“Yeah, I’m not going out there either,” Olivia said, again shuddering. “Sorry, sweets, you know I love you, but I’m not touching any lizards.”
“Okay, then you call me and I’ll go with you,” Joey said. “But only if you promise not to go alone, deal?”
“But what if you’re not here when I need to go?”
He chuckled. “How about this, I’ll write my phone number on a piece of paper and you can hold on to it. If ever you have a lizard-hunting emergency and I’m not around, you call me and I promise to be right over.”
“You pwomise?”
His heart melted at the way her long lashes and big eyes were staring at him with so much hope. “I promise, freckle. And I never, ever, go back on my promises, okay?”
“Yay!” she said with a little giggle. She looked down at her plate and shoved the tomatoes aside and dug into the mac and cheese.
“You have to eat those veggies, Soph,” her mother said.
Sophie pointed to Joey’s plate and he immediately knew what was coming. “How come Joey doesn’t have to eat vegetables?”
He groaned and stabbed at a couple of slices and put them on his own plate and plastered on a fake smile. “Of course I do.” He took a bite. “Mmmm.”
Olivia looked at him and then burst out laughing. That’s how the rest of the meal went. Sophie telling him all she knew about “wepitailes,” which was surprisingly a lot, while they all ate the “fancy” mac and cheese.
It was after the dishes were all washed and Sophie sat watching television that Olivia finally looked a little relaxed.
“When can you get a babysitter again? I want to take you out.”
“This week is busy but I think I can get away Friday evening. I’ll talk to Winnie.”
Five days until he saw her again? That wouldn’t do.
He leaned in and kissed her lips just like he had earlier. “I like you amenable like this.”
“It’s the wine,” she shrugged, cheekily.
He kissed her again. “It’s not the wine, darlin’.”
And that was how they ended their evening. Full bellies and content hearts.
Before he left he kissed both females in the cheek, making both of them giggle adorably, and then he went home with a big smile on his own face too.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Political analysts all over the nation are impressed with the innovative approach gubernatorial candidate Olivia Russo has used to unveil her platform. Releasing the information via social media has proven to be successful. Russo’s numbers are up and she is currently in the lead. Voters are excited to be able to interact personally with Russo who is answering many of the online questions herself. A Facebook Live post is scheduled later this week.
Olivia took off her earbuds and tucked them into her gym bag. She’d been at the gym for an hour, and the sweat was running down her spine. For the last three days, every time she turned around, Joey was there, as if he materialized out of nowhere. He hadn’t called or texted her because, well, he was always around, it seemed. One thing she learned about Joey rather quickly—he didn’t argue, but he did steamroll. After her computer had crashed, he hadn’t pushed her into a date but had shown up at the gala the next day. After the car vandalism, he’d stayed at her house. And now, when she hadn’t been able to make time for him during the week, he hadn’t asked her to readjust her schedule. Nope, he’d just somehow slid into her days.
On Tuesday, he’d gone to her house an hour after Tom had left because he “wanted to take measurements of the windows for the new alarm system.” Then he’d stayed for dinner, leaving right around Sophie’s bedtime but making sure all the windows and doors were locked and secured.
On Wednesday, he’d gone to install some motion-sensor lights around the house at around eight in the evening, and again, did a walk-through of the inside and outside before leaving.
On Thursday, he just happened to “be in the neighborhood” around lunch time and had taken the opportunity to take stock of the security in her office and then to drive her to her next meeting. Then, he’d stayed for dinner and didn’t leave until it was bedtime and the house was secured.
And now, it was Friday and she was at the gym at seven in the morning and, well, so was Joey.
“What are you doing here?”
He looked around with a smirk as if her question was ludicrous. He was also sweaty and it was obvious he hadn’t just arrived, even if she had just noticed him. “Working out, obviously.”
“Here? At this time?”
“Yeah. It’s a good gym. This is a great time to work out. Don’t mind me.” He leaned in, kissed her forehead, and then walked away to the weights area.
