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“She’s going to run.” Dante said.
Sean sighed, fighting the urge to go after her. The situation was stressful, and they were all showing it. Liv storming out of the room wasn’t unexpected since they had been acting as if she wasn’t part of the conversation. It was an odd situation where she wasn’t a client, and she wasn’t trained so he had fallen into the habit of just working the problem without outside input.
He didn’t want her angry at him, but he knew women and going after her before she cooled off would be a mistake. She had a fiery temper he loved but hopefully she wouldn’t do anything reckless and would eventually understand that for her safety she needed to follow their lead. Once she’d gotten some sleep and calmed down, he would find a way to make it up to her. For now, they needed a game plan.
“She’s just tired and under stress.”
Dante shrugged and shook his head.
“What is your deal with the firecracker?” Marcus asked. “Because I’ve never known you to throw away operational security for a quick fuck.”
“I didn't fuck her.” Sean pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Only because I interrupted. Don’t split hairs with me.”
“She’s the one who got me the information that freed your friend that I was representing as a favor to you.” It was hard not to shout but Sean didn’t want Liv to overhear this argument. They all knew he shouldn’t have done anything that could distract him while they were under threat, but the woman shattered his control.
Would he have been able to resist her much longer? If Marcus hadn’t shown up, would he have given in and spent the rest of the night seeing how loudly she could scream his name? He had said he wanted to wait but Sean wasn’t sure if his will was that strong.
“I know that. And I know that this has turned into a much bigger favor than I expected. But we are not going to rush into this. I am grateful as hell that the evidence she had was able to get my buddy's friend off but who is she and why does she have dirt on the Soto Cartel?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Or more to the point it was so complicated Sean wasn’t sure he wanted to explain.
Brooks cleared his throat and looked between the two of them. “It does matter if we're doing more than sending her away with a new identity to hide from the cartel. If you expect us to take this guy down while pissing off a lot of dangerous people and putting Echelon’s resources at risk, we deserve to know who she is to you.”
He was right. It was just complicated when he still didn’t understand his own feelings. All he knew was that she meant more to him than any other woman ever had. As if the years hadn’t passed but, somehow, the friend and lifeline she had been had transformed into so much more. How was he supposed to explain that without sounding insane?
Brooks and Austin had been in the same unit as him when he’d known her the first time. They’d seen how the breakup with Amelia had affected him. At the time he hadn’t been able to explain that it was the loss of the friendship with Liv, not his girlfriend’s cheating that had torn him up. The guys in his unit had teased him about his jailbait pen pal and he’d been too young and dumb to understand that friendship was more important than their teasing or even a breakup.
“Remember the care packages I used to get when I was dating Amelia?”
Austin laughed. “The ones with the stuff that would have made great carnival prizes?”
“Yeah those.” Sean couldn’t stop the smile that formed when remembering the eccentric collection of things Liv had sent him. She’d probably gotten most of it from a Dollar Store discount bin, but it had made everyone who saw them all laugh. Unlike the food, socks or other practical items other men had gotten she was as likely to send a tiny alien shaped eraser as she was to send a hot pink washcloth that had ‘I’m Dirty’ printed on it in glitter. It had become a game in his unit to guess what she had sent every week.
Brooks smirked. “I remember those. I still have my lucky key chain.”
“The one that says ‘Protect your nuts’ with the squirl in combat gear?” Austin laughed.
“Yup.” Brooks laughed. “Weren’t they from one of your crazy exes, kid sister?”
Both men seemed to make the connection at the same time as they both turned to look towards the hall Liv had disappeared down. After the first two packages Sean had told her in letters that the men in his unit had been jealous of her gifts and she had started adding extras. He’d kept her almost daily letters private, but the packages that had come every two weeks were for everyone.
They’d all appreciated the unique taste of home. Knowing that someone was thinking of them and spending time to hunt down the strangest little knickknacks to make their time better. Almost every man in his unit and several others had one of her gifts as a lucky charm.
“Yeah.” Sean nodded. “She's not a kid anymore.”
“How did she get mixed up in this mess?” Austin asked.
“Luis Soto killed her sister, my ex. From what she told me, the two were dating and he got off claiming self-defense. She's been stalking him ever since, trying to get justice. That's how she got the video that we used to clear your buddy's friend.”
“Stalking a Cartel member isn’t a healthy hobby.” Dante said.
“It’s not.” Sean agreed. “We were friends back then and now there is more. I’m not going to leave her to face this alone.”
Marcus nodded and walked over to the couch and sat down, opening his laptop. “The USB drive had a lot more on it than the one video. Jeremey is trying to sort through it back at the office but with what you said happened at the courthouse we need to be careful how we handle this.”
The four of them joined him in the living room. From the looks on everyone’s faces Sean guessed they would all be helping him and her get this settled.
