“I actually think we have to leave now,” Olivia said. She bent down and gave Kira a hug. “It was really nice to meet you, Kira.”
“Same here, Livvia.”
“Christopher, Yolanda has my telephone number. Anytime you want to call me, you can. I’ll be back to visit in two weeks, I promise, okay?” she said as she bent down to hug the small boy.
“Okay,” he said, smiling. “Thanks, Livvia. I’m sorry I was confused,” he said, pulling back from his hug.
“Wait a minute there, Christopher. Friends don’t have to say they’re sorry for being confused, they help one another. You would help me if I got confused, right? You wouldn’t be mad at me, would you?”
The little face looked at her for a long moment, and then smiled again, “No, I would ‘splain it to you.”
“Thank you, friend. I sometimes need my friends to explain things to me. I love you, Christopher.”
“Yes, you do and I love you, too, Livvie,” he said, as he threw his small arms around her.
* * * *
“So, how did you get him to tell you what was wrong?” Joshua asked after they had gotten into the SUV.
“I asked him, and then he asked me about my daddy giving me away. Then he wanted to know how many times I was given away by other families. I got it pretty much sorted out from there.”
“Hell, miscommunication happens so often with adults! How can it not happen with children?” Sam asked.
“Yeah, but I really like Yolanda. I’m just sorry I didn’t get to meet her husband,” Olivia said.
“He’s a good guy, Olivia. I’ve met him. You’d really like him,” Sam assured her. “I got a text from Josie while we were over there. She said Chance made enough food for an army, and that Elise brought over a chocolate cake from the bakery, so she wanted me to invite you to dinner tonight. Are you up for it?”
Olivia’s eyes lit up. Joshua couldn’t tell if it was the idea of the chocolate cake, or the diversion from having to worry about Ian for a few hours. Either way, he was all in if it would make Olivia happy.
“Count us in, unless we have to bring something. Then we have to pass, because our cupboards are bare,” Joshua said forlornly.
“Perfect, we hate guests who insist on bringing stuff,” Sam said with a grin. “We also know that if you are coming over, that means Caleb should be included, too. So, Josie has already called him, and he said he could make it.”
Chapter 18
Ian wasn’t dead, and Joshua was putting that in the plus column. Olivia was a wreck, and had been fighting a migraine for the past twelve hours, even after four migraine pills, and he was putting that in the negative column. Ian still hadn’t managed to track the hackers back to an identifiable source, another one for the negative column.
The board meeting still wasn’t until Tuesday, and they had planned to fly out Monday afternoon. However, all of that changed after Caleb showed up at the house at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday morning.
As soon as Joshua had the door open, Caleb’s first words were, “Ian is all right,” which threw Olivia into an immediate state of panic.
“What happened?” she demanded.
“Ian’s conscious, he’s still at the hospital. The doctors think it’s just a concussion, but they want to run tests,” Caleb explained.
“Caleb, if you don’t fucking tell me what happened, I’m going to kick your ass!” Olivia shouted. Both men looked at the woman who was easily six inches shorter than either of them, with her blonde hair tousled from sleep. But her steely expression and terse words made Caleb respond in a crisp military manner.
“Two and a half hours ago, after they left the AHC offices, Leif and Ian were in the underground garage getting into their rental car, when another car raced past and shot at them. Leif was able to return fire, which helped.”
“I thought that they couldn’t take their weapons on the plane,” Olivia stated automatically.
“Leif was able to procure side arms when they arrived in Boston, Olivia. They were never going to be unprotected,” Caleb assured her.
Joshua watched as she gave a dazed nod. “Go on,” he urged Caleb.
“While Leif was returning fire, he didn’t see another shooter from the backseat taking aim. So Ian tackled Leif and took him to the ground. In the process, Ian slammed his head into one of the parking garage columns and blacked out for a few minutes. He saved Leif, but the car was gone. Leif got him to the hospital. Ian has a concussion.” Olivia groaned, and grabbed Joshua’s hand so hard he winced.
“What did the doctors say? How bad is it, is it a mild concussion, a major concussion? Is he awake?” Olivia’s questions came at a rapid-fire pace.