That smelled of bullshit. She looked back at where Tom stood by the front door looking like, a bodyguard. He wasn’t even pretending to blend in. But that was probably a good thing. Making it known that she was being watched was likely the best way to prevent issues.
She needed to talk to Joey. He’d said to give it a chance, but a chance at what? Sex? A relationship? And what exactly was the next step in their . . . whatever it was they were doing? And she had seen him every day this week. It almost felt like they were already in some sort of a relationship.
Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she walked to the locker room to shower and ready for the meeting she had in an hour. She sat on the wooden bench and began to disrobe. First her socks and sneakers, then her sweaty tank top and shorts, followed by her sports bra and underwear. She stepped into the shower, making sure the temperature was perfect before getting under the warm water. She liked coming to the gym at this time because it was always empty and she didn’t have to fight for the equipment.
Her thoughts drifted to Joey, as it did often. One of the things that scared her the most was Sophie. How would she cope if she got too attached and then they broke up? But then he’d been so sweet to Sophie, even protective of her, and somehow fit into their routine without feeling overbearing. Which was more or less how he was to her. He gave her just the right amount of space to live her life but enough attention to know she was safe. And the truth was, it felt comforting having him nearby. Nothing had come to light in regards to the vandalism of her car and she was still shaken up by it. She was squirting shampoo into her hair, thinking all this, when she closed her eyes to rinse it off, her back to the white moldy curtain.
“Such a beautiful ass.” She jumped, just a little, but was held still by strong arms behind her and a cold piercing pain by her throat. “Hard to get close to you with all the eyes and ears around.” Unlike the thought of Joey’s fresh aftershave she’d just been daydreaming about, the man pressed against her naked body did not smell fresh. He smelled of alcohol and days without a shower. Her body shook as he moved the blade down between her breasts.
“You only had forty dollars in your wallet.” He pressed the knife harder into her skin, making her whimper. And for a split second, shaking in fear, she thought she recognized his voice.
“Wh-who are you? How much do you want?”
“A lot. A nice house, all that money your husband left you, campaign funds . . .”
“I have a family, please don’t hurt me. You can have whatever you want.” Images of Sophie being raised without her scrolled through her mind. She’d end up much the same as Olivia had—alone in a great big world trying to fend for herself. The thought terrified her. “Who are you? Please just tell me what you want.” She tried to turn her head to face the man, but his grip on her hair tightened so hard she felt a burning pain on her scalp and a piercing pain where the knife pressed against her jugular.
“Yes. I know all about your family. Pretty little thing, that Sophie. Looks just like you as a kid.”
She convulsed, her knees giving way, but he held on so tight that she didn’t fall.
Oh God, he knew about Sophie. He must’ve seen photos of her on television or online from when she was younger.
Oh God.
The trembling made the pain
worse, mostly because the knife dug deeper with every shake.
“Who are you?”
“Someone who needs a lot of money.”
“From me? Why me? You must have the wrong person.”
“No. I have the exact right person. I have the person who can get me a million dollars.”
A million dollars? She didn’t have that kind of money in liquidity but she’d find it. She’d do whatever she needed to do to get it.
“Just let me go and I’ll get you whatever you want.”
“Oh, I know you’ll get me whatever I want.” He moved the knife lower and right over her nipple and she began to shake even more. With his other hand he pulled and squeezed so hard on her breast that she whimpered in pain. “Shut the fuck up and take whatever I have to give or you will regret it. Do you understand?” he said, pressing the knife harder and moving down her left breast. “Oh these are nice. I’ve wanted to see you naked for a long time.” She whimpered. “You’ll walk out of here and follow the instructions I left in your wallet. There’s an IP address where you’ll purchase one hundred thousand dollars’ worth of bitcoins and then you’ll transfer those over to my account by six p.m. tomorrow. The instructions are all there. Follow them exactly. We’ll call it a measure of good faith. You have a week to get me the rest of the money.” He pressed the knife deep, so deep, she knew that the warm liquid moving down her torso was not from the shower but blood.
