Is Tiffany, right? Will Rhonda continue her stalking, or will she give up?
Trevor POVI stare out the living room window and look down at the street below, watching the flurry of cars and people go by. In the back of my mind, a question pops up. Is the crazy witch down there somewhere?My body instantly tenses at the thought, and my blood runs cold. No. She doesn’t know where I’m at. Only a handful of people know where I’m staying now. I trust every one of them. She will never find out where I’m at.Ding.Ding.My muscles tense again as I look over my shoulder at the phone on the end table by the couch. I breathe a small sigh of relief. It is Tiffany’s phone this time? Ding.Ding.My eyebrows knot together. Who is it? It must be important if they are sending so many messages. I turn and walk over to her phone. Ding.Confused, I call out to her. “Babe, your phone is going off. Someone is sending messages to you.”The faint sound of the shower is my only reply. She must not be able to hear me over the water. I tilt my head as curiosity nibb
Tiffany POV I sit on the couch and cling to Trevor like my life depends on it. In a way, it does. He has never talked or asked me about why my apartment isn’t nicer. In the beginning, he asked why I hadn’t gotten a bigger one, but I had given him a lame excuse about needing to save money, which wasn’t completely a lie. I do have to save money, but it isn’t because I was saving the cash for something else. It is because I didn’t have any money after my father got a hold of me. My grip on his arms tightens as my body trembles. I thought I had more time before my father would reach out. He usually doesn’t try to talk to me while I’m working. I have set one rule which must not be crossed. He can’t affect my work. The moment he does, I cut him off. I don’t know if I could hold myself to it, though, but he doesn’t know that. He isn’t completely dumb because he knows if I don’t have work, I won’t have the funds to give to him. The thought of not having a steady money suppl
Tiffany POVI gather an armful of clothes from the closet and dash back to the bed where a couple of suitcases sit open. I shake my head. “I don’t understand why I need to move so suddenly. My father doesn’t know exactly where I live. I should be safe.”Trevor grabs a bundle of clothes from the closet. “I’m not taking any chances. If you don’t know how these people work, you don’t understand the actual danger you are in. Trust me. You need to move. If your father knows the vague area of where you live, it won’t take him long to find your apartment. It is better for you to move now, before he gets the jump on you. I’ll also feel better if you are with me in our secure location. No one is getting in unless we say they can come in.”My stomach twists. Is this gambling world really this bad? I don’t have to ask because I already know it is. Images of my childhood when those nasty thugs would come looking for my father and then ‘teach him a lesson’ for not paying on time fla
Trevor POV A smile breaks out on me as Tiffany slaps my arm for the hundredth time. “You should have told me Jane was coming over. Do you realize I just about had a heart attack when she banged on the door? You should have told her to call first to let us know she was coming or was outside. She didn’t have to shorten my life so much by scaring me to death.”I shake my head and carry the load of boxes into the living room of our temporary apartment. “I’ve told you already, many times, that I didn’t know she was coming over. The only thing I had told her was that we were going over to your apartment to get a few things, but I never once told her to stop by. She has also apologized several times for scaring you. Now, can we move past this?”I feel bad about the whole thing. The look of fear in her eyes is enough to break my heart. I never want to see that look again. It doesn’t help she is on edge with this situation with her father. I wish my contacts would hurry up and ge
Tiffany’s Father POV I shift on the bench, trying to find a comfortable spot, but after hours of being here, there isn’t any comfortable position left. My eyes stay glued a short distance down the block where I’ve seen Tiffany coming and going in the past. Strangely, this time, she is nowhere to be seen. I know she lives around here somewhere, but I don’t know exactly where. My multiple attempts to find out have come up in vain, but I’m sure she will walk past here soon. Ding. Ding. My breath hitches. It can’t be time yet. They have promised to extend it so I would have time to get the money from my daughter. They can’t be going back on their word now. I’ve been a regular customer of theirs for years. I’ve always paid them. No matter how much I want to ignore it. I can’t. My trembling hand dives into my pocket and slowly pulls out my phone, while I silently hope and pray it isn’t from who I think it is. I still need more time. Ding. I take a deep breath and slo
Trevor POV“What? I thought we were done with all the events for a while. Did I forget one?”I stare out the living room window at the cityscape. The morning sun is just poking up over the horizon, giving everything a warm glow. But no matter how pretty it is, it does nothing to the dark cloud forming over me. Jane sighs. “We didn’t forget about this one. I thought I had the event rescheduled, but for some strange reason, the sponsor and the event organizer came back telling me it can’t be rescheduled. Unfortunately, there isn’t anything I can do about it. We have to go through with the event. I’ve asked the sponsor to provide additional security, along with the mall. The only saving grace is the mall is aware of my requirements. It is at the same mall and location as the last event, so you will know the routine.”My blood runs ice cold.I remember the last event like it had just happened a few minutes ago. We got through it with no big stalker problem, but it doesn’t mea
