“Just admiring God’s work.”
Jeez, and that’s how I felt about him. “Wanna skip breakfast?” My heart was pounding, and my rationale thought didn’t just fly out the window, it was launched. I was living in the moment. Something I hadn’t done since, well, since Connor . . .
“You totally want to use me for my body again, don’t you?” His white teeth flashed as he slipped the sheet from his body, exposing his erection.
I nodded. “Hell, yes.” I laughed and crawled back into bed.
Connor
I needed to tell Olivia the truth. She knew Declan was shady, but once she discovered who she was really working for she would quit. She had to, right? I decided to shelve my anger over the past. I had to keep her safe, to prevent anything bad happening to her.
I would introduce her to Jake and tell her the truth—that he was FBI, and he was helping me. Maybe she knew something that could help us.
I parked my Jeep in the short-term parking lot at LaGuardia and looked over at Olivia in the passenger seat. It was like old times, having her next to me.
She looked up at me beneath her dark lashes as she unbuckled her seatbelt. “What?”
I removed the key from the ignition. “Just remembering that time we got yelled at for making out in the bathroom on our plane trip to Italy.” Wow. I had even glanced at her passport before we’d traveled, but I never paid attention to her birth year. I guess when you trust someone, you aren’t looking for a lie.
Of course, that was the least of her offenses.
My nostrils flared a little as my memory became tainted, but when Olivia shut her eyes and tilted her head back, smiling, I let the pain fade away.
“That was a great trip. I never wanted to leave. How many times did we drink Limoncello when we were there? Or grappa? I miss that—how it instantly warms your insides.” She opened her eyes, her tongue teasing me as it slipped over her lips. “Remember Pompeii? One of the only buildings that remained intact from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius was the prostitution house. And you,” she said while tapping my chest, “embarrassed the hell out of me on that tour by discussing all of the so-called items on the ‘menu’ there. Saying we should try the first three, but you didn’t think you could bend far enough to try the fifth.”
God, it felt like yesterday. “Well, I remember the fifth, and let’s just say I’m game to try it now if you are.”
Her dimples popped as she chuckled. “Maybe if you tell me the rest of the Buckingham Palace story, we’d have a deal.”
My mouth opened, but I didn’t speak. I just stared at her. The sun poked through the window, bouncing off her shiny, chocolate brown hair. She wet her already glossy lips.
She was poised. Elegant and beautiful. Yet this woman could drop a man to the ground with a flick of her wrist.
My body ached again with want. And my anger over her betrayal was slowly vanishing. Was I letting the good memories and my damn lust for her cloud my judgment?
I wasn’t even sure if I cared anymore. It was a decade ago. She had been young, and so had I. People make mistakes. I was no saint. I should’ve at least confronted her when I learned the truth, but instead I tucked my damn tail between my legs, fought with my father, and took off to join the Marines . . . just to spite him, to say to hell with everyone.
“What about when we rented the boat, and you almost hit that guy?”
I shook my head. “In my defense, you took your top off, which was distracting!” A flood of heat torched my body at the memory and my eyes dipped to her chest.
“When you cursed at that guy in Italian, I about died.”
“It’s a requirement. You’re bound by international travel laws to learn the swear words in the countries you travel.” She slapped my chest, and I laughed. “But come on, he deserved it. He was checking you out.”
“Because you almost collided with his boat!” She smirked at me, and I became speechless for a few long moments.
“You seem different,” I finally said as she reached for the door handle.
Her shoulders flinched. “Good sex can do that, I guess.”
I knew that wasn’t what she wanted to say. There was more there, but she kept her back to me so I couldn’t read her face. Smart. “Only good, huh?” I played right back. “I better up my game, then. Number five it is.” I rubbed my hands together and beamed at her when she glanced over her shoulder at me.
She released a nervous laugh. “We’ll see,” she said in a low and sexy voice.
I attempted to curtail my desire. “We better go. His flight should’ve landed.”
“So, who am I looking out for again?” she asked as we plodded through the busy crowd of people and to the baggage claim. “A super-hot guy?” She cracked a smile, and I slapped her butt, forgetting I was in an airport surrounded by people.
She whipped around to face me, and I could tell she was ready to kill me, but then her face fell. Her mouth edged open, and I turned around to see what she was looking at. “What?”
“Shit. I completely forgot. I have a meeting.” The words rushed fast from her mouth.
I touched her back. “Oh. I’ll take you after—”
“No. I’ll get a cab. I gotta go. Sorry.” Before I could speak, she turned away, disappearing into the crowd.
What the hell had just happened? I raked a hand through my hair and shoved it out of my face. It was getting a little out of control. Guess I needed a cut.
“Connor!”
I turned to see my friend on approach.
Jake and I shared a gruff, one-armed hug. “Hey, man. You check any luggage?”
“Nah. Just have a carry-on.” He slapped my back. “Good to see you.” His brown eyes shot to mine. “Well, not for these reasons, of course.”
“Shit. I’ve been losing my damn mind,” I said as we exited. The sunlight had me reaching for my shades, which hung at the neck of my gray T-shirt.
