“Is Joey okay, Mommy?”
“I’m sure he is, sweets.”
It was time to get herself under control. It wasn’t time to have a panic attack. Not while her daughter was in her arms. And not while she was in the middle of a crisis. Except there was another bang. She knew the sound of a gun being fired, and she almost lost her grip on her daughter. Oh my God. What if Joey was hurt? Oh my God. She closed her eyes and began to pray and pray that she’d misheard, or that the bullet was not directed at Joey.
The sound of patrol cars became louder and louder and then there were noises from downstairs. She was about to pass out. Not knowing what was going on. The walls closing in on her. What she once thought was a huge bedroom now felt like a tiny cell.
A knock on the door startled her. “Ma’am, police. You okay in there?”
She didn’t answer.
“Ma’am? I need confirmation you are okay. Please open the door.”
Joey had told her to only open it for him. She was conflicted. What if Joey had gotten shot or worse . . . dead. What if this was someone working with Connor, trying to get in. Oh my God. And her daughter. Her hand trembled and she heard a noise coming from her phone which she had forgotten all about and was dangling from her arm.
A moment later there was more shuffling around and more noises coming from outside the bedroom door and another knock. “Open up, Livie.”
It was Joey. Her entire body deflated, and she ran to the door and swung it open and Joey walked in, two officers behind him. The moment he entered she broke down sobbing but was pushed aside by Sophie, who jumped up. Without missing a beat, Joey caught her. She took his face in her hands and kissed his cheeks.
It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever witnessed.
“Hey, freckles. Are you okay?”
“I’m sorry I went to the far side of the yard.”
“We’ll talk about that later, okay? Right now, I need to know if you’re okay. Did that man hurt you?”
She shook her head no. “Good, good.” He reached forward and pulled Olivia closer. “You okay, darlin’?”
She nodded. Was she okay? She wasn’t sure. “I heard gunshots?” Her face broke into a sob. “I thought . . . I thought you were shot.”
“I’m okay. Connor’s not okay, but I’m fine.”
She didn’t hear anything else, because she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and sobbed. “Oh my God, I’ve never been so scared. You could have been hurt.”
He held her to him just as tightly. “I was, actually.”
“You were what?” she said into his chest.
“Shot.”
“Shot!” She pulled away. “What?”
“Just a graze. I’m fine.” He pulled down his shirt collar and showed her where he was hurt, and she began to sob again. “Keep it together for a little longer, okay? I need you to be strong and go downstairs with me. The police need to ask you some questions.”
“Soph, can you do me a big favor?” Sophie nodded her head up and down. “Can you stay up here and watch a movie until me or your mom come back? I don’t want you to go downstairs, okay? If you go downstairs, I’ll be very upset with you.” Joey said.
“I don’t want you to be mad.”
“Then you’ll stay here?”
“Yes.”
“Good girl,” Olivia said, then tucked her daughter on the bed and closed the door.
“We’ll be right down, officers,” Joey said, and then they stood alone in the upstairs hall.
“She okay? Really?” he asked.
“Yeah, she’s fine. She was terrified something happened to you. So was I.”
He pulled her to him and laid his chin on her head. “Never, not in my whole life, not when I was in Iraq and I saw my entire team blown up, was I as scared as I was when I saw her next to that motherfucker.”
“Jo—”
“God, I wanted to kill him. I almost did.” He kissed the top of her head. “And you?”
“I’m fine. Shaken up, but glad you got him. This better be the end of this nightmare.”
“I love you, Olivia. I love you so much it scares me.”
She looked up. “I know what you mean.”
“Let’s go talk to the cops. Connor isn’t here anymore. He’s on his way to the hospital and hopefully jail when he’s recovered. We’ll have to wait to see why the hell Connor was here until he’s able to be questioned.”
“Okay. Let’s do this.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The highly anticipated debate in the tight election for governor of Florida is scheduled for tonight. This will be the first time that Russo will be seen in public since her assault and most recently a home invasion.
“You ready, baby?”
Was she ready? Yes, she was ready. She was sitting at a table behind the stage with her spinner in her hand. “Remember, you keep on smilin’ and hit him where it hurts. Don’t let him see you sweat. Kiss kiss and then a bang, okay?”
Okay. She could smile and pretend the sonfofabitch hadn’t gone after her in the most personal way possible.
“Livie, you’ve run a great election so far. Give me that stupid thing and take a deep breath,” Mark said, taking her toy away and causing Joey to laugh.
