“Positive.”
“You’re the hacker,” she pointed out.
“And Oli—”
Damon jumped to his feet and dove across the distance to slap a hand over Spencer’s mouth. “What the fuck?”
Spencer cringed when Damon finally retreated. “Sorry. Forgot. Livvy Genova didn’t exist until you turned eighteen years old. Who were you before that?”
Olivia let her shoulders fall as Damon resumed his spot next to her. He wasn’t as casual this time. He was sitting straighter, hands on his thighs. Scowling.
She sighed. She had to tell them at least the gist of the story, so they would stop hounding her. “My father and I didn’t see eye to eye on a few things, so I changed my name and took a new life.” No way in hell was that going to be enough information to satisfy Spencer, or even Damon by the look on his face.
Damon stiffened and growled. “Did he abuse you?”
Olivia flinched, shaking her head. Damn, this was fucked up. “No. Nothing like that.”
“Then what?” Damon encouraged, still growling as if he wasn’t sure he was willing to let that idea go just yet.
“Fine. I’ll tell you, but for God’s sake, you will be the first people alive to know this about me, and it’s important that it not leave this room. You can’t run and call all your friends in Montana and spread this around. It’s a matter of safety.”
“What the fuck, Livvy?” Damon asked.
“My father is a US diplomat. At least he was before I was preserved. I assume he still is. He was in it for life. I was a bit of a hellion in my teens. We didn’t agree on a few things. He eventually feared for my safety and arranged for me to have a new identity. He let me go so I could live my life without all the scrutiny being connected to an embassy requires.” There. Enough information to soothe these two frustrated men, while not being so much that they had her life’s secrets.
“Why would he fear for your safety?” Damon asked.
Spencer shook his head and held up a hand. He changed the line of questioning. “A diplomat? In. What. Country?” he asked slowly, as if the answer would not surprise him in the least or was a matter of national security.
“Russia.”
“Of course.” Spencer slammed his laptop closed and set it on the coffee table before jumping to his feet and starting to pace the small room. He ran a hand through his hair over and over to no avail. It fell back across his forehead every time.
“What?” Olivia asked him, confused. “What difference does it make which country he works in?”
Spencer stopped pacing and faced her, both hands on top of his head. “Because Blue Cell is without a doubt connected to something in Russia. I’ve known that for a while. I just haven’t been able to figure out what.”
“Fuck,” Damon muttered.
Olivia jerked. “That has to be a coincidence. My father is a good man. This has nothing to do with him. There can’t possibly be a connection.”
Spencer lowered his hands to his hips. “Your father might very well be a good person, Livvy, but that doesn’t mean he’s not in some way connected to Blue Cell. Maybe he sent you away to protect you, but Blue Cell found you.”
Olivia shook her head rapidly. “No. Our issues were all related to me. They had nothing to do with my father.”
“Are you sure?” Damon asked. “Maybe he made you think you were a troubled teenager who needed to leave, when really it was for your safety.”
“I already told you it was for my safety. That part’s true for sure. And his safety too. But it wasn’t political. It was personal. It went way back for several years. It wasn’t sudden.” Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck.
No one said anything else. It was obvious Spencer and Damon were waiting for her to give them details she didn’t want to share. It was also apparent she had no choice in the matter. “Fuck,” she blurted out loud finally.
Damon reached for her hand. “What was it? The personal thing?”
She stared down at where he held her hand, rubbing the back with the pad of his thumb.
“You said you were a hellion,” Damon continued. “What do you mean by that?”
She met his gaze and held it, knowing her next words would change everything for all three of them. It wasn’t as though her lifestyle choices were a giant secret from the world. That was precisely why she left Russia to begin with. She hadn’t wanted to hide her true self, and she was living in a country where anything outside of regular heterosexual engagements weren’t just frowned upon. They were punishable by death.
Finally, she took a deep breath and braced herself to give up her secret to two men she was equally attracted to. “I’m…adventurous.”
Both brows went up.
“Sexually,” she added.
Damon might have flinched, or maybe she imagined it. Spencer didn’t seem to move.
“Okay. Okay, then,” Spencer began. “What you’re saying is that it wasn’t safe in Russia for you to come out as a lesbian or something?” He leaned forward. His face was completely steady.
“Right. Well, something like that,” she agreed, letting out a breath. This was going easier than she’d expected. No one seemed to be freaked out or judgmental. In fact, they both looked rather calm.
Damon asked the next question without pause. “So, you don’t know where your father is now?”
She shook her head. “I thought about looking him up on your computer, but I knew there would be no way to hide my search, so I didn’t.”
Spencer looked pensive. “What’s his name?” he asked, grabbing his laptop and flipping it back open. “I can search him without leaving a digital footprint.”
Olivia sighed. “This is not a can of worms I ever wanted to open.”
Damon released her hand and slid his palm up her arm until he cupped her neck. “I can understand that, but Spencer’s right. There could be a connection. It’s too coincidental that you happen to have a parent who is or was a Russian diplomat when Blue Cell is involved with the Russians. Where is your mom?”
