It was Rhys.
With a sigh, she unlocked the doors, and Rhys opened it, leaning down into the passenger side to grin at her.
“Fancy meeting you here, madam,” he joked with a playful wink. “It’s funny—this is exactly what I pictured when Lila said she hired a private investigator.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “Get in the damn car or scram. I’m working, and you’re going to blow my cover.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Rhys chuckled, sliding onto the seat and shutting the door behind him. Olivia’s mind was going a mile a minute, maybe it was the fading sun that was casting shadows around the car. Or, the quiet air that seemed to pass between them in the small enclosed space. Whatever it was, Olivia felt her stomach swoop gently as she inhaled he heady combination of spices and soap, the allure of the subtle scent made her want to lean in closer for a deeper smell of it.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
Rhys lowered his voice. “Actually, I was thinking that I would lend Lila a helping hand with the situation and try to catch my brother in the act. I wasn’t smart enough to bring binoculars, though. You really are a professional.”
Olivia pursed her lips. Despite the fact that she shoved the binoculars down onto the floor when she heard the tap on the window, Rhys had apparently already seen her spying with them before he approached her.
“Why would you need to stalk your own brother?” Olivia quipped. “Surely you’re close enough to him that you can get a cheating confession out of him on your own?”
He sighed, his expression sobering slightly. “No, Drake and I aren’t close like that. We’ve never been. He was always so obsessed with approval and status, so much so that he was constantly trying to assert himself as the favorite between our parents. And it worked, unfortunately.”
“Ah, so you resent him,” Olivia mused, eyeing him curiously. For twin brothers, they were incredibly different. If she were inside a locked vehicle with Drake, her skin would be crawling, and she would be fighting the urge to run away.
Rhys made her feel a little more at ease, even if he was a stranger.
“I don’t know if that’s the right word,” Rhys told her. “It’s not resentment. It’s just…frustration. Anger, actually. I’ve watched Drake manipulate his way into so many peoples’ good graces, without them having a clue about the type of person he is deep down. Then he followed in our father’s footsteps to become a doctor, so he’s perfect for that alone.”
“And they have no idea that he’s been cheating on Lila?”
“None. To them, he can do no wrong. It would take video evidence for them to believe their perfect son would do something like that, and even then, they would probably put the blame on her.”
She retrieved the binoculars and turned her attention to the still empty windows of Drake’s office, trying to wrap her mind around that type of family dynamic. Yes, her father had been abusive, but her mother had never lived in denial of that being a truth. She just didn’t know how to leave.
She huffed and then turned to Rhys. “So, they favor him because of his job, but what about you? What do you do, then?”
“Huh?”
“Your job. What do you do for work?”
He was giving her an odd look—there was a soft twinkle in his eyes as he observed her in the dim evening light.
“I’m a mechanical engineer. I always loved taking things apart and putting them back together. It’s why I love motorcycles so much. There’s always something to tinker with.”
“You have a motorcycle?” Olivia replied, raising her eyebrows at him in surprise.
Rhys smirked. “I have a few, yeah.”
“Well, being a mechanical engineer sounds pretty impressive to me,” she said. “I’m sure it required just as much hard work as medical school.”
He chuckled. “That’s flattering, but that’s not really what my parents think. But anyway, tell me…how does one become a private investigator?”
Olivia glanced out the front windshield, biting her lip. There were a lot of reasons she and the girls formed the Iron Ladies, of course. She also had her own motivations that encouraged her to follow that career path, but it wasn’t one she liked talking about.
“It’s a long story,” she told him, her tone clipped enough to discourage him from asking further questions.
Rhys caught the hint. “Fair enough. You seem to be really good at it, though. I really believed you were one of Drake’s women earlier today. You were so flirtatious that I didn’t know what else to do but play along.”
“Well, you were quite skilled at playing along,” Olivia responded.
“Maybe I have a bright future as a private investigator, too.” He laughed, waggling his eyebrows at her.
Olivia snorted. “I don’t think so. You’ve just spent the past five minutes distracting me from doing my job, and focus is important.”
Rhys raised his hands in surrender. “Please understand, that I truly only want what is best for Lila.”
Something about his words made Olivia wonder if there was more going on between the two.
“Stop right there, I can almost see the wheels in your brain turning. There is nothing going on between Lila and I. And even if she was single there would still be nothing going on. She is like a sister to me, she is more my family than my own family. I don’t agree with how she is being treated. I know my brother, all too well and he is just like my dad. They both have this insane ability to plant ideas into someone’s head and then make them believe it is true.”
Olivia nodded.
Rhys continued on his depiction of his brother, “I’ll never forget when we were younger, I think we were like ten or so. We were kicking a soccer ball around in the house and Drake kicked it to me and knocked over a vase, one that my mother loved. When we were questioned about it, he told my parents that, he was trying to stop me from playing before I broke something, when he saw it heading for the vase, he jumped to try and stop it but he wasn’t fast enough.” Rhys cocked his head to one side, “To hear him tell it, he is so adamant about the details, and kept urging me to come clean, that for the briefest moments, I actually questioned whether or not I had kicked the ball and broke that damn vase. I mean, he is really that convincing.”
