As we both slumped to the ground, I released my grip.
Olivia
“Is it enough?” I asked Jake as he walked away from the team of federal agents who were swarming the strip club. My hands rubbed up and down the sides of my pants as I bit my lip. Jake had made a call to the FBI field office in New York after he and his friend tossed the gas into the club, effectively knocking everyone out—including Connor.
Connor was still asleep on one of the medic stretchers.
“I’d say it’s more than enough to put every one of them behind bars. We might even be able to take out a few ISIS cells between the information Edward Matthews provided on the USB and everything on Konstantin’s computer.”
I dragged my hands over my face, feeling a true sense of relief for the first time since Jessie died. “Did you catch any heat?” I glanced over at the Irishman as he approached us.
“He’s not your typical civilian.” Jake grinned. “And I just told them this was all your idea, and you couldn’t let anyone know because Blake was working with Declan and Konstantin.”
If only that were true! “Any word on where my team member Sean is?”
“Not yet, but when Blake wakes up, we’ll find out.”
God, I hoped to hell he was still alive. Too much blood had already been shed.
“Thank you, Aiden,” I said as he joined Jake and me in front of the club.
His sharp blue eyes focused on mine, and he patted my shoulder. “Happy I could help.”
I was still amazed that Connor had the kind of friends who would swoop in to perform such dangerous feats. And at the last minute, too. Jake and Connor had called Aiden for help just last night. He had bumped into Connor at the bank, planted a tracking device on him while swapping out the USB with one loaded with software that would hack Konstantin’s computer.
My lungs filled with air at the sight of Connor stepping out of the ambulance. He raked a hand through his hair and squinted in the sunlight as his eyes found me.
I charged over to him, and he met me half way, pulling me into his arms and nuzzling his face in my hair. “Connor,” I cried.
“I was so damn worried about you,” he said once he pulled away and touched my face with the back of his hand.
“Are you kidding? You’re the one who came close to dying.” I shook my head, and a smile skirted my lips. “Was it your idea to knock yourself out with gas?”
He started to laugh, but brought his hand to his mouth as a cough escaped, instead. “Of course.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and we walked with slow steps over to meet Aiden and Jake. “Looks like you met my friends.”
“Ava sends her regards,” Aiden said, slapping Connor on the back and shaking his head. “Michael was in L.A., or you know he would’ve been here.” Aiden glanced at me and then back at Connor. “We have to stop meeting up like this. Could we please arrange a normal reunion? Maybe a bloody picnic?”
Connor coughed again as he laughed. “Hey, no one died at Michael and Kate’s wedding. Well, almost. That one guy almost did when he got a little grabby with Kate.”
“Lucky for me, Michael didn’t want to get blood on his new bride,” Aiden commented.
“You called it. I was sure he’d slug the guy. Lost ten dollars to you on that one,” Jake added. “Although Connor and I knocked a little sense into him, later.” He winked at me.
I touched my bad eye and forced a smile. Connor had a whole other life since we’d been together. We’d lost so much time because of a lie. But maybe it was supposed to be like this.
Maybe Connor and I had been too young, then.
But what about now?
Before I could think any more about that, Blake was walking out of the strip club, his hands cuffed behind his back. He was arguing with the two FBI agents who flanked his sides, but he stopped talking as he came close to me. His beady eyes drew into thin slits, and I swallowed at the sight of him.
When I charged, Connor was right behind me, his hand on my hip. “You son-of-a-bitch. You make me sick,” I spat.
Blake jerked his head up and snickered at me. “You too, you bitch.”
Connor moved in front of me, and his fist slammed hard into Blake’s jaw.
I had wanted to stop him, to say something cliché like, “it’s not worth it,”—but it really was . . . the sound of his knuckles connecting with Blake’s face was almost sweet.
Blake lowered his head, and Connor turned to face me. “This is over, Liv. It’s finally over.” He rubbed my arms before touching the bruised skin by my eye. He leaned over and kissed the sensitive areas by my eye, cheek, and lips. “Everything’ll be okay.”
And I believed him.
31
Connor
“And you understand the position is temporary? If it works out, my brother might make you president or CFO. But for now, I need someone to run the company until he takes over.”
The man pressed his hands on his lap and smiled. “I’d be more than happy to help out.”
He was the tenth person I’d interviewed this week, and I was hoping he’d be the last. I’d hired a new director of sales and operation to replace Lauren earlier that morning. She’d been shocked when I canned her. Although she hadn’t been in league with Declan or Konstantin, she had no qualms about the Saudi deal, even though she’d known it had been achieved through bribery . . . plus, she’d slept with my father. And, hell, I just didn’t like her.
“As long as your background checks out, you’re hired.”
The man rose to his feet, shook my hand, and thanked me. We chatted a few more minutes before I had Elsa show him out.
“You sure this is what you want?” Elsa came into my room after the soon-to-be CEO was gone.
I leaned back in the chair and squeezed my eyes shut. It had been three and a half weeks since the showdown at the strip club. Three and half weeks since I’d seen Olivia. I’d already accepted an interesting bodyguard case for a guy in Scotland, and I had no interest in staying at the office any longer.
