Page 33 of The Sound of Silence

“Shit, you never take time off. Are you feeling okay?” she joked.

“I’m fine. I just have a few things to do.”

“Sure thing. We got it covered over here. Take all the time you need.”

“Thanks. The treadmills still need to be sanitized today, and the vitamin supplements were looking a little bare. You’ll need to restock—”

“I know the drill. You have daily tasks lists posted all over the office. We’ll get it done.”

“I know,” I laughed. “But I had to say it, anyway. Thanks, Lisa. I appreciate you covering for me.”

Ending the call, I grabbed my laptop from the coffee table and sat on the couch next to Maisie. She curled into my side while I waited for the computer to power up. Hoping Google would give me a little insight into my mystery girl, I recalled a certain glittery gold font and typed the two names I’d once read, Ethan and Gianna Walker.

“Here goes nothing.”

I pushed aside the thought I may be bordering on stalking and scrolled through the search results.

I learned they owned a home in a quiet suburb called Indian Hill. Good schools. Population 5,887. I found a few social media accounts for Val under the Gianna Walker name, but the profiles showed she hadn’t been active in years. Other than that, I didn’t find much else.

I continued to search until I saw Ethan’s name show up in a link to the Cincinnati Police Department. I clicked on it and discovered her ex-husband was the chief of police.

Interesting.

I don’t know what I expected him to do for a living, but I never would have guessed he was a cop. I stared at the image of him wearing his dress blues. He was a good-looking guy with dark hair and a medium build. He hadn’t changed much since I saw him last. Unexpectedly, a twinge of what I recognized as jealousy needled me. It was crazy, really. I was jealous of some guy who I’d barely even met.

“Why?” I asked aloud to the computer screen, but I knew the answer.

I was jealous because he got to spend years with the woman I was only able to dream about. Just thinking about him sharing her bed, being inside of her, and fucking her as her husband made me green with envy in the most indescribable way. I hated him despite barely knowing him. My brief encounter with her husband might not have given me much time to see what was beneath the surface, but the picture before me did. Staring at the image on the computer, I saw something I hadn’t seen before. There was a cold, mean glint to his eyes. Something was off with him, but I couldn’t quite place it.

The longer I stared, the more uneasy I began to feel. Instinct led me to believe there was something dark and sinister hiding behind those eyes. An innate need to protect Val from whatever demons she was running from was overwhelming. She was hiding her true identity for a reason and I had a feeling that reason was staring back at me through my computer screen.

14

Val (Gianna)

Ispent the next few days exploring the three blocks around my apartment and getting a subway card. I found places to hide if need be—a twenty-four-hour diner that had a payphone, and a woman’s shelter that was three minutes away on foot. I also occupied myself with trying to find a job, but I needed a job off the books, and it was slim pickings. I could walk dogs, clean houses, bartend, or waitress—as long as I didn’t have to hand over a social security number Ethan could use to track me.

Until I found one, keeping myself busy had been a challenge. I hadn’t been sleeping well and spent more time than not jumping at my own shadow during the day. Every little noise in the quiet apartment made my nerves stand on end. I knew I was being ridiculous, but I couldn’t help it. It was the reason I found myself at the hardware store I’d stumbled across the day before.

The lock on the door to my apartment was a single doorknob lock that could easily be card swiped. Updating the security to my residence was a must if I had any hope of getting a peaceful night’s sleep. However, as I stared at the stores racking filled with nuts, bolts, tools, and wooden boards, I realized I had no idea what I would need. I knew I wanted to add a deadbolt. After the way Ethan beat down the door at the hotel, I also wanted to create a barricade using a couple of boards with hinges I could raise and lower as needed. Nobody would break down my door again.

After selecting what I thought I’d need, I lugged the supplies back to my apartment. Oscar was leaving the building just as I was coming in.

“Whoa, little lady!” my landlord said in surprise. “Let me give you a hand with that.”

Relieved to be free of some of the heavy burden, I passed off two, four-feet-long wood planks.

“Thanks.”

“Does something need fixing? If so, you should have told me.”

“Oh, it’s fine. I just want to put an extra lock on the door,” I explained. He looked at me skeptically, his eyes shifting to the things I purchased, but didn’t comment. Instead, he carried the wood to my door and left me to it. Thirty minutes later, as I was struggling to screw the hinge for one of the planks into the wall, Oscar returned carrying a drill, a small metal case, and a baseball bat.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“You’ll have an easier go of it with a drill than that rinky-dink screwdriver you’ve got there. There are different sized drill bits in the case.”

“Oh, wow! This is great Oscar. Thanks! I’ll be sure to get it back to you later on today.”

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