A: I’m impressed yet again.
GW: Thank you.
A: Do you think you can have this finished by the end of the week?
I didn’t want to disappear on Blake, but this was my job, and if I could make sixteen grand in one month, I was going to do it.
GW: Challenge accepted.
I found myself grinning like a fool. It had been a long time since I felt this good about myself. I was finally happy in my personal life as well as my career. Justin had sucked so much of my energy and focus that I’d almost forgotten how awesome this feeling really was.
A: See attachment and good luck.
Drawing my mouse over the attachment, I was pleased to see there was a sex scene to write. I eyed my bedroom down the hall. I liked to dress for the part to get in the mood. Now that I lived alone, it was time for me to step it up a notch.
Chapter Nine
Jonah
I was like a ghost. I moved around undetected and unnoticed, just an afterthought or an inconvenience if my body got in their way. I hated my life, I hated myself, but most of all, I hated…
“Hey, man.” Someone stood in front of me, and I looked up and saw a huge dude in a police vest. Though I was at the station a lot because of my clean-up job, I found working as a janitor got me closer to my prey without anyone sparing me a glance. “Can you tell me where to find the photocopier? This place is a maze.”
I looked around, curious if he really was speaking to me or someone else.
“Ahh, down the hall.” I pointed. “Second door on the right.”
“Thank you.” He extended his hand. “I’m Blake.”
“Jonah,” I muttered, giving my middle name.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you around, Jonah.”
“Guess so.”
He smiled, but I could tell he was perplexed with my behavior. I was used to people never seeing me. They just didn’t notice me, so it threw me off.
“Don’t be a martyr,” Tiffany huffed from the bathroom. “It’s a turn-off.”
I rolled over and tucked my hurt feelings away.
“I’m just saying it would be nice to be seen, but I’m sure you have no idea what that’s like.”
She shrugged. “I’m confident, therefore I’m sexy. Sexy doesn’t have to be determined by your looks. It can be seen by the way you carry yourself and the way you speak.”
“Just that easy, hey?” I grunted at her sexy, slim body and shiny hair that looked like a halo around her head.
She sighed with annoyance and started to root through her bag, “Have you done what I asked yet?”
“No.” I hated this topic.
“Why?”
“I don’t understand why I have to follow her. Who is she, anyway?”
“Say it.” She stopped and shot me a look.
“Tiffany…” I started to go on, but I knew better. “I love you and will do anything for you.”
“Right, so do it.” She snapped her bag closed. “And keep your distance.”
“When will you be home?”
“When I get home.” She blew me a kiss and rushed out the door.
“Shit.” I covered my face with my hands for a moment, then I headed into the shower. I finished up and headed outside to get this over with.
It didn’t take me long to locate her. She was predictable as a clock. She’d leave her office, turn right on Citrus Tree Avenue, stop for a green tea and salad at the lunch truck in the park. From there, she’d send a text message to someone and call her friend to check in. Her hair was normally in a low ponytail, and she often wore silk scarves that she’d fiddle with when she thought. She was incredibly pretty in a business way, right down to her pinstripe slacks and matching jacket.
Tiffany: Did you do what I asked?
Jonah: I am right now.
Tiffany: Good. Let me know when you leave.
I’d leave when she did. I snapped a few photos like she wanted and sat back and watched. I wasn’t sure what I was watching for, but it beat sitting at home waiting for the next cleaning job to come in.
The clouds buzzed by, and people poured in and out of the entrance, everyone taking their turn to enjoy the dirty-ass lake and the annoying pigeons. Why anyone would think they were cute was beyond me.
I tuned in to her voice just as a hot piece of ass rollerbladed by.
“Oh, that’s okay, dear.” Her voice was calm and relaxed. “I’ll see you at home later, then.” She paused. “I love you too.”
I stood when she did and pulled my phone free.
Jonah: Leaving, see you at home.
I snapped out of my memory, and once outside and on my way home, I saw her and prepared to make my move. I fell into step and felt my erection rise with the tap of her heels on the pavement. Her bare, slender legs were shown off from below her knees, topped by her wool winter coat. The screen of her phone caught my attention, and I saw she was listening to a textbook on tape. I chose Deana and the others because they looked just like Tiffany. This was the only way I could get my control back. The only way I felt like she was still with me.
She stopped, and I had to keep moving. Dammit! The downfall of modern technology was that it was always in our face, distracting us from our normal routine. I moved a few feet away and pretended to look for something in my pocket.
I glanced over under the protection of my ball hat and watched her big, gummy smile read something off her phone. She quickly wrote back before she granted me a smile and carried on.
The woods were so close now. The protected path down to the shoreline was just ahead, and I needed her to keep moving forward. I knew this path wasn’t used that often at this time of night. I closed the gap between us, five, four, three, two, and just as I got to one, I pushed her down the three wooden steps, and she tumbled awkwardly to land on the ground below.
Her head hit hard, so she was dazed and confused as I towered over her. I fisted her jacket and dragged her directly behind me to cover my footprints.
She tried to fight, but since it all happened so fast, I could tell her head wasn’t catching up.
“Sit there.” I pointed and pulled out a gun when she didn’t move. She scrambled to her knees and moved to where I told her to. “Now, lay back.”
“Why?” she whispered.
“Who’s holding the gun? Me or you?” I hated when they didn’t listen. Hello? Who was in control here? Not them!
Once she leaned back and her body made an imprint in the stiff, frozen grass, I told her to stand. As she leaned forward, I used her momentum to drive the screwdriver deep into her chest and through her lung.
She yelped and screamed, which I wasn’t ready for. I quickly pulled out the sandpaper, scrubbed it up her leg, and froze when someone’s voice broke through my panting.
Shit!
“What was that?” Someone shushed someone else, and it seemed like they were listening to us.
“You make one more sound, Deana, and I’ll stab you again, and this time over here.” I pointed to her one good lung. She nodded, and I could hear her slowly drowning in her blood.
I got to my feet and pointed my gun at her while I scanned the shoreline, and that was when I spotted it.
While my sore knees protested, I rushed over to the dory that was beached on the sand. I pushed it into the water and in the freezing cold waded it over to where Deana was barely hanging on.