Tiffany POV I don’t like this one bit. How can a rescheduled event suddenly go back to the original date? Isn’t the purpose of rescheduling it so it isn’t on the original date? Ugh… I march through the agency’s front door and past the reception desk, ignoring the young lady trying to stop me. With a wave of my hand in the air, I huff, “I’m here to see my agent.” “But..” I don’t care what she has to say. They aren’t going to stop me now. Trevor is still working through his problems after the phone call earlier from Jane. It is best for him to stay back at the apartment, anyway. I don’t need him having another panic attack because he saw someone who looked like his crazy stalker. It would break my heart to see him going through another one in a day. I grind my teeth together while my mind runs through what I’m going to say to Jane. Usually, she is so supportive, but this time she is throwing Trevor to the wolves. I bet if he was unconscious, she would have propped him
Tiffany POV“Are you serious?” I glance to my side at Trevor. His face is emotionless. A crease forms along my forehead as I turn back towards my phone on the kitchen counter. “You got us a job in another drama already, and they also want us to be a couple in the series.” My words come out more like a question than a statement. Can this be true?Jane didn’t know whether she could find another project that wanted to keep us together as a couple. If not, she was still going to look for jobs, but different ones for each of us. I’ve finally got Trevor as my boyfriend in real life, and I’m not willing to give him up that quick. If he gets a job in another drama and he needs to be paired up with someone else for it, I will accept it. I may not like it, but I don’t want him to give up a good opportunity because I can’t handle him kissing and acting like a boyfriend to someone else for his job.It is only a job.The same goes for me. I’m sure Trevor will be able to accept it if I g
Trevor POVRing…ring…ring…Ugh. I should have turned my phone off, too. I glance over my shoulder at the annoying device on the nightstand, but my annoyance disappears when I spot Black Sheep flashing on the screen and realize I haven’t talked to my cousin or anyone except for Dr. Heartland since the mall event. Jane had sent a message last night saying my cousin had helped with the crazy stalker lady, but she didn’t provide any details. I don’t know if she thought we weren’t in the mood to hear it or we didn’t want to know. I didn’t push it, either. To be honest, I really don’t want to know, but I’m curious. And my curiosity wins.I roll across the bed to the nightstand and snatch my phone off it. “Hey, what’s up?” A hearty chuckle flows from the phone while I wipe the grogginess from my eyes. “You sound much better than I had expected. From what you and Tiffany had told me beforehand, I thought you would have sunken into yourself and wouldn’t have talked to me. Are you ge
Tiffany POVStanding almost frozen in the middle of the waiting room at Dr. Heartland’s office, I slide my trembling hand into my pocket, but I don’t want to pull my phone out. What am I going to do if I don’t want this phone call? Can I unsee who it is once I look? A sense of dread washes over me.My heart hammers against my chest as my phone stops ringing for only a few seconds before it resumes. “Tiffany? Is something wrong? You look pale.”I look towards the door, which leads back to the session rooms. Trevor is standing there with a concerned look, but if I look closely, I can still spot a trace of his scared expression from earlier. I open my mouth and go to say something, but nothing comes out. Ring…ring…ring…I flinch a little and rub my finger along the side of my phone, still in my pocket.Trevor catapults forward and engulfs me in his arms. “What happened? You were just going to the agency to get our car and then come here. Did something happen along the way to
Tiffany POVMy heart races, and my hands tremble as I zoom through the city streets. Like a professional race car driver, I zigzag back and forth and speed around traffic as if my life depends on it. The only thing I can think of right now is getting back to our apartment and being with Trevor. I need him as much as he needs me. He is the only thing that will calm me down right now. I glance in the rearview mirror and make sure no one is following me. If I wasn’t panicking, I would enjoy acting like a spy trying to escape from the bad guy. But there isn’t currently anything to enjoy. Sweat builds up on my palms while I tighten my grip around the steering wheel. I take a deep breath and check all the mirrors again to verify no one is following me. Just to be on the safe side, I go the long way back to the apartment. I breathe a sigh of relief when the luxury apartment building comes into view. Before I turn into the gated parking area, I check one last time to make sure no
Trevor POVMy body trembles as I look back over my shoulder at the mall behind us. The van heads off down the road and back to the agency, but I don’t want to be around anyone associated with them right now. The agency’s driver is as close to the company as I want to be right now. My voice cracks as I softly ask, “Can we go somewhere else? I don’t want to go back to the agency.” In a whisper, I add, “I hate them right now.”Tiffany wraps her slender arm around me and gently pats my shoulder. “Okay. If you don’t want to go there, we won’t. Would you prefer to be dropped off at Dr. Heartland’s office, and then I can pick you up from there after I get the car?”I turn back towards her. Her caring eyes put my frayed nerves at ease while her familiar floral perfume swirls around me. The doctor’s office isn’t quite the place I want to go to, but I can’t think of anywhere else right now. His office will be safe, too. Reluctantly, I nod. “Okay. You will come for me right away?”