Olivia licked her lips. She couldn’t keep from leaning into Damon’s touch. It felt good. Calming. “My father adopted me in Russia. I don’t know anything about my birth parents.”
Spencer interjected with a soft voice. “What’s your father’s name, Livvy?”
She turned her attention to him to find him staring at Damon’s hand on her neck. “You sure this is necessary? What if someone is watching your Google search? The entire reason for me having a new identity was to completely separate, so that no one could find me or make a connection to him.”
Spencer shifted his attention to her face and lifted his brows. “Trust me. I told you, no one can see anything I do. It’s what I’m good at. No one will ever know.”
“You will,” she whispered.
“It goes to the grave with us,” Damon stated emphatically.
This was the worst idea in the history of ideas. Olivia had not uttered her father’s name in six years. She’d never told a soul he even existed. She’d developed a story about being estranged from her family and never expounded on that to anyone.
But this was important. Life or death. Hers? Or his? “My father is a good man. There’s no way he’s involved with Blue Cell. He’s a well-respected diplomat.”
Spencer nodded. “I’m sure you’re right, but let’s just see where he is and what he’s up to, okay?”
She chewed on her bottom lip, letting her gaze slide to Damon, who nodded his agreement with Spencer. “I give you my word that nothing you say leaves this room, and even though I’ve never met Spencer before yesterday, I do know Dade Menke well enough to say if Dade vouches for Spencer, then he’s trustworthy.”
She lowered her gaze to her lap, fidgeted her fingers with each other, and took the plunge. “William Radford.”
The only sound in the room for the next thirty seconds was the clicking of keys on Spencer’s laptop. Damon, still rubbing her neck with his fingers, turned his head toward Spencer.<
br />
Olivia watched him also.
“Okay. I’ve got basic information on him. He’s been at the Russian embassy for thirty-seven years. One daughter. Your real name is Evelyn?” Spencer asked, lifted his face.
“Yeah. Never liked that name either, though it might be better than Livvy.”
Damon squeezed her neck, turned to lean his back against the couch cushions, and pulled her against his side. “It’s a nice name.”
She lifted her face to his, her hand on his chest. “It’s a name for someone’s great-grandma. Mine, in fact.” If she weren’t so nervous, she would probably pull away from this intimate encounter. It was weird so blatantly leaning into Damon in front of Spencer. They weren’t in any sort of real established relationship. Were they?
Did that kiss last night mean something to Damon? Not that she particularly minded. She felt close to him. She liked him a lot. He grounded her in this upside-down world.
Nevertheless, it felt awkward in front of Spencer, who had also flirted with her hard yesterday. Hadn’t he?
Spencer started speaking. “So, he’s still in Russia… He’s been in different cities, but he’s served there for most of the last thirty-seven years.” Spencer clicked buttons and scrolled through pages while Olivia watched. “Oh, shit.” He froze, lifting his gaze, his face turning white. “Do you know where you were born?”
Olivia shook her head. She had no idea.
Damon groaned and squeezed her arm with his fingers. “Let me guess, Samara.”
“Yep.”
Olivia jerked herself upright, shaking free of Damon’s tight clutch. “You can’t be serious. That makes no sense at all.”
Spencer looked back down. “The idea that your involvement is a coincidence is sliding quickly through our fingers.”
“You said it was a fruit?” she murmured. She’d known it was also a city in Russia, she’d told Damon as much, but it hadn’t registered as being important. “It means key. Some kind of key fruit,” she insisted, as if that might erase its other meaning.
“It does, but it’s also a city,” Damon pointed out, “and now I remember you telling me that specifically before you fell asleep when I told you the word. I simply figured you were good at geography. This makes more sense.”
Olivia felt like the floor was opening up under her and intended to swallow her whole. How could this be happening? It made no sense at all. She’d been gone six years. She’d had no contact with her father in all that time. He’d loved her dearly, so much that he’d let her go so she could live her life.
She lifted both hands to rub her temples as a headache formed. She couldn’t imagine a world in which her father had done anything to put her in harm’s way. She refused to believe it.
“Do you suppose…” Spencer began.
Olivia lifted a hand, palm out, to stop him from continuing. “Give me a minute. My brain is reeling.”
“’Kay.”
Olivia stood abruptly and paced toward the window. She leaned her forehead against the glass and stared down at the people wandering up and down the street.
For a long time, she saw nothing, and then she let her gaze linger on a man standing across the street with his phone in his hand. He appeared to be texting, but the phone was tipped up in her direction. She’d seen him before. Doing the exact same thing. “Shit.” She spun around, crossed her arms, and rubbed her biceps. “I think someone’s watching us.”
Chapter 8
Damon nearly flew across the room. He couldn’t get to her fast enough. When he did, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her away from the window in the direction of the bed.
She gasped in surprise.
He grabbed her biceps and met her gaze. “Are you sure? What did you see?”
Her eyes were wide. “Average-looking man. Maybe mid-forties. Brown hair. Jeans. T-shirt. Not interesting, but I’ve seen him standing in the same spot more than once with his phone. I’d say he was taking pictures of this building under the guise of texting. But maybe I’m just being paranoid.”
