“Shut up, whore.”
Olivia stopped and tried to pull her hand out of mine.
“Liv, they are not worth it.”
“But he just called his girlfriend a whore.”
“Actually, she’s his sister.”
Olivia’s mouth fell open. “That doesn’t make it any better.”
“I know. It’s awful, and he’s a dick, but there’s no point in arguing with them.”
“You’re right.”
I took a breath in relief. “Thank you.”
I moved to keep walking, but Olivia yanked on my hand again.
This time, she succeeded in getting her hand away from mine.
“Shit,” I said as I followed her back to Frank and Franny.
“You, sir, are the pussy. Only a pussy would call a woman a whore, especially his sister.”
“Shut up, bitch.”
Olivia gasped.
I could see this was going to escalate quickly if I didn’t do something to stop it, so I took the basket from her hand and picked her up in a fireman’s hold.
“Tommy, put me down.”
It was the smart thing to do because it stopped Olivia from fighting with Frank and Franny. And those two were too stunned to do anything more than stand there and stare at us.
“I told you, they’re not worth it.”
“He can’t go around, calling women whores and bitches.”
“I understand, but this is a fight you’re never going to win.”
She was silent.
But I didn’t trust it.
“You can put me down.”
“Nope. I don’t believe you. Last time you agreed with me, you marched back there and yelled at Frank.”
“You can’t just carry me through the store.”
“I already am. Besides, Addison gave me permission.”
“It was a joke.”
“Oh no, she was serious.”
“If anyone looks up my skirt and sees my ripped underwear and vagina, I’m going to kill you.”
“Don’t worry. Your skirt is long enough to cover you. No one gets to see that pretty pussy but me.”
“Tommy, you can’t say stuff like that in public.”
We were at the front of the store now, and a couple of heads turned our way.
“Shh…everyone’s looking at you,” I said as we reached the cash registers. I opted for the self-checkout.
“They’re looking at you because you’re carrying me.”
“Ma’am, are you okay?” a lady behind me asked. “Do I need to call security?”
“It’s tempting,” Olivia said. “But I’m fine. He just has a protective streak.”
I quickly ran my things over the scanner and paid for my stuff while Olivia assured the lady that she was safe. I was a little worried someone would stop me at the door and accuse me of kidnapping, but the greeter at the door was an older gentleman who smiled at me.
“I was married once,” he told me.
“We’re not married,” Olivia corrected the man.
The gentleman laughed. “Don’t let her go,” he said to my back. “She’s a keeper.”
“Sexist pig,” she muttered once we were outside.
“He just said you were marriage material. That’s a compliment.” I carried Olivia to the SUV and set her down, but I caged her in with my body. “Are you going to run back in there?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “And give you the satisfaction of carrying me out again? No way.”
“Good.” I rotated my shoulder. “Because you’re heavy,” I teased.
She socked me in the gut. “Just get in and drive.”
20
Olivia
I was still fuming as Tommy drove to my house. I really, really hated being called a bitch.
I knew that Frank guy didn’t know me and had just called me a bitch because I had confronted him, but that word and I went way back.
I’d been called a bitch a lot in my life. Women had called me that because I didn’t want to hang out with them in high school. And guys had called me that because I didn’t want to go out with them. Just because I’d had better things to do with my time than party every weekend didn’t mean I was a bitch. And I shouldn’t let it bother me anymore. When I was a bitch, it was usually in court, and it helped me win a lot of the time. But my teenage self still hadn’t come to terms with the insult.
“You okay over there?” Tommy asked.
“I’ll be fine. I just hate assholes, is all.”
He put his hand on my thigh. “Me, too.”
It was at this time that I realized I wasn’t the only one who had been called names. “You okay?”
He looked at the rearview mirror and then at me. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because of those assholes.”
“Oh.” He laughed as he looked in the mirror again. “Nah, I’ve dealt with way worse people than them. They’re not worth our time and energy.”
I watched him look in the mirror one more time. “Why do you keep looking in the mirror?”
“Just making sure that no one is following us.”
I gasped and turned around. “Do you really think Frank and Franny are following us?”
“No. I’m afraid whoever sent you those letters is following you.”
A chill went up my spine. For a few hours, I had put the threats out of my head.
Tommy squeezed my thigh. “Don’t worry. No one is behind us.”
I was grateful that he was trying to comfort me, but I still couldn’t stop the images in my mind of someone following me home and breaking into my house. But then again, they didn’t have to follow me. They already knew where I lived.
And now, I had to wonder if I had led them there.
Have I been trailed without knowing?
I liked to think I was aware of my surroundings, but sometimes, my mind was caught up in my work, and I didn’t always pay close attention to the world around me.
I sighed and lay back against the headrest.
I wanted to think I was tough and didn’t need help or protection, but knowing that the person sending me threatening letters knew where I lived scared the bejesus out of me. I knew that me arguing with Tommy about calling the police was just a deflection of my fright. I had really wanted to believe that it was all
