Read Online Olivia by Donna Sturgeon - Free Book Online

tinkled a little. With the car full of killers closing in fast, she jammed her foot onto the accelerator and high-tailed it to the safest place she knew.
    The lights were out at Kitty’s, but George’s truck was still parked outside. She swung into the alley and slammed the car into park, flew out of the driver’s seat and ran for the bar, leaving her engine running and the car door open.
    “ George! ” Tears poured down her face as she burst through the back door. Fear had her hair standing on end, and her heart thumped like Thumper in her ribcage, making it hard to breathe as she ran down the short hallway to the office. “ George! ”
    The door to the office stood slightly ajar, a dim light shining through the crack, and she dove for it, slamming it right into George. His face was white with shock, quickly exploding into red as his nose burst from the force of the door smacking into it. Olivia jumped for him to catch her, but he wasn’t ready and they ended up in a tangled pile on the floor.
    “ Ow! ” George cried out in pain, his hands flying to his nose too late to protect it. “What the hell—”
    “Someone’s following me,” she said, her voice coming out in a hushed, panicked whisper. She untangled herself from his limbs and crawled over his chest to peek out into the hallway. “I think I lost him.”
    “Who’s following you?” George remained flat on his back with his hands to his nose and Olivia still sprawled across him as she peered into the hall.
    His lack of urgency appalled her.
    “Well, I don’t know who! If I knew who , I’d have gone to the police! But for all I know they’re in on it, too!” She dared another peek down the hall then slammed the door closed.
    “In on what?” George shoved Olivia off him and sat up. “Shit, Liv. I think you broke my nose.”
    “In on trying to kill me!” She jumped to her feet.
    “Who the hell would want to kill you ?”
    “The killers!”
    “What killers?!”
    “The ones trying to kill me!” Olivia shrieked in frustration. Man, George could be dense sometimes. “You have to protect me!”
    “From who? ” he bawled out in his own frustration. He squeezed the bridge of his still-bleeding nose, and tipped his head back to try to get it to stop. “Shit, Liv.”
    “Goddamn it, George! Aren’t you paying attention? There are murderers out there—chasing me—trying to kill me. They were at my house. They followed me here. Now get off your ass and save me!” Olivia grabbed his arm and tried to pull him to his feet, but he wouldn’t budge.
    George squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. “Go home, Liv.”
    “I’m not going home! Are you insane ? If I go home they’ll kill me for sure!”
    “Go home, Liv,” George repeated.
    “Fuck you, George,” Olivia said and let go of his arm. “I’m not going anywhere.”
    She flounced to the sofa and crossed her arms over her chest as she sat. She alternately glared at him and darted her eyes to the door. George pushed himself to his feet and looked for some paper towels to catch the blood that was no longer gushing, but still trickling out of his nose. His eyes shot to Olivia as he searched. If looks could kill, Olivia would be a dead woman. But she would much rather die by George’s hands (or eyes) than by an unknown crazed assailant, so she stayed put.
    “I’ll be right back,” George muttered when his search for paper towels came up empty.
    He opened the office door and Olivia jumped up to follow him, but he stilled her with one finger and another deathly glare. He closed the door behind him, leaving Olivia all alone in the empty office.
    The lights were low, the shadows long, and something was making a noise in the walls. As the minutes slowly ticked by, Olivia pulled her knees up to her chest, and whimpered. Time slowed down even more and she wrapped her arms around her legs, pulling them in tighter. When the theme music to Jaws began to play through the speakers of George’s stereo, her