The Givenchy Code by Julie Kenner Read Free Book Online

rectangle of light. I didn’t slow down when I hit street level, either, just kept on sprinting, and by the time I reached my building, my feet were raw, my lungs were burning again, and death by heart attack seemed more likely than murder.
    Murder.
    Oh, God, Todd.
    It hit me again, the pain, the memory. Like walking into an icy wall of water. I’d been concentrating on my own hide, but now that I was home and wrapped in the false comfort my familiar foyer provided, reality sunk its nasty, brutish teeth into my hide.
    Todd was dead.
    He was really and truly dead, and nothing I could do or say would bring him back. There was no one I could plead with, not the cops, not the killer. He was gone, his aspirations and dreams rendered meaningless by a single bullet.
    A bullet meant as a warning to me.
    Why?
    I had no idea. And in a day filled with terror, that scared me most of all.

Chapter
11
    O n a normal day, I find my building to be a little creepy—dim lighting, that musty odor that comes from too many bags of trash lingering in the hall, and greenish gray walls that, under all the mildew and dust, were purportedly white. Today, none of that bothered me. This was home—thank God—and despite the way my hands were shaking and my stomach was churning with dread, I was relieved beyond words to be in that stuffy, smelly foyer.
    I stood there for a moment, the door to the outside world in front of me, both dead bolts snapped in place. A thin film of grime covered the window, and I rubbed a bit away with the ball of my thumb, then leaned up close, peering up and down the street as much as the odd angle of the doorway would let me. I didn’t see the killer, and I didn’t see anyone I recognized from the subway.
    My relief was palpable, and my entire body relaxed, like air being let out of a balloon. For just a second, I let myself believe that this was all going to turn out okay. I’m not sure I really believed it, but I sure as hell wanted to.
    My relief was short-lived, though, because the fact was, I needed to do something. My brain was just too scrambled to know what. My first thought was to knock on the super’s door, but what would I say? “Hey, Mr. Abernathy, some lunatic killed my ex-boyfriend and now he says he’s out to not kill me, but I don’t really believe him. Can you help me?” No way. And what was poor Mr. Abernathy, with his faded gray T-shirts and Santa Claus belly, supposed to do? Wield his broom and plumber’s snake in my defense, a reluctant George fighting the dragon? Somehow I didn’t think Mr. Abernathy was up for playing the hero. Too bad. I was in dire need of a hero right then.
    The cops. He’d said not to call them, and I’d obeyed in the subway. But I needed help. And isn’t that what bad guys are supposed to say? I mean, the bastard who killed Todd certainly wasn’t going to encourage me to rush to my neighborhood precinct and file a complaint. But that’s exactly what I should do. The police would help me; they’d protect me. After all, that’s what police were for.
    So, right. Yes. I’d go upstairs, call the cops, and—
    My parents! I just about sagged against the wall in relief as I remembered that my parents were just a few miles away instead of the usual fifteen hundred. I didn’t have to go through the ordeal with the cops alone. They could be there with me.
    I said a silent prayer of thanks as I flipped open my phone, thrilled beyond belief at the prospect of hearing my mom’s voice. Of having my dad stroke my hair and tell me he loved me and that he’d pummel whatever asshole was harassing his little girl.
    My mom might be a pain at times, but when she heard the call to action, she was a take-no-prisoners kind of gal. She’d tell me it would be okay. She’d tell me that she’d handle it. She’d tell me…and I’d believe her.
    I pressed and held 5, my speed-dial setting for my mom’s cell phone. One ring, two, then, “The cellular customer you are trying to