Page 37 of Kiss Kiss Bang
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.
