Chapter 78
Having gotten in really late the night before, from Tampa, Howie was still asleep as Kristina got up and showered. It was almost noon and she had a million things on her mind. She would start by going to Tabu to rehearse and talk to the guys in the band about that nights set. It had been a while since she had sang and considering that special people in her life were going to be there for the first time to hear her sing, she wanted it to go off without a hitch.
A little while later, Kristina gave Howie a kiss and took the keys to the corvette from the table.
"I’ll see you tonight" she smiled happily.
"Be careful, baby" he winked as she walked out the door.
Kristina carefully put the sheet music on the seat beside her, along with her cosmetic bag and her clothes for that night. Pulling out of the driveway, she was oblivious to the car that started and pulled out behind her.
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Howie finished getting dressed and decided to head into town early and pick up a few things he felt they needed if they were going to go public with all that Stephen had put them through. But first, he had to make reservations for Kris, himself, Alex and Sarah to fly out to Los Angeles. They were going to check on Kevin and to see both Kristina and Sarah’s families.
Once the arrangements were in place, he called for a driver to pick him up and take him shopping. First stop was the cellular store where he purchased new cell phones for both himself and Kristina. They were the kind that connected to each other automatically with the push of a button. Almost as if they were walkie-talkies. That way, if he and Kris were apart and she needed him, she could simply push the button and he would be able to hear everything going on around her. He also wanted to get pepper spray for her to carry as an extra precaution. He had though about buying a handgun, but he was unsure about that, as he did not know how Kristina felt about guns. It wasn’t a topic that had ever been discussed or needed. So many things could go wrong and he felt that it was something they would need to discuss further.
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Pulling into the club parking lot, Kristina was greeted by Jason, head of security.
"Wow! ‘D’ must have called to let you know that I was coming in early" she laughed, pulling her bags from the 'vette.
Taking a glance around the parking lot, Jason hurriedly escorted her into the club, taking his job duties very seriously.
"If you need anything else, Kristina, just call for me and I’ll be there" he said nicely.
"Thanks, Jason. I’m sure I’ll be just fine," she said with a smile before opening the door to her dressing room.
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From outside, he watched as she parked the car and was met by security. Something about her intrigued him, yet seemed oddly familiar in the same sense. It was something about the way she carried herself. Then it hit him. She resembled Kristina.
He laughed coldly and then placed his call.
"Yeah, she’s at the club now. No sign of lover boy. You’re working the front door, right? Good! I’ll see you tonight," he said as he shut the flip phone and got back into his car.
Heading back to the hotel to put his disguise in place, he said a loud, "I took one girlfriend from you, Mr. I’m ALL That. Tonight, I’m gonna take another one from you. Only this time, I’m gonna have some fun with both of you before I end this game. Let’s see if this one is willing to die for you like Kristina did."