Page 5

CHAPTER FOUR

Olivia stared at the pink petal.

Her head throbbed as memories rushed back.

Though she’d tried to forget the nightmare, memories still haunted her, the smallest thing setting off panic.

Take a deep breath, she reminded herself. Lyle’s voice echoed in her head.

Breathe in. Hold it. Count to five. Breathe out.

“You ready?” a deep voice said behind her.

She jumped and spun around.

Tyson stood there wearing navy-blue exercise shorts and a white T-shirt.

He studied her face and frowned. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

Olivia put a hand over her heart. “Oh, I’m . . . I’m—fine. I’m fine.”

“You don’t sound fine.”

She pointed at the petal, trying to keep the tremble from her voice. “Someone have flowers delivered recently?”

Tyson squinted before reaching down to pick up the object. “Flowers? No, I think that’s some ribbon my housekeeper used to wrap a gift for me. One of my assistants at the office had a birthday yesterday.”

Olivia let out a feeble laugh. Ribbon? Of course.

Yet she’d seen a rose petal.

Her cheeks heated when she realized her foolish overreaction.

Control your thoughts, she reminded herself. Tyson would think she’d really lost it if she didn’t let this go. She had to remain professional at all costs. The last thing she needed was people feeling sorry for her.

She cleared her throat. “That’s nice of you to get gifts for your assistants.”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “I try.”

She jabbed his shoulder. “But don’t be too much of a nice guy. I might talk you out of doing this program with me if you are.”

“Believe me—that won’t be happening.” He crossed his arms as if showing how utterly unmovable he was.

Balling her hands into fists, Olivia boxed them in front of her, ready for a fight. “I’m ready for you, Tyson Stone.”

Tyson’s smile remained. “We’re about to see what you’re made of . . .”

“Hold on.” She raised her hand. “Let’s not get carried away.”

“But that’s the fun part. Pushing our limits and finding that strength deep down inside us.”

“For you, maybe. I’m a weenie. A wimp. A physical fitness failure. A junk food junkie. I don’t think you realize what you’ve gotten yourself into.” The light-hearted banter began to relax her as she followed Tyson downstairs.

“I believe in you.” His voice sounded steady and confident—almost believable.

“You might change your mind after we get started.”

He chuckled. “I won’t. I’ve worked with all types. The key is in the desire to become fit and healthy.”

Olivia bit her tongue, deciding not to announce her disdain at this assignment. Besides, Tyson seemed so convincing . . . maybe he’d change her mind.

If nothing else, he’d taken her thoughts off that rose petal.

She was more than six hundred miles away from her home in New York.

Six hundred miles away from the grave of the monster who still haunted her even in death.

She was determined to move forward, despite what The Admirer had done to her.

* * *

Tyson tried to get the odd interaction out of his mind.

Why had Olivia looked so freaked out over that piece of ribbon? Did this have something to do with her abduction and escape?

Probably. But he had to admit he was surprised.

The woman always seemed so collected on TV. But Tyson knew all about trauma and the various mechanisms people used to cope with it—mechanisms like putting up fronts.

Right now, he was with the crew in his gym as they set up their equipment to film.

His phone had dinged eight times already. No doubt various people who worked under him were following up about his fitness equipment, protein shakes, interviews, and other scheduled appearances. Could be his publicist checking on how things were going or his editor asking about his next book.

It was a lot to juggle.

He needed to simply turn his phone off for a while. Having technology as a constant companion could be both amazing and feel like a prison of its own.

As he reached for his cell, he skimmed the messages on his screen.

His breath caught at one of them.

Despite his resolve to ignore the messages, he clicked on that one.

His heart thrummed in his ears as he looked at it.

It was a picture of his house, possibly taken by someone in that van he’d seen driving past.

The words beneath it made his blood go cold.

Which building should we destroy? This one or the school? Your pick.

His jaw tightened.

He needed to report this to his contact at the police station.

Tyson had to take these threats seriously.

But he didn’t like how they were escalating . . . especially not now that he had guests.

