A Tale of Two Loves Pt. 02

"Okay, is he there now?"

"No, but he insists he's coming over after work and..."

"What time?"

"After five o'clock."

"I should be able to get there by...quarter to five. Keep your door locked. If he beats me there, don't let him in. Don't worry. Everything's going to be okay. Does this Ken carry? Does he have a weapon?"

"I don't know. I don't think so...I never thought about that," she replied, panic setting into her voice.

"No worries. You sit tight. I'm on my way."

I quickly explained to Angie what was going on, went and got my nine-mil from the safe and started to head out.

"I'm going with you," she stated emphatically.

"Okay," I responded, as it didn't sound like it was open for discussion.

As we beat it there, bending the speed limits, we discussed the situation.

"What are you going to do?" Angie asked.

"That depends on the guy, but one thing for sure, I will impress upon him to leave her alone, bother her no more."

"I hope...well, you know what I hope," Angie expressed.

"Me too, babe, me too."

When we arrived, I parked across and down the street. I wanted the element of surprise, didn't want him to know that anyone but Trish was there.

Trish answered the door, eyes red from crying, "I'm sorry, Matt, but I didn't know what else, who else..."

"It's okay, Trish. Um, this is Angie. She is here for support. Angie - Trish, Trish - Angie," I quickly introduced them.

Angie stepped right up and wrapped Trish in a hug, catching her and me by surprise.

"It's going to be okay, Trish. We're here. Matt's here."

"Thank you, Angie, and nice to meet you. So sorry about the circumstances..."

"Don't give it a thought, dear."

"Um, would you like something to drink?" Trish asked.

"Ice water or whatever you have," Angie answered, I think more to give Trish something to do. I was surprised by how calm Angie was acting.

As Trish got us ice waters, I explained how we were going to handle things.

"Trish, you wait in the living room with Angie. Don't come to the door, no matter what. Angie, I'm giving you my gun. Keep the safety on...here, see? Have you ever handled a gun before?"

"Yes, James took me shooting with him. I can manage this. Yeah, I see. Do I need to cock it?"

"No, it's ready to fire, a round is in the chamber. It's live. Please be careful."

She nodded, then calmly asked, "So what do you want me to do?"

"You're the last resort. I'm going to intercept him at the door, turn him around and send him home with very clear instructions. If things go bad, if he gets past me, you shoot the fucker. Don't stop firing till he's on the ground. If he gets past me, then he's already established all the cause you'll need for use of deadly force. This has an extended, double-stack clip; you have 17 rounds - you won't run out of ammo."

"Okay, got it."

Trish was shaking and blanching white. Angie turned and took her hand.

"Come with me, Trish. Look, this is just a precaution. Nothing's going to happen, Okay?"

"Yes, okay. I'm sorry...just, oh gosh; I've been so scared...He became overbearing, controlling...but when I tried to break things off with him, on our last date, he got irate, grabbed my wrist and squeezed so hard, it left a bruise." She showed her left wrist.

So the guy was probably right-handed - good to know.

"How big is Ken? Anything you can tell me that might be helpful? I already know he's a hothead. That has its advantages."

"Um, he's a little taller than you, but not as big as you, but he is strong."

"Okay, well, you guys get comfortable. Angie, when I answer the door, you stand over here, take the safety off and wait. If he comes around the corner, he'll see Trish sitting there, but you'll be out of his line of sight. Remember, if he comes around the corner, it's on - don't hesitate...Oh, and please don't shoot me. I'll warn you to stand down before I poke my head around the corner," I lightly joked, but with a serious message.

"Don't worry. I've got it. But Matt, don't let it get that far," she said firmly, then gave me a quick kiss. We heard a car pull into the driveway. Within a few seconds, the doorbell rang and there was a hard knock on the door. I went and jerked the door open.

"Ken, I presume," I said to the tall, handsome guy that was getting ready to knock again.

He had on jeans and a short-sleeved shirt that was tucked in - not likely that he was packing.

