The Enforcer (24 page)

“I’ll be right there, I want to get changed.” Lacey ran upstairs and switched from work clothes into comfy shorts and a t-shirt. Almost as an afterthought, she grabbed her phone on the way out of her room and put it in her pocket. Just in case Jody texted or called. Hopefully he was cooled down by now.

As Jody had proven, cold beer went great with pizza, and Lacey grabbed one. The smell of gooey cheese, peppers and onions assaulted her in the most delicious way when she opened the door to the deck. Lacey plopped down in a chair next to Zoe so they could both look out at the ocean. There was a decent view since the house in front of Zoe’s was an older one story. Someday that house would be knocked down and rebuilt, and she would lose that view for sure.

“So? How’d it go?”

“Better than I expected, actually. He’s doing this counting thing to try to calm down. It’s kind of cute. He counts to twenty because ten isn’t enough.” Lacey shook her head with a smile on her face. “He did punch the dumpster a couple of times when we got back to the parking lot, though. I waited until then to tell him the part about Steven threatening me. But the more that I think about that, the less I think he would do anything.”

Zoe wasn’t so sure. “With the past couple of interactions with Steven, why don’t you think he’d do anything? He doesn’t seem stable.”

“He loved me. I mean, I think we did truly love each other, Zoe. Could I have been that wrong?” Zoe was looking at her like she didn’t want to say anything, but had something to say. “What? Just say it.”

“Well, I always felt like there was something off about Steven. I’m not saying I didn’t like him, but I just never completely trusted him. But you were in love, and he seemed to treat you well, so I figured I was just doing that ’he’s not good enough for my best friend’ thing, you know?”

Completely taken by surprise, Lacey asked, “Why the hell didn’t you ever say anything? We talk about
everything.
I can’t believe you would hold back on something like that.”

“What would I have said, Lace? That I think something is off with Steven, the man you were in love with? I didn’t have anything concrete to say so I didn’t say anything. I still don’t know what’s up with him except that I believe he has some mental issues that need to be addressed.”

Lacey let out a big sigh and took another bite of her pizza. When she thought about what Zoe said, she agreed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I honestly never saw anything out of the ordinary until the day of the wedding. How stupid does that make me? Well, I can’t change the past, but I need to go to the police station tomorrow and see what I should do. I’ll go at lunchtime.” Lacey took a swig of her beer and changed the subject.

“Wanna watch a movie later, Zoe?” Zoe still had some files to go over and notes to type up, but said she could watch a movie with her when she was done. To get her work done quicker, she took the rest of her pizza with her to her office and left Lacey out on the deck.

Barrons. Lacey was thinking about Jericho Barrons. She’d spend the time waiting for Zoe reading the book she had started re-reading on the beach. Barrons was a hottie.

Her phone beeped before she had a chance to get up to go get her book. It was a text from Jody.

Jody: Hey Angel

Lacey: Angel?

Jody: Eh, I thought I’d try it. I can’t get the picture of you on the beach with the sun shining on your hair out of my mind.

Lacey: Awww :)

Jody: So, are you wearing panties?

Lacey laughed. Jody was in a playful mood tonight. She liked playful Jody.

Lacey: Nice segue.

Jody: Seems like every time we text or talk you’re panty-less so I figured I’d check. Actually, I just wanted to see if you were very angry with me.

Lacey: Not really. I do think you tried.

Jody: I did, and I’ll keep trying, but it’s hard. I don’t want anything to happen to you when it took me 36 years to find you.

Lacey: I know, and that’s sweet. I’m going to the police station tomorrow at noon.

Jody: Good. I’m glad you’re going.

Lacey: I thought you might approve.

Jody: Nobody likes a smartass, missy.

Lacey: Missy? I thought I was Angel.

Jody: I have many names for you. Sex Kitten, Luscious Lace, Girl with the Phenomenal Rack …

Lacey: I’m ok with all of them, believe it or not. :)

Jody: Think I’ll stick with Angel. Well, I was just going to take Izzy for a walk and then hit the sack. Another early morning tomorrow. Busy day.

Lacey: Ok, sweet dreams, Jody.

Jody: I’ll just think about you, and they will be.

Lacey: Right back at you.

Jody: xo … too soon?

Lacey: maybe not...Nite Jody.

Jody: that’s better than ’no.’ Goodnight Angel.

Instead of reading while she was waiting for Zoe, Lacey decided to simply sit outside and listen to the waves crashing along the shore and think about Jody. Even though it had been only a few weeks since she’d known him, she had to admit to herself that she was falling for him. Who could blame her?

Friday morning came, and Lacey couldn’t help being excited that the weekend had finally arrived. Saturday night was the Scorpions’ skate party, and she was looking forward to seeing Jody again. She really hoped Steven wouldn’t show up and ruin her plans. Her plans for Saturday night included the seduction of Jody LaGrange. She had her ‘lingerie’ all picked out.