Rhonda POV Trevor’s deep voice seeps into the changing room and ignites the butterflies in my stomach. “Don’t worry. I’m coming.” I bite my lower lip. It is time. I’ll finally have him all to myself. Looking around the small room, I make sure everything is set. Wine. Check. Comfortable chairs. Check. My fun bag. Check. My body nearly vibrates with excitement. I quickly grab my purse and take out the last item. A little white pill. I drop it into the wineglass and stare at the stream of bubbles. Will one pill be enough? My smile fades, and I quickly put another pill in the glass. That should be enough. He won’t be able to last long after he drinks it. I need to have him drink it right away. Then I can sit back and wait until the drug kicks in. Nothing is going to stop me from having what is mine. Heavy footsteps outside draw near and get louder. I silently pray this will work, and I’ll get what I desperately want. The footsteps stop in front of the door
Trevor POVMy stomach churns as I stare out the van window. The buildings buzz by in a blur, while the cars on either side of us stay right beside us. The noise from the busy world outside doesn’t register with me and sounds only like a slight buzz in the back of my head.All my thoughts are still stuck on the event and what will happen now. I don’t want to see the crazy witch ever again. There is no way I could be in the same room as her. A cold shiver runs down my back as I remember her wild look in her eyes. This morning, I had tried to tell Jane I can’t do this, but she keeps saying she has had it all work out and it will be fine. My foot bounces as a thin layer of sweat coats my palms and my body. No matter what I do, I feel like I’m dangling from a high bridge by a rope and, any minute, someone will come along and cut it. It isn’t a question of if they will do it, but when. Why won’t anyone listen to me? Tiffany cups my hand and intertwines our fingers. “Honey
Tiffany POVWith a wide grin, I scan the living room. The private hut looks more like a luxurious penthouse instead of some bungalow at a resort.I’m so glad we listened to Kyle and got away for a night. He had promised he could get us the one unit farthest away from the others, which would give us more privacy. I tighten my grip on my bag and spin around. “This is amazing! I want to come back again some other time when we can spend more time here.”A hearty chuckle fills the room. Trevor walks in behind me and chimes, “We haven’t been here long enough to know whether we will like it or not. But I must admit it looks amazing so far. I’ll put it on the list of potential places where we can go on vacation together in the future. We probably won’t have enough time this time to see much of it, though. We need to leave tomorrow.”I sigh and pout. “I wish we had more time. You deserve it.”He deserves so much more than a night away, but I’ll take whatever we can get. With a slig
Trevor POVRing…ring…ring…Tiffany’s sweet voice asks, “Do you want me to get it for you? Or do you want me to let go of you so you can get it?”The warmth inside her embrace is the best medicine for my frazzled nerves, but I can’t make her stay with me all the time. A soft chuckle rumbles around in her chest while I tighten my arms around her. She pats my back. “I’ll grab it. Hold on.”Together, we lean towards the end table next to the couch. As soon as she picks up the phone and looks at it, her eyebrows furrow. “Your phone says black sheep. Who is black sheep?”I take a deep breath. I need to take this call. It is the one I’ve been waiting for. He had called me back several days ago, but something came up as soon as we started to talk, and he had to go. So, I never got to ask him any questions about Tiffany’s father. I turn around but stay within my girlfriend’s comforting arms and take my phone. “Hey, cous. We finally get to talk, or do you have to rush off again?”
Tiffany’s Father POV“Did you think you could hide from us? You still haven’t paid us, and you know we don’t like people running from their debts.” Spit flies into my face as I look up at the thug. His face contorts as rage burns bright in his eyes. Three more thugs stand behind him a short distance in the warehouse waiting to take their turn at me. The stench of smoke and alcohol fills my nose as the thug leans in closer and growls, “But running makes it fun.” A spark shimmers in his eyes, while a cold shiver runs down my back. I frantically shake my head. “I wasn’t running. I was trying to find my daughter. She will pay my debts. She always does.” His eyes narrow and the muscle along his jaw twitches. “The same daughter who you said had valuable things in her apartment to apply against the debt?”I frantically nod again. “Yes. You can take it all and apply it against my outstanding balance. I’m sure there is enough to cut my balance in half. She has a good-paying jo