I should’ve thought about the plan to hire a temp CEO a long time ago, but I would never have learned the truth about my father or been able to help Olivia.
It was still hard for me to believe my dad had died to save his family. I had yet to tell Mason—I was waiting until he came home. I hated lying to him, but I didn’t want to distract him when he was fighting in the Middle East.
He’d kill me, though, once he discovered all that I’d withheld.
“Connor?”
Shit, I still hadn’t spoken, had I? “I just can’t be here anymore. I’m sorry, Elsa.” I nodded at her, and she forced a tight-lipped smile before pulling the door closed.
I buried my face in my hands, pressing my elbows to my desk, and images of Olivia’s haunting eyes and beautiful hair flooded my mind. We had agreed to give each other time. She had to wrap up the undercover operation and sort through the craziness of Blake’s betrayal, and I needed to clean up the mess at Matthews Tech.
I had made the decision to hand over the EMF prototype to the military. It had no business being sold in the private sector. I had thought it would cost the company a fortune, but the government was so thankful that they awarded Matthews Tech with several new billion-dollar defense contracts.
I was doing my best to wait and let Olivia call me, but I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold out.
The buzzing of my cell phone had my head rising, and my pulse increased with the hope it was her.
The number was blocked.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Is this Connor Matthews?” a deep voice asked.
I straightened in my chair. “Yes.” A slow unease built up inside me as I waited, tense, for the man to talk.
He cleared his throat. “You’re listed as Mason Matthews’s emergency contact.”
I jumped to my feet, clutching my phone to my ear as the blood drained from my face.
“There was an explosion, and I’m afraid your brother
was injured. He was flown to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Kaiserslautern, Germany.”
“How is he?” I pressed my hand to my desk, trying to steady myself. Worry stripped me to the core, and my nerves twisted like heated steel.
Olivia
My heels clicked as I walked down the empty hall. I wasn’t sure what I would say when I got there, but when I’d heard the news, I had to come.
Just breathe, I reminded myself as I rounded the corner and stopped just outside the room.
I tapped on the door, and after a couple seconds and a jolt that felt like a triple shot of espresso, the door opened.
Connor stood before me in jeans and a black tee, blinking. “Is that really you? I’ve been up for three days straight, so I’m just wondering if my eyes are playing tricks on me,” he said in a throaty voice.
“Holy shit. Is that Olivia Scott? The Olivia?”
Connor’s lips cracked into a smile. I dropped my small suitcase and rushed over to Mason’s bed. “Thank God you’re okay. I thought you were still—”
“Sleeping Beauty?” Mason rubbed a hand over his bruised face. “Hell no, some bomb’s not going to take me out. But I’m beginning to wonder if it did some damage to my eyesight because I’m questioning whether you’re real or not.” I reached for Mason’s hand and held it between my palms.
“I’m real. Promise.” I smiled at him before peeking over my shoulder at Connor, who stood a foot behind me with folded arms. He’d grown a beard since I’d last saw him and he looked mentally and physically drained.
“He was in a coma for two days. Scared the shit out of me, but the doctors say he’ll be okay. He’s a tough SOB.” Connor came up next to me. “I can’t believe you flew all the way to Germany. How’d you know he was here?”
“Jake called me.”
“Of course he did . . .”
I released Mason’s hand and smoothed a smile to my face, but had to cover my mouth to try and stifle a yawn.
“Olivia, I appreciate you coming, but why don’t you get some rest. I’m fine. Hell, better than fine. Look at me.” Mason’s gray eyes focused intently on me, and a devious smile teased his lips. “Why don’t you check in at your hotel and get some sleep? Connor can drive you.”
Mason had been a freshman in high school the last time I saw him, and now he was a Marine. It was crazy how time flew by.
“He looks good,” I said as Connor tossed my bag into the backseat of the BMW.
“Thank God. I don’t know what I would’ve done if—” His hand dropped to his lap, and he shifted to face me. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when Jessie . . .”
I reached out and touched his scruffy beard. “You don’t need to do that, Connor. I’m here for you and Mason, and all that matters right now is that he’s okay.”
He studied me, his brows slanting and his lips slightly parting. I wasn’t sure if he believed me—that, or guilt was weighing him down. “I missed you.” I pulled my hand away from his face, but he caught my wrist and brought my fingers to his mouth, brushing my hand against his lips.
I shut my eyes to savor the blitz of heat that shot through my system at his simple touch. I didn’t want to think about the mistakes of our past, anymore. Too much had happened, and I just wanted my “two minutes” with Connor. Only, I wanted them to last a lifetime.
“Does Mason know about what happened? With Declan? Konstantin?” My eyes fluttered open after he released my hand. “Your father?”
He turned away from me and started the car. “I told him this morning.”
“Oh. How’d it go?”
“If he could’ve reached me, he would have smacked me in the back of the head for not opening my father’s letter as soon as I got it.” He gripped the stick shift as he pulled out onto the main road. “I’ve kicked myself every day since then.”
