Protecting Olivia

by Riley Edwards

  Tex’s latest intel showed the Bolivians had more information about Peter Newton, Pamela Cox, and Olivia than we’d originally thought. They had been gathering information and planning this for months. The house we were led to was indeed a trap. Not that we hadn’t already known that and prepared for it. The body in the wall? A fucked-up gift from the cartel. Timothy Clark, our missing CIA analyst; further showing us they’d been watching the team as well.

  Zane’s phone vibrated on the desk, and he picked it up. “We good?” he asked.

  “Roger,” Tom answered.

  Zane entered his security code to unlock his phone and answered, “Go.”

  “Crash code of the day – Napa sixer,” Rena answered.

  “Where’s Jake?” Z inquired.

  Jake was another analyst employed by Z corps. He and Garrett were our information specialists. If we needed intel, they found it.

  “Here, Z,” Jake came on the line.

  “Mission shift. I need everything you can find on Gomez and any known associates. I want everything from his Capos and Lieutenants to his runners and territory leaders. Dig so far up his ass it hurts. And I want him to know we’re doing it. Leave him a trail. I need him to scramble. Start the kill chain and plant doubt.” Zane stopped for a moment and turned to Tom. “I am going to ask you to leave the room for a moment. Plausible deniability.”

  “No,” the President answered.

  “Tom, you need to leave the room. You asked me to take care of this. And I will, but it won’t be ethical and it won’t be legal. You have to leave,” Zane tried again.

  “Boy, when have I ever left your balls hanging in the wind? Never. And I won’t start now. You may speak freely.” Tom wasn’t going to back down. Zane always gave him the option to leave the room, but Tom never took it.

  “I need a thumb drive that is in the AG’s personal home safe. Send in the Blue Team to retrieve it,” Zane instructed.

  “A little B and E, they’ll be pleased. Anything else?” I could hear Jake’s fingers clicking on his keyboard as he waited.

  “All information is to be sent to Garrett, SAT COMM one. Red is black. All communication is B230. Operation dirt diver is a go,” Zane finished.

  “Copy that.” Jake disconnected.

  “Rena?”

  “Yes, sir, I know your fish. I’ll take care of them. Blue Team has been alerted, and all calls are forwarded to me. Hope you enjoy your vacation in Hawaii. You’ll be at the Aloha hotel spending ungodly amounts of money on Mai Tais. What should I do about Nightstalker and Ghost?” Rena was damn efficient. She ran every aspect of Zane’s life down to his fish tank in his office.

  “They’ve been taken care of.” Before Rena could respond, Zane had disconnected the call. Bastard always had to have the last word.

  “Jasmin will be here in a moment. She went to Olivia’s apartment and packed some things. She also grabbed your go bag from the office.” Zane turned back to the map.

  “Is he always so bossy?” Olivia asked me.

  “Yes, tesorino, he is.” I couldn’t help but laugh at her question.

  Zane was hard to handle if you didn’t know him. He came off as a dick most of the time because he gave zero fucks if he offended someone and he was no-nonsense. But he would give his life to save a stranger. There was a reason he was the way he was. He was a warrior who led warriors. He had taken on a responsibility that most men couldn’t begin to fathom. Zane had seen and done things that left him scarred and broken. He lived behind a fortress so tall and impenetrable it was a wonder he could still function daily. Yet, he was the best operator I knew. Even though I was pissed he had kept family secrets from me, I still trusted him with my life. There was no other man I would follow into battle.

  The perimeter alarm sounded, and I glanced at the monitor in time to see a flash of a matte black Honda CBR1000 race by. Jasmin was here. If Olivia thought Zane was bossy, then she was in for a treat meeting Jasmin. There was no way to explain Nightstalker; she was as badass as they came. She earned her spot on the team, there were no handouts when it came to this woman. She could outshoot most of us and was notorious for training with an extra ten to fifteen pounds in her ruck to prove she was up to date on the men’s standards.

  The door slowly pushed open, and the first thing that came into view was the dark earth barrel of Penelope, Jasmin’s P226. Yes, she named her weapon. And if you juiced her about it, she’d cut your ass down to size.

