Love is Murder by Sandra Brown Read Free Book Online Page A

hospital.
    Lights appeared again, closer, dimmer, nonthreatening. She moved toward them. Streetlights? She had to be careful, had to weigh the odds, had to decide if going out into the open was worth the risk. But what if she could find someone to help her, someone driving by or walking by, someone who could call 911? If only she could remember how long ago it had been since she had drunk the champagne and ingested the poison now killing her by slow, painful degrees.
    Think, damn it, think. Try to remember.
    She and Jed had been celebrating. He had brought the champagne with him. She had prepared dinner. No…she hadn’t had time to cook. She had picked up takeout on her way home from work. Had they eaten first, before Jed opened the bubbly? Yes, she thought they had. Vague memories of the two of them sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace, the food spread out on a tray, drifted through her mind. The jumble of memories and odd thoughts drifted through a hazy fog as if her mind wouldn’t allow her to see clearly.
    What were we celebrating?
    Olivia stumbled, barely managing to maintain her balance, and then continued running.
    She remembered Jed making a toast, could see him smiling, could feel his lips against hers. His taste lingered, stronger than the taste of the champagne. Had she been given a promotion at work? Had he? No, she didn’t think so. Had one of them been given a pay raise? Won an award?
    She shook her head.
    Dalton!
    Oh, my God, that was it. Dalton was in jail. The fact that he was behind bars was reason enough to celebrate.
    How long would it take for his case to come to trial? Weeks? Months? Years? Until she testified and he was convicted, she would be in danger. He couldn’t allow her to live, to testify against him.
    Olivia stumbled again, the earth beneath her feet slick and damp. When she looked down, she couldn’t see her feet, only the wet pavement glistening with iridescent moisture created by rain and oily road sludge. She didn’t recognize the street, couldn’t identify a single building, but she could hear the hum of motors and the drone of faraway voices.
    “Help me…please, somebody, help me.”
    “Olivia.” Jed’s voice surrounded her, coming from every direction, but she couldn’t see him.
    Why was Jed trying to kill her?
    Wasn’t it obvious? He was on Dalton’s payroll. A dirty cop. No, please, God, no. Not Jed. Not the man she loved, the man she trusted. But what other explanation could there be? Jed had poisoned her. And now he was following her, waiting for her to die so he could get rid of her body.
    Barely able to stand, her throat dry, her limbs heavy with exhaustion, she struggled to make her way across the street toward the well-lit building. One you-can-do-this trudging step at a time, she pushed herself to keep moving. The cold nighttime rain pelted her face and soaked through her clothes. As she reached the double glass doors of the building and reached out to grab the door handle, a bone-rattling chill shook her from head to toe.
    The pain in her belly hit with brutal force. She doubled over in agony as sour bile rose up her esophagus and coated her mouth with a bitter metallic taste. Her stomach tightened. She retched several times before the poisonous gold liquid spewed out of her mouth and coated the concrete sidewalk. As the pain subsided, she managed to stand up, her pulse drumming wildly in her ears. She was sick. She was cold. She was wet.
    With an unsteady hand, she reached for the door handle and pulled on it.
    Locked.
    No, please. It can’t be locked. I have to get inside. I need help. And I need it now.
    She jerked on the door handle again and again before giving up and pounding on the door with weak, trembling fists.
    “Please, somebody help me.”
    No response. No one was coming to help her. She couldn’t stay here. She had to keep moving. She needed to go to the hospital, needed to be there now if she had any hope of surviving.
    Call for