Conrad
Maya and I were getting ourselves ready to head out to work. Surprisingly, she slept well last night, even after everything. I think she was completely drained. We even slept in, so we have been rushing around.
“I can’t be late, Meredith will go crazy.” Maya groans.
“You won’t be,” I promise.
I pour coffee into a travel mug for each of us and grab a couple of bananas. I hand a mug and one to Maya.
“Thanks.”
“It will do for now. Let’s go, angel.” I smile and take one of her hands in mine.
We made sure we had everything and rushed out to my car. I parked in the street last night, so I don’t need to worry about getting it out of my garage, which will save us a couple of minutes.
“Do you still want to meet for lunch today?” I ask as we stroll towards my car.
Maya nods, “Yes, please.” She smiles.
“Okay, I will be in my usual parking place waiting for you at one. Or close by, depending on whether someone has taken my spot.
She smiles and kisses me. When we arrived at the car, I noticed some damage on the side of it. It looks like someone has taken a knife to the paintwork or something.
“Was that mark there last night?” Maya asks.
“Not that I remember unless I hit something and didn’t realise.”
“Conrad, there is something under the window wipers. He knows where you stay.” She whimpers.
“Relax angel. Someone may have damaged my care, and that is their apology.”
I didn’t believe what I was saying, but I didn’t want Maya to start panicking too much. She shakes her head, knowing that isn’t the case. I snatch the envelope up. It doesn’t have anything written on the outside. I quickly rip it open and take it out to read.
I know where you stay too, rich boy. She can’t get away from me. You should give up on her and send her back to me. If you don’t, I will do worse than key your car. You have been warned. Tell my baby girl I said hello.
A fit of anger takes over me as I read. Bastard! Does he really think he can scare me? He can’t. He doesn’t know what I will do to protect the people who matter to me. I will find the bastard before he has a chance to do anything.
“What does it say?” Maya asks nervously.
“It doesn’t matter. We should get to work.”
Maya rips the note from my hand and reads it before I can stop her. I didn’t want her to see it. She lets out a loud sob as the tears run down her cheeks.
“No, I am so sorry, Conard. He is now threatening you. Maybe I should just go back to him if it means he will leave you alone. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you.”
“You are not going anywhere. You sure as hell are not going back to him, Maya. Don’t worry about me. I am not scared of him. He can threaten me all he wants because the more he does, the more evidence I have for the police to get him arrested and his ass thrown in jail.” I hiss.
“Conrad, why can’t you get it into your head? He is dangerous? He doesn’t give a damn about anyone. He wouldn’t think twice about hurting you. Why can’t you get that.”
Maya sounds angry, but I know that anger is aimed at me. She is just worried for me. I reach for her and bring her closer to me. I place my hand on her face and caress her cheek.
“I understand, Maya, trust me, I do, but I refuse to let him ruin this for us. I refuse to let him try and hurt you again. I promise Callum will get what is coming to him one way or another. He isn’t as tough as he likes to think. He is nothing but a coward who gets his kicks out of hurting other people. He isn’t worth any of this.” I say softly.
“Just let me go, Conrad. You don’t need or deserve any of this. I should have known he would have found me eventually. This is my fault. I should never have left or started something with you because now we both have targets on our backs.”
The tears are streaming down her face. I hug her to my chest.
“I am not letting you go, okay? No matter how many times you tell me to or try to push me away. I promised I was not going anywhere, and I meant. Don’t you dare blame yourself for any of this. All of this is on him. You found the strength to leave, and you are stronger than you think. I will never regret meeting you, so please stop, okay?” I whisper and stroke her hair.
She whimpers and nods against my chest.
“Now, let’s get you to work. I don’t want you getting into trouble.” I suggest.
“What about the note? The car?” she asks, looking up at me.
“I will drop you off, then deal with it. I will take the note to the police station and tell them what happened to my car. I don’t know if they can do anything, but if I tell them, he will be on their radar. What is his second name?”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” she asks, and I shake my head, “His second name is Broody.”
I don’t want her to deal with all of this. I can do it myself. Maya sighs and nods. I wipe her tears away and kiss her softly. We climb in the car and get on our way. I am so fucking angry; it makes me want to punch something, preferably Callum’s face. I am trying to keep it together for Maya’s sake because it will only upset her again if she picks up on it. I need her to go to work and focus on something else while I sort everything out.
The car journey is silent. I know Maya is getting lost in her head and worrying about everything. The sooner I get things sorted, the better. No one better piss me off today because I am not in the mood.
We pull up outside Maya’s work building.
“Call me as soon as you are out of the police station. Please be safe, Conrad.” She whispers.
“I will call you straight away, I promise, sweetheart. I will be fine. Please try not to worry about me too much, okay? I know that is easier said than done, but concentrate on work.” I say.
She nods, “I will try.”
“Thank you.” I smile.
She reaches over to kiss me, “I will talk to you soon and see you at lunch.”
“Yes, talk soon, beautiful. I will deal with all of this.”
She sighs and runs her fingers through her hair, “I know.”
I kiss her one last time and keep an eye on her until I know she is safe inside of the building. I take a look around to make sure Callum isn’t hanging around before I drive off. There is no sign of him. I have no idea if the police can do anything, but I will put a report in so they have it on record.
I head for the police station, which isn’t too far of a drive. I check to make sure I am not being followed. The pathetic excuse of a human being has me a little paranoid now, but I refuse to let him get under my skin. I shouldn’t have ripped the note up he sent with the flowers yesterday. I could have handed that into them, too.
I hate that he knows where I stay, too. It was a safe place for Maya, and now it won’t be. Yes, she knows he can’t get to her in my place, but I know she will still be worried nonetheless. He must have been following me too, or he followed us to mine last night, and we didn’t notice.
I wish I could take her to my place in the Hamptons or my villa in Italy and stay there for a while, but it won’t be possible because Meredith won’t give her the time off, and she doesn’t want to lose her job. I will need another plan.
Maybe I should book us into a hotel somewhere. Then again, I don’t think she would feel safe there either because he could get in there easily. I hate this! I hate she is going through this, and I can’t stop. She shouldn’t be living in fear because of her ex.
I pull up to the police station. I take a moment to gather myself. I take some deep breaths and run my fingers through my hair. I punch the steering wheel.
“Fuck!” I hiss.
I need to find a way to get rid of Callum. I don’t know how, but I will find a way. I know Maya will not be relaxed or feel secure while he is around. I need to change that. It is my job to take care of her and protect her. I can’t help but worry because of it all; Maya is going to disappear to protect me. I wouldn’t be able to deal with losing her.
I know we haven’t been together long, but she means the world to me. It has been a long time since I have felt this way about someone. Actually, I don’t know if I ever felt like this for someone so quickly. There is a chance I may be falling in love with, which is crazy, but I can’t help how I feel.
I can’t think about that now. I will keep it to myself for now because I don’t want to scare her off. She will think I have lost it. I give myself a shake and finally climb out of the car. I snap a few shots of the damage and head inside. I will need to take the vehicle to the garage at some point today, but that is the least of my worries.