  “Yo,” she greeted.

  “Nice, Jassy.” I laughed. “You sure know how to enter a room.”

  “What? A girl can never be too careful. Just because you fuckers can see who is at the door doesn’t mean I can see in. You never know.”

  So it begins.

  Jasmin was notorious for her mouth. She cursed like a sailor. Only she wasn’t, she was Army Human Intelligence. She was so good at her job the Army had lent her out to other special forces teams. After a mission was complete, it was her job to go in and collect intel. It didn’t take long for the CIA to catch on and recruit her, too.

  “And stop calling me, Jassy.” She hated that nickname. All the more reason for me to continue to use it. “I got your go bag.” Jasmin turned her attention to Olivia who looked like she was about to jump out of the bed and run. “You must be Hash. I packed you some stuff for your trip. Nice digs by the way.”

  “Hash?” Olivia questioned.

  “Sorry, the guys didn’t tell you. Your callout. We can’t use your real name over comms. You’re Hash.”

  “Why Hash?”

  “Girl, you use more hashtags on your social media posts than I’ve ever seen. I didn’t know there were so many hashtags,” Jasmin explained. “Even in your private messages, you use them.”

  Olivia’s face pinkened, a pretty blush covering her cheeks. She looked so much younger than twenty-five. She could’ve easily passed for eighteen, which made me feel like even more of a douche for lusting after her. She was still a kid.

  “Thanks for grabbing my stuff. You didn’t have to do that.” Olivia yawned. “Sorry.”

  “No trouble at all. Hey, Uncle. Long time no see.” Jasmin turned to Tom.

  It was still hard to wrap my brain around the President being Jasmin’s uncle. She was devastated when she found out her family history had been kept a secret, and after her parents were killed, she was sent to live with a close friend of theirs, not her uncle. Tom kept his promise to his sister and brother-in-law and didn’t tell Jasmin about the family connection until just a few weeks ago. They were slowly getting to know each other and healing from the deception. I suppose a lot of it had to do with Linc, Jasmin’s husband. Jasmin did not forgive easily and never forgot. But Linc had urged her to forge a relationship with Tom. Between that and Tom standing behind her when Linc got captured and was thought to be dead, things were starting to look up for them. Tom had helped her search for Linc. She never gave up hope he was alive, even when the rest of us had.

  “Hello, sweetheart. How is Linc?” Tom asked.

  “Still a sexy pain in the ass. He hates sitting behind a desk and wants to get back in the field. I guess we’re running comms on this op. I don’t want to leave him unattended,” Jasmin answered.

  It was so nice to see her happy. The last two years she had been miserable. Linc was all she needed to smooth all her broken, jagged pieces. In this line of work, none of us would ever be whole, it was impossible; we knew too much and carried out missions disposing of the worst scumbags the world had to offer. Yet, I would imagine having the love of a good woman to come home to would make it a little easier. I didn’t know for sure, I’d never had it. But seeing Linc and Jasmin gave me hope. Something I never thought I’d have. Hope that one day I could have that, too.

  “Jas, Jake’s been briefed. I may need you to run intel to Tex if Jake gets overloaded. Tex offered, and as much as I hate to outsource this, there’s no other person I’d trust. He’s expecting you. Please keep him appraised of the crash code until further no
tice. And for the love of Christ, keep my brother in line,” Zane ordered.

  “Copy that. I already have the handcuffs out,” Jasmin quipped.

  “Stop talking.” Z smiled.

  Z has always had a soft spot for Jasmin. I guess in some small way we all did. She was the little sister we could all pick on. And Jasmin gave as good as she got.

  “Alrighty. With that, I’m going to the office. You all be safe. Call me if you need anything, I’ll be on standby.” Jasmin started for the door when she stopped and turned back to Olivia, her voice gentling in a way I’d never heard before. “I heard about your mom and Peter Newton. The men in this room will tell you that they don’t think I have a girly bone in my body or feelings, and they may be right. But the truth is I know what this cut feels like. It is deep and ugly and will eat you up inside. I guess what I’m trying to say is if you need to talk, reach out. Don’t let this fester in you.”

