Page 67 of A Constant Reminder

Chapter 40 – Tyler

The next day after we finished our classes for the day, I took Sam to pick out her new phone and asked the phone company for a new number. After we had gotten everything taken care of, I took her to dinner.

Sam was nervous, looking over her shoulder every chance she got. I knew was scared, but I didn’t want her to become a hermit because of this asshole. I wanted her to still be able to live her life. And I didn’t think he’d try anything with me around.

I hated seeing her like this. Fear was starting to get the best of her. I could tell last night, especially when she climbed into bed smelling like a fifth of whiskey. There was no way I was going to let her feel unsafe in our home.

Once we got home and settled, I called the best locksmith I could find to come put extra bolts on all of the doors and windows…again. Even though I might not be able to be home 24/7, I would be damn sure to make sure our house was locked down tighter than Fort Knox.

To keep her mind off all the bad, I did my best to keep her occupied. Instead of just watching movies in which I knew her mind would just wander, I pulled out an old video game system I had and challenged her.

After she beat me three times in a row, I realized I underestimated how good she was from growing up with two brothers. Her loud laugh as she whooped my ass time and time again made the hit to my ego totally worth it. Anything would be worth it to see her smile and laugh without a worry in the world…even if it was only fleeting.

I grew tiresome of this constant worrying and sitting on the sidelines feeling like I wasn’t doing enough. So, despite my reservations about how Sam would feel about it, I made a call to a private detective. She would be pissed, and I knew it, but I wanted answers, and I wanted them before things escalated even further.

The next day, I had gone to meet with him, giving him every scrap of information we had about James. Since I informed him money was no object, I expected results a hell of a lot faster than the cops were getting them.

The man was small and seemed kind of slimy, but he came well recommended. He better be well-recommended with he price tag he came with.

I made up my mind that I was going to do my best to avoid telling Sam. Even if my guy found something, I would just pass the information on to Detective Macintosh in hopes that he could run with it. Having Sam find out what I was doing wasn’t going to make the situation any easier and certainly wouldn’t make her worry less. In her eyes, the less people who knew, the better.

Although I understood where she was coming from, I didn’t share her sentiment. In my mind, the more people out looking for this son of a bitch, the better. More eyes out there trying to find him could only help. Of course, I wasn’t the one who had been violated over and over again, so I didn’t think I was in any position to tell her how to handle things.

All I could do was sit by and try to comfort her as much as possible without stepping over any of her boundaries. Lord knows, I didn’t want her to think of me as an enemy or someone she couldn’t trust. I was in her corner, and I never wanted her to forget that.

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