Page 34 of Protecting Olivia

That was the part that really bothered me. I hated secrets.

“Because I knew you’d react like this. I needed you in a place where I could lock you down. If I’d told you when we stopped in Ohio, you would’ve gone rogue and taken her. I’m not wet behind the ears, friend. I knew that if you took her, I’d never find you.”

He was right on all accounts. If I had known the CIA was involved, Olivia and I would’ve disappeared. Spooks fucked everything up.

“I am holding you responsible if Olivia is hurt in any way. And mark this Zane, if Olivia is taken there will be no place that Gomez, Peter Newton, and the CIA can hide. Every last one will pay with their lives.” White hot rage coursed through my veins. The thought of Gomez getting his hands on Olivia made me murderous. “Fuck!”

“Everything will be okay.” A soft hand on my bicep pulled me from my thoughts. How had I missed Olivia coming to stand beside me? “You’ll keep me safe. I trust you.”

“You don’t understand, tesorino. We’re bringing the bad guys here to this house.”

“I understand. I also know you won’t let them take me again.”

“We’ll let you two get settled in. The perimeter has been wired, and Jaxon and Colin will be at the end of the road. Garrett and I will be a hundred meters to your west in an outbuilding. You’re covered,” Z clipped.

I knew Zane was pissed at my outburst. I was known for control. I never broke under pressure or lost my cool. I couldn’t bring myself to give two shits if he was pissed or not.

“Roger that.”

I didn’t bother looking at the rest of team as they packed up their gear, and I didn’t say goodbye when they left.

Abe was quietly standing by the door, a thoughtful look crossing his face.

“You good?” he asked.

I thought about giving him a bullshit practiced answer, the one that would be expected from a fellow operator, but this was Abe. The man could sniff bullshit out a mile away and would call me on it so fast my head would spin.

“Fuck no, I’m not.”

“You know me, brother. I demand honesty at all times. But I have to admit, I understand why Viper withheld that information until you got here. This isn’t a mission for you, it’s personal. I get it, believe me, I understand. You gotta get yourself in check and think about this logically, methodically, and execute the mission.”

He was right. I knew that I had to shut my emotions down if I wanted to keep Olivia safe.

“Copy that.”

“I’m headed back down the mountain. I’m sure Wolf told you already, we’re on standby if your team needs us. Truthfully, I don’t see that happening. This is an easy op. Gomez and his men will come up the mountain, and you’ll take them out. I read the report, Gomez wants Siles back. So much he’s willing to personally come and get him. Makes me wonder who Siles really is if he’s willing to take such a risk. Anyway, try not to get too much blood on the hardwood. It’s a bitch to get out.”

Abe had a point. I had been so wrapped up in Olivia I hadn’t thought about why Gomez would personally come and get him.

“Appreciate all your help, Abe. I’ll be in touch soon. Hopefully, we can contain this to outside.”

Abe waved to Olivia and left us alone in the cabin for the first time. Now that Olivia witnessed my breakdown, I wasn’t sure what to say to her.

“I’m sorry if I scared you. I really wish you hadn’t heard that,” I admitted.

“It’s fine. I wasn’t scared.”

She was sitting on the leather sofa with her heels on the edge of the cushion resting her chin on her knees. She looked small and young, and damn beautiful. I don’t know what it was about this girl that had me so tied in knots. She made me lose all control.

“Are you hungry? The kitchen is stocked.” It was past dinner time, and we hadn’t eaten anything since noon when we hit a drive-thru.

“I am.” She unfolded her legs and stood up. “Sit down and relax, I’ll cook us something. Anything you don’t eat?”

I was grateful for her offer, I was starving. “I’m easy. Anything is fine.”

I took her spot on the sofa and opened my laptop. Siles was hiding something. I shot a quick message to Garrett about Abe’s suspicions and started digging myself. I had no doubt Garrett would find something before I would, but I needed to do something to busy myself.

Dinner was delicious. Surprisingly, Olivia was one hell of a cook. She made asparagus stuffed chicken, wrapped in bacon and smothered it with homemade pesto. My ma would’ve been impressed with her pesto, it was heavy on the garlic and perfect. We were both lost in our own thoughts throughout dinner and barely spoke. Not that it was abnormal for us. We’d spent much of our time together in silence; which made this fierce attraction toward her even more perplexing. I didn’t know anything about this girl, yet I wanted to run away with her and not let anyone hurt her.