Page 32 of Redeeming Violet

“Sir? I don’t understand what issues I’d have that they could help me with. Last time I checked, where I was going they didn’t allow phone calls for issues,” she replied.

“What is she talking about? Where is she going?” Olivia asked.

“I’m going to prison, Olivia.”

“Prison? But she was helping,” Olivia was outraged on Violet’s behalf. Then she looked to Leo. “Can’t you do something?”

“She’s not going to prison,” Leo assured her.

“She’s not?” I barely suppressed a chuckle at Olivia’s confusion. She was looking from Leo, to Tom, to Zane, then to Violet.

“Does the big asshole over there look like he’d let her be hauled off in cuffs?”

Did Leo ever shut his mouth?

Jesus.

“You’re staying here until after the team takes out Ortega. What he wants you for makes what happened to Olivia look like child’s play. It’s my understanding a buyer has already been secured. Once the situation is secure you’ll be free to go back to your home. I think it goes without saying I’ll expect you to resign from the CIA and surrender your clearance.”

“I understand, sir,” she whispered.

Tom leveled his stare on me. “Keep her safe.”

With a nod to Zane, Tom made his way to his security detail and grouched. “Don’t know how you’re sneaking back in tonight, boys. The gym excuse has been burned. Looks like you’ll have to find a new way in.”

Tom Anderson had a love-hate relationship with the Secret Service and his inability to leave the WH grounds without a five-hour security meeting. That left Aaron and Gerald in a tight spot every time Tom demanded he leave the premises and not alert the rest of his detail. I found it amusing the most powerful man in the free world had to get permission to leave his home.

Once the door closed behind Tom and his team, Zane announced, “that was a cluster fuck.” I’d have to agree with him. Leo and I getting into a pissing match in front of Tom wasn’t kosher. “Am I going to have problems with the two of you?” Leo and I both grunted our nos. “Fucking women,” he said under his breath.

“I take offense to that,” Jasmin said with a frown.

“You shouldn’t. You’ve got bigger balls than most men I know. I’ve never classified you as a woman.”

“Your brother does,” she smiled.

Zane made his normal gagging sound before adding. “I got shit to do. Do any of you need anything from me?”

“I’ll catch a ride back with you. I think Leo needs to stay awhile so him and Jaxon can kiss and make up.”

“Piss off Jassy,” Leo scolded.

“Stop calling me that, dickhead.”

“Fucking children. I swear you all are like herding cats. Didn’t anyone ever teach you manners?”

“Says the man who drinks Knob Creek like a redneck out of the bottle,” I threw out.

“No sense in wasting a glass. Beside it keeps all you fuck nuts from drinking my whiskey.”

After another fifteen minutes of banter, Jasmin and Zane were finally making their way to the SUV. With the four of us alone, the room seemed to shrink in size. I understood why Leo was pissed and he’d said his piece, but if he thought he was going to continue to berate Violet, he was wrong. Friend or not, I’d kick his ass out of the basement. Violet had spent enough time beating herself up. She didn’t need Leo lambasting her for her to feel like shit. She was doing a good enough job of it on her own.

“What did Mr. Anderson mean when he said a buyer had been secured? Was the list sold?” Olivia asked.

“No, Tesorino, not the list. Violet’s been sold,” Leo explained.

“Oh God! You’re not gonna let that happen, right?”

Leo tucked Olivia under his arm and a tingle of something akin to envy took hold. I wasn’t jealous over Olivia, simply that Leo had someone he loved. The waves of fear rolling off Violet were palpable, yet I was afraid to reach for her and offer her comfort. Her words from earlier were like acid in my gut. Our time together had been meaningless to her.