"You must be lost," I continued.

"What? Who are you? Where's Trish?"

"I said, you must be lost. It doesn't matter who I am, and Trish isn't here. She doesn't want to see you...ever again. So leave now."

"Fuck you. Trish!" he shouted over my shoulder as he started to push past me.

I saw how this was going to go. As he was looking past me, I took the opportunity to sucker punch him with a hard jab to the stomach. He was caught off guard, but quickly reacted, grabbing for me with the left hand that he had started to push me with, simultaneously cocking his right and jabbing at my face. He was strong - strong enough to be dangerous, and fast. I abandoned my initial attack and instead went for the kill.

His punch glanced off my cheek, as I quickly fainted right, almost making him miss. At the same time, I grabbed his left wrist, clamping down on it and jerking down, bringing him downwards and into me as I headbutted him in the face, catching him on the bridge of the nose. He was continuing to punch with his free right hand, catching me on the jaw once, but missing me when I headbutted him. I immediately stomped down with my right foot on his left, nailing his arch. He screamed and jerked away from me, breaking my hold on his left arm. But as he jerked back, I followed him, lunging forward, taking him to the cement sidewalk. We crashed down and the air shot out of him as I landed with an elbow in his stomach, but he was instantly grabbing at me with both hands, trying to get a purchase on me to roll me. While he grabbed at me with his right hand, he made the mistake of pushing on my face, turning my head - and getting his hand too close to my mouth. I immediately bit down on it as hard as I could, feeling my teeth hit bone in two of his fingers. He screamed, and tried to jerk his hand away.

At that moment, my left knee was between his legs and I didn't hesitate, kneeing him in the groin as hard as I could. He let out in a high-pitched scream, and I rammed my knee home again, then tore loose from him and scrambled to my feet.

He was pulling his knees up, curling up from the shots to the groin, and holding his hands up.

"I'll...aghh...fucking kill you...fucking kill you..." he sputtered as he tried to catch his breath.

"Wrong answer," I growled in my most intimidating voice, then kicked him in the left kidney, not so hard as to do serious damage, but hard enough to change his train of thought. I wanted him to realize he had no control over the situation.

He winced, jerked and screamed, "AGHHH!"

I kicked him again, then quickly grabbed his bitten, bloodied hand, clamped down on it, grinding the injured fingers together, then grabbed his elbow with my other hand and twisted, jacking his arm and levering him over onto his stomach. I jerked his arm up, pushing the injured hand up, forcing it up between his shoulder blades, then buried my knee in his lower back.

I hollered for Angie, "Angie, bring the gun, now."

She was there in seconds, standing beside me.

"Give me the gun. Call 911; report home invasion, trespassing and assault, that the intruder is being detained at gunpoint by the homeowner."

"Got it!" She handed me the gun and sprinted to the living room for her phone.

Keeping the safety on, I put the barrel of the gun at the base of Ken's skull, "Ken, you twitch, you're fucking dead. Got me?"

"Can't breathe, my back..."

I still had my knee in his back and my weight on his chest where I was holding his arm up and leaning down on him.

"Okay, I'm going to release you. Stay on your stomach, don't try anything, or I'll shoot you in the face and it will be my story against your story...which you won't be able to tell."

"Okay, okay," he grunted out.

I stood and kept the gun pointed at Ken's center mass. He didn't move.

"Didn't have to be this way, big guy. You're just too stupid to get out of your own way. Now, the police are coming, and you're going to be arrested for stalking, assault, trespassing, attempted kidnapping and I don't know what else. And Trish is going to file a restraining order against you. If you break that, you'll be facing the police and the courts, but more importantly, you'll be dealing with me. If you ever attempt to contact Trish again, by any means, if any harm comes to her in any manner, I'll find you, kill you, and bury your body in the desert. I know where you live and where you work. Any questions?"

"No," he mumbled in a subdued voice.

