Chapter 5

He had been watching Joanne since she left her apartment. At one point he was close enough to smell her whore perfume and she hadn’t even known he was there. Thomas followed her to a bar…no surprise there. He was annoyed when he saw that it was a cowboy bar and not very crowded. He’d have to wait outside; there was no way for him to blend in there. He didn’t have to wait long though. The little blonde slut emerged quickly with a horny cowboy on her arm. They got into his pick-up and for a few minutes, he thought they were going to do it right there. He watched as they kissed and pawed all over each other and then finally, the cowboy started the ignition. He waited until a few cars had pulled in behind them before he followed. He wasn’t the least bit surprised when he saw them pull up to a hotel. He watched and realized that the cowboy must already have a room here. They bypassed the desk and got onto the elevator. Thomas slipped into the bar to wait.

As he sat there drinking his beer he thought about what he wanted to do to her. He pictured her smug face every time she intruded on his and Angela’s alone time. She was as bad as Steve, if not worse. She was doing everything in her power to push them apart. Maybe the bitch was a Lezzie and she wanted Ang all to herself. He hated to be the one to tell her, but Angela was taken…and not by that pretty rich boy either. His time would come too…but first he had to deal with this problem.

He let himself picture it. When she got back to her car he would be waiting for her. She wouldn’t see him until it was too late. He’d convince her to get into the car by telling her something was wrong with Angela. Once he had her in the car he’d take out the gun and make her drive to some secluded place…maybe up to the hills above the tar pits…someplace where he can take his time with her and they won’t be interrupted. He would make her strip first. He had no interest in seeing her whore body…but it would be humiliating for her, and that would turn him on. He was getting hard just thinking about it. Once she’d stripped he might make her suck him off…again, just to further humiliate her and show her who’s the boss. Then he would make sure that she knew who Angela belonged to…beyond a shadow of a doubt. He liked to think of himself as a non-violent person…but sometimes violence was all some people could understand. He was slightly ashamed of himself to admit how good it would feel to wipe that smug look off the bitches face. When he finished with her, that cowboy would never want to fuck her again…unless he liked women who are minus a few teeth.

**

Angela was pleasantly surprised to find that Thomas wasn’t home when she got there on Saturday morning. The first thing she did was try his bedroom door. It was locked, of course. She wondered briefly where he had gone. She knew he wasn’t in there because his SUV wasn’t in its space and both sets of his keys were gone. He probably had the key to his bedroom door with him. She struggled for a while with trying to pick it open with a bobby pin like she’d seen done on television, but finally decided that was a wasted effort. She turned to the internet next. She typed in, “How to pick a lock” and waited. While she was waiting for the results to finish popping up, she text Joanne. “Hey girl. I just wanted to let you know I’m home. Thomas isn’t here. I’m safe and sound. I hope you had fun last night. I sure did. Love you!”

She turned her attention back to the computer. She clicked on a You Tube video that said, “Pick any lock with only two bobby pins. She’d just clicked play when she heard Thomas’s key in the front door. “Damn!” She quickly shut down the site and scrubbed her history file. Then before he got inside, she stood up like she was headed into the kitchen. She turned to look at him as he came in the door. He looked like shit. He was unshaven and if she wasn’t mistaken, he was still wearing the same clothes he’d put on for work yesterday morning. His eyes were bloodshot red and she wondered where he had spent the night. Then she reminded herself…she didn’t care.

“Good morning,” she said, cheerily. He gave her a look that sent chills down her spine.

“Just getting in?” he asked, sarcastically.

Angela kept the smile on her face and said, “Yes, as a matter of fact.” She ran her eyes over his disheveled appearance and said, “It looks like you had a good time last night?” He ignored that and went into the kitchen. She followed him in and watched as he put his keys up on the hook…no new ones there. She went over and started making a pot of coffee, watching out of the corner of her eye as he pulled a beer out of the fridge and popped the top. She raised an eyebrow but continued what she was doing.

“Do you have something to say?” he asked her.

She looked at him, smiled again and said, “Nope, not a thing. I’m going to take a shower.”

