by Lena North
Olly muttered something which sounded like it was both rude and crude and stalked off toward our bikes. Sven steered me in the same direction with an arm around my shoulders. I frowned at Olly as I checked my bags. I’d only tried to make sure his father had some kind of support system around him because he was happier than he’d been when we got there, but there would be bad days.
“What?” Olly asked when he saw the look on my face.
“I tried to be sweet,” I muttered.
“Huh.”
“Don't be like that, son,” Sven said. “It was sweet.” I started to smile, although it faded when he added calmly, “Ridiculous, but still sweet.”
Olly was still chuckling as we turned left to hit the main highway, but his mouth turned into a thin line when another bike started up and joined us. I recognized the make and the number on the plate, but why Hawker Johns would ride with us, I didn't know. When we stopped the first time, he merely shared that he was visiting his daughter and it was more fun to drive together. Since he didn't look like he was about to laugh, I wasn't sure what fun he meant exactly but didn't dare to ask. It also made me feel safe, having Olly in front of me, and Hawker behind. We drove fast and reached Double H just after lunch, so I was tired after the long ride but also both hungry and thirsty. We'd planned to stop somewhere along the road for a long lunch, and I had been preparing my explanations carefully, but with Hawker trailing us, we hadn't done that.
I wasn’t in a very good mood and swore softly when I saw the group waiting for us in front of the main house. Wilder and Mac sat on the steps leading up to the front porch. Jinx and a tall, blonde man who I assumed was Dante d’Augustine stood next to them. Snow was standing on the porch, leaning her elbows on the railing.
“Can we find a few minutes to talk later today?” I asked Olly, trying to sound as if it didn't matter either way.
“Sure,” he replied just as casually.
“Hey!” Wilder called out to us. “Get over here. Lunch is waiting on the back porch.”
I turned and picked up my bag.
“I’ll see you later?” I asked Olly.
“You’ll see him now,” Hawker retorted, pulled the bag out of my hand and put it next to the bike.
“Surely you would prefer to have lunch with your daughter without strangers at the table?” I asked coolly.
“I’m not sure what you are,” he said and moved me toward the others. “Pretty sure you’re not a stranger.”
I heard Olly chuckle and couldn't come up with a viable excuse to leave so I walked between them toward the house, thinking that I’d eat something quickly, and make my excuses. A big man suddenly stepped out through the front door, and I stumbled.
Well, shit.
“You okay?” Olly murmured and put an arm out to steady me.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered and looked up at him nervously.
“What?”
“The shit’s in the fire, and I’m sorry,” I elaborated.
His brows went up, and then he said softly, “Either the fat is in the fire, or the shit has hit the fan, Annie.”
“I’m sorry, Olly,” I repeated a third time. “We should have talked.”
His eyes narrowed, and slowly he turned his head to slide his gaze over the people who waited for us. Hawker had joined them and was talking quietly with his daughter.
I took a deep breath and raised my head, turning fully toward them.
“Hey,” I said, to the group in general, but I kept my eyes on Wilder.
“Come on,” she said with a grin that told me her father had managed to share all kinds of things with her. “Lunch.”
“Okay,” I said and walked over to them on unsteady legs.
“This is Dante,” Wilder said and waved a hand to indicate Jinx’ fiancée. “And this is Nicky.”
I smiled at Dante and turned toward Snow’s boyfriend. He didn’t recognize me at first, and I started to move.
“I’ll just go back to the barn –”
My quiet words to Olly was interrupted immediately.
“Wait,” Nick said, and I turned back, knowing there was no escape, so I braced and forced my lips into a nervous smile.
I saw the exact moment recognition hit him, and his brows went high up on his forehead.
“Heather Brianna?” he whispered.
“Domenico,” I answered, confirming his unasked question. I heard Olly make a small hoarse sound behind me but kept my focus on Nick. “It’s been a while,” I said, trying my best to sound calm and unaffected, but the intensity in his eyes was unnerving, so my smile was still wobbly.
Everyone seemed frozen, and I turned my head slowly to the side. Olly's face was suddenly a blank mask, not showing any emotions at all. I made a small grimace, which I hoped he understood was meant to be apologetic, but turned to the others again.
“I don’t understand,” Snow said when no one moved.
“We were in the program together,” Nick said, sounding exactly as stunned as he looked.
“Were you in the same research program as Nicky?” Snow asked me, which was kind of funny because her boyfriend had just told her exactly that.
“Domenico, and James…” I said as I turned to the curvy brunette who had straightened and watched me with thoughtful eyes. “And you,” I murmured. “Thank you for shutting it down, Jiminella Sweetwater.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied calmly.