  “Thank you, Jasmin.” Olivia averted her eyes and started to fidget with the hem of her tee. She looked nervous and still on edge. I needed to get her away from the commotion of the room. Not that any of the other guys had spoken to her. It still had to be nerve-wracking to have five men circling around you.

  “Tesorino, I’m going to take out your IV now so we can hit the road.” I didn’t wait for her to acknowledge me before I got to work.

  “Zane. I’m walking my niece out, and I’m sure Gerald and Aaron are ready to have a coronary by now. It burns my ass I cannot even leave my own house without a five-hour security brief. Jesus!”

  “Where are you supposed to be today, sir?” Colin asked, speaking up for the first time.

  “In the basement gym. That’s where I am every time I need to leave without my detail. Now the hard part is getting back.”

  “You know people are gonna catch on soon if you don’t start bulking up.” Colin laughed.

  “Funny guy today, eh? Keep me updated, Zane, and everyone be safe.” Tom placed a kiss on Olivia’s forehead as I placed a Band-Aid on the needle mark from her IV. “Everything will work out, kiddo. I trust these men with my life, and yours. I’ll look after your mom until you get back.”

  Olivia didn’t speak, she just nodded her head and closed her eyes. I wasn’t sure if she was that exhausted or if she was upset at the mention of her mom.

  Tom leveled me with a look that could not be mistaken for what it was. The look of a man who cared deeply for this girl and wanted her safe.

  “Not one single hair on her head will be hurt, Tom. You have my word.”

  “I know, or I wouldn’t be walking out the door. Men, Godspeed and good luck.”

  “We’re gonna bounce, too. We’ve got gear to grab before we head out,” Eric said as he and Colin made their way to us. “We’ll be an hour behind you tops. Olivia, we’ll see you soon.”

  “Oh…kay…” Eric and Colin both laughed at her response. I honestly couldn’t remember if they had actually been introduced. They’d been in the corner all morning going over SITREPs and intel with Garrett.

  “Olivia, this is Eric and Colin. They will be our backup team for this op,” I explained.

  “Nice to meet you both. And thank you for coming to get me,” she whispered.

  “No need to thank us, Hash. Listen to Leo, he’ll keep you safe. We’ll meet up again soon. But you need to know that just because you don’t see us, doesn’t mean we’re not around. We got your six,” Colin said.

  “Thanks, bro. We’re headed north first. I’ll hit you with the route when Garrett finishes mapping it out. We’re gonna straight shot it, the less CCTV cameras he has to disable on the way the better.” Both men gave me a chin lift and left.

  “How many of you guys are there?” Olivia asked.

  “Zane has three teams, six people to a team. Red, Blue, and Green,” I told her.

  “What team is this?”

  “Red.”

  This girl asked a lot of questions. Normally I wouldn’t answer a single one of them regarding my job. The most a woman would get out of me was that I was in garbage disposal. They could draw their own conclusions from there. Being Italian, I’d had plenty of women who assumed that meant I had ties to the mob. I didn’t correct them, I didn’t talk about my military service, or where I went when I was gone for months on end. It was no one’s business.

  “I feel like an idiot not knowing anyone’s name,” she admitted.

  “Don’t. You’ve been through a lot. No one cares if you know their names. Besides, most of the guys will answer to asshole. If you can’t remember a name, try that.”

  There it was.

  Her first smile, and damn it was beautiful. It changed her whole appearance. She was already beautiful. However, when she smiled her whole face lit up, and her chocolate eyes caught fire. This girl was trouble.

  “That’s not going to happen.” She laughed. “They kinda scare me too much for that.”

  “We’re ready. Garrett is heading back to the office, and Blue and I are following you,” Zane told us.

  “Copy that. Olivia, I’m gonna carry you up the stairs. When we get out of this building, keep your face buried in my chest, and your head down in the truck.”

  “Okay.”

  I scooped her off the bed and headed for the door. Zane was point going up in front of us, Jaxon took our six and nearly hugged my back. It was unnerving not having my own weapon drawn, but I couldn’t safely carry Olivia and have my gun in my hand at the same time. I had to trust my team to cover us.