He actually stepped in front of her then and her heart began to race. He started to say something and she realized his breath reeked of alcohol already. Before he got the words out, the doorbell rang. They stood there staring at each other for what seemed like a long time before he finally stepped to the side and allowed her out of the kitchen. She felt sick to her stomach and when she opened the door and saw that it was Joanne, she wanted to kiss her. Instead, she pulled her in for a hug. She heard Thomas shuffle out of the kitchen and make a disgruntled noise as he walked by. When Joanne pulled out of the hug she looked at her friend’s face and said,

“What’s wrong with Norman Bates?” Angela couldn’t help herself, she laughed. She was sorry she did however when she turned around and saw Thomas. He’d stopped in the hallway and now he was glaring at her. He’d heard Joanne…and he’d heard her laugh…and that couldn’t have been good. She could see his chest rise and fall rapidly until finally he turned his back to them, went down to his room and produced a key out of his pocket. Once he was inside she heard the lock engage. She looked at Joanne and said,

“I have to get the fuck out of here.”

**

Thomas stayed in his room all morning. Angela and Joanne had coffee on the balcony and tried to forget he was there.

“So, did you and Steve have a great time last night?” Joanne asked her.

Dreamily, Angela said, “We had such a good time. God, he’s just so amazing, Jo. He’s kind and he’s sexy and he’s brilliant…”

“And rich.”

Angela smiled. “That too, but you know that doesn’t matter to me.”

“I know,” her friend said with a giggle, “But it sure is a nice bonus. Why aren’t you with him today?”

“He’s in Chicago. He had to fly out this morning and he won’t be back until Tuesday.”

Joanne curled her lip and said, “If you won’t stay with me, I’m packing a bag and staying here with you. I don’t want you alone with the nutcase anymore. He looked completely psycho this morning.”

Angela frowned. She knew that Joanne was right. There was something really frightening in Thomas’s eyes today, especially when he looked at Joanne. “I don’t want to talk about him. Tell me about your night.”

Joanne smiled. “My cowboy was back in town for the PBR event at Staples Center this weekend. We had a drink and then we went back to his hotel room…”

“Mm hmm…”

“Oh stop it. We didn’t have sex!”

Surprised, Angela said, “You didn’t?”

Joanne giggled. “Of course we did,” she said as Angela laughed. “But seriously, that’s not all we did this time. He ordered room service and we ate a nice dinner on the balcony. He told me about his life in Houston and talked about his family. They own a ranch out there and he sounds really close to his parents. He seems like one of the good guys…so far.”

Angela chuckled. “You’re so cynical. Why do you say, “so far?”

She cocked her head in the direction of the loft and said, “Psycho boy in there is proof that they aren’t always what they seem.”

“Shh! Stop antagonizing him, Jo!”

“I’m tired of tip-toeing around him,” she said in a hushed tone. Angela giggled again and said,

“And when have you ever?”

“Never mind him,” she said. “I want to talk about me and my cowboy. We stayed up all night, making love and talking. We watched the sun come up and he gave me passes to the PBR event tonight for you and I. Go with me, okay? I really like this guy and I want him to meet you.”

“You just don’t want me alone with Thomas.”

“That too,” she said. “But honestly…As he was driving me back to my car this morning, I had this strange feeling that maybe he was “the one.” Then, when we got there and he opened the door for me and walked me to my own car, I had a stronger feeling…but you want to know when I knew for sure that I was leaning in that direction?”

Angela smiled again. She’d never heard Joanne talk about a guy being “the one” before. She looked so happy too. She hoped that he was. “When was that?” she asked.

“When I backed out of the lot and realized he was still standing there looking after me. He waved and I waved back…and he made sure I was safely on my way before he got back in his truck and left. No man has ever been that concerned about me before.”

Angela reached over and took her friend’s hand. “You deserve it,” she told her. Joanne looked almost misty eyed, and very relieved when Angela’s phone rang. Angela looked at the face and said, “It’s Carla, the girl with the apartment I’m moving into next week.” She put the phone to her ear and said, “Hey Carla, what’s up?”

“Hi Angela. I just wanted to let you know that I’m moving a little early. I’ll have everything of mine out by Sunday night so any time after that, you’re welcome to move in. I’ll come by the office Monday and drop the key off for you, okay?”

Angela was so thrilled she almost screamed in Carla’s ear. Instead, she caught herself and said, “I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.” They discussed a few more details and when she hung up she grabbed Joanne’s hands and pulled her to her feet. Then she began dancing around with her and they both giggled. “I’m free! My own place by Monday!” She suddenly felt someone else and saw Thomas. When she looked at him, he was standing at the edge of the doorway and the look on his face said it all: He was not going to let her go easily. She shuddered.