Chapter 83 Unmasked
The bike stopped at the entrance and the rider stepped down, waiting and watching.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
It was a message from Lena.
“Stay in the light. I will be there in two minutes. Theo is with me.”
I kept walking towards the center slowly and deliberately so that I wouldn’t look like I was running.
My phone vibrated again.
“We are coming from the east path. Make sure you stay in the open.”
I looked towards the rider, they were still there, helmet still on.
Then suddenly and silently from the left path, Lena burst out and launched herself at the rider’s leg, her arms wrapping around the knees. Theo followed, pushing them from behind with his shoulder.
The rider fell hard and grunted, their arms flailing.
It all seemed like a movie as I watched them from where I stood, my mouth wide open.
“How on earth did they pull that off?” I muttered under my breath.
Lena was already twisting and pinning one hand behind their back, her knee pressing into the spine while Theo held their legs together.
“Get off me!” the person whimpered.
The voice was muffled through the helmet, but it was undeniably a female’s voice.
“We’ve got her. Come and get the helmet!” Lena looked up, her eyes blazing.
I ran forward, my breath uneven.
Then I dropped to my knees beside them, my heart beating rapidly.
The rider resisted, cursing under her breath but Lena’s weight kept her down.
I reached for the helmet strap, unbuckled it, and pulled it off.
“Wow,” I muttered.
The woman under the helmet didn’t look dangerous at all. She looked like someone you would pass in a grocery store without noticing.
“Get off me!” she shouted, flapping her legs.
“Stop moving or I swear I will make this hurt more,” Lena said, tightening her knee on her back.
“Check her bike to see if you will find anything,” she turned to me and said.
I stood up and moved to her bike. The first thing I removed was the key, then I reached for the bag that was hanging on the handle.
I emptied the contents on the ground and we all gasped except her.
Inside the bag were cut-out pictures of Dave, probably from magazines, keychains with Dave’s picture on them, more letters she was planning to send, and pictures of Dave and me from the estate.
“Oh my…” I mumbled under my breath.
“Who are you?” Theo asked, still holding on to her legs.
“Someone who has loved him long before she came into the picture,” she grunted.
“You must be kidding. You are just a stalker,” Lena hissed, her eyes filled with anger.
“I can’t let anybody take him away from me,” she mouthed and smiled.
My blood turned cold.
Soon the police arrived, and they took her in their car, while we followed them in mine.
Dave arrived ten minutes after my frantic call. He pushed through the double doors, his jacket half on and his hair slightly rough as if he had run from his car. He looked around and his eyes found me immediately.
He hurried over to where I was, bent down in front of my chair, and took both my hands.
“Hey… you okay?” he said softly.
“Yeah, they are questioning her now,” I nodded even though I was still shaken.
“You did the right thing by calling the police,” he muttered squeezing my fingers.
Then he turned to Theo and Lena.
“Thank you, guys. You guys made that happen.”
“She was the one who lured her to the park like a superhero,” Lena snorted.
“I just tackled her and Theo helped pin her down.”
“I’m just glad you are safe,” Dave replied, his lips twitching slightly at the side.
“Ms. Cole,” a uniformed officer called out, standing at the doorway.
“Please your attention is needed in the interrogation room,” he said.
I stood up and Dave followed right after me.
When we got to the interrogation room, we saw the woman seated behind a metal table, her wrists cuffed while a female detective in plain clothes sat across from her.
Her face lit as if she had seen her guardian angel when she saw Dave.
“Thank you for coming,” the female detective said, gesturing at two empty chairs.
“We’ve been questioning her for over an hour… You don’t have to stay if you don't want to. I just want you to hear what she has to say.”
Dave looked at me as if trying to seek my approval.
I nodded and we sat.
The woman leaned forward as long as the cuff allowed her.
“Please, don’t let them detain me. I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone,” she said, her voice almost low.
Dave’s jaw clenched and he looked at her with disgust.
“You stalked me, followed us, took photos of us, sent threats to her, and yet you said you weren’t trying to bury anyone,” he muttered firmly.
She flinched as if he had slapped her.
“I… I know and I’m sorry.”
“Sorry doesn’t explain anything,” I cut in, my voice tougher than I intended.
She looked at me now, making a pitiful face.
“I didn’t want to hurt you. I just… I wanted you to leave. I thought maybe if I scared you enough, you’d go.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Please, I admit to following you. I took your photo and sent it to the blog. I wasn’t thinking when I did that. I’m just begging you to forgive me. I don’t want to go to jail.”
I felt pity for her, but there was nothing I could do. If she wasn’t taught a lesson, she would continue with her shenanigans.
The detective cleared her throat and leaned forward.
“Ms. Reynolds has admitted to stalking, harassment, trespassing, and dissemination of private images without consent. We are detaining her pending formal charges,” she stated.
The woman looked up again.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“I just loved you… I wanted you to know I exist.”
Dave ignored her and stood.
I stood after him.
The detective nodded to the officers behind us and they moved forward, helping Ms. Reynolds to her feet.
She didn’t resist.
As they led her away, she looked back and fixed his eyes on Dave until they were out of sight.
Dave reached for my hand and we walked out of the investigation room silently.
When we got to the hallway, he paused and turned to face me.
“I’m sorry you got dragged into my mess,” he exhaled slowly.
“Come on… you didn’t do anything wrong,” I replied as I squeezed his arm.
He pulled me closer and hugged me tightly, his chin resting on my head.
“I love you, Joan,” he whispered into my hair.
“I love you too,” I whispered back.
Then we walked back to join Theo and Lena hand-in-hand.
Later that night…
Across town, someone else was dealing with a very different problem.
ALEX HART’S POV
It’s been days since Cassandra was discharged from the hospital, and I had been trying, really trying to be there for her.
I check on her from time to time and buy her cravings.
That evening, I came back from work tired.
The house was silent so I was sure she wasn’t at home.
I sank onto the couch and rested for a little while before heading for my room.
When I pushed the door to my room open, I was shocked.
My room was completely different from how I had left it.
My closet was now filled with female clothes, my dressing table was filled with makeup products, her perfumes, and my shoe rack was filled with Cassandra’s heels.
I looked around, my head pounding.
“What the hell is happening here?”