your mouth,” I warned him.

“What guy did you see me with, Graham? You’re full of shit. Why did you break into my apartment if you were so worried about me cheating?”

“You think I would break into your apartment? You might want to ask the man who’s on the phone threatening people about that.”

“She already asked me. She knows I wouldn’t go to the level you would stoop to just to scare her.”

“Scare her for what? Why would I be trying to scare you, Anya?”

“To get me to come back home. To make me feel like I need you like I always do.”

“When was this break-in?”

“About two weeks ago.”

“I couldn’t have done it. I’ve been in San Diego for the past three weeks working on a project. Zoom in on my company logo and verify that with them.”

“Oh, I will,” I confirmed.

“Now can y’all stop playing on my phone? My fiancée is trying to sleep,” Graham divulged before ending the call.

My eyes shot to Anya. I know it had to be painful to hear that her ex-husband was getting married. Even if she was engaged to me. Her whole story had been how he wouldn’t let her go. She even mentioned how he refused to let her go with him on his business trips. Clearly, he had a woman with him now. Either that or he was trying to get under her skin.

I wasn’t sure about the truth, but he had successfully gotten to her. Her eyes blinked rapidly as she stared at me, shaking her head. I stepped forward, closing the space between us and wrapping my arms around her shoulders. I kissed the side of her head as I felt her arms snake around my back.

“Sometimes I wonder what I ever saw in him. He’s an arrogant, manipulative asshole, but I don’t think he’s lying.”

“We’ll make sure of that,” I told her.

“I think you should do that scan on my apartment now.”

In my head, I was already two steps ahead of her, maybe three. I pulled up my phone and downloaded the surveillance app I used on my work computer.

“Let’s go over there now.”

“OK.”

“Wait, do you feel comfortable going there? You don’t have to go with me.”

“I think I need to. I have all of these questions that need to be answered.”

“Like?”

“If it’s not Graham, then who the hell is doing all this stuff? Am I just going crazy?”

“I don’t think you’re going crazy. I’m sure you’re stressed out, but I don’t think you’re crazy.”

The music flowing from my radio acted as background noise as we traveled to Anya’s apartment. Anya let out a deep sigh as we pulled up to her building.

“You don’t have to get out, baby.”

“I want to.” She nodded.

“OK. Come on.”

I looked down at my phone to see if the surveillance app had downloaded. It was so slow that I wasn’t going to wait for the street cameras. I needed to check the inside of her apartment more. I opened my armrest and removed the equipment I used to scan for cameras and bugs.

Following Anya’s lead, I headed to her apartment. The app was finally loaded, so I typed in Anya’s address and did what I should have done from the start. I selected the date of the night that her apartment was broken into. I would only see the entryway to her building, but it should have at least shown me if Graham was there.

Wanting to honor her wishes had given me pause. Now I was doing everything necessary to ensure my baby’s safety. The software was much slower on my phone, so it was taking a while to load the location. As soon as I turned on my scanner, it detected a hidden camera. I followed the signal to the bottom of her TV.

I was so glad that I was able to convince Anya to move in with me. Just seeing that there was a camera under her TV had me planning a funeral. Reaching under the screen, I removed a miniature camera. I used the same kind when I set up security systems.

Anya gasped. “What is that?”

“It’s a camera.”

“Oh my God, Psalm! What the hell?”

“Let’s just say Graham didn’t break in here and plant these cameras. Who else would want to do something like this? What about another disgruntled ex or someone who couldn’t take no for an answer?”

“Graham and I have been together for six years. I’ve never cheated or even entertained another man.”

“Well, somebody is definitely obsessed.”

“Is it weird that I’m starving? Stress makes me hungry.”

I had to laugh, even though I knew she was serious. “Stress eating is a real thing. What do you have in mind?”

“Something rich like pasta.”

“Pick a place.”

“Tonio’s. It’s not far from here. I feel so violated. I just need to get out of here.”

“OK. I know it’s uncomfortable. Let me check the other rooms and we can go.”

“Will you be able to see what’s on the cameras?”

“I should.”

“It’s kinda cool dating Inspector Gadget,” Anya teased.

“You’re not dating Inspector Gadget. You’re engaged to him.”

“Soon, I’ll be Mrs. Inspector Gadget Reign.”