Lacey had gone back to the sporting goods store on her way home from work one night and bought herself a LaGrange jersey. She wanted to work with him on his possessive attitude. She needed him to know that she was not
always
opposed to being marked as his. Not one to mind an alpha male, as long as he didn’t get
entirely
carried away (as Jody tended to from time to time), she was going to wear his jersey as her lingerie for their first time together. She would show him that, in the bedroom, she belonged to him, and he was welcome to stake his claim. What could say that more than her having his name on her … and nothing else? With those happy thoughts, she went off to work.

When lunchtime rolled around, Lacey went to the police station. While she was standing in line, waiting for an officer to help her, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Jody standing there.

“Hey Lace. I hope you don’t mind, but I just wanted to be here with you.”

Lacey’s heart skipped at beat when she saw him. He was so incredibly hot. “Actually, I don’t mind at all. Thanks for coming. I’m a little nervous. I’m not sure that this is necessary, you know?” It still seemed surreal that Steven was acting the way he was. “It’s hard for me to think that someone I once loved would want to hurt me. Part of me doesn’t believe he would actually do anything, but the other part of me says I shouldn’t underestimate him. He’s been a bit off kilter for a while now.” She took comfort in Jody being there with her. Zoe had offered to meet her there, but Lacey had told her not to, but now she was glad to have someone with her.

Jody ran the back of his fingers down her cheek. “It makes me crazy thinking that anyone would want to hurt you. If he ever does, I swear he’ll regret it for the rest of his life.”

When Officer Beacon beckoned her to follow him, she grabbed Jody’s hand and pulled him along with her. Once they were seated in a small office, the officer asked her what she was there for.

“Well, my ex-fiancé has been acting strange lately, and he went so far as to threaten me. I’m not sure what I should do.” She explained the botched wedding, Steven’s behavior afterward, and his impending return to the U.S. the next day.

“He’s not in the country now, Ms. Benoit?” She was pleased to see that the officer was paying attention and was diligently taking notes.

“No. He’s a concert pianist and is in London right now.”

“Okay,” the officer said, “Let’s start with the basics. What is his full name?”

When Lacey told him his full name, the officer said, “I know the name. My wife loves him.”

Lacey was about to ask if another officer could take her information as she didn’t want this guy thinking Steven wasn’t a threat just because he played beautiful music, but then he added, “You just never know what a person is really like, do you?”

“Well, I guess I didn’t even know what he was really like until the day of my wedding. Believe me, I still feel like a fool.” She would never get over the fact that she was so blind to Steven’s infidelities.

“Okay, this is what we can do for you. Unfortunately, there’s not a judge in the state that will issue a restraining order based on verbal threats that you can’t prove.” Jody’s hand tightened on hers, and Lacey hoped he wasn’t going to start with the officer about not being able to get a restraining order, but he didn’t say a word and the officer continued, “What I
can
do is document your visit and have you fill out a harassment complaint so that we have something on file. I know it’s not what you came looking for, but we have to follow the proper channels. I will tell you, though, that verbal threats should never be taken lightly. I would suggest that you carry your phone with you at all times and think about taking a self-defense class or carrying pepper spray until you see if he’s truly a threat.” The officer gave her a kind smile. “You did the right thing coming here, Ms. Benoit. I hope that you never need a restraining order, but at least now we have your story documented.”

Lacey filled out all the paperwork, and the officer gave her a copy. When she left the building with Jody in tow, she felt marginally better just for taking a step at protecting herself. Reaching her car, Jody pulled a small bag out of his pocket and gave it to her with a sheepish grin. “I kind of took the liberty of buying this for you.” Inside the bag were two canisters of pepper spray. One was for her purse, and the other was for her keychain. “Please don’t be mad. I know you can take care of yourself … well, actually, I don’t know that. Dammit Lacey, move in with me until we can figure this out. I can’t stand the thought of you out there with that bastard around.” He looked down at the ground between them and added, “Please.”

He was too cute. She could tell how hard he was trying not to be overbearing. In this instance, she didn’t mind his protective nature because there was an actual threat against her. “Thank you Jody, but no. He won’t chase me out of Zoe’s house. She has an alarm system that we’ll use every time we open and close the door until this situation is resolved. I promise to always have my phone and pepper spray on me. That’s the best I can do.”

Lacey stretched up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. “I have to go back to work. I’ll talk to you later.” She reached up and brushed an errant strand of hair off his forehead. “Thank you for being here with me.”

Jody grabbed her right before she turned around to get into her car. He wrapped her in his arms and held her for bit with his face buried in her hair. “Please be safe, Lace, okay?” He kissed her forehead and left.

When Saturday morning rolled around, Lacey was both excited and apprehensive at the same time. She couldn’t wait to see Jody again, but she was worried about Steven showing up. The anticipation of when he would actually show was getting to Zoe, too.