Page 49 of Too Guarded to Love

Olivia adjusted her duffel over her good shoulder as the elevator doors opened.

Nic pushed off the wall and stepped toward her, his posture as tense as Kane’s, and reached for her bag.

“I got it.” She nudged his hand away. “I don’t want to be a problem.”

“It’s not a problem, Olivia. Give me the bag.”

She ignored his command and turned to her brother as irritation simmered in her blood. “So, where’s this mysterious Level Black? Sounds like an eighties hair band if you ask me. Or maybe some sort of underground club you need a password to get into.”

“More like the second. I’m taking Beth to get some things from my locker before we head down. As per Admiral Edgar”—Kane shot Nic a side glare—“you are with Nic until further notice. Stay with him and listen. If he tells you to stay put, you obey. Understand?”

She thrusted her chin in the air. “I understand, and you don’t need to lecture me.”

“Good. See you underground. Love you.”

“Love you too.” She really did love her brother to pieces, but sometimes… She turned to Nic. “Lead the way.”

He chuckled. “You’re letting me lead now?”

She sighed. “If I don’t, will you snitch to my brother?”

“If it will make you obey, then⁠—”

Nic paused as if listening to something. She strained her ears but didn’t hear a damn thing. A second later, he nodded, the movement so subtle she might have missed it if she hadn’t been so enthralled with that damn pretty face.

She reached out a finger and touched his chin. “What’s up with that?”

“What?”

“You nodded.” The movement of his jaw scraped his five o’clock shadow against her skin. She shivered as the sensation zipped up her arm. “I saw you. I’ve seen you do that before. Sometimes your lips move like you’re talking to yourself, but⁠—”

He wrapped his hand around her wrist and pulled her fingertips from his chin. “We need to take the stairs. Elevators are shut down for security reasons.”

She looked at the elevators that had been working just fine before the explosion. “How do you know?”

“Superpowers, baby.” He took her hand and tugged. “Come on.”

She fell into step beside him. Arguing in the middle of a classified government facility that had just been attacked and arguing didn’t seem wise. “Now you’re calling me baby after calling me a problem?”

“You’re a huge problem, but not because I’ve been ordered to keep you safe.” He opened the door to the stairwell and checked the area.

She glared at him as he reached for her hand again. What the hell did that mean? She opened her mouth to ask, but the quiet eeriness of the dire situation hadn’t carried into the stairwell. Men and women, some in lab coats, some in casual clothes, and some in camouflage, bustled down to the underground level, however far down that may be.

A few floors later, Nic led her through a set of wide double doors into a tunnel that looked like a subway without cars or a track. Silver tiles and stark white concrete gleamed under fluorescent lights. To the left, about a half dozen golf carts waited in a row. Others sped in both directions, carrying personnel and supplies.

Tugging on her arm, Nic led her toward a young man at the front of the row with a tablet. The soldier in camouflage with the buzz cut and baby face snapped to attention.

He saluted as Nic stepped in front of him. “Sir.”

“How’s it going down here, private?”

“Level Black is good, sir.”

The tense yet excited glint in the soldier’s eye countered Olivia’s trepidation. Sure, a garage had just blown up, but she was surrounded by the best of the best in a top-secret underground facility. It wouldn’t take long for Ryan and Scarlett to figure out who was responsible for tonight’s atrocities. Gran would wake up soon and tell her to run from Nic’s dangerous yet alluring as hell charms. Or knowing Gran, she might tell her to enjoy said charms and then run. Olivia would be fine as a Level Black guest for the next day or so.

And then she’d go above ground with the proof she’d been sabotaged and get her job back so she could do Harlee’s surgery.

The guard gave Nic his room assignment as he motioned them into the closest cart. As they climbed in, he saluted Nic again. “Keep us safe, Captain.”