“You said your dad, he’s like this too?”
“God, you would think the two of them were twins, they are more alike than Drake and I ever will be. My mom is a walking puppet thanks to my dad.”
“I’m sorry. Sounds horrid.”
Rhys’ shoulders relaxed. “No, I’m sorry. I’ll let you get back to it then, but I was serious when I offered my help. Just know, that I don’t agree with how my brother treats his wife. She’s a good person and deserves so much more than a husband who cheats on her.”
“Noted,” Olivia replied, fixing him with a cool stare. “I’ll be in touch if the need ever comes up.”
The corner of Rhys’s mouth quirked up as if he found her amusing. Olivia remembered what he said at the café about liking women who played hard to get, and she tried to ignore the way he caused a flutter of pleasant nervousness in the pit of her stomach.
Rhys opened the door and climbed out of the car.
“Good night, Olivia,” he murmured.
Wordlessly, she nodded. The noncommittal response only caused his smirk to grow.
Rhys shut the door. Olivia sat in the silence that followed, trying to figure out why her heart was racing.
Olivia
“Have you found anything of interesting yet?” Melanie asked Sunday, who was leaning close to the laptop, which was sitting on the conference table in front of her.
“Well, I can confirm that Drake and Rhys are, in fact, twins,” Sunday answered. “Can’t believe we missed that when we did our initial sweep of Dr. Bannon’s social media accounts. I suppose it makes sense, though.”
“In what way?” inquired Melanie, plopping down in the seat beside Sunday.
Across from them, Olivia was using t
he remainder of the table to clean one of her beloved guns—a classic Glock that was lightweight enough to carry around with her but powerful enough to get the job done—whatever that might be.
“Well, Drake’s page is full of inspirational quotes about mental health and random posts about his private practice,” explained Sunday. “His most recent post is about an article in a psychology journal that he contributed to.”
“Sounds like he has a very specific image he’s trying to maintain,” Melanie commented. Olivia nodded silently.
“He’s good at it, too,” Olivia remarked. “Everyone is convinced that Drake is the perfect man. Even his parents.”
“But you said Rhys isn’t his biggest fan, right?” Melanie asked, reaching forward and lightly squeezing Olivia’s hand.
“No, he’s not,” Olivia confirmed. “Like I said, Rhys wants to see his brother knocked down a few pegs. I originally assumed that his motivation for encouraging the divorce was because he had feelings for Lila, but now I can see that Rhys is operating on a much deeper source of motivation.”
“Interesting,” Sunday mused. “What do you think those deeper motivations are?”
“Not think, know. He and I talked about it.”
Sunday’s face softened at Olivia’s response. “Oh really, and what did he say?”
“Lila is pretty much the only family he has, he’s not close to his brother, obviously.”
“Obviously,” Sunday concurred.
“He said, ‘His dad is just like Drake and his mom, is well, a puppet.’”
“Interesting. Well, he definitely does a lot of things alone. When I was looking at the social media accounts, Rhys has a lot of pictures of places he has been. And it seems, he’s gone everywhere on his motorcycle.”
“Hmm.” Olivia had no clue why she was so fascinated by Rhys, but she was. “Has he gone anywhere interesting?” When she moved around the table to peer over Sunday’s shoulder at her computer, she caught a glimpse of a shirtless Rhys smiling in a mountainous scene. Warmth that filled her cheeks as she stared at his tattooed chest and arms that were deliciously toned.
“He took his Harley up the Oregon Coast,” Melanie murmured, narrowing her eyes as she read the captions on the photos.
“What do you think I should do about his offer to help with the case?” Olivia asked, she knew that she needed to get back on topic or she would admire that man’s body all day.
“Well, I’m sure his participation could be helpful in some instances, but for now, let’s just—” Melanie began, but she was cut off by Sunday cursing low under her breath.
“Wow,” Sunday whispered, staring at the screen with awe.
“What is it?” Olivia asked, wondering if she might’ve just found something useful in one of the social media accounts.
“Just…look at them.” Sunday smirked, pulling up two separate photos of the brothers on the screen. There were no pictures of them together, further verifying Rhys’s claim that they weren’t close. “The jawline, the perfect nose. Few men have such excellent bone structure, and to think the universe conspired to make two of them.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. She really thought that her friend was focused on work, not the two hot men on the screen.
However, Olivia had to admit that Sunday had a point. She wasn’t attracted to Drake in the slightest, but Rhys was a different story. He was self-assured without being arrogant, and that made him possibly one of the sexiest men Olivia had ever seen.
“Hmm,” was all Olivia muttered in response.
“Something on your mind?” Melanie asked her.
“What? No, nothing,” she replied, sitting back down across from them and resuming her cleaning of the gun.
“Do you have a thing for the nice twin?” Melanie asked boldly. Olivia lowered her head, pretending to look closer at one of the hinges on the handle of the gun.
“Seriously?” Olivia scoffed. “First of all, I’m a professional, so no, I don’t. Besides, he’s only mildly attractive.”
“No way.” Sunday cackled. “Is this what you would call mildly attractive?”
Sunday turned the laptop around to face Olivia.