* * *

“I’m here in the home of Tyson Stone, fitness guru and nutritionist extraordinaire.” Olivia walked across the floor of Tyson’s state-of-the-art weight room, talking with ease to the camera.

The basement gym sprawled across 2,500 square feet of meticulously designed space, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the backyard and flooding the area with natural light. The state-of-the-art equipment ranged from custom machine weights in signature colors to a comprehensive collection of specialty bars mounted on the walls like functional art.

“For the next forty days, I’m giving up my right to eat whatever I want,” Olivia continued. “I’m abandoning my dislike for exercise, and I’m placing myself in this man’s capable hands.”

Tyson couldn’t help but be impressed by Olivia. She had a real talent in front of the camera—a smooth grace and confident demeanor.

But he also couldn’t get that text out of his head.

He’d already slipped away to let the detective know about it. He’d been reporting these threats to local police so he could have them on record.

“I’ll be giving everyone weekly updates and showing my progress on the Forty Days to a Healthy Life program,” Olivia continued. “Meanwhile, millions of viewers at home have pledged to try this program alongside me. We’ll support each other throughout the process by sharing our progress on social media along with tips and daily motivational quotes. We’ll share success stories, exercises, and recipes.” She leaned in close to the camera. “Are you ready for this adventure? To be honest, I’m not sure I am.”

She pulled out a candy bar, seemingly from thin air, and took a huge bite.

Wes snatched it from her, muttering something about accountability as Olivia made a pouty expression.

TV gold.

Olivia’s comedic timing was impeccable and her demeanor friendly. She was quick to laugh—mostly at herself—and she didn’t seem to take herself too seriously.

This woman would definitely add some excitement to his life—excitement he hadn’t known he’d been missing. She could also be a huge distraction if he wasn’t careful.

“I think we should sit down for an interview segment.” Olivia’s voice pulled Tyson from his thoughts. “Does that sound okay, Chandler?”

Chandler pulled his gaze away from the screen where he monitored their shots and nodded. “Sounds great. Let’s keep the exercise equipment in the background.”

Wes readjusted his gear to capture the new scene.

A few minutes later, Olivia sat on an exercise ball while Tyson sat on the edge of a weight bench. Olivia gave Wes a thumbs-up, and the camera light came back on.

Olivia turned to him. “Tyson, this world is full of get rich quick schemes. It seems as if more and more ‘get skinny quick’ schemes are popping up also. Can you tell us why your program doesn’t fall into that category? What sets it apart from the rest?”

“Experts say if you do something for forty days then it becomes a habit. That’s exactly what I’m aiming for with my program. I’m not emphasizing just a diet. This is about a lifestyle change. That is what makes weight loss sustainable in the long run.” Tyson watched Olivia’s expression and could have been certain he saw admiration. “Plus, this isn’t about getting skinny. It’s about getting healthy. There’s a difference.”

“And how did you develop this innovative weight loss plan?”

“When I was a practicing psychologist, I loved studying the human mind. The ties between our physical well-being and our mental state are amazing. When I figured out that normal psychology practices weren’t always effective, I searched for a better method. That’s when I came up with my plan.”

Olivia went through a few more questions. Tyson explained how the program worked and what was expected of participants.

She kept her expression animated and made snide remarks to the camera several times. She did it in a heartwarming way, a welcome relief from the stiff reporters who usually graced the TV screen.

After Wes cut the camera off, Olivia had a suggestion. “It would be funny to show a clip of Tyson scouring my room and finding my hidden stashes of junk food in various places.”

Chandler nodded, his brows raised. “I like that idea.”

“Yeah, I can see it working for us.” Wes looked at Tyson. “You game?”

“Wait . . .” Tyson glanced at Olivia, a teasing expression on his face. “You smuggled in contraband?”

“What? You didn’t think all six of my suitcases were filled with clothes, did you?” She winked.

Tyson couldn’t help but laugh. “I should have known.”

His phone buzzed again. He’d decided not to turn it off after all just in case the detective called back.

He’d check it in a moment, but he hoped Detective Scarborough had been able to narrow down a list of suspects.

Because Tyson didn’t want to keep living like this, especially with so much on the line.