“He’s awake,” Caleb repeated, realizing Olivia was probably too stressed to have taken in what he originally told her. “They’re still running tests. Leif’s going to call me when they’re done. But I came over here as soon as I heard what had happened,” Caleb explained.
“We’re leaving for Boston now,” Olivia decreed.
“I know, I already have the three of us booked on the next plane out of SeaTac. That’s at 6:00 a.m.,” Caleb assured her. Joshua nodded at the man.
“Olivia, why don’t you start getting packed? I’ll put on a pot of coffee,” Joshua offered. She started down the hall at a brisk clip.
“How much trouble is Leif in with Boston PD for having a gun?” Joshua asked.
“He contacted an old army buddy from Boston, who made a call. His brother is on the force, so it’ll be fine,” Caleb assured him as they moved into the kitchen. Joshua started filling the coffee maker.
“Does Leif have any gut feel on how Ian is really doing?”
“Apparently, there was a good-sized gash and a lot of blood. But, as you know, head wounds bleed like a bitch. When he woke up, Ian wasn’t very coherent, so that’s concerning. But, Leif said Ian hadn’t slept in the last forty-eight hours, anyway. So, that could be the reason he wasn’t making any sense.”
“This thing has us all running close to the edge,” Joshua admitted.
“Leif said he would be dead if it weren’t for Ian,” Caleb said in a solemn voice.
“Caleb, you’re not telling me anything new. That fire in Montana?” Caleb nodded, remembering. “If not for Ian, I would have ended up dead out there. There are two other times he’s literally saved my life.”
“Yeah, but…” Caleb’s voice trailed off, and Joshua grinned.
“Yeah, but you guys are big bad Special Forces dudes, who didn’t expect that the firefighters could save your asses!” Joshua chuckled as he shoved a cup of coffee at the big African-American, who had the good grace to look embarrassed.
“Okay, so we thought we had to pamper your pansy asses. So sue us!” Caleb grinned back. “Seriously though, Leif said that Ian was incredible. It was like he could tell that the shooter in the back seat was taking aim, even before the gun came out the window.”
“Ian has a sixth sense about things. He can be a complete blockhead sometimes about human interactions, and then he’ll have these weird psychic moments where he can know things before they happen and save all of our asses. The man’s amazing, but I’ll never admit to saying it.” They clanked their coffee mugs together in perfect accord.
“Damn, I forgot to tell you! Leif got a partial on the license plate, and the BPD is running it. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
“We’re due some luck,” Joshua said fervently. “I’m going to go check on Olivia. If the plane takes off at six, we need to leave here within the hour.”
“Yep.”
“Okay, make yourself at home. We’ll be out as quick as we can.” Joshua started to leave the kitchen.
“Would you mind if I cooked breakfast?” Caleb asked.
“Hell, no, I’d appreciate it! Olivia could do with something in her stomach. Help yourself to whatever.” Joshua’s smile faltered as he made his way to the back bedroom. He pushed open the bedroom door and found the room empty, then he saw the door to the b
athroom ajar. He heard the shower running, but as he got closer, he heard the faint sounds of Olivia’s sobs. He quickly stripped and joined her, pulling her close.
“Joshua, they almost killed Ian,” she gasped into his chest, where he held her close.
“Oh, no, honey, they almost killed Leif. Ian was fine until he decided to save Leif,” he tried teasing. But she just collapsed, and he had a tough time even keeping her upright. Joshua turned off the water and got them dried, pulling her down onto the bed, doing everything he could to control the wracking shudders that were going through her body.
It was a déjà vu moment, reminding him of those scary minutes when they had first visited her in Boston. Olivia always showed such a composed demeanor that it was easy to forget just how deeply she felt things.
“Olivia Ann, Ian is fine. You need to stop crying.” There was no discernable change, so he cupped her face in both of his hands, trying to get her attention. When he looked into her tear-filled blue eyes, he saw that she was too dazed to take in what he was saying. He kissed her lips, and she gripped his shoulders, her fingers biting desperately into his muscles as she pushed closer. After long moments, he finally felt her relax just a tiny amount and he pulled back.
