Read Unleash Me, Vol. 2 (Unleash Me, Annihilate Me Series) Online
Authors: Christina Ross
“
It
’
s fine,
”
Tank said, handing him back his coat.
“
Thank you for your time.
”
When the waiter left, I said,
“
What
do we do now?
”
“
We need to get you and everyone else home safely, so let me
call my team.
They
’
ll
have cars waiting for all of us, and they
’
ll make certain the street is clear
when we leave.
”
He stepped aside, removed his cell from his jacket pocket,
and made one phone call, which is all it took.
When he was finished, he said,
“
They
’
ll
be here in fifteen minutes.
We don
’
t
leave the restaurant until they tell us to.
Our friends are obviously concerned
about you right now.
Let
’
s
go back to the dining room and tell them what
’
s happened and that we
’
re
dealing with it.
”
When we did and Tank explained the situation we were in,
Jennifer reached for my hand and grasped it in her own.
“
Are you all right?
”
she asked.
“
Not really.
”
“
This is either your ex or it
’
s Marco Boss,
”
Blackwell said.
“
I
’
m betting it
’
s
Boss.
From what you told me about
Kevin, he couldn
’
t afford a cocktail, new clothes, or a barber to cut his
hair and shave off his beard.
”
“
Actually, I disagree,
”
Tank said.
“
If
Kevin can afford his meth and alcohol addictions, which cost plenty to fuel on
a daily basis, then he can come up with the minimal amount of money he
’
d
need to do just that.
Clothes cost
next to nothing at places such as the Salvation Army.
In fact, if you
’
re
truly in need, somebody there likely would have just given him a fresh set of
clothes for free.
A trip to a cheap
barber for a haircut and shave is thirty dollars
—
max.
A shower at a hostel might cost him
fifteen dollars.
Tonight?
The drink was sixteen dollars.
So we
’
re looking at a
minimal investment on his part.
If
he plans to mess with Lisa, he can afford it.
Who knows what his life is like?
Is he selling meth?
If he is, he has an income stream.
Does he have a part-time job?
We don
’
t know, but if he
does?
Income.
What we need to consider is this
—
since
he knows where she lives, he
’
s in the running for this.
He could have been lurking down the
block, and followed us here tonight by cab.
That would have cost him eight bucks.
For Kevin, regardless of the fact that
he
’
s
homeless, all of this is possible.
”
“
Let me just throw something out here,
”
Alex said.
“
Boss is no fool.
He
’
s too smart to directly implicate
himself.
If he is behind this
—
and
I do think that he
’
s capable of something like this
—
he
’
d
hire someone to follow Lisa and do everything that happened tonight.
”
“
He could have,
”
Tank said.
“
But
proving it?
That
’
s
the difficult part.
”
“
I
’
m so sorry, Lisa,
”
Iris said.
“
It
’
ll be fine, Iris.
But thank you.
I have Tank
—
he
’
s
my rock.
He has my back, as I think
you
’
re
witnessing now.
”
Blackwell looked at Tank.
“
Her photo has been everywhere
lately.
The billboard in Times
Square and the ad that ran in the
Times
was sexual and provocative.
That
’
s my fault, and I
accept it.
So I have to ask.
Could some deranged fan
—
if
you even want to call him that
—
be behind this?
”
“
That
’
s another possibility,
”
Tank said.
“
Whether she wants to admit it or not
—
and
I don
’
t
think she does at this point
—
Lisa is on the cusp of
celebrity.
The hostess recognized
her when we entered the restaurant tonight.
That billboard in the Square is powerful
—
so
was the ad in the
Times
.
The
story the AP wrote about her told the public that she lives in Manhattan.
Unfortunately, it mentioned that she
lived on Fifth.
Fortunately, they
didn
’
t
mention the exact address out of respect for her privacy.
So, the question is this
—
if
it was a fan, how could that person have followed us here if they didn
’
t
know exactly where she lived on Fifth?
She could live near Washington Square.
Near Harlem.
In Midtown.
Fifth stretches through a fair length of
Manhattan.
I don
’
t
think this has anything to do with a fan.
But naturally, we
’
ll look into it.
”
In Tank
’
s jacket pocket, his cell
buzzed.
He reached for it, answered
it, and then hung up without saying a word.
He looked at us.
“
My men are outside,
”
he said.
“
Here
’
s the protocol.
They
’
ve already checked the
area.
When we exit the restaurant,
Blackwell and Iris, you share the car to your left.
Jennifer and Alex, take the center car.
Lisa and I will take the car to our
right.
We leave in that order.
Is that understood?
”
Everyone agreed.
“
Then let
’
s go home,
”
Tank said.
“
And be safe.
”
We left JoJo without incident, but fear already had laced
itself through my veins, and laid a blanket of foreboding over my heart.
Who had done this?
Why?
I didn
’
t buy the deranged fan angle.
It was either Kevin or Marco Boss.
And if it was either of them, then I
knew why.
I sat close to Tank and held his hand as we moved through
traffic on our way to my apartment at 800 Fifth.
When we arrived, the limousine pulled
close to the curb, our driver
—
Cutter
—
got
out of the car, and only when he signaled that it was safe for us to leave did
we exit and quickly step into the building.
It was then that the evening took an even darker turn.
When we moved into the lobby, the doorman, George, stopped
us.
“
Ms. Ward,
”
he said with a
smile.
“
I
have a delivery for you.
”
I looked at George and felt my soul grow cold.
It
’
s
not over yet
…
.
On the lobby
’
s desk was a long, rectangular white
box with a black ribbon tied around it.
It was clear that it had come from a florist.
Tank intercepted it.
“
Don
’
t touch it,
”
he said to me.
“
I don
’
t plan to.
”
He looked at the doorman.
“
Who delivered this?
”
“
Floral on Fifth.
”
“
Have they ever delivered here before?
”
“
They deliver here on a daily basis.
I know their delivery drivers by
name.
Apparently, they
’
re
the
florist everyone uses in this building.
Tonight it was Tom.
Yesterday it was Mike.
They
’
re
here all the time.
”
“
Nobody else has touched this?
”
“
Just me and Tom that I know of, and obviously the person
who assembled it at the florist.
”
Tank lifted the box.
“
It
’
s light,
”
he said.
“
What I find odd is that it
’
s obviously a box made
for a dozen roses,
”
George
said.
“
But
there
’
s
no way that there are a dozen roses in that box, because you
’
re
right
—
it
’
s
too light.
”
He furrowed his brow at us, and I
knew he could sense that something was wrong.
“
I apologize if I shouldn
’
t
have accepted it.
”
“
It
’
s fine, George,
”
I said.
“
You
’
ve done nothing wrong.
”
“
When did it arrive?
”
Tank asked.
“
Just after you left.
”
“
And naturally, Floral on Fifth is closed at this hour.
”
“
They are.
”
“
Then I need both of you to stand back.
Against that wall over there.
”
“
Tank, don
’
t open it.
”
“
Lisa, if there was anything explosive in here, the box
would be heavier.
I know
better.
I
’
m
just taking a precaution.
”