Chapter 34

ADRIENNE

Before

EJ is unconscious.

It happened quickly. So quickly, I’m worried he got too much of the Ativan I ground up and mixed in with the Cheval Blanc. I didn’t know exactly how much to put inside because I didn’t know how much he would drink, so I added enough that even a glass would be enough to knock him out. It turns out, he drank the whole thing.

I rise from my desk and stand over him. His almost too handsome features are slack, with a little drool in the corner of his mouth, and his sun-streaked hair is gelled within an inch of its life. I have a pair of scissors in my desk drawer, and for a moment, I am seized with the almost irrepressible urge to take them out and plunge them into his chest. That would end the blackmail once and for all.

Of course, that would be unbelievably stupid. I’m sure the police would find out that he came here for an appointment and never left. I’d rather not go to jail for murder. It doesn’t matter that the victim really and truly deserved it. That the world would be a better place without him.

Instead, I reach for my phone and send off a text:

Come downstairs.

I walk around the side of the desk. EJ’s phone is jutting out of his pocket. I slide it out gently, although he’s sleeping so soundly, I doubt I could wake him up if I wanted to. He has an iPhone that’s a slightly newer model than mine. I pick up his right hand and press his thumb on the home button. It reads his fingerprint and the screen instantly unlocks. I release his hand and his arm drops limply back onto the sofa.

I go into his Photos. He doesn’t have many of them. I get the feeling that EJ is a bit of a loner—he hardly ever mentions his friends. Mostly, there are a few photos of him standing in front of a mirror with his shirt off. And a few more where he’s flexing his muscles. Then a few more of him completely naked. I scroll through those quickly.

After the naked pictures, there are some of me. These were taken without my permission. There’s one of me coming out of my house. Climbing into my car. And then one fuzzy one of what appears to be my bedroom window. Thank God, the blinds are mostly shut and you can’t see much.

Once I get rid of this stupid video, this man is never coming on my property again. I’ll get a restraining order if I have to.