“Next time I see you, I’ll slice this knife down your face. Do you understand?”
She nodded her head. When she didn’t speak he shook her slightly and repeated, firmer and louder, his warm breath and spittle against her ear. “Do you fucking understand?”
“Y-yes.” She couldn’t process what was happening. Who was this man?
“One hundred thousand dollars by tomorrow and the rest in one week. And you better not open your mouth about anything that just happened. It would be a shame to hurt your little girl. Especially right in the middle of recess while she plays on that blue plastic see-saw, right in front of her friends, Emily and LeeAnn.” Her knees buckled but he held her up, his disgusting breath by her neck.
“You fuck with me, I’ll fuck with your loved ones. And if you think I’m bluffing, try it. I’m not acting alone, and I’ve given strict instructions on what to do if I go missing. Understand? Don’t fucking lie to me this time around, Olivia.”
She nodded, again wanting to turn around and see his face, but he held her hair tightly, not allowing her to move her head. He was speaking as if he knew her, but she couldn’t really process it. He let go of her breast and then lifted the big knife. She flinched as he brought it right to her face and she was sure—absolutely sure—he was going to cut her. Instead he wiped the flat sides of the blade clean on her cheek, then stepped back, pushing her forward and roughly closing the white mildewed curtain.
She didn’t know if he was gone or if he was still there.
She was completely and utterly paralyzed by fear.
* * *
Joey wiped his brow with the bottom of his shirt after placing the free weights back into their slot. He’d watched Olivia walk into the showers ten minutes earlier. And ten minutes before that, he’d watched her do squats over and over again. Hypnotically. Down. Ass out. Up. Tits out. Down. Ass out . . .
He’d had to think about the old sweaty man running on the treadmill with too-small shorts in order to get that deliciously firm ass and those perfectly shaped tits out of his thoughts.
This routine was working very well for her, he noted. He’d been using all his free time to keep an eye on Olivia. Tom was an imbecile, but he didn’t have the authority to fire him and Olivia wasn’t the kind of woman you told what to do. He was working on it, though. He’d set up meetings with Mark, had just handed over ICS’s security proposal, listing all the flaws and remedial measures as well as twenty-four-seven security detail. Once it had all been put together, he cut the price in half so that they’d have no choice but to hire ICS. Which meant hiring Joey.
“How long does she normally take in there, man?” he asked. Tom had been annoyed at being questioned and watched by Joey. But Joey didn’t give a shit what Tom thought. And Tom wasn’t fazed by anything, it seemed. Including being questioned by Joey. “She has a meeting in twenty minutes. We need to get going.” He pulled up his phone and dialed her number as Joey watched. He shrugged and swiped the phone off. “She’s not answering. Probably doesn’t hear the phone from the shower, or she’s drying her hair.”
Joey nodded but wasn’t convinced so he walked to the entrance of the locker room to wait—or pace. Something wasn’t right, he felt it in his bones.
The gym was one of those large commercial places, but at this time it was quiet and relatively empty. He’d kept his eyes and ears open while working out and nothing had seemed off, but he hadn’t done his normal pre-screening of the location nor had he monitored the women’s locker room which was off to the side where he didn’t have much access.
If she was his client, he’d not allow her to be out of sight. Losing visual was a no-no. At the least, he’d have cleared out the locker room and waited by the entrance.
Any moment she’d walk out with freshly dried hair, a suit, heels, and makeup, ready to work, rolling her eyes at his unnecessary worry. But that didn’t happen. Instead, a woman wearing a navy blue hoodie, ripped jeans, and a baseball hat walked out of the locker room and that feeling as if something was off hit him quickly. He looked at her and then noted that maybe it wasn’t a woman. And she or he reeked.
He had a choice to make: Question him or her, who was already halfway to the front door of the gym, or go check in on Olivia. his instincts screamed that he needed to go find Livie, so he went with his instincts.
