She stayed by her side for what seemed like hours, her thoughts consumed with revenge. As the sky streaked with lightening, a summer thunderstorm rolling in and drenching the city, her cell phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number, but answered anyway.
“Hey, Olivia. It’s Simon. I just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing after everything that happened yesterday.”
“Oh…hi, Simon. I’m glad you called.” She released Kiera’s hand and stood up, walking toward the windows.
“Really?” he asked, noticeably surprised by her response.
“Of course. We’re friends after all, aren’t we?”
He was silent, unsure about how to respond. His guilt started to overwhelm him. At first he wanted Olivia to pay for having him arrested, but things had begun to spin out of control. In the end, he wasn’t so sure he could follow through with what he was supposed to do. “You really want to be friends with me? Even after everything that’s happened?”
“I do, Simon. You’re one of the few people I know who has never lied to me. I could really use someone like that in my life right now.”
He cringed at her words. “How’s Kiera?” he asked after several long, silent moments.
“As good as can be expected.” She turned and walked back to stand next to her friend’s still body. “She was shot in her head, chest, and leg…”
“Bastard…” Simon muttered under his breath.
“I know. They had to induce a coma in order to remove the bullet from her head. Surgery went well and they were able to remove all the bullets and stop the excess bleeding. The swelling in her brain has gone down and they say that they may be able to bring her back from the coma within the next few days, if not sooner.”
“That’s a relief. She’s going to make it then?”
“It appears so.”
“That’s great news.”
Olivia heard her phone beep, indicating she had another call coming in. She ignored it and continued speaking with Simon. “I just want to thank you for everything you did for me yesterday. If you weren’t out for a run when and where you were, I don’t know what would have happened. You saved Kiera’s life. I don’t think I can ever repay you. She was lucky that none of the bullets hit any vital organs.”
“I don’t know if I’d call what happened to her lucky,” he said.
“I know.” She brushed her friend’s forehead. “But she was totally helpless. All that guy needed to do was put one more bullet in her and she’d be dead,” she said with a quiver in her voice just as she heard her phone beep again. She continued to ignore the incoming call.
“Well, I’m glad I was able to help.” He felt incredibly guilty for deceiving her. What was happening to him? Just a few months ago, he was itching to get his revenge. But there was something so different about Olivia. It was as if she was a completely new person than the girl he dated the previous summer. This new Olivia was kind, caring, compassionate…a huge change from the cold-hearted bitch he knew all those months ago. He hated what he had agreed to do to her.
“I just wish they were able to catch the guy. Apparently, he got out of the house before the police were able to detain him.”
Simon lowered his voice. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah. I’m sure I’ll have to go and give a description of him, especially once Kiera wakes up.”
“Listen, Olivia, talk to Alexander. Make sure he assigns a couple of guys to watch Kiera’s hospital room.”
She scrunched her eyebrows, curious as to why Simon was suddenly more concerned. “Why? She’s in a hospital. I don’t think anyone would be stupid enough to try anything here.”
“Libby, I doubt this guy, whoever he is, intended to leave her as a witness. In fact, both of us should probably be careful. We’ve seen his face.” He didn’t know what else Grant and Donovan had planned. The least he could do was warn her. “You remember what I told you a few months ago about those guys who were after you for some reason, don’t you?”
“I know. I already can’t go anywhere without my protection detail. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have one of Alexander’s security people keeping an eye on me. I know he’s just trying to keep me safe and I appreciate it, but sometimes I feel like I have no privacy.”
“Alexander cares about you, that’s all. I’d do the same if you were mine…” His voice became quiet, trailing off.
“Simon, I’m sorry. I wasn’t into the whole relationship thing when I met you.”
“Listen, I should get going,” he said, remorse overwhelming him. He couldn't listen to her voice anymore without breaking down and telling her exactly what was going to happen. And he couldn't do that or he’d end up dead, too.
“Good-bye, Simon, and thank you for everything.”
He hung up, not wanting to feel any more guilt than he already did.
~~~~~~~~~~
“DO YOU THINK SHE’LL be okay?” Alexander asked later that afternoon, breaking the silence that had permeated the storage room. Neither one had been able to figure out their father’s code, nor how it related to the financial statements the papers were found with. “I mean, after walking in on Kiera and seeing…” He trailed off before composing himself. “Will it be enough to know that they were able to catch the guy?”
“What are you talking about, Alex?” Carol asked, looking at him with her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “They didn’t catch the guy.”
“Olivia said she ran for help, and a stranger walked back to the house with her. She said that this guy attacked the intruder after he saw he was still in there,” he said urgently. “She said he pushed him down the basement stairs and that he was knocked unconscious.”
“Nobody was ever found, although the exterior basement door was open.”
“So this guy is still out there?” he asked, his voice trembling. He kicked himself for not following up sooner on what happened to the intruder.
“It appears so.”
“Fuck…” His mind started racing, thinking about Olivia at the hospital without him. At least Carter was there with her.
Carol didn’t know what to do. She thought Alexander knew that they never caught the guy. It was entirely possible that Olivia didn’t know. But then there was the letter. “So, where is Olivia?”