Free Annihilate Me (Vol. 4) (The Annihilate Me Series) by Christina Ross

For
whatever reason, I was being targeted.   That photo—and the other photos before them—were proof of
that.   My time on this Earth was
limited.
    “The
press conference is in less than thirty minutes,” Blackwell said.   “They sent this to you now so it would
rattle you and Alex.”
    “Of
course they did.   And I believe they
mean it.”
    “They
might, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any precautions we can take.   We need to show this to Alex and
Tank.   I ’ m now recommending that you don ’ t attend the press conference.”
    As
concerned as I was about attending, if I didn’t attend, they would win, which I
refused to allow.   So, I stealed
myself for what might come, felt a flash of anger at the situation they’d put
me in, got my back up, and thought as clearly as I could.   Tank ’ s team would surround us.   They ’ d watch the crowd.   They ’ d take action if they needed to.   They ’ d do their best to stop anything that might
happen.   If we let Tank know about
this now, he could have more men in place to protect us.   That ’ s what needed to happen.”
    “Sorry.   I ’ m
going.”
    “No,
you ’ re not.”
    “Yes,
I am.   I ’ m not going to be bullied.   My father bullied me my whole life.   I ’ m
going to stand next to Alex, whom I love.   Tank will protect us.   He has
a team of men that will protect us.   We need to make certain that there are enough of them present at the
press conference.”
    “What
needs to happen just changed.   We’re
no longer having a public press conference—I ’ m scrapping that.   Only those with press credentials vetted
by Wenn will be allowed inside the lobby to listen to what Alex has to
say.   That ’ s it.”
    She
turned me around so I was facing her.   “Everything I said to you earlier?   All of that ridiculous sparring?   I was just trying to make you laugh, which I did a few times, and that
made me happy because I know you need to be distracted from your concerns.   But this?   This is serious.   This is a game changer.   Now, I ’ ve seen it for myself.   I ’ m
not about to lose you—and neither is Alex.   Or the world.   You ’ re too precious.   We will fight this together with Alex
and Tank.   OK?”
    “Do
you really think that ’s possible? ”
    “ I do. ”
    “I’m
not so sure.   At some point, they
might win.”
    She
looked at her watch.   “Enough of
this talk.   We need to go to Alex
and Tank.   Immediately.   Tank needs to gather a larger team and
get them in place.   He needs time to
make that happen.   Alex also needs
to know what you received.   So, come
on.   Be with me now.   I need you to come back into yourself, I
need you to be focused, and I need you to be the strong woman I know you to
be.”
    I
looked at her, but somehow, it was as if I was looking into an abyss.   “Fine,” I said.
    “I
know you ’ re upset, but I need you
to focus.”
    So,
I did.   I took a deep breath, closed
my eyes, found my ground, and looked at her with new eyes.   “Let ’ s go,” I said.   “Who knows?   Maybe Alex received an email of his
own.   If not, Tank can have this
photo and figure out where the person was standing when they took it.   When I left my building today, there had
to be a dozen photographers waiting for me.   Perhaps one of them saw someone or
something unusual.   Photographs were
being taken of me from every direction.   What I know is this.   Whoever
took that photo was captured by someone else ’ s camera.”

 
 
 
 
    CHAPTER NINE

 
    When
we entered Alex ’ s
office, we found him standing in front of a mirror putting on a tie.   One look at us caused him to pause.
    “What ’ s the problem?”
    Blackwell
stepped forward.   “Jennifer just
received another defaced photograph with a note stating that she ’ ll be dead by two.   It was taken when she was leaving her
apartment building.   I ’ m recommending that the press