"Okay, you're going to go live your piece-of-shit life, and we're never going to cross paths again. If we do, it will be because I already have a hole dug with your name on it, and I will not hesitate to fill that hole. And we never had this conversation."

It would either take or it wouldn't, but I think Ken was done. We would have to hope for the best.

The police arrived within minutes. It took two hours to wrap everything up, but when all was said and done, Ken didn't even dispute our account at the scene. Of course, he was smart and made no statements, and I'm sure, lawyered up. He would need it.

"You're bleeding. Are you okay?" Angie calmly asked.

"His blood. I bit his hand. I hope he didn't have HIV or COVID or rabies."

"No, your hand," Angie said, taking my right hand and examining it.

I looked, "Must have happened when I took him to the ground, the cement. It's fine. I'm good."

"Your cheek is red, swollen."

I jacked my chin back and forth; he'd nailed my jaw pretty good, "Yeah, he caught me with a quick punch or two. He was fast and strong. It could have gone much worse."

Trish had calmed down while the police were finishing up, but now she was jittery, shaken, and still apologizing for everything.

Angie intervened, "Trish, honey, don't think anymore about it. That man was dangerous, but he won't be a problem anymore. And we were happy to help. I know you don't know me, but I know you, and I can assure you, we'll be here for you."

Trish, surprised by Angie's statement, looked at her questioningly.

"Matt told me all about you and him. So I know you are an amazing woman, a wonderful woman. Matt loves you, and I fully understand that...Yes, I am jealous, but that's all. I'm glad Matt could help with this, and in the future if you need anything, I'm fine with that...Except you can't have him," she finished with a smile.

Trish reached for Angie and started crying.

I was stunned by what Angie said, and got a little choked up myself. Angie continues to surprise me at every turn. How could I be so fortunate. I know I didn't deserve her, don't deserve her, but don't give a damn. I'm just happy she is in my life.

EPILOGUE

At this writing, Angie and I have been married for five months.

So, my life has undergone a 180 in the last year, and I honestly never thought I would be this happy. I didn't even know a person could be this happy, though my parents should have been an indicator of what is possible when two people are devoted to each other.

My life has changed in many ways in a short amount of time - all good, except for the paucity of little chocolate donuts I can get my hands on, nowadays.

We now have a dog, a young border collie mix, Champ, a rescue we adopted. My friend, Sully, told me about him, and when we went to check him out, Angie and I both fell in love with him. So now I have two family members that are smarter than me.

We have decided to keep this house, and add to it as necessary, upgrade as necessary. My kitchen - strike that, Angie's kitchen is undergoing a serious remodel.

We currently have a giant hole in our back yard - decided to put in a pool, and it's a work in progress. And, I know, it's a lot of money just to increase the opportunities I have to see Angie semi-nude to nude, but money well spent, I think.

Of note, Trish has remained friends with us. Just before Angie and I wed, Trish called to tell me that she had met someone special and was in a relationship - her boss at her new job, a widower, who turned out to be a real decent sort, and they hit it off. I was greatly relieved to hear that, and very happy for her. They are tying the knot in the spring.

We get together as couples on occasion and have hit it off well. I have employed Arnie's firm for my taxes and accounting, and he and I get along nicely. Angie and Trish have surprisingly bonded - a bizarre development from my perspective. I have no idea what secrets they're sharing, but it makes me nervous. And though I try not to, I find myself uncomfortably drawn to Trish at times. I still have feelings for her - guess I always will.

Angie quit her job, and is now working with me, learning the venture capital game. She is proving to be exceptionally good at research, and is organized in ways I have only ever aspired to be. Last week, she made her inaugural investment. She has surprised me with how well she is handling the stress, the pressure that is built into the whole process. Of course, she never ceases to surprise me in a myriad of ways.

Speaking of surprises, did I mention that Angie is three months pregnant?

Go figure. First it was raining women; next it will be raining babies!

No! No, no, no - not raining! No raining!

THE END OF

A TALE OF TWO LOVES