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“Trafficking? You fell into the black market, didn’t you?” Vanessa whispered. Her face went pale instead of red.
“It’s not your business. Just accept the money and shut up,” Olivia suddenly hissed, leaning forward and pinning the two of them with angry green eyes. “Stop pushing me. I wouldn’t do anything that would potentially put you and Allison in danger.”
Colin, who had been silently eating and just observing them, got an incredibly painful hard on at her sudden attitude. It was almost like she flipped a switch on for him internally. His eyes narrowed.
“Yeah, ok. Either way, I’m thankful,” Vanessa tilted her head up and regarded Colin’s stare haughtily. “And you, if this goes bad, I hope you know I’ll kill you first before she spends the rest of her life doing whatever she did to fuck up her shoulder to pay you back. So, I really hope for all our sakes this works out the way it’s supposed to.”
Colin nodded solemnly, understanding her need to push back.
He picked up more rice, preferring to lean against the counter and watch Allison fall asleep on the couch, having barely finished her food. Olivia padded over and pulled the blanket over her before efficiently cleaning up the mess her niece made. They ate for a while, and Vanessa and Colin sized each other up, talking about each other’s jobs and interests.
She was quite impressed when he told her what he did for a living. She listened intently as he explained a little about his tech company which supplied safety features for car brands. This led to Vanessa explaining to him how their parents had died, being killed by a drunk driver. The news hit him hard, and he worked to keep his facial expression from being too telling.
When they were done Colin hurriedly put the food in the fridge with Vanessa, who snatched the kitchen towel out of Olivia’s hand, making her stop cleaning.
“Your arm! Jesus, woman!” she admonished.
Colin realized his girl was just Uber independent and couldn’t wait to beat that out of her, instinctively knowing her attitude was going to be a problem. He dismissed Vanessa’s need to be there during her surgery, knowing she’d need to be available for her daughter.
He traded credentials with Vanessa, giving her his address and code for the house so Olivia wouldn’t feel so ostracized.
Colin tensed as Vanessa caught them on the way out the door, placing her arms around him and hugging him tightly. “Don’t hurt her, she’s special,” she said before whispering a tearful “thank you” in his ear. He softened slightly, patting her back and gruffly saying goodbye.
He placed Olivia in his car, and she waved goodbye to Vanessa when they finally pulled off in the late evening. Letting his eyes roam her face and body, he noted she looked exhausted.
He knew the revelation of her surgery came as a shock, and she didn’t really react much today besides annoyance at the doctor’s office when he wouldn’t leave. Guessing the shock of it all was dampening her usual temperament. He’d caught her checking her student loan account already. Almost as if she thought the zero balance was going to magically reappear with over one hundred thousand dollars to be owed.
No, I got you mama, Colin thought to himself. Knowing she just needed time for it to sink in.
She fell asleep quickly, the Chinese food and excitement of the day finally catching up to her. Colin reached over and traced a knuckle over her exposed breastbone before turning the soft music slightly up and settled into the drive to his house.
It wasn’t lost on him that Olivia had no clue where she was going, had no clothes or belongings with her, save her phone and her purse. For her to fall asleep without being curious as to their destination meant that she’d finally found a modicum of peace. His chest once again swelled with pride at being able to put that much money into her sister’s account without having missed it. He looked over at her beautiful face, illuminated by the setting sun, and smiled slightly.
Enjoy your rest now, baby, he thought wryly.
“You’re working off every cent whether you break the contract or not. We just need to get you healed up first,” he turned her seat warmer on low before placing his hand back on hers, his thumb stroking over the delicate blue veins under her skin.
Colin let himself breathe a sigh of relief, thanking God that he had her with him. Even if he had to essentially trap her.
He still had her.
Decidedly Disrespectfully
Colin had the foresight to wake Olivia up before he pulled into his neighborhood. He idled at a stop sign in the outskirts of the beautiful residential area, rubbing her thigh firmly, and watching her pull herself out of slumber. Her lashes fluttered as she inhaled quickly, her eyes flying open in surprise before she looked around, disoriented. He thought she was adorable when she woke up.
“Welcome home, baby,” he whispered quietly as he watched her blink drowsily.
As she looked around slowly, Colin tried to make himself see what she saw. Remembering the first time he was able to afford a house of this magnitude in a prestigious area like this.
He remembered it to be quite overwhelming and exciting. However, it had been a very long time since he let himself appreciate the grandeur and scale of it all. Taking a deep breath he let himself go back in time just for a moment, imagining himself in her shoes.
Colin's own gaze roamed, seeing wide streets without line dividers, and expansive stretches of lush, green grass.
Colin began driving slowly, giving her a chance to see the enormous mansions behind the tall gates. The deeper they journeyed into the residential area, the denser the foliage became, the bigger the houses and property grew, and the less of the houses you could see behind the gates.
All of his neighbors’ lights were on and twinkling in the yards, the homes and surrounding property lit up by expensive outdoor lighting systems. He took two more turns before rolling up to a pad in front of his tall, broad iron double gate. Colin lowered his visor and pressed the button hidden there. He waited as the gates opened, and he rolled them slowly up the curved driveway leading onto his property.
Pure pleasure filled Colin watching Olivia's exquisite face light up as his house came into view.