“Oh yeah? I’m betting you weren’t expecting this when you took over the company.”
“Hell, that’s only the half of it. My ex-girlfriend, Olivia, is involved in all this, and it’s screwing with my head.” There. I’d said it. I told him about Olivia.
Jake stopped walking for a second. “The girl—the reason you took off from New York to begin with? The reason you joined the Marines?” he asked in a low voice, his brows slanting with concern.
I moved to the edge of the sidewalk and rubbed my forehead. “Yeah.” Jake didn’t know too much. I’d never really opened up and told anyone the full story. We’d been together on leave once, Michael, Jake, and a few other buddies of mine . . . I had one too many beers, and we were talking about why we had all joined, and I had stammered out Olivia’s name.
“How is she involved in this?” He placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at me with concern etched on his face.
“She works for Declan.”
He took an immediate step back. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”
I shook my head and started walking again. “I was trying to make sense of it all. I told her last night that she should quit her job, that it’s dangerous.”
He kept up pace with me. “And?”
“She said not to worry about her, that she was fine. I was going to introduce you today. I wanted to explain to her that she’s in over her head. At first I wasn’t sure if I could trust her.”
“But now you do?”
We reached my Jeep, and I unlocked it. “Yeah. I do.”
“Even though she screwed you over in the past?” He tossed his bag into the back of my Jeep.
I thought about it for a moment. The Olivia I knew then was the same woman I knew now, but she’d hardened at the loss of her sister. But how things ended with Olivia and I was so out of character with the Olivia I had thought I knew—what if I had her all wrong?
Maybe we should talk like she had wanted to. But this was all too much right now. We needed to have the conversation about our past, but first, I had to deal with Dec
lan.
“I’m afraid she’s going to get hurt, Jake.”
He nodded at me as he sat down. “Then we’ll just have to make sure she doesn’t.”
20
Olivia
Shit. Damn. Shit. Back at my apartment, I grabbed my burner phone and studied it in my hands. What was I supposed to tell Blake? I still hadn’t even told him about who I’d bumped into at the gym yesterday. He was going to lose his mind when he found out.
And now this?
Five missed calls. Looks like Blake would be pissed at me for a couple reasons.
“What the hell, Olivia!” his voice roared through the phone the second he answered.
I crunched my face as I sat down atop the crumpled sheets at the bottom of the bed.
I could still smell him. His scent was all over. I grew warm at the simple memory of the morning. It had felt so—right.
“Olivia!”
I flinched. “Here. Sorry.”
“Where have you been?” There was a long pause. “Were you with him? Connor?” Another long pause since I wasn’t talking. “Did you sleep with him?”
“No, but that’s none of your damn business, Blake,” I snapped.
“He’s a part of the op, Olivia. Everything’s my business when it comes to the op.” I could hear him blow out a loud breath.
If he was only my boss, I would say his anger had to do with his concerns about me crossing the line with someone we were investigating. But Blake and I had slept together, on and off, up until the investigation started. His voice rang more of jealousy than anything else.
“I get that he’s your ex, but he’s making a deal with Declan, which means he’s on the wrong side of the law.”
I wasn’t sure about that . . . “I need to tell him who I am. This is non-negotiable for me,” I said, trying to dodge his concerns about my sex life.
“You cannot tell him! You hear me? That’s a direct order,” his voice screeched in my ear, and I had to pull the phone away for a second. I pushed to my feet and walked around the barren bedroom. I didn’t even have a single picture on the wall.
“He might find out anyway.” My mouth tightened, nervous for Blake to hear the news. I didn’t want him yanking me from the case. Although it was a case I shouldn’t have really been on to begin with, given my history.
“What do you mean?” he asked slowly, his Boston accent thick in my ears.
“Jake Summers is in town. He’s a friend of Connor’s, apparently.”
“Jake Summers? Whose—” The silence meant he’d probably just figured it out. “Jake Summers? As in the FBI director based in the Dallas office? That Jake Summers?”
Jake was well-known in the agency. He’d moved up in the ranks fast, which had him on everyone’s radar.
“Shit—when Sean made his so-called phone calls asking around about Connor, he must have talked to the wrong damn person.”
Jake. “Jake’s being here is not the problem.” I gulped. “He’ll know who I am.”
“I highly doubt that, Olivia.” There was a trace of sarcasm in his voice. “You haven’t been with the agency that long.”
I exhaled a breath and walked to my window. “He was one of my instructors at Quantico.”
“What?”
Jake didn’t normally teach at Quantico, but he was brought in special to teach a class on counterterrorism in the United States. Identifying, investigating, and diffusing terrorist cells.
“Why did Connor bring an FBI agent to town? Is he here for a visit, or is Connor . . .?”
“I have no idea,” I said, but part of me had a gut feeling that Connor had called in a favor from an old Marine buddy. He wasn’t planning on making a deal with Declan. He was probably trying to take Declan down, like me. I just didn’t know why.
And because I’d pulled him into the deal, I’d put Connor directly in harm’s way.
