Page 30 of Security and Submission
Yasmine definitely didn’t know who Stacy was, and even if she did, there was no way she was telling the asshole at her door.
Hope remained at her side, pressed against Yasmine’s thigh, as if she was trying to comfort her, until the flashing lights showed up on her street. That was when she got her first good look at the man as he stepped away from her door, shaking his fist at the cops who showed up. Tall, broad-shouldered, white with dark hair, and wearing a t-shirt and jeans. His steps were slightly stumbling, indicating he was drunk.
A suspicion one of the officers confirmed after they got the man into the back of a patrol car.
“He’s drunk, so we’re going to take him down to the station to sober up. We’ll charge him with disturbing the peace, but there’s really nothing more we can do.” Officer Zucker shrugged.
“But… who is he? Why is he here? What if he’d gotten inside my house?” Yasmine wanted to scream at him because that didn’t sound like nearly enough.
“Well, he didn’t.” He said it like that was supposed to be reassuring. Sure, he hadn’t, but it didn’t sound as if there was much of a deterrent to him coming back and trying again. “Apparently, he’s looking for his wife, Stacy James.”
Definitely not someone she knew personally. Yasmine’s jaw clenched as her mind raced through the students in her college class. No Stacys in the past few years. It wasn’t as popular a name as it used to be. But she didn’t know the names of every woman who had attended her classes at the shelter. She knew that some of them did end up going back to their homes, rather than moving on.
Yasmine would not be at all surprised if the asshole was an abuser.
Why would this Stacy have given her husband Yasmine’s name? She couldn’t have given him Yasmine’s home address. Although Yasmine did give out cards to all the women, in case they needed financial advice at some point, those had her business address on them. She let out a long, slow breath. It made a lot more sense that he’d found her card in his wife’s things, then looked her up and found her home address. Right now, her brain was not firing on all cylinders, or she’d have figured that out a lot faster.
Well, fuck.
She knew there were risks when it came to working with the shelter, but this was the first time anything had followed her to her own home.
“What do I do if he comes back?” Yasmine asked with trepidation. She hugged herself with one arm, her other hand holding the robe she’d thrown on closed over her chest.
The officer shrugged again.
“Give us another call.” He eyed her door. “If you don’t have one of those video camera doorbells, maybe get one of those or something.”
Yasmine was starting to feel as furious at the officer as she was at the man who had just been arrested.
“I’m sure it’ll be very helpful if he breaks in next time and murders me, thanks.” Sarcasm dripped from her voice, strongly enough, it seemed to get through to the blockhead in front of her, and he frowned.
“We can only charge him for what he’s done, ma’am,” Officer Zucker said, actually managing to sound apologetic instead of indifferent this time. “You can call the station tomorrow morning to find out what’s going on with him. If he comes back, you can file a restraining order.”
Yes, a piece of paper would be so useful in stopping a drunken, raging asshole. Yasmine felt a headache coming on. It wasn’t his fault that the system was set up this way. She closed her eyes for a brief moment.
“Hopefully, you won’t see him again,” the officer said. “His wife will probably make her way home eventually, and he won’t bother you again.”
Yeah, Yasmine kind of hoped Stacy didn’t make her way home, and that she stayed safe wherever she was.
“Thanks,” Yasmine said, trying to make it sound as sincere as possible. She was so tired, she just wanted to go back to sleep. Several of her neighbors waved at her from where they’d been watching the proceedings from their front steps as she headed back up to her door. She waved back, unsure of who else had called the cops but grateful to them. There were far too many people in the world who wouldn’t even do that much if it wasn’t their problem.
Going back inside, she wasn’t surprised to find Hope waiting for her on the other side of the door. The dog whined, wagging her tail.
“Good girl,” Yasmine murmured, kneeling down to give her a good pet. She’d been such a good girl, and Yasmine was glad she’d been there. That would have been even scarier without Hope. Not that she expected the dog to protect her if the jerk had gotten inside, but at least she hadn’t been totally alone while waiting for the cops to come and take care of him.
She really might need to look into getting a dog after Hope went home.
Also getting a video camera doorbell. Yasmine did not love adding technology to her life, but she probably would feel more secure having one. Maybe a camera at her back door, too. Just in case. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be necessary, but Naomi would tell her, ‘better safe than sorry’. And she would know. Tomorrow, Yasmine would have to give Naomi a heads-up about Stacy James’ husband and the fact that he was looking for her.
If the class at the women’s shelter was how Stacy James knew Yasmine, Naomi would be the most likely person to know how to get in contact with her and warn her about her husband looking for her—if she didn’t already know.
Sighing, Yasmine got to her feet. She’d noticed that she had a text message when she’d been calling 9-1-1, but she hadn’t looked at it. It must have come in after she’d fallen asleep.
Despite everything, her lips curved into a smile when she saw who it was from.
Zeus
Tiger and I are wishing you and Hope a good night.