Connor had refused to give a reason why he’d broken into her house until last night.
Last night, after his brother Colin finally broke, Connor confessed that he was hoping that he’d scare her into dropping out of the election. He’d admitted he’d colluded with McGregor in exchange for a pardon, but only after the attorney general herself offered a very generous plea deal did Connor and Collin finally admit that they’d had a series of meetings with McGregor where he assured them of the pardon. Colin had also turned on his brother, admitting how Connor wanted to personally seek revenge on Olivia for “abandoning” him. He held a lot of resentment against her success and his failures.
The attorney general was itching to arrest McGregor and question him on the allegations as well as a series of very hefty overseas accounts that she’d recently “discovered” from an anonymous tip. But thanks to the help of Martinez and some strings Joey had pulled, everything was on hold until after the debate.
“Let’s go, it’s starting. Remember, you need to kick ass. You’re going to win because you’re the best, not because he’s a crook, okay?” Joey said.
She let out a deep breath. “Okay.” She stood and he led her out to the stage.
* * *
There were what seemed to be hundreds of reporters, lights, people, microphones. She stood behind a podium and a moment later McGregor walked out, waving out to the crowd. He walked to her and shook her hand. She returned the gesture, although the sonofabitch was behind her life being terrorized for the last two months or so.
The debate began with some pretty simple questions from the moderator. For the first thirty minutes everything was neutral and non-eventful. Then the conversation turned when the moderator asked, “what is your plan to deal with the toxic algae?”
She gave her standard answer. “ . . . the land from the nearby farmers needs to be purchased and new reservoirs must be built.” She turned to McGregor. “You need to rethink your position on the Everglades Preservation Project, Governor McGregor. The status quo is causing a lot of disruption in our waterways and in our air. This shouldn’t be political. This should be about doing the right thing.”
“I’m working on it. We don’t know how this algae has formed or how to fix it. We don’t even know if it’s toxic. The solution is not that easy. If you win, you think you’ll come to office and just snap your fingers and make things happen? That’s very naïve of you. That’s not how things work. It is expensive and complicated, you wouldn’t know.”
“I’m sure it’s not easy, governor. But it’s not impossible. And the algae is toxic. My little girl is home sick in bed with terrible allergies and it’s from going outside. The solution isn’t as complicated as you make it sound. It’s complicated b
ecause you’re allowing the private sector to influence your decision. I’ve asked you time and time again, you owe it to your constituents to say what happened to all the money your administration received to fix and build the new reservoirs. You keep refusing to answer.” Now she was getting herself worked up. “Making the right decision would mean that you’d lose support from the sugar industry, and last year you received campaign donations upwards of twenty million dollars from Clear Sugar and USA Sugar, just to name a few.”
She had him. She knew it. His jaw ticked and his eyes narrowed. But just as quickly as it showed up, it changed. And he went back to calm, cool, and collected politician. “Are we going to get personal, Ms. Russo?”
“This is an election. Your personal dealings, when they affect your ability to run the state, yes, hell yes, I’m going to get personal.”
“Well, would you say that your past drug history and arrest is something that the public would need to know? Would that affect the people of Florida?”
She paled but then just as quickly composed herself. She was prepared for this. Her history was not going to haunt her after all these years. “Cat got your tongue? I like to run a clean campaign and I had not mentioned it, but I think people have a right to know. You’re trying to portray a clean-cut wholesome campaign, and you’re not all that perfect. Why are you deceiving your voters, Ms. Russo? And your boyfriend? A convicted felon? I am still amazed you’ve gotten this far. But the people of Florida are smart. They won’t fall for a con artist.”
She turned to the cameras confidently. “You are absolutely right. I haven’t been completely forthright, and I’m sure you have something up your sleeve about my past.” He hadn’t yet exposed her ridiculous idealistic teenage notes. “I had a terrible upbringing. I’m sad that it happened to me, and it’s not something I’m ready for my daughter to know. But you’re right. I left a bad situation. I was seventeen, living essentially on my own because my drug-addicted parents abandoned me. I was at a party, I made a stupid decision. There’s no excuse other than that I was a stupid kid. But I hope to God I’m teaching my daughter to make those right decisions and that any young girl or boy watching knows that the bad decisions you make as a young person will continue haunting you well into adulthood. Think about that when you’re at that moment. Anyway, I took the little money I had and moved to Florida. Alone. I didn’t know anyone. I worked two jobs and eventually got my college degree and now I’m running for governor of Florida. There were a lot of bad lonely difficult times. But they made me who I am, so no, I’m not going to hide it anymore.”
