“Remember that guy we saw with Amy when we went to Seattle?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she replied. “She’d said it was a rude customer complaining about the menu or something like that.”
“That doesn’t seem to be the case now,” Paul told her.
“What do you mean? What’s going on?” Nikki could feel the heat rising under the bandanna she wore.
“He showed up here, and it’s pretty clear they know each other,” Paul said.
“What? Why would she lie about something like that?” Nikki asked furiously.
“I don’t know, but you can ask her when she gets there. I’m going to take her home now. She’s pretty shaken up.”
“Oh my God,” Nikki exclaimed and sank onto the edge of the bed. “Okay, thanks, Paul.”
The chores were instantly forgotten as she hurried downstairs to await their arrival. A lump formed in her throat when his truck pulled into the driveway, and she hurried onto the porch. Amy got out and walked, hugging herself like a victim of a crime.
Nikki put her arm around her and led her inside, but she didn’t want to attack her with questions right away. She just wanted to be sure she was alright, so she led her into the living room, where she perched on the edge of the seat.
Paul shared a concerned look with Nikki before he took the armchair to Amy’s right. Nikki eventually sat down on the sofa next to Amy.
“Are you okay?” she asked her.
Amy rocked and shook her head. She quickly brushed away a tear.
“What’s going on?” Nikki asked as calmly as she could. “Who was that?”
“That was Jake Tapper,” Amy replied with a shrewd smile. “My ex-boyfriend. But you can’t tell him that. He won’t leave me alone.”
Nikki remembered the name from Greg’s report and became even more concerned.
“Why didn’t you tell us that the last time?”
“Why? I didn’t know you,” Amy retorted.
“I guess,” Nikki admitted. “Why is he here? What does he want?”
Amy sighed. “He just won’t leave me alone. We were together for a while, but he is a hothead and such a douchebag. We fought all the time and broke up even more times than that. We got back together after a couple of those fights, but now, I’m just done, but he won’t take no for an answer,” she told them. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Well, first of all, what he’s doing is criminal,” Paul advised her. “You can file a police report. Get a restraining order. He tailed you all the way from Seattle and knew where to find you.”
“It wouldn’t be hard for someone like him to do that.” Amy sighed. “He has money. His family is rich. He gets away with a lot of things because of that.”
“That doesn’t mean jack squat,” Nikki fumed. “Did he hurt you?”
“Not really,” Amy replied, almost like she was trying to defend his actions, though abusive toward her. “He roughed me up a couple of times. Grabbed my arm too tightly, you know? Stuff like that. Nothing serious.”
Nikki wasn’t convinced. “It usually starts out like nothing. A poke here. A jab there. Next thing you know, you have a broken arm and a concussion. Guys like that shouldn’t be taken lightly.”
“I know,” Amy said. “There was a time when I used to blame myself for it—like if I hadn’t talked back to him, he wouldn’t have been angry. Or maybe if I loved him, he would change. After a while, I realized it wasn’t going to happen, and I needed to get out,” she said, averting her eyes to stare at the floor. “That’s when he told me that if he can’t have me, no one will.”
Nikki gasped and covered her mouth. “Amy, that was a threat against your life! Oh my God!” Nikki got up and paced the floor as her anger intensified. “You can’t go back to the restaurant.”
Amy laughed incredulously. “You don’t think he knows where I am now? Where to find me? He always does!” she said angrily. “It’s like I can’t get away from him, and it’s been months of this. I can’t take it anymore.”
“You need to go to the police,” Paul told her. “If there’s no formal report, he can get away with anything. If anything should happen to you, God forbid, they’ll want to know why you never said anything. They’ll make you an accomplice after the fact.”
Amy shook her head. “I know. I’m tired. Can I just go shower and get some sleep, please.”