He pushed off the wall and opened the door to the women’s locker room. “Olivia? I’m coming in.”
The locker room as was large. The entrance was full of rows of lockers, a long wall-to-wall mirror with some chairs for women to do their hair and makeup. The area was completely empty. “Livie?” he called out and no one answered. All his senses came on full alert and he pulled out his weapon. “Livie?” He heard what sounded like a small whimper coming from the back where the shower stalls were located. There was only one shower on and he followed the noise from the running water.
Quietly, his back to the wall, his weapon drawn, he walked to the shower. He could see through the curtain her outline and nothing else.
He pushed the curtain back. “Olivia? Jesus Christ!” He saw the blood dripping down to the running water. She stood naked and trembling, her back to the curtain. He stepped in, shutting off the water, and when he turned and looked at her, he saw the gash from right under her left nipple down her breast and onto her torso. “What the fuck!” It was a roar that went from his toes up his body.
“Olivia!” She was in some sort of shock. He yelled “Help!” as he grabbed a towel, wrapped it around her and carried her out of the shower. “Help!”
Two women, laughing, walked in and saw him carrying Olivia and stopped. “Call 911!” he yelled and sat down on the wooden bench with Olivia in his arms. “Olivia?” he wiped the hair from her face and then opened the towel a little. It was pink with blood. He looked closer at the cut. It wasn’t deep at all, but it was ragged, ugly, and raw. “Jesus Christ.” He covered her back up and held her tight, trying to get her to stop shaking. “Olivia, baby. What happened? Stay with me, Livie. Help is on the way.” She began to tremble violently in his arms. “S-s-ophie. G-get Sophie.”
“It’s okay. Sophie’s at school. Don’t worry.”
“N-no. H-he knows wh-where Sophie is.” Her teeth were clattering as she spoke and she started to pull away but he held her closer. “Who did this?”
“Sophie!” She gave a bloodcurdling scream. “Get Sophie!”
Joey pulled out his phone and called Jax. “Need you to go to Sophie’s school right the fuck now and get her. Right. The fuck. Now. Take backup.”
&nbs
p; “What’s going on?”
“Call me when you have visual. You understand? Right now!”
“I’m on it brother.”
“Sophie. G-g-get Sophie.”
“I got her, baby. We’ve got her. I need you to be strong for a minute. Who did this?”
“A-a man.” Her teeth were clattering together. “D-d-didn’t see his face.”
“Did he have a hat? A hoodie? Tell me something.”
“Y-yes. Hat. blue j-jacket.” She wasn’t crying. Just shaking. “Sophie. Need to get to Sophie.”
Tom ran into the locker room, followed by the police and four EMTs. It was mayhem as the EMTs checked her and she fought them trying to get to Sophie. But Joey held on tight, not letting her go, even if she was hysterical.
And then silence.
“What the hell . . .”
“We gave her something to calm her so we can work on her.” They hoisted her onto the gurney as the police began to bark out questions. As quickly as possible, Joey explained who he was and what he’d seen and what she’d said as he followed the EMTs into the ambulance and jumped up, ordering Tom to stay put and gather as much info from the cops as possible so that they could follow up later. Tom seemed like he’d seen a ghost when he’d seen Olivia taken out in a stretcher. Apparently, this is what it took to shake things up for Tom.
Joey’s phone rang. “They won’t release her to me but I’m here and I have confirmation. She’s okay.”
“I’m going to call her friend Winnie to meet you at school and get her out. Stay put. Eyes on that little girl no matter what.”
“Got it.”
Joey rummaged through Olivia’s purse until he found her cell phone, then looked up Winnie and dialed.
“What’s up, chick?” Winnie answered.
“It’s not Olivia. It’s Joey. Something’s happened. I need you to meet my partner, Jax, at Sophie’s school and take her out. You can go with Jax if you’d like, but I need Sophie with my men at ICS immediately.”
Kiss Kiss Bang (Iron-Clad Security) Page 10