I was glad that Anya was able to find humor in the situation because I was fuming. While she waited for me in the living room, I scanned her bedroom and found two more cameras. Anya might have been hungry, but I was so angry I could have spit fire. There was no way I could eat. I emerged from her bedroom with the cameras clutched in my fist.

“This shit is crazy, Psalm.”

“Tell me about it.” I shook my head.

“I lost my appetite. Let’s just go home.”

“As good as it feels to hear you call my place home, I can’t let you not eat just because you’re upset. We can get something to go.”

“Fine.” Anya agreed as she stood from her seat on the couch.

The ride to Tonio’s was eerily silent. Anya didn’t say a word, and I was in my head, so I hadn’t even bothered to turn on the radio. The access to the cameras on the street of Anya’s building had finally loaded. So when we made it to the restaurant, I gave her my card and sent her inside to order.

I wanted to see what I could see before deciding on my next move. There were a few people coming and going as I scrubbed through the footage, but Graham was telling the truth. He was nowhere to be found as I fast forwarded through hours of people coming and going.

Anya looked around the parking lot as she emerged from the restaurant and made her way back to my truck. When she hopped back in the truck, I grabbed her hand and kissed it.

“Ny, I don’t see Graham on the footage anywhere.”

“What footage?”

“I was able to pull footage from the street cameras. I can see the front of your building. That’s how I saw Graham that one time. He’s not there on the night you got robbed. I’m going to ask you again if there is anyone else that might want to scare you or get back at you, even someone just trying to get your attention.”

“No. There isn’t anyone that I have dealt with. Pretty much everyone that I’m affiliated with knows I was married, Psalm.”

“After you get some food on your stomach, I’ll let you watch the video to see if you recognize anyone.”

“How are you able to pull up video from street cameras?” she asked as I backed out of the parking spot and headed out of the lot. I had eluded her question before, but I could see that she wasn’t going to let it go.

“By using a series of codes. It’s not something I do often, but it comes in handy sometimes in my line of work.”

“Speaking of work made me think of something. You remember that guy you so graciously pulled a gun on that day?”

“The one you kept calling your boss.”

“Yeah. He had a silly crush on me. As much as I tried to tell him that I was married, he wouldn’t take the hint. I don’t know where he lives, but I saw him one day at the convenience store down the block. That day at the coffee shop, he was going on about how I complained about my husband but would never give him a chance. I’m not sure if he would do anything crazy like stalk me or slash my tires, but he’s worth looking into, right?”

“That’s right. You did good, baby.”

“Thank you.”

“I don’t really remember his face. Do you have a picture of him?”

“I’m sure I can find one on the hospital’s website,” Anya said, picking up her phone. When we made it to the first stoplight, Anya held her phone up for me to see. “This is him.”

I frowned, racking my brain for why his face felt vaguely familiar. I was sure I had seen him on the video. As I proceeded through the light, I tore off the main road, barely making my turn.

“Ny!”

“What, baby? Was he on the video?”

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure he was on the video.” I nodded as I made my way back down the road.

“What is it, Psalm?”

“I just fucking saw him at the restaurant. He pulled up and got out of a car across from me while I was waiting for you to come out. You didn’t see him?”

“No, I was too busy deciding what I wanted to eat. What the hell?”

I pulled back into the parking lot, but the car was gone. I knew it was him though. If I was right, he was not going to stop until we stopped him. I took Anya back to my house and turned on my computer so that she could watch the street cam videos while she ate. I paced back and forth with my hands on top of my head until she made me sit down and eat the stuffed tortellini she ordered for me. I was so distracted that I couldn’t taste the food while I waited for her to confirm that he was in the video.

“You see him yet?”

“Are you eating, Psalm?”

“Yes, Ny. I can’t concentrate on eating when this muthafucka has been hiding in plain sight. I knew something was off about him. You should have let me shoot his ass.”

“I did right by stopping you, and you know it.”

“If you would have known what a creep he was, I bet you would have been singing a different tune.”

“I just want to know how you’re going to pressure me to eat when you won’t.”

“Am I not eating?”

“No.” She laughed.

“Excuse me for not having an appetite while I’m planning a man’s funeral.”

“Fuck!” Anya shouted, dropping her fork midway to her mouth.

“It’s him, isn’t it?”

“What the hell, Psalm? Why would he do all this?”

“That’s what I’m going to find out.”