Page 19 of Too Guarded to Love

Nic spun toward the female voice behind him. He could have kissed the nurse for the interruption.

“Hi again. I’m Brittany. We spoke earlier. You can see Ms. Darren now.”

“Thank you.” The red clouding the edges of his vision drained as he followed the pretty blonde nurse through the double doors, away from Natalie and his past and down the hallway to Olivia’s room.

“Are you accompanying Ms. Darren on the transport to DC that her brother arranged?”

“Yes.”

“Too bad.” Brittany’s lips puckered in a pout. “I’m off in an hour and headed to see my friend’s band play at a house party. They’re really good.”

He didn’t miss the unspoken, “and so am I,” as she pouted her lips.

“Sounds like fun, but maybe next time.”

“Rain check, then. Let me know next time you’re in town.” With a smile, she put her hand on Olivia’s door. “We just gave Ms. Darren another sedative to keep her comfortable during the trip. It’s best to keep her calm and let her fall back to sleep. I’ll be back shortly with her discharge papers.”

“Roger that.”

Nic sighed, half from exhaustion, half from annoyance as he entered the room. A conversation about why Olivia didn’t tell him who she was would have to wait until later, but the family traits he’d missed earlier broadcast their appearance under the fluorescent lights.

If he’d met her during the day, when she hadn’t been wet, when her hair hadn’t been a beautiful mess and her gaze calm instead of tumultuous, he may have recognized the resemblance. She had Gran’s skin, a shade paler than Kane’s. A smattering of freckles dappled her cheeks and nose. The light illuminated the reddish tones in her hair he hadn’t noticed in the dark.

He touched a curl on her pillow. “You’re going to have a lot of explaining to do when you wake up.”

A mind comms call sounded in his head.

“Status?” Ryan asked.

“Secure. What do you have on Jonathan Garrity?”

“Nothing yet, but we have more pressing matters to deal with. Gran didn’t have a cardiac episode. She was poisoned.”

An ear-splitting beep sounded from above. “Code blue,” screeched through the hallways, as if punctuating the severity of Ryan’s news. Nic slid to the edge of the bed on instinct and angled his body between Olivia and the door. “Any leads?”

“No. Gran is being transferred to headquarters. We’ve arranged air transport for Olivia. An Army medivac helicopter will be there in ten minutes.”

A beep signaled another had joined the conversation as the code blue alarm ceased.

“I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but it can’t be a coincidence my sister and grandmother were almost killed in one night.” Kane sucked in a harsh breath. “Don’t leave Livvie’s side until she’s safe at headquarters, you hear me? If anything happens to her, I swear I’ll⁠—”

“Roger that.” Nic would do anything for his family. He loved his brothers, and the ones they loved, as much as he feared losing them. He sure as shit didn’t love Olivia, though. He was still pissed she’d lied by omission, but he was damn sure Kane still wanted to kick him in the balls with his super leg. Regardless, he’d protect Olivia with his life as fiercely as he guarded his heart.

Failure held consequences he didn’t want to pay.

He placed his hand on her uninjured shoulder, afraid if he lost touch, never mind let her out of his sight, she’d wind up with another bullet hole in her body.

He looked from her pale face to the bandage covering her shoulder. In his experience, snipers were deployed to kill. This one hadn’t been successful and might try again, and he had no idea why except a wild theory.

But if it’s true…

No, he wasn’t the reason Olivia had been shot. He couldn’t be. The buzz in his neck zipped down his spine. The unease wrapped around his torso and clawed into his gut, each gouge an event in tonight’s timeline he desperately needed intel about.

Olivia’s crash.

The sniper.

Gran’s poison-induced heart attack.