But I was prepared to play that game.
Anything for Joanna, and our child
CHAPTER 29
Anderson
“So, what do you want to watch tonight?” I asked, placing the bowl of popcorn on the table.
Joanna sat on the couch with her arms wrapped around her legs. She smiled at me, positively glowing. Although she wasn’t showing yet, pregnancy had already made her even more beautiful than normal.
“I’m in the mood for a comedy,” she said.
“All right. Just don’t laugh so hard that you pee on my couch or anything like that.”
“Ha ha,” Joanna said. “I don’t think I’m quite at that stage of pregnancy yet, if you must know.”
I chuckled and flopped down on the couch beside her, giving her a quick peck on the lips as I reached for the remote to start the movie.
And as I expected, she fell asleep only a half hour in.
I simply sat there for a moment, smiling as I watched her sleep, trying to envision what life would be like in less than a year when there were three of us…
Ever since finding out Joanna was pregnant, I’d been elated—surprised by how exciting the thought of having a family had become for me. It hadn’t ever been something I’d given much thought to before, but now, it felt like everything I’d always wanted.
I was just about to pick Joanna up and put her in bed when my cell phone suddenly buzzed.
I grabbed it instantly, seeing that it was Mike.
“What’s up?” I said, keeping my voice low until I was far enough away to not disturb Joanna.
“Where’s Joanna?” he asked.
“Here with me. Why? What is it? Has Zander been spotted?”
“Yes,” Mike said.
The single word sent my heart pounding into overdrive. My ears prickled, waiting to hear more.
“He’s been spotted at some dive bar near you. More than likely, he plans on paying a visit. But he might be scared off if he knows you’re there.”
I grit my teeth. “The bar two miles down from my place?”
“Yep, that’s the one,” Mike said. “I’m sending some police officers out that way. They won’t come to your door, but they’ll trail the area, watching and waiting to see if he’ll come by. This might be our chance to get him. Do you think you can leave your place for a second? Just to move your car off the premises so that he can think Joanna is there alone? That way, we can get a hold of him to serve him a restraining order.”
I walked back toward the living room, looking at Joanna sleeping peacefully. “Yeah, I can do that,” I said, although different plans were stirring in my head.
“Good. I’ll call you back,” Mike said, and then hung up.
Kissing Joanna softly, “I’ll be right back.” I grabbed my car keys, locked up the apartment, and headed out the door, my mind on Zander. As I got into my car and pulled off, I actually spotted a few of the police cars heading toward my apartment. I quickly turned out of their view, praying that they wouldn’t deduce what I was up to. Losing track of them, I practically began to drive on auto-pilot, my body knowing precisely where to go to find Zander, as if he was a magnet that I was being pulled to.
I got there in what felt like record speed.
I practically spotted him the instant I walked through the bar’s door, despite not having previous knowledge of what he looked like.
He was big, sloppy, and looked like trouble even from a distance as he sat at the bar, chugging down what looked like several shots too many.
My blood coursing angrily through my veins, I approached the bar, and came to a stop right beside him.