“Thankfully, no one else got hurt.” Blake had begrudgingly told the FBI where to find Sean. He had been tied up in a different facility owned by Reid Enterprises. Bruised, but alive. Thank God. “Everything happens for a reason. We took down the Russian mafia. Kind of crazy, right?”
He slipped me a sideways grin. “I just lent a hand. You did the hard work—all those months with Declan.” He grimaced.
After a few minutes, he asked, “How’s everything going?”
I stared down at Connor’s hand on top of the stick shift and had the sudden desire to slip it between my thighs.
I looked away and out the window as we drove down the empty road, which was lined with trees and green rolling hills. “It’s good. The FBI’s working with Homeland, the DEA, and even the military. Konstantin’s reach extends everywhere, and many people are involved.” It was an intricate web, but it was unraveling fast for Konstantin.
“Are you staying in the FBI?”
I laced my fingers together on my lap and studied them as if my hands had all of the answers. “Not sure. I joined because I wanted revenge for my sister. I’m not sure if there’s a place for me there anymore.”
Connor’s hand was on top of mine now. Warmth spread from my fingers down my arms and throughout my body.
“You can always join the road with me.”
“Join the road? What happened to the company?”
He pulled up in front of the hotel. “I hired someone to manage it until Mason can take over.”
I nodded. “Is Mason okay with that?”
“He yelled at me. A lot.” Connor flashed me his white teeth. “But he’ll get over it.”
I rolled my tongue over my teeth, contemplating our future—what to say—but he went ahead and got out of the car. He grabbed my bag and tossed the keys to the valet. “Would you like your own room or . . .?” He reached for my hand and pulled me up against him.
We were standing in the middle of the lobby with people surrounding us, and of course, Connor didn’t care. My breasts pushed against his hard chest, and he held me close to him.
His fingers combed through my hair before his hand cupped the back of my neck. “We can share,” I whispered before I bit my lip. His eyes darkened, mirroring the lust I felt, which had percolated for the last month in his absence.
“Good answer.” He yanked on my hand, hurried us out of the lobby and to our first floor room.
As soon as the light turned green on the lock, he scooped me into his arms.
He set me on the bed and stared down at me, his chest rising and falling. “I know you’re tired, and so am I, but—”
I slipped my T-shirt over my head and tossed it to the floor. “I don’t care. I want you.”
He groaned and lunged onto the bed, his hand sliding under my back as he braced himself on top of me. His tongue met mine, and for the first time in my entire life, I felt at peace.
His lips traveled to my neck, and he teased me with his fingers as he pinched my nipple beneath my lace bra. “I’d never grow tired of this,” he whispered into my ear, his breath creating a ripple of shivers throughout my body.
I arched my back and bucked my hips as he worked to remove my skinny jeans, which was no easy feat.
“Are these glued to your legs?” He pulled and tugged, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Finally,” he said, tossing them over his shoulder before reaching for the button of his pants.
Perching myself up on my elbows, I watched as he stripped before me. His tan chest, defined abs, and—I wet my lips—rather incredible hard-on—had set my pulse racing. I unclipped my bra and tucked my thumbs under the line of my panties before pulling them down.
The white of his eyes were less visible as the beautiful green grew wider. A low growl escaped from his lips.
“I love you, Connor Matthews.” The words came from my mouth before I realized I’d said them.
After staring down at me for what felt like forever, his mouth pressed to mine, which delivered an irresistible blow to my insides. My thighs tightened around where his hand shifted, and he had my body moving in rhythm with his touch. “I could do this forever,
” he said into my ear as my body shuddered from orgasm.
I jerked up against him as his hard cock filled my wet center, and I gripped his shoulders, trying to support myself as I cried with every thrust.
His eyes remained on mine as he moved, and I was captivated by him. “And I plan on doing it forever.”
My hands wandered over his muscled biceps, which were flexed as he held his weight above me. “Connor,” I cried out again as I felt the delicious ache between my legs stirring. “Yesssss . . .”
He lowered his head as his body convulsed a few minutes later, and he sank next to me and pulled me into his arms. “I love you, Liv. I never stopped.” He kissed the top of my head, and I drifted to sleep.
Connor
“Olivia?”
With closed eyes, I felt around the bed, finding it empty. Where was she?
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been asleep, but I could have sworn I’d heard a door shut.
“Olivia?” Forcing my eyes open, I discovered the bedroom empty, and the bathroom door closed.
My legs felt like dead weight as I moved to the bathroom, desperate to get more sleep. I’d been awake for seventy-two hours before Olivia had arrived at the hospital, after all.
I still couldn’t believe she’d flown to Germany to be there for Mason, for me.
I had been so wrong years ago, but I planned on spending the rest of our lives making it up to her. She was the woman I was meant to be with.
It was fate.
Jim’s words were in my mind once as I reached for the doorknob. Second chances are few and far between.
And I was being given my second chance.
“Olivia, are you okay?” I tapped at the door and touched the round knob, but it was locked.
“Just a second, Connor,” she responded in a strained voice.
“You okay?”
The Hidden Truths Series Box Set Page 72