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The tension that had been riding me all night broke as I thought about the big bad assassin huddled over a motel toilet, sweat-drenched and miserable from food poisoning. I threw my head back and laughed. He stiffened, which only made me laugh harder. By the time Aleksei called, I had tears in my eyes and a stitch in my side.
“You’re on cleanup.” I shoved the trash bags into Grif’s arms.
He took them without complaint, leaving me to answer Aleksei’s call.
Chapter Eight
Despite the overwhelming evidence, the Enclave spent a week vetting my version of the events before I was summoned to Aleksei’s office. I knew the news was bad the second I spotted him lounging in one of the matching leather armchairs. The only reason he’d pass up the opportunity to lecture me from behind his monstrosity of a desk was to cushion the blow.
“Close the door, please,” he said. Please wasn’t a word normally in his vocabulary.
I was screwed. With a heavy sigh, I closed the door and sank into the seat across from him. I braced myself for the worst. “Let’s get this over with.”
He frowned. “You’re not in trouble.”
“Then, what’s all this?” I gestured between us.
Aleksei smiled and unbuttoned his suit jacket. “Am I that obvious?”
I arched a brow, and he chuckled. If I’d met Aleksei Volkov out in the world, I would’ve sworn he was a pretty billionaire playboy. With his expensive tailored suits and Italian loafers, he was handsome, cultured, and charming. He was also one of the most lethal supernaturals on the planet. He wasn’t the kind of man who went out of his way to make people under his command feel comfortable.
“Yeah. You’re that obvious.”
“You’ve been cleared of any wrongdoing. Between the audio and the witness statements, the Enclave is satisfied that you were not the instigator.”
I snorted. No shit.
Aleksei stood and poured us both a drink before settling again in his chair. He handed me a crystal tumbler.
I took the glass. “So, if I’ve been cleared of wrongdoing on the op, why are you pouring me a triple shot of your pricey whiskey?”
“You’ve misunderstood. They’ve vacated your sentence.”
I sat my glass on the end table untouched and leaned forward. “I’ve been cleared of everything?” I imagined my mother’s relief when she heard the news. She’d carried my shame for too many years.
Aleksei sipped his drink and nodded. “You’re a free woman, Olivia.”
I didn’t fight the laugh that bubbled up. “That’s amazing.”
Ten years was a long time without a choice. Now that my name was cleared, I wouldn’t be held to the same restrictions as those still serving their sentences. I could take a vacation or live off site. I could pick and choose my assignments.
“Does this mean I’m getting a fat salary and a benefits package?” I asked with a grin.
Aleksei picked up my glass and handed it back to me. “The Enclave has deposited a decade’s backpay into an account in the states. They’ll buy you a first-class ticket to wherever you want to go.”
My smile dimmed. “For vacation?”
Aleksei rested his hand on my knee as if he expected me to bolt. “For good. You served a sentence you didn’t earn, Olivia. There’s no undoing that. But it’s time for you to go reclaim your life.”
I jerked away from him and staggered to my feet. “What life?” I looked around at the four walls closing in on me. “This is all I know. All I’m good at.” I swallowed past the emotion choking me. “Aleksei,” I reasoned. “Plenty of Shadows stay employed after they’ve served their sentences.” Shadows like Grif and Aleksei.
He stood and dropped a hand to my shoulder, those uncanny pale blue eyes of his full of compassion. “You deserve better than this life. You’re so young, and now you’re a rich woman. Go home, Liv.”
I stopped fighting the tears. “I can’t go back.”
Aleksei walked to his desk and returned with a manilla envelope. He handed it to me. “Then, go forward.”
After wiping my eyes on the sleeve of my shirt, I peered inside. There were bank statements with jaw-dropping balances, a fresh passport, and enough cash to buy my own first-class ticket.