Olivia’s stomach flipped at the image of Rhys smiling at the camera, the aquamarine water of whatever tropical ocean he was in licking the deep V-shape of his lower abdomen. In one hand, he held a beer, while his free arm was draped around a bronzed Goddess wearing a tiny red bikini. He looked relaxed and impossibly sexy. Olivia felt a swoop of self-consciousness. She was nowhere near as effortlessly hot as the bikini-clad woman beside him.
Not that it really mattered if Rhys was attracted to Olivia. She knew she shouldn’t waste time caring around something as foolish as that.
“Okay, fine. He’s a little more than mildly attractive,” Olivia admitted.
“Well, that is a glowing review from the likes of Olivia Vinning,” Melanie said with a laugh.
Olivia pursed her lips and clicked two pieces of the Glock together, the sharp sound echoing around the room.
“It doesn’t matter what I think of Rhys,” she told Melanie and Sunday with a stern gaze. “Entertaining any kind of flirtation with him would compromise the case.”
“I don’t think that’s true,” Sunday rebutted.
“Mm-hmm, sounds like you’re just trying to make an excuse.”
“An excuse for what?” Olivia sighed.
Melanie shrugged. “You know, an excuse for why you won’t give a handsome, charming man a chance.”
“First, who says he wants a chance, and second, have you two forgotten that he’s the twin brother of the man we’re investigating for infidelity and spousal abuse?” Olivia deadpanned. “Not exactly the kind of thing that I’m eager to be up close and personal with once the case is over.”
Sunday tutted her tongue and closed the laptop. “How about we call it a day, ladies? Let’s save the discussions regarding Olivia’s nonexistent love life for later, yeah?”
Melanie giggled and nodded, but Olivia merely rolled her eyes and continued putting her weapon of choice back together with steely resolve.
Olivia
“So, Olivia, welcome back.” Dr. Bannon grinned as he settled onto the same seat he’d used on Tuesday. “How are you feeling this morning?”
Despite her best efforts, Olivia had no choice but to show up at Drake’s office on Thursday morning for her scheduled appointment. Olivia summoned the shy, awkward woman she hoped would entice Drake. As he requested, she had also forgone the jeans and opted for a loose maxi dress for their appointment.
She shrugged. “Not great.”
“You look tired,” said Drake. “I can always tell when a woman is exhausted. Difficulties with sleep have persisted, I assume.”
It was a harsh and somewhat rude observation, one that instinctively made Olivia bristle. She bit back that reaction and cast her eyes downward, portraying a woman who was ashamed to have someone see her weakness so clearly.
“Yes,” Olivia murmured. “And I thought about what you said last time…about, you know, wanting to feel desirable.”
“Oh? Tell me more.”
“Well, I think you’re right,” she said, biting her lip. “I’m missing something in my life. I’m missing a man. I feel really lost without the kind of relationships that my best friends are enjoying.”
“How astute of you to come to that realization,” Drake replied. “I can help you overcome that feeling of being left out.”
When Olivia looked up, his dark eyes were twinkling with arrogance, watching her the way one would watch a stumbling toddler try to figure out how to put one foot in front of the other.
“I’m really grateful that you can help me,” Olivia forced herself to say. “I’m very anxious to work through this issue.”
Drake nodded thoughtfully, shifting in his chair. For a second, Olivia was worried that he was going to stand and join her on the chaise, but he only crossed his ankle over his over knee and cleared his throat.
&nb
sp; “The real issue, of course, is what we’re going to do about that lack in your life,” Drake said. “How are we going to fill that empty space inside you so that you can ease your anxiety and sleep better? What can I do to make you whole, Olivia?”
A chill raced down Olivia’s spine as she replayed his words in her mind. He wasn’t explicitly making a move on her, but it certainly seemed like he wanted to. Unfortunately, it was probably going to take more than just this session to get Drake to the point where he was actually tempted to put his hands on her.
Olivia needed to amp this up, she batted her eyes several times and shuffled her feet. Playing coy was not her strong suit. Biting her lip, she glanced out the window, purposefully avoiding Drake’s eyes.
“I was actually thinking that…gosh, it sounds pathetic—”
Drake cut her off with a disapproving click of his tongue. “Nothing you say will sound pathetic. You have a right to your feelings and I’m here for you, to help you work through those.”
Olivia fought back a flinch at the thought of him being there for her, she looked up at Drake through her eyelashes. “Well, it’s just that I was thinking I would probably feel a lot better if I found someone for myself. Someone who could be the strong man that I’ve been missing.”
Her skin crawled as Drake’s lips spread slowly into a satisfied grin. She assumed that from his perspective, he had her right where he wanted her. Of course, as long as he had no idea that Olivia was playing him.
“That’s insightful.” Drake smiled. “Have you considered putting yourself out there? Making it known to potential male partners that you’re available?”
She shrugged and racked her mind for something that she could say to keep the conversation moving in the right direction. “Maybe I need to find someone and just have a one-night stand. Someone that I know I’m not committing to. It’s been so long since I’ve been with a guy that I think I just need to try someone who won’t expect too much from me.”
Olivia, Striking Back (Iron Ladies Book 4) Page 3
