Page 25 of Under Fire in Big Sky

Eli noted the woman’s utter lack of concern over his welfare. Lauren barely seemed to care about Liv’s.

“He is a real partner.” Olivia looked at him. “I don’t want anyone new. Pioneer is going to see this through with me.”

Eli would do everything he could to help her. He just didn’t want to be the reason she got hurt.

“It’s good he doesn’t scare easily,” Lauren said. “I’ve got the feeling you’re going to need someone rock-solid with you on this.”

“He’s tough. Won’t break. But he wants double the fee you agreed to pay him, considering he risked his life to save mine and the manager’s, Dempsey. An exceptional feat that might not have been required if we’d had all the pertinent facts.”

“Fine,” Lauren said, curtly. “I want results. Soon. I’ve got to go back into the office to email the files. Send me those names, and I’ll get a team focused on NDR.”

The line disconnected.

“Double the fee is big bucks,” Eli said.

“I should’ve tripled it.” Olivia switched off the phone. “She can afford it.”

“Pioneer, huh? I thought that was just our thing.” Sounded strange coming from Lauren.

“You were assigned to a mission. I had to give you a code name. It was either that or cowboy.”

Cowboy made him think of his days working on ranches in Texas. Then it made him think of his mother.

He shoved those sad thoughts from his mind. “Don’t you all have names of birds?”

Olivia nodded with a faraway look in her eyes.

“Thinking of Sean?”

Another nod from her.

The dead were on both their minds.

“It’s so uncanny,” she said. “Sometimes it’s like you can read my mind and at other times, it’s like we’re from different planets.”

“Let me guess, Mars and Venus?” He tried to make a joke, but she didn’t smile. Getting into a heavy discussion was too much for him right now. Either he needed to start moving or he had to redirect the conversation, and he was too tired to get up. “What was Sean’s code name?”

“Osprey.”

A hawk.

Both birds of prey.

“If it’s protocol for field operatives to protect their identities, even from each other, how did you and Sean end up close enough to violate protocol?”

Olivia studied him carefully. “You sound jealous.”

Eli used to be. Of how close she was to Sean. How highly she regarded him. How protective the Aegis agent was of her. Their level of familiarity and affection. The long hours they got to spend together.

But not anymore. What was the point of being jealous of a dead man? “I guess I just realized I’m not the only man you’ve broken the rules with.”

“True, but you were the first and you’ll be the last.” A sexy grin curved the corners of her mouth and a shot of wild, unexpected heat bolted through him.

It took every ounce of willpower not to go to her and kiss her again.

She looked away toward the window. “Since Sean recruited me he already knew everything about me. He took me under his wing. Helped me with the transition from the military into private intelligence. Taught me how to navigate with clients, other operatives, and how to handle Lauren. We spent a lot of time together. Sharing came naturally after a while for both of us. But you know there was never anything romantic with him, right?” she asked, meeting his eyes. “I loved him, but like a brother.”

The three of them had drinks once. And only once. Her partner introduced himself as Sean Smith. He was the opposite of Liv’s type. A redhead. Polished. Too smooth. From the start, the guy rubbed Eli wrong. Sean had taken the liberty of ordering a drink for her and went so far as to call her Dove in front of him. The word rolled from his slick tongue the way darling would’ve. It had irked Eli to the bone.