AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I got the protective order from Max — I need you to sign it so I can file it with town hall.”
“Joey.” I push back from him. “Don’t make me ask again. What happened?”
He lets out an exasperated sigh as he pulls out his phone. When he hands it to me, I see a video queued up. “What he did to your car was child’s play, Kels.”
I press “play” and am horrified by what I’m seeing on the screen. I cringe as I watch a masked figure, whom I assume is Grant, taking a baseball bat to Joey’s garage. When I see the footage of him wrecking that car, my stomach tangles in even more knots than before. I get a feeling the only reason he didn’t do this to my car was fear of being caught if we heard the noise from inside.
My heart is beyond broken for Joey right now. He put his heart and soul into that garage. He built it up from nothing and established a great clientele here in town. He’s not like your stereotypical mechanic who just looks for ways to screw you over. He genuinely cares about his customers and making sure that their vehicles are well taken care of. Lord knows he’s given me more than a few breaks when my car needed repairs.
“Jesus Christ, Joey. What are we supposed to do now? We can’t prove this was him — he’s wearing a fucking ski mask. I tried to get him to admit that he’s the one who keyed my car, but he’s too smart to fall for a trap like that. You really think he’s going to abide by a restraining order?”
“No… but it’s a start until Max can get information on Grant from his private investigator. Once we have a leg to stand on, we can make decisions from there.”
I never thought my life would come to this — being stalked, harassed, threatened, and having my property vandalized. “What am I supposed to do? Go into hiding until we can get this mess all sorted out?”
“Of course not, Angel. We’re not going to let this fucker stop us from living our lives. But the sooner we have something to fight him with, the better. In the meantime — I promise, I won’t let anything happen to you.” He hands me a folded up piece of paper. “Sign it, and I’ll take it right over to town hall to get it filed. I had Max draw it up and cover any loopholes he thought Grant would come up with to get around it or get it thrown out.”
As I read through the document, I see that Max included clauses saying that Grant cannot come within 500 feet of me, Joey, or our places of employment. If we happen to be out somewhere and he is in the same place, we can request that management remove him from the premises. It also has a no-contact clause, whereby if Grant initiates contact, I can have him arrested for harassment. I guess that means today was the last conversation between us — not that I’m complaining. I flip through the rest of the document until I find the signature lines. Without hesitation, I sign my name and hand the papers back to Joey.
“I’m going to go file this right now. I’ll be back to get you after school.” I nod my agreement but he stops me by grabbing my chin. “I know you’re probably going to hate me for requesting this, but I’m going to do it anyway. Stay here in your classroom until I come get you.”
My breath hitches in my throat. “Why?”
“Because then I’ll know you’re safe. He knows you don’t have a car right now, Kelsey. I wouldn’t put it past him to show up here.”
I roll my eyes at his statement. “Come on, Joey. Give me a little credit — I would never get in a car with him.”
“Not willingly,” he says in all seriousness. “So please, promise me that you will stay here until I come in for you.”
“I promise.”
Chapter 44
When I stopped in Max’s office to pick up the restraining order, he introduced me to his private investigator — Ryan Tanner. He informed me that he had only started looking into Grant this morning, but given his previous track record, he should have something for me by the end of the week.
As I drive over to town hall, my mind races over this situation. I can’t believe this asshole is going to such extreme lengths to get Kelsey back. I mean, I can to a degree — I’d fucking burn the world down for her. I also wouldn’t be an idiot like Grant was and cheat on her. But if she were to come to me tomorrow and tell me she didn’t want to be with me anymore, I’d accept it. I’d be heartbroken as fuck, but I’d learn to deal with it. There’s an ulterior motive for him wanting her back, that much I’m certain of.
I remember seeing how he acted when they were out in public together. He wasn’t all blissed out like Kelsey was — his face seemed to say “look how good she looks on my arm.” He never cared about her — only how good she made him look. She was just a box he could check off in his public persona.
When I pull into the parking lot, I have to will myself to calm down. I’ve been completely unnerved since I left my house this morning, and it just keeps escalating as the day progresses. I can’t go in there metaphorically guns blazing, or I’m going to land myself in jail.
I navigate my way through the building until I find the DA’s office. The papers have been officially filed with the town, I just need to serve them to Grant. Before I enter the office, I open the Voice Memo app on my phone. If there’s even the slightest chance I can get this fucker to admit something, I want documented proof.
“Hi, may I help you?” The woman sitting behind the desk asks in an overly cheerful voice. I recognize her almost immediately — she’s the woman who was with Grant the night I took Kelsey out.
“Yes, I’m here to see Grant Davis,” I announce in my no-bullshit tone. I dare her to challenge me.
“Do you have an appointment?” She raises an eyebrow at me like I’m disrupting her life somehow.
“No, but I have urgent business with him. It will only take a minute.” I do my best not to get snippy with her.
“Your name?”
“Joey Brooks.” I watch as her face drops. It’s clear to me now that I’ve been mentioned in some capacity.
My fists clench and release rapidly as she announces my arrival into the phone. If I know this asshole half as well as I think I do, he won’t pass up an opportunity to rattle me.
“He’ll be right out for you.” She motions for me to have a seat, but I stay planted firmly where I am.