“That’s sweet. Cute. You turned it around for your advantage. But they will not be fooled.” He rolled his eyes. “Don’t paint a pretty picture. The truth remains you aren’t who these people need to run Florida.”
“I am who they need. We’re going to build that reservoir and help the algae problem. I’ll account for every single dollar we spend and I’ll never lie or deceive the people.”
Kiss Kiss Bang. She had him.
“Guess the cat’s got your tongue now, McGregor.”
“This is ridiculous. I’m not going to stand here and let you singlehandedly ruin this great state with your lack of experience and idealistic tree-hugging plans. You are a fraud and I’ll let my past record speak for itself. Thank you all for your time.”
He stepped down, and when he passed behind her, she whispered so only he could hear. “And one last thing . . . you ever bring up my boyfriend again, I’m going to start singing like a motherfucking canary.”
With a big smile on her face, she turned around to the press and answered all the questions thrown at her. Including those about the past.
* * *
Waiting for her at the side of the stage was Joey, beaming with pride. “You kicked his ass, baby. Kiss kiss bang.”
“Oh my God,” she said, still shaking with adrenaline.
“You did wonderful, honey.” Mark was right by her side. “If Neil were here, he’d be so proud.” He kissed her cheek, shook Joey’s hand, and went to field more questions.
“McGregor’s a douche. You stayed classy and in control. Everyone saw that.”
“I’m sorry you got dragged into it, though.”
“I’m not. I don’t give a shit. Do you? Do you give a shit about my past?”
“Not at all.”
“So if I told you I wanted to marry you and help raise Sophie, you’d be okay with it?”
Her eyes widened. “Did you . . . did you just propose?”
“Listen carefully, darlin’, I proposed and asked you to be your baby’s daddy.”
She jumped on him, not caring who was around. Thank God she had pant-suited that day, because her legs and arms wrapped around him, the flash of cameras going off all around them. “Yes yes yes!”
* * *
Governor Russo has declined to make any comments regarding former governor Harry McGregor’s indictment, which includes allegations that he hired two known felons to assault Russo in exchange for a pardon. She is busy planning a wedding and running Florida.
Acknowledgments
I have absolutely loved working with SMP/ Swerve, specifically with Lizzie and Alexandra, as well as Titi and all the wonderful PR team, during these three books. I am so sad to see this series come to an end. You guys have been sweet and fun and just wonderful to work with. I hope there will be more books together in the future. Alexandra, you have been a dream editor, and I thank you for all your feedback and help with this book!
As always, I have to thank Sarah, my lovely agent who is the reason this book and my other dozen books are even possible. Love you, Sarah E. Younger!
There is a tribe of people who have had a hand in making my dreams come true: Heather, my PA, my friend, and my beta reader. Thank you! Leisha . . . thank you for your support always! And, of course, my family—especially my husband, who mans the household so that I can have time to write. I love you and appreciate you so much more than you’ll ever know.
And last and most important—all of you readers and bloggers who continue to buy and read my books and support me. Without you, there would be no books! So . . . thank you thank you thank you.
About the Author
Author photograph © Gabriel Escudero
USA Today bestselling author Sidney Halston lives her life with one simple rule: “Just Do It”—Nike. And that’s exactly what she did. After working hard as an attorney, Sidney picked up a pen for the first time at thirty years old to begin her dream of writing. Having never written anything other than very exciting legal briefs, she found an outlet for her imaginative, romantic side and wrote Seeing Red. That first pen stroke sealed the deal, and she fell in love with writing. Sidney lives in South Florida with her husband and children. She loves her family above all else, and reading follows a close second. When she’s not writing, you can find her reading and reading and reading. She’s a reader first and a writer second. When she’s not writing or reading, her life is complete and utter chaos, trying to balance family life with work and writing (and reading). But she wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Also by Sidney Halston
Last First Kiss
Kiss Marry Kill
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Prologue
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
/> CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Sidney Halston
Copyright Page
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
KISS KISS BANG. Copyright © 2017 by Sidney Halston. All rights reserved. For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover photograph: couple © Stephen Carroll/Arcangel
ISBN 978-1-250-13246-8 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-250-15490-3 (trade paperback)
eISBN 9781250132468
First Edition: December 2017
Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, ext. 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].
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