“Kitten?” His voice was a little ragged. “Are you back with me?”
“Joshua, I can’t take this. I want to be strong, I really do, but I’m not. I can handle it when it’s just me, but not when it’s one of you. I can’t handle it, okay? I need us to all be together now, okay?” He heard the confusion, the pleading, and something he thought was shame.
“Yes, I promise, we’ll be with him soon, Olivia. But why are you sounding ashamed?”
“I promised you both that we could be apart, that I trusted you. But now, I’m saying that we have to be together. I don’t care if you think I don’t trust you, I want us all together! I can’t handle us being apart a second longer, and now you’ll hate me.” And with that, she burst into tears, trying to tear herself out of Joshua’s arms, but he wouldn’t allow it.
“Let me go!” came a muffled cry, but it was hard to understand, because Joshua held her face against his chest, rocking her back and forth in his arms. For long minutes, all he did was rock and whisper nonsense. Finally, however, he knew they had to a plane to catch, so he got up and got a cold compress from the bathroom to apply against Olivia’s face.
While the cool cloth did its work, he quietly spoke. “Olivia Ann, I want and need us all to be together, as well. It’s not a trust issue, it’s a love issue. We’re under siege, and I need to be around the people I love and care about. I need to see Ian. Apparently, they still aren’t sure how he is and are still doing tests, because Caleb hasn’t given us an update.”
“Maybe Caleb didn’t want to interrupt us.” Olivia pushed off the cloth, thinking to go ask Caleb.
“Olivia, he would have knocked on the door no matter what to give us an update. There isn’t one. I’m worried. So, we’re all in this together. I’m also worried about you. You’re still not well—”
“I am doing much better,” Olivia interrupted.
“You had a migraine just yesterday from dealing with Christopher. Right now, I need to get you two pills, don’t I?” he asserted. Joshua watched as she slowly nodded her head in agreement. “Okay, so it’s perfectly reasonable that you want the three of us to be together now. We asked for you to trust us. You did. Even if you had been in Boston, you couldn’t have stopped them from taking a shot at Ian. Instead, you might have ended up hurt or dead yourself, so I still think that it was the right thing to do, for you to have stayed here. Don’t you agree?” Joshua asked.
Olivia reluctantly nodded.
“But now, we need to leave here. We need to see Ian, have the board meeting, and find the motherfuckers behind this and put them behind bars. Or, better yet, put them in the ground.” Olivia nodded in agreement.
“Okay, Olivia Ann, get dressed. Are you packed?”
“Yes, and I packed a bag for you, too.” She gave him a weary smile.
“You are a wonder,” he said as he gave her another kiss. “After you’re dressed, come out for breakfast, you’ll need it to go with the pills. Caleb is cooking.” Olivia pulled him in for a longer, more life-affirming kiss, which he gladly provided. Then Joshua went to the bathroom to pull on some clothes, and then left the room so that Olivia could get ready.
“How’s she doing?” Caleb asked.
“She’ll make it,” Joshua stated.
“Never doubted it, she is a strong lady. I called Leif. They’re doing an MRI on Ian right now. His nausea finally passed, so they are finally able to do the test.”
“So, they’re concerned it’s more than just a concussion.”
“Leif told the EMTs that Ian was unconscious for twenty to thirty minutes. That’s a long time, and they’re doing the MRI to make sure he doesn’t have any brain lesions,” Caleb explained.
“When will the results of the tests be in?” Olivia asked as she went to the refrigerator to pull out the container of milk.
“Leif figures he’ll hear something in the next couple of hours, so we’ll know something before we get on the plane,” Caleb explained to her as he regarded her tear-ravaged face. Olivia bit her bottom lip and then gave an abrupt nod.
“That’s good, that’s very good. How’s Leif doing?” she asked.
“He’s been taking his frustration out on the Boston PD.” At her confused look, Caleb explained about the partial license plate that Leif had remembered from the car that had assaulted him and Ian. According to Leif, BPD was taking too long to track down the automobile’s make and model with the five digits of that Massachusetts license plate that he had provided them. All three of them agreed they preferred to have Leif pissing off the police instead of the doctors.
