Broken Pasts Read Online Free Page A

curtains in one hand when I
saw him.
    Gary.
    Gary
was sitting in a white car that I'd never seen driving down the
street in front of my house. His brown hair was clean and combed
back and his face was pleasant and relaxed. He in no way looked the
part of a stalker. But that's all I could think. Stalker. He
turned the corner and disappeared around the block. I stood frozen
in front of the window, certain that he'd come back around at any
moment.
    “ Masturbation
is when a person touches themselves to feel good,” Jamie said
as Rhea stuck out her tongue and opened the refrigerator, obviously
uninterested.
    “ She's
nine,” I said to Jamie by way of explanation as I tried to keep
the fear I was feeling out of my voice. It was just a coincidence.
Had to be a coincidence. Gary had to make home visits for some of
his clients. There was always the chance that he was just out here
for a work thing and had decided to drive by. I noticed then that my
hands were shaking.
    “ So
what?” she asked. “Ray started masturbating when he was
six months old.” I didn't respond, just waited to see if the
white car would reappear. It didn't. Finally, Jamie came over and
stood beside me, putting a hand to my forehead to see if I was okay.
    “ You
don't look so good,” she told me as I finally got the strength
to draw the curtains. I checked the front door next and then the
back. The windows came next. Jamie waited until I was out of Rhea's
sight and grabbed me by the upper arms. “What the hell is
going on with you?” she asked, all serious now. She had her
prosecutor face on. It's not something that can be argued with or
ignored. Jamie demands attention when she's like that.
    “ Gary,”
I said. She continued to stare at me, waiting for an explanation.
    “ Mom?”
Rhea asked as she came around the corner and saw us standing there.
“What are you doing?”
    “ Hey,”
Jamie said and her face lit up for the briefest of moments as she
stared my daughter's big brown eyes down. “Why don't you go
pick us all a movie to watch? We'll make beds on the floor in the
living room. It'll be fun.” Rhea nodded enthusiastically and
disappeared again. When Jamie turned back to me, I slumped and let
my guard down. There was no point in trying to hide it from her
anymore. “What's going on?” I looked up and caught her
gaze with mine.
    “ It's
Gary,” I said. “And he's stalking me.”

 
    CHAPTER 4
    I
stared at the phone number on the notepad that Jamie had left me.
    PPSD was scrawled across the top of the white and pink lined paper
with the tiny butterfly silhouettes. I had bought it for Rhea to
take to school, but she hadn't wanted it.
    “ Butterflies
are for pussies,” she'd said defiantly. Glen would've burst an
artery to hear her talk like that. I'd just ignored it and let Jamie
pull it from my hand where she'd jotted down the information for
Personal Private Security Detail.
    “ They
are awesome,” she'd told me as she tapped the paper with her
bright, red fingernails. “During our last case, we had a whole
slew of psychos picketing around the office. They were so convinced
that this guy was innocent that they were attacking anybody involved
with the case. So,” she slapped the pad with the back of her
hand. “We hired PPSD. They sent over these big burly guys in
camo.” She noticed my twitching lip and paused, putting her
hand on my arm for reassurance. “If you prefer a guy in a
suit, they've got that, too. They're all ex-military or martial arts
geniuses or whatnot and most of them are tight. ” I
rolled my eyes.
    “ Jamie,
the last thing I need is a new man. Trying to get rid of my old one
here, remember?”
    “ They'll
protect you, Theresa,” she protested. I was already shaking my
head. “Just until you learn to use that gun, get some new
locks, change your phone number … ”
    “ How
much?” I asked skeptically. Employing a trained soldier
twenty-four/seven could not come cheap.
    “ I'll
give you some