There was a long uncomfortable silence, and then Wilder seemed to snap out of her stupor.
“Right,” she said cheerily. “Lunch.”
“I don’t have to –”
“Lunch,” Olly rumbled behind me, not sounding happy at all.
The hand he put in the small of my back wasn't gentle. It didn't hurt me, but it wasn't his usual touch, and my belly did a free fall. If this were such a problem to him, then the rest wouldn't make it better.
The heaters were on, the table looked inviting and I didn’t want to stay but sat down anyway.
“It’s ridiculous, Heather, but I kind of get the contacts. Don’t get the hair,” Nick said.
“Annie,” I said. “Heather was the name they used. I’ve always been called Annie.”
“Annie,” he confirmed.
“You're wearing contacts?” Wilder asked calmly and started filling her plate.
I glanced over at Olly and raised my hands to take out the contacts. The small, brown plastic bits I put on the table looked out of place, and I stared at them.
“Hey,” Nick said quietly.
I raised my gaze to him, and he smiled.
“There you are,” he said, and I realized I’d never heard him sound so soft and gentle.
He was a few years older than me, and he’d been a hard, distant young man back when we were in the research program together. I took a deep breath and turned to the others.
“Whoa,” Wilder exclaimed, and to my surprise, a wide, happy grin spread on her face. “I’d say that puts you right on par with dad and me when it comes to freaky eyes,” she said calmly.
“What?” Hawker grunted, and I turned to him. “What the –” He leaned forward to look into my eyes, and chuckled. “Jesus Christ, that is freaky. Sven knows?”
I nodded, wondering why he brought up Olly’s father. Then I turned to Olly and showed him my eyes which were mostly a soft, grayish blue. Except for half my left eye which was a brilliantly clear, pale green.
“Yikes,” he muttered but didn't say anything else.
He looked away, and I wondered if it was because of the weird way I looked or because of what he'd just heard. Maybe he was angry I hadn't told him.
“What about the hair,” Wilder said into the silence.
“Yeah, why did you color it?” Nick asked.
Tension seemed to ease off around the table, and I was hungry, so I started piling food on my plate too.
“I –”
“It isn’t colored,” O
lly muttered.
“Yes, it is,” Nick said and leaned back with a huge sandwich in his hand.
“Nope,” Olly countered.
“First, man, remember who you’re talking to,” Nick said calmly. “Second,” he added, chewed and swallowed. “There’s no way all that pale red went dark brown.”
“Well, it did,” Olly insisted.
This wasn't something I wanted to discuss, so I tried to change the topic and told no one in particular that the salad was really great.
“If I say it’s colored, it’s colored,” Nick insisted. “Why would you –”
He cut himself off, and I glanced over at him. His eyes were on me, then on Olly, and then on me again, and humor crept slowly into his eyes.
Crap. He’d guessed.
“Aha,” he said. “Didn't know you two were…” he trailed off, but neither Olly nor I filled in his sentence. “Well, you were always very organized,” he said. “Did it seem logical, Annie?” he added teasingly, clearly laughing at me.
“Yes,” I snapped. “Now, drop it.”
“Can someone please explain what the geniuses are talking about?” Hawker said sourly.
“Um,” I said and looked at Olly.
“You didn’t?” he said hoarsely.
“Did,” I replied and watched him close his eyes.
“What?” Wilder snapped, sounding exactly like her father.
“My guess?” Jinx said calmly and didn't wait for anyone to confirm that they indeed wanted to hear her opinion. “Annie colored her hair.”
There was a stunned silence, and then Wilder said slowly, “I think we’ve established that.”
“All her hair,” Jinx said and put a forkful of salad in her mouth. “You’re right, Annie. This salad is excellent,” she mumbled and winked at me.
It took everyone less than a second to figure out what I’d done. Wilder was the only one who laughed out loud, but the others clearly found the whole thing amusing too. Olly was still avoiding my gaze, and I felt like an idiot, but I was also getting a little angry.
“Can we not talk about this?” I asked.
What I decided to do or not to do with my private parts were none of their business.
“How do you even –”
Wilder was cut off by Mac putting a hand over her mouth.
“Yeah,” he said calmly. “We can absolutely not talk about this.”
“Thanks,” I said, and added nervously, “Can I have a few minutes with Olly?”
I glanced at him, and he was watching me apprehensively, but he didn't seem angry. If I could just tell him the rest in private, and in a way that explained everything, things might be okay.
“Sure,” Wilder said. “We’ll just –”
There was a commotion inside and then Miller walked out on the porch, pulling a small, cute girl with him. I knew who she was. Mary.
“So sorry we’re late, had to drop the girls off with Carson and Bo and you know how they are,” she said happily.
