“I’ll try. I really will.”

“And you’ll start by agreeing to go to the charity auction.” She winked at Olivia.

“Dr. Greenstein, your twelve o’clock is here,” Olivia heard Kathy, the receptionist, say over the office intercom. That was usually her nice way of saying that the hour was up. “Well, I guess that’s my cue.” Olivia got up from the couch and grabbed her purse.

“I’ll see you Tuesday, right?” Dr. Greenstein got up from her chair and started walking to the door.

“Yes. I’ll be here.”

“Okay. I want to pick up where we left off.” She opened the door. “And I want you to work on being selfless. Stop this self-preservation bullshit and start thinking about what losing you would do to other people, instead of the other way around.” With that, the doctor closed the door to her office, leaving Olivia totally speechless. She had never really been so blunt with her before.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

FOLLOWING

OLIVIA LEFT THE DOCTOR’S office, surprised that Agent Thompson, her escort, wasn’t sitting in the reception area waiting for her. Instead of milling about, hoping that he would eventually return, she decided to walk back to her house. She didn’t live far so it wasn’t that big a deal.

As she walked out of the Prudential Center onto Boylston Street, she noticed that the snow had begun to fall at a more rapid pace, starting to blanket the city in a coat of white. Olivia inhaled deeply as she looked up at the gray sky, loving the smell of the city during a snowfall.

On her way home, she started to think about what Dr. Greenstein had said. She remembered the pain that she felt those few months when she pushed Alexander and everyone else away. It was the worst thing she had ever experienced in her life, and maybe remembering that pain once in a while would help her.

Olivia reached her house but, instead of turning to go in, she kept walking. It didn’t bother her that there was already about an inch of snow on the ground. She knew Alexander would be furious if he found out she was roaming the streets of Boston without her assigned cavalry, but she didn’t care. She needed to think.

As she walked down Commonwealth Avenue toward Boston Common, she thought about everything. About her parents. About her Uncle Charles. About meeting Kiera for the first time and her dragging Olivia out, helping her get a fake ID. About the first time she met Mo and started to sing with the band. About the feeling of total contentment she still felt every time she got on stage. But mostly, Olivia thought about Alexander.

She thought about how perfect it felt every time he held her in his arms. She thought about the feel of his lips on her mouth. She thought about all the sweet things he whispered to her when she fell asleep next to him. He would comfort her when she woke screaming and covered in sweat from yet another nightmare. He always made sure she was safe, calling several times a day to ensure everything was okay. He would send her flowers for no reason at all. He would show up at her office with lunch on days that he knew she barely had time to breathe. He would come to listen to the band perform at MacFadden’s. He even came to their practices when he could, as well as nights that she performed at Open Mic.

Olivia immediately sank onto the first stoop that she came across. She realized how much Alexander truly did care for her. She had been trying to ignore it for the past month, but the feelings were all too obvious. Dr. Greenstein was right. Fuck. She hated when that happened. Maybe it was finally time to let love in.

As she sat there thinking about whether she could fully open her heart to Alexander, Olivia felt chills run up and down her entire body. She quickly snapped out of her daze when the familiar feeling of someone watching and following her swept through her entire being. Looking down the street the way she had come, she saw just two sets of prints in the snow on an ordinarily busy street. Olivia thought it was odd that there was no one else around. Looking closer, she noticed one set of footprints disappear down a side alley just two houses from where she sat in front of a brownstone several blocks north of her Commonwealth Avenue home. Maybe I’m losing my mind, she thought. Who could possibly be following me? She got chills again so, raising herself off the stoop, she continued down the street in the same direction that she had been heading, a little more conscious of her surroundings, but still not wanting to return home.

Olivia started to head toward the theater district, not really having a destination in mind. As she walked and thought more and more about Alexander, she decided that she wanted to see him. She set out for his penthouse on Atlantic Avenue, knowing that he had flown back earlier that morning from a training exercise.

She continued to walk the two miles there, taking mostly side streets and shortcuts. The snow came down faster and faster, but she didn’t care. Then she felt the chills again. She glanced over her shoulder to see if anyone was following her, observing a man wearing all black trailing a few lengths behind. The snow obscured his face, making it difficult to see any details, but something about him reminded her of that night months ago at 28 Degrees with Kiera.

Olivia quickly turned down another side street, taking a detour, as she looked over her shoulder again, her heart beating frantically. The mystery man followed, maintaining a discreet distance behind her. She took another turn and he followed. She started to get nervous and began walking faster. The man followed suit. Olivia became conscious of the fact that he was clearly following her. She always thought Alexander was just being paranoid where her safety was concerned but now she realized that maybe it wasn’t paranoia. She grabbed her cell phone and called Alexander. His voicemail picked up. Where the fuck is he?

“Hi. It’s me,” Olivia spoke into her phone, her voice shaking. “I’m heading to your place. I think there’s someone following me.” She hung up and, with nervous hands, attempted to put the cell phone back in her purse but dropped it in a snowdrift. As she stopped to bend down and pick it off the ground, the man pursuing her sped up. Fight or flight kicked in and she started to run, leaving her phone in the snow. Her mind raced about who that man could be and what he could possibly want from her. She finally turned on Atlantic and was about a half-mile from Alexander’s building, glancing behind her to see the strange man running after her. Nerves wracked her entire body. Why the hell is this guy after me?

Olivia sprinted toward Alexander’s building, turning around every so often to see the strange man following closely behind. He began to gain ground when Olivia’s legs became sore from the boots she wore. She started to panic, desperately hoping she would be able to outrun whoever was behind her. The snow fell at a rapid pace, and there wasn’t anyone on the streets of Boston except for a lone individual across the street, sitting on a bench. Olivia had forgotten about the Nor’easter that was predicted to bring over a foot of snow during the day.