Under Joshua’s watchful eye, Olivia forced herself to eat. He handed her two white tablets, which she gratefully accepted to go with her fruit, toast, and yogurt. She couldn’t believe how badly her head already hurt. Once again, she found herself getting extremely angry with herself, knowing these migraines were often brought on by stress. If she could just learn to deal with stress better, she wouldn’t have to deal with the headaches! Therefore, she could only conclude that she was basically just someone so emotionally weak that she brought the migraines on herself by being unable to control her reactions to stress. She didn’t even notice that tears were dripping into her yogurt.
“I’ve got to go tie down some of the equipment I have in my truck bed, since I’ll be leaving it here until we get back from Boston. Just come on outside when you’re ready to leave.” Just like that, Joshua and Olivia were the only two left in the kitchen. Olivia hardly noticed the big man’s departure, she was so caught up in the thought that not only was she the one who had brought so much danger into Joshua and Ian’s life, but she didn’t even have the emotional fortitude to handle it without having a goddamn headache.
“Olivia Ann, do you like salt in your yogurt?” Joshua asked.
“Hmmm?” Joshua stood up, and went around so he was standing pressed up against her.
Joshua breathed into her ear. “I asked if you like salt in your yogurt,” he whispered. She turned and found their noses touching. Her eyes went wide.
“Salty yogurt?” she asked, clearly confused.
“Yes, clearly you must like salty flavored yogurt, because you keep crying into yours as you scoop it up and eat it. Caleb and I were watching. It seemed odd. Does it taste good?” Joshua asked with a sad smile.
Finally, after long moments of consideration, Olivia rubbed her nose against Joshua’s. “I’m a mess,” she admitted.
“Yes, I know. But there are so many different ways you’re a mess, you’re going to have to narrow it down for me. Which mess is flavoring your yogurt?” Joshua reached around to the nape of her neck, massaging the rigid muscles.
“That I’m at fault for everything. And, you’ll really like this one, that if I were an emotionally stronge
r person, I wouldn’t have these headaches. So, the fact that I have them proves that I’m a failure, which is making the pain twice as bad.”
“Olivia, if they could bottle your ability to make yourself feel bad about yourself, we could topple governments!” Olivia giggled just as Joshua had hoped she would. “Thanks for sharing. You do know that when you’re having a migraine, your thinking gets more emotional and confused, right?”
“Yeah, I know. Now’s the time when Ian needs me, but instead I’m falling apart. Big help I am.” Joshua leaned in and licked up a tear.
“Mmmm, I love all your flavors, Olivia Ann. Even self-recrimination tastes good on you. You do realize that a good night’s sleep would take care of this, and everything you’re beating yourself up over would be a non-issue. Sure, we’d still be concerned about Ian, but this bullshit about your being a failure, or emotionally weak, would all be handled, right?” When she didn’t answer, he asked another way. “Olivia, if our roles were reversed and I was the one suffering from migraines, would you agree with me that this isn’t a personality flaw, that it really is physiology, stress, and lack of sleep?”
“Yes,” Olivia admitted.
“Would you allow me to beat up on myself and call myself a failure?”
“Probably not.”
“Probably?” he asked incredulously.
“Okay, I’d tell you it was a bunch of horseshit,” she said, a grin creeping up her face.
“There’s my good girl. We’ll keep you fed and medicated and get you to Ian as quickly as possible, then you’ll be as good as new. By Tuesday, you’ll be able to go ‘Old Testament’ on your board of directors, and we can be done with this shit and come home.”
“I want this to be over,” Olivia said, leaning her head into the crook of his neck, taking a deep breath, soothing herself with the scent of Joshua.
“It will be,” he promised. “It will be.”
* * * *
There had been a backlog of patients waiting for the MRI machine at Boston General, so there still wasn’t an update on Ian by the time they boarded the plane at SeaTac. Olivia was close to a full-fledged migraine despite her medication. Caleb had reserved first-class seats, so Joshua was hoping that she could recline her seat, cover her head with a blanket, and make use of the noise-cancelling headphones that he had thought to bring.
Protecting Olivia [Fate Harbor 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 25