Page 45 of With Wine Comes War

The DA chimed in and added, “He isn’t taking a plea deal. He claims you assaulted him first. Luckily the cameras in the room picked up on the fact he assaulted you in the room.”

“Where is he?” Alex looked deranged at this point.

What the hell is she planning to do, go hunt him down? I don’t fucking think so.

The detective calmly said, “We can’t tell you that because we don’t want you to screw up your case by going after him.” Alex’s nostrils were flaring, and her eyes were wild.

“I’m not going after him. I just need to know someone is keeping an eye on him. I know he was following me and watching me before he attacked me. I could feel it everywhere I went, even in the parking garage of this building. I thought it was my fucking ex-husband until the attack.” All prior calm is officially gone and now she’s yelling. What the hell? She never told me about this. Is this why she was upset about the messages from her ex? Why did she think he was stalking her?

I interrupted, “Alex, why didn’t you say something? I have cameras in there. I’ll have security check and see if we can go that far back.” I didn’t think we could, because once they are checked each day they’re erased, but I could at least look into it. I’ll talk to her about her ex in private.

“I felt paranoid. I never actually saw anyone, and the police won't help you if you just have a feeling. Besides, you know how I was feeling toward the police prior to this.” Tears were streaming down her face.

Detective Lewis tried to assure her with more information. “I’ll make sure he has a detail, plus there’s a protective order that he can’t come within 500 feet of you. Your attorneys went to get that immediately after they heard.”

This is just fucking great. Two steps forward and ten steps back. Now she’s really going to be a headcase, but with good cause.

***

ALEX

No mushy love shit, I thought as I rode the elevator up to the penthouse after lunch. As much as I loved the feeling of pure peace and love we’d once shared on the plane, I can’t use that right now. Maybe after all this court crap is over things will be different, but for right now I need brutal fucked up head games. I doubt Roman is really into that, but he seems to be playing along nicely, and this is all I’ve got for him right now, unfortunately.

Oh crap, where’s my phone? I thought as I patted my pockets after flipping through my purse. Did I leave it at the restaurant? Did I bring it to the restaurant? Damn, the fucking mind games might be a problem. As the doors opened, I could see my phone on the kitchen island. It had messages galore and missed calls. Several were from Detective Lewis saying she needs to talk to me right away. I called her without checking the voicemail in a panic.

“What? What’s wrong?” As soon as she said she was in Roman’s office I dropped the phone and got back in the elevator. I didn’t evenlook at Amelia sitting at her desk, I just barged right into the office. My adrenaline was pumping. I knew there was something wrong. Why else would I be having these nightmares?

I was tapping my foot, and my leg was shaking so bad. I had to cross my arms tightly because I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest. I think I could taste blood from where I just bit my lip waiting for them to give me the bad news. I listened to Detective Lewis tell me everything and felt like I might crumble.

Get a hold of yourself, this is why you’re going to training. You need to calm down so you can think.

I reached for the chair Roman had pulled over and sat. I put my head down to clear my thoughts and took a few deep breaths. When I picked my head up, I could still feel the blood rushing through it, but I focused the emotion to the move, which in this case was the question I was about to ask. I moved my hands to the arms of the chair because I felt like I needed some kind of physical action to concentrate on and ground me somehow. I took one last deep breath then wiped the tears from my face and got my composure back. I felt the snap of my composed anger taking over. It was the part of me bound and determined to put Tanner where he belonged.

“What does this really mean? Is he free to go wherever he’d like, then?” The three of them looked at each other and Roman just smiled as the detective and the DA looked a little confused by my sudden mood swing.

I know, it’s a gift, let’s move on please.

Detective Lewis said, “Yes, he can move about freely. His passport was confiscated and like I said, he can’t come within 500 ft of you, or he goes to jail. If, however, he does, you’re not to engage him. You call me immediately.”

Don’t engage him? I’ll kill him if he comes near me. That’s what I fear most– these intense feelings.

“What do I do now? Look over my shoulder? Be paranoid 24/7? Not sleep? Keep the lights on? I mean this is bullshit.”

“Alex, I know this isn’t what we had hoped for, but you knew it was a possibility. The best thing you can do is stay somewhere safe where you’re not alone. Maybe with your dad or a friend.”

Roman was staring right at me the whole time the officer was talking.

“She can stay with me.”

Here we go. Almost as if he planned this. Total manipulation.

“Of course I can, but this was the shit I was trying to avoid. Why am I the one who has to hide and lock themselves away? He’s the predator. I’m sure I’m not his first target or his last. I hate that you all want me to be a victim. I was unlucky once, but I’m not now and never will be a victim again, so please stop looking at me like that.” I was wringing my hands together because they were shaking so bad but at least my mind felt strong.

The DA said, “Alex, we’re sorry this happened, we just want to make sure you’re safe and that he goes away for what he did. We know you didn’t assault him that night.” I laughed and threw my head back, taking a deep breath. Not that night, I didn’t. I sat back in the chair but couldn’t seem to get comfortable as I twisted my body from side to side before crossing my legs for a little stability.

“Did you know I assaulted him on a different night? Does he know Roman’s the one who broke his nose?” And I would do it again. Just thinking about that makes my blood boil. I realized I had a death grip on the arm of the chair thinking about what I would do if I had them around Tanner’s neck.

The detective said, “Yes, we’re aware and he’s aware of who did what that night. The only thing we don’t have from the first night is a witness to what he did to you.”

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