Damon pulled her into his embrace even though it might have been a bad idea. He hated the thought of everything she’d been through, and now she was holed up here in this tiny apartment with two men she’d never met before when she should be out reclaiming her life.
When Damon lifted his gaze, he found Spencer pacing near the door. He was running a hand through his unruly hair and cursing under his breath. “You okay, man?”
Spencer jerked his gaze to Damon. “No, I’m not fucking okay. What if I’m the one who lured those assholes to this apartment?”
“That’s crazy,” Olivia said. “You didn’t lure anyone anywhere. They could have found us days ago. Hell, it could have been before I even woke up.”
Spencer laughed manically. “So, I just happened to show up yesterday, and you just happened to see someone watching us today?”
“I’ve seen that man several times. I’m sure I’ve seen him longer ago than yesterday and today,” Olivia insisted.
Damon released her and took a few strides to get to Spencer. “Stop it. You aren’t the reason someone could have found us.”
“You don’t know that,” Spencer yelled, stopping inches from Damon and tipping his head back to meet Damon’s gaze.
Spencer’s eyes were glazed with frustration, and Damon grabbed his shoulders to shake him a bit. “We need you here. We need you to solve this fucking insanity so we can all go on with our lives. If you hadn’t come, I never would have thought to ask Livvy what her father’s name was. I never would have made the connection. You’re vital to this entire gig. I need you to pull yourself together.”
Spencer dipped his face and sighed, his hair falling forward. “You’re a bright man. You would have figured it all out without me.”
Damon gave him another shake and then grabbed his chin and forced him to tip his face up again. “I’m a smart guy. You’re right. I know all about preserving and reanimating human life. I’ve dedicated years to that research. But you’re a computer genius. I am not. And you have a brain that works far faster than mine. I’ve been here with Livvy for a week, and never once did I think to ask the questions you’ve posed in twenty-four hours.”
Spencer flushed, his eyes closing.
Fuck no. There was no doubt Damon felt protective of this kid. Hell, he felt a lot more than protective. Damon wanted to slam him against the wall and press his body against Spencer’s. He wanted to feel their frames line up, their erections bumping into each other.
Spencer would probably freak, and Olivia was watching, so it wasn’t going to happen, but the desire was there all the same.
The last thing Damon wanted was for Spencer to feel weak. The guy was anything but weak. He was full of spunk and determination. He was going to be their salvation. Damon could feel it in his bones. And he was going to be so proud.
“You done?” Damon asked, shaking with the need to act instead of speak, to feed some of that power he felt into Spencer through physical contact.
“Yeah.” Spencer sounded deflated, but his gaze was wandering around Damon’s face in confusion. When he licked his lips and settled his gaze on Damon’s mouth, Damon groaned.
Damon dropped his hands from Spencer’s shoulders and stepped back. He glanced at the window again. “I think we should move. We’ll carry on as usual for the rest of the day, then go in the middle of the night.”
Spencer nodded, his expression unreadable.
Olivia had materialized next to them, and she wrapped a hand around both men’s forearms. “It’s a good idea. Just in case. Better safe than sorry. Now, let’s get back to work. We’re burning daylight. I’ll tell you everything I know.”
Spencer turned toward her and nodded. “Okay, then.”
The moment was awkward, but Damon grabbed Spencer’s hand and tugged him toward one end of the couch. “Sit.” He pointed at the center cushion and lifted his gaze toward Olivia. “You next.”
Both of them lowered
into their spots as Damon took the other end. They were staring at him. For direction? He wasn’t sure he wanted to be the leader of this crew, but they seemed to be waiting for him to take control.
He nodded at the laptop. “Get back in there. Start searching around for any hits on Evelyn Radford. We need to see who’s connected the name with Livvy. I’ll work on her father, William.” Damon grabbed his laptop next.
“What should I work on?” Olivia asked.
“Yourself. The you who’s existed for six years. Or sixteen rather. Backtrack. Make a list of anything that seems interesting about Livvy Genova, and your interactions with Dr. Boyden. And for God’s sake nobody say the O word out loud.”
Damon was shaking as he sat back and opened his computer. He needed to pull it together and get to work. They were counting on him. The last thing he should be doing is thinking about how obedient and responsive they both were to his commands.
Or how hard it made him to consider watching the two of them with each other.
The fact that they were both still looking at him made him purse his lips to avoid moaning. Neither of them had any idea what direction his sexual preferences ran. And this wasn’t the time or place to explore that avenue.
Olivia had implied she was sexually adventurous, which Spencer took to mean she was a lesbian, but Damon knew better. She liked men. She liked two of them… If she was bisexual and also attracted to females, that made no difference here. Her body language when Damon had held her last night told him she was definitely into him.
He needed to stop thinking about either of them in terms of lips and mouths and kissing. It was dangerous territory that could create a pile of problems.
Damon spent longer in the shower than he probably should have that evening. He had to bite his lip as he took his erection in hand and closed his eyes. In his mind, he pictured both Olivia and Spencer running their hands over his body. Then he pictured them staring into each other’s eyes.
Reviving Olivia (Project DEEP Book 7) Page 8