I was sure Connor could handle himself, and the fact that he had a high-level FBI agent on his side, meant I shouldn’t worry. But something nagged at my core, making me feel a little sick.
Maybe it was the lying.
Terrorists would be using weapons that Connor’s company made—and Connor had no idea.
“I have to tell him who I am. We’re on the same team.” I sank back onto my bed.
“No. We don’t know that for sure. I don’t know what Connor’s endgame is, but we have our own priorities. Just keep away from Connor while Jake is in town.”
“But we can work together,” I protested.
“No!”
“Blake. You’re being ridiculous.”
“Olivia, don’t make me remind you that you take your orders from me. You work for me. We cannot tell anyone. Period.”
“You’re making a mistake.” I wanted to say more. To yell and scream, but I bit my tongue. I needed to come up with an alternative to present to Blake, because I knew arguing with him would get me nowhere.
“I don’t care what Connor’s intentions are—when he makes a deal with Declan, he’s going down, too. We’ve already discussed this. I’m really not sure why we’re rehashing this again.”
My nostrils flared.
“Can you come here so we can talk in person? We need to strategize.” His voice was calmer now, at least.
I glanced at my watch. “I have a few things I need to take care of first. Swing by in a few hours.”
“Stay out of trouble.”
He hung up before I could say anything, which was probably for the better.
I went into my bathroom and swept my hair up into a loose bun, then placed my palms on the counter and stared into my eyes. It was lonely doing what I did. I didn’t have any real friends. The only friends I made were for my cover.
Like Claire. And Bobby. I hated that they’d be blindsided by the truth when it all came out, but that was the name of the game. I couldn’t risk them knowing.
I wondered how long I’d be able to keep this life up. Living lies, even if for a good cause. Would I ever be able to marry? Have a family?
My thoughts drifted to Connor. For the first time in a long time, when I thought about him, I smiled.
Connor
“Tyson went to the Middle East three times in April before your father died,” Jake said as I parked my Jeep outside the police station.
“With my dad?”
Jake shook his head. “By himself, but the charges were billed to your father’s credit card.”
“Where’d he go?”
He reached into his pocket for his phone, studied it for a moment, then looked up at me. “Pakistan, Iraq, and Syria.”
“That can’t be a coincidence.” I gripped the steering wheel tighter, my knuckles whitening. “What else did you find?”
“He was in Syria for two days. And Iraq and Pakistan once each. All trips were within a week apart.”
“I’ll have to look into a connection between my father’s prior deals with Declan in relation to when Tyson flew abroad. Maybe my father had concerns about something and sent Tyson to follow up. And the evidence is in the safe deposit box.”
“It makes sense.” We stopped just outside the police station entrance, standing at the top of the stairs.
“Declan helped Matthews Tech secure the Saudi contract, but maybe my father regretted it later, or found out Declan was doing something illegal. Worse than simple corporate bribery.”
“So, Edward tried to back out. Declan said no. And he collected evidence to bring Declan down—”
“Or my dad was blackmailing Declan. Had something in his pocket on him just in case.” I wouldn’t put it past my father. If he was willing to work with Declan in the first place, it was possible he was attempting to manipulate the situation for a better deal for himself and the company. But it was still a bit farfetched. My father had always been an honest man, so I had thought. “Hell, I don’t know. We need more proof.” I slipped my sunglasses off.
“We’ll get it.”
I nodded, and we made our way thr
ough the precinct and down the stairs to the medical examiner’s office. “Is he expecting us?”
Jake had flashed his badge and worked his magic to get us in the police station and to the ME’s office. “Yeah. We’re right on time.”
Two glass doors automatically slid open, allowing us entrance to the OCME, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
“You must be Jake Summers.” A tall and fit African American man approached us. After he’d shaken Jake’s hand, his brown eyes shifted to me. “I’m Danny Bennett. I run the department. Jake told me on the phone that you have reason to believe my John Doe might be someone you know?” He folded his arms across his white coat.
I glanced at Jake before focusing back on Danny. The three of us were alone in the room. There was a body on a table a few feet away, and my stomach turned at the sight of it. An autopsy in progress.
Jake nudged me in the side. I still hadn’t spoken, unable to tear my eyes away from the body, even though the sight of it made me ill. “Yes.” I reached into my pocket for the photo I’d found of Tyson at my father’s office; a different one than the image Jake had emailed the ME’s office. “I’m looking for this man, and I’m hoping he’s alive and not here.”
Danny took the picture and studied it. “He might be a match for my John Doe, but the body is in pretty bad shape. You up for a look?” He handed the picture back, and I nodded.
We followed him through another pair of doors, and the cool air slammed us as we entered the room. Danny walked over to a silver wall with several black handles; it was basically a refrigerator for bodies. Great.
Danny pulled open drawer five from the middle of the wall, and he unzipped the body bag. My hand shot to my face, covering my mouth as I stared at the corpse. “Where’d they find the body?”
“The Hudson,” he answered. “He died several weeks ago, but his body was only recently discovered.”
“Doesn’t look like he drowned,” Jake remarked while eyeing the body.
The Hidden Truths Series Box Set Page 62
