And nearly into Katelyn.
She gasps and leans against the building for support. “Luke…”
“Don’t worry. This creep won’t bother you ever again.” I meet his loathsome gaze. “Will you?”
“I have no intention of bothering her.” Then he glares at her. “But I will see you again…Katelyn.”
That’s it. I don’t give a fuck. I push the bastard into the brick wall and grab him by the throat, my heart pounding. “She doesn’t like you, man. Leave her alone.”
“She used to like me a lot.”
“She doesn’t now. Get lost.”
“I’ll have you arrested for assault.”
“It’s battery, dumbass, and no you won’t.”
“The cops are already on their way. I called 911 before I left the restaurant.”
He’s bluffing. Already I know this jerk doesn’t want the cops anywhere near him. I know his type. “Great. Then my lady friend here will be happy to tell them how you’re stalking her.”
Then I can’t help myself. I chuckle, because who do I see coming toward us but a beat cop walking the street.
Nice. Maybe he did call the cops, though I doubt it.
This guy looks like a normal beat cop. He’s not in a hurry…until he sees that I’m holding a guy by the throat.
“Trouble, fellas?” he says when he approaches.
“Nah. Just keeping a stalker in line,” I say.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. He’s bothering my dinner companion.”
“Out here?”
“He was inside the restaurant.”
“Let him go, man.”
I release my hold on Yellow Eyes’s throat. He loosens his tie, gasping softly.
“I need to see some ID, please,” the cop says to me.
“Am I under arrest?”
“I’m not sure yet. ID, please.”
“Officer,” Katelyn interrupts, “Luke didn’t do anything wrong. This man was bothering me.”
“I’ll take your statement in a moment, ma’am. ID”—the cop glances at Yellow Eyes—“both of you.”
I pull out my wallet, extract my New York driver’s license, and hand it to Officer Lydeck, as his badge indicates.
“Mr. Johnson,” Lydeck says. “Very good. And yours, sir.”
Yellow Eyes glares at me as he opens his wallet and pulls out his ID.
“Mr. Pollack,” Lydeck says, “you’re a long way from home.”
Yellow Eyes—Pollack—rubs at his throat. “On business,” he says, his voice slightly hoarse.
Of course it was slightly hoarse before, so I doubt I did any damage.
Where the hell is he from? A long way from home could mean Buffalo or Moscow, for all I know.
“Now, who wants to tell me what the hell is going on here?” Lydeck rubs his chin.
Katelyn steps forward, looking more self-assured than I’ve ever seen her. Not that I’ve seen a lot of her, but boy, she sure looks like she’s ready to raise some hell.
“Luke and I were having dinner inside,” she says, “when I—I mean, this man—came by our table and tried to talk to me. Wanted to know if we’d met before. I said no, but he insisted.”
“And then…?”
“He went to his table, but I was upset.”
“Why would that upset you, ma’am?” Lydeck asks.
“Just the way he looked at me. It was…creepy.”
“She wanted to leave,” I interject. “So I walked her outside. I went back in to take care of our bill, and I ran into this creep who told me he was going outside to talk to her.”
“He was?” Katelyn gasps.
“Yeah. And the lady obviously wants nothing to do with him, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer, so I slammed him against the building.”
“You’re admitting that,” Lydeck says.
“I sure as hell am, and I don’t regret it. The guy’s clearly a creep who’s stalking a woman who wants nothing to do with him. Aren’t there laws against that?”
“There are,” Lydeck says. “There are also laws against assault and battery.”
“I understand that, officer. But when a man bothers my dinner companion, I can’t let it lie.”
The officer nods and hands me my license. “It’s your lucky day”—he eyes me—“Mr. Johnson.” He turns to Pollack and gives him his license. “As for you, sir, leave the lady alone.”
“You’re not going to arrest him?” Katelyn asks.
“I can’t arrest every man who tries to speak to a woman,” Lydeck says. “We wouldn’t have enough room at the jailhouse.”
He thinks he’s being funny, but there’s nothing funny about this from where I’m standing.
“But when a lady says to go away,” Lydeck says to Pollack, “you go away. Do you understand me?”
“I want to file charges against this character.” Pollack gestures to me.
“I don’t recommend that, sir,” the officer retorts. “The lady says you were bothering her.”
“I didn’t touch her. Didn’t harm her in any way. I just wanted to talk to her.”
“And it’s her right to refuse to talk to you,” Lydeck says. “Push me any further on this, and I will arrest you.”
Pollack adjusts his collar once more before placing his license back in his wallet. “Do you know who I am?”
“Do I look like I care who you are?” Lydeck says. “I don’t give a rat’s ass who you are. I care about what you do. You leave this lady alone, and remember that the next time you decide to talk to someone who tells you to get lost. For Christ’s sake.”