  Zane opened the truck door, and before I could deposit Olivia in the seat she lifted her face off my chest, placing her lips close to my ear.

  “Thank you, Leo.”

  My body instantly responded to her breathy exclamation. No woman had ever had this kind of control over my emotions. Hormones, sure. My mental state – never. I needed to keep my distance not only for my sake but for hers.

  She was a mission objective – nothing more.

  Or so I told myself.

  Chapter Ten

  Olivia

  The moment I brought my lips to his ear, I regretted it.

  He smelled like soap and something I could only describe as manly. The scent was unique and instantly set my body on fire. The frat and country club boys I was used to always doused themselves with so much cologne you couldn’t actually smell them. Their scent was masked with some designer concoction. I liked this smell better.

  It was hot.

  I wanted to lick his neck to see if he tasted as good as he smelled.

  “No need to thank me, tesorino,” his voice rumbled against my chest.

  He quickly sat me in the seat and pulled the seatbelt over my lap clicking it in place. The moan that slipped past my lips was completely accidental. An involuntary reaction to his strong forearm brushing my sensitive nipples.

  Leo’s body went still, his head slowly turned, and his eyes met mine. Sweet baby Jesus, this man. There was no part of him that was not intoxicating. With his face only inches from mine, it would be so easy to press my lips against his. Maybe I should drive with Zane. Not that he wasn’t as good looking as Leo. All the men on the team were super hot, but I was a little afraid of Zane, and I certainly didn’t feel…this…whatever this was when he looked at me. I kind of wanted to pee my pants when Zane leveled his mean look in my direction.

  He didn’t say a word as he shut the door and rounded the hood to the driver’s side. He remained silent as he drove us down a series of back roads out onto the main highway. It felt like an eternity before he finally spoke again.

  “You need to drink. There’s a bottle at your feet, it’s twelve ounces. Doc said at least six ounces every hour. Try and drink at least half of the bottle.”

  There was something wrong. His tone wasn’t angry, but neither was it friendly. Something had changed.

  I picked up the bottle and unscrewed the top. “Did I do something wrong?” I wracked my mind trying to remember if I had kept my head down like he’d asked. I was sure I had
.

  “No.”

  Huh? One-word answers now. Fine. I could be silent as well. I drank the orange liquid that tasted like watered down orange drink and settled further into my seat.

  “Are you hungry?”

  “No.” Two could play at the one-word answers.

  “You have to eat. Doc said small meals every few hours. You should try some crackers and maybe a protein bar.” Seemed he had something to say when he was passing along the doctor’s orders. “I’m serious, you’re gonna need to keep your energy up.”

  My mind conjured up a whole lot of reasons why I would need energy. Unfortunately, none of them were what he meant. I didn’t know what it was about Leo that made my mind wander to naughty places.

  His phone rang, and he fiddled with a few buttons on his steering wheel, a second later the call connected.

  “Yo,” he answered.

  “You’re clear. The tickets to Hawaii have been purchased. You have a straight shot,” Zane said. through the truck’s speakers, his deep voice was unmistakable.

  “Copy that.”

  The call disconnected and the radio came back on, at least if we were going to sit in silence Leo had good taste in music.

  “We’re going to Hawaii?” I asked, shoving a saltine cracker in my mouth.

  “No.”

  “What is wrong with you? Did I say something or do something wrong?” I demanded.

  I was getting fed up with his attitude.

  “Nope.” Oh, my God, I was going to scream.

  “I’m sorry to put you out. I’m sure you have better things to do than babysit me and drive to…wherever we’re going. But it really isn’t my fault. I didn’t ask for any of this. Maybe you should direct your shit attitude toward Peter Newton. Or my mother. Or better yet, the both of them. This is their fault. I’m the one who sat in that shit hole thinking I was going to die. All I want is to go home.”

  I sucked in a breath and tried to hold back my tears. I still hadn’t had time to process that only a few hours ago I was locked in a room close to death. During which time all I could think about was my mom. I had no one now. Nothing! Here I was stuck in a truck with a man that very obviously didn’t like me.