I looked at her face and noticed to my satisfaction that I couldn’t see any scar from the scrape she’d gotten on her cheek when she was kidnapped.
“How did you know that?” Dante barked, and got up so fast his chair fell over.
Everyone including me turned to him and watched as he moved the whole table forward a little to make space for him to stand between Jinx and me.
“What?” I asked because he was staring at me.
Then he was glaring at me, and I didn’t understand what he meant.
“You knew Mary scraped her cheek on the concrete floor in the cell where she was kept,” he said and pointed at me. “How did you know?”
Everyone was on their feet in a flash, Mary was whisked behind Miller, and he started pushing her backward. Olly and Hawker were moving toward me, but I was staring at Dante in complete shock.
“You can read my mind?” I asked.
I couldn't believe I hadn't sensed him. When I searched my mind, there was a soft warmth that I hadn't noticed before, and I assumed it was Dante.
“Tell us how you know,” he repeated.
The anger swirling around us was so thick it felt as if it would choke me and I turned to Olly.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Stop saying you’re fucking sorry and tell us what you’ve done,” he growled.
I swallowed and nodded. Okay. He thought I'd been part of kidnapping Mary, which was unfair but they'd believe that, of course.
“I just wanted to help,” I said. “You couldn't find her, and I wanted to help.”
“Everyone, sit down,” Jinx snapped. “Jesus, Mill, stop acting like an idiot.” She looked around the table, and her mouth formed a thin line suddenly. “In fact, everyone needs to stop acting like idiots. You’re all overreacting,” she said. “Annie didn’t kidnap Mary.”
“Of course not,” Mary said, immediately trusting her friend. “Can you please explain?” she asked, pushing her man to the side and approaching me.
Miller tried to grab her, but she slapped his hand away with an angry snort.
“You needed help,” I whispered. “Everyone was looking for you, and they were panicking, so I –”
There was a soft buzz in the air. I stopped talking and stretched my hand out to let the dragonfly sit on it.
“He says hi,” I said. “Says you look better.”
“Cutie-pie,” the dragonfly chirped. “Pretty.”
“Says you look pretty,” I told Mary.
She stared at me, and so did everyone else. I shrugged and turned slowly toward Olly, raising my eyes to his.
He didn’t move a muscle. Okay, I thought. He was clearly not overjoyed, and we still had more things to talk about. While everyone sat down again, Hawker explained in a few words to Miller and Mary about my involvement in the research program, and then they all looked at me expectantly.
“Little Bree, who would have thought,” Nick said when I remained silent, leaning back and putting his arm around Snow’s shoulders.
“Don’t call me that, please,” I said in a small voice.
Hearing my nickname spoken out loud hurt, and Nick saw it immediately.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured.
“Okay,” I said, and when no one spoke, I added, “I don’t know what to say.”
Olly made a low, angry sound, so I turned to him, but he turned away.
“Why did you come here?” Wilder asked.
“I’ve been trying to help you, but it wasn't enough. I needed to do more, and I needed to talk to you, but I didn’t know if I could trust you. I thought maybe you would…” I sighed and shook my head a little. “I thought it'd be only you and Mac here, so I could make sure it was safe. Didn't realize you're all here, all the time, and then Olly came. I hadn't planned for that.”
“Help?” Hawker asked.
“I have some information, and I’ve…”
I wanted so badly to tell the next thing the right way, but I never got the chance.
“Will you tell your dragonfly thank you for saving my life?” Mary asked.
“The others would have found you, but yeah. I’ll tell him.”
“Damned right we would have,” Olly muttered. “We were already in the area. I’d received information about where –”
He stopped speaking and turned to me. I could see that he knew who I was.
“Bree?” he asked.
I cursed myself for using that nick on the net. The one who gave it to me had been dead for years, and I went by Annie, so I hadn't expected anyone to figure it out. It had seemed like such a suitable tribute.
“Yes,” I said in a small voice.
“You are Bree?” he asked again.
“Yes,” I repeated.
“Shit.”
“Olly, I only –”
He’d been unhappy before, but the fact that we had chatted on the net for years, and that I’d sent him information ever
y time he asked for it, apparently made his head explode.
“Everyone,” he snarled. “Meet my hacker-friend,” he turned back toward me and spat out my nick. “Bree.”
“Don’t –”
“You lied about absolutely everything. I don’t even get why you’re here. You could be a spy for all we know,” he roared.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said because he’d surely know I wasn’t a spy?
“Why the hell else would you be here?” he yelled.
“I came for you, you idiot,” I yelled right back. Then I made an effort to calm down and continued, “I’ve been with you all on every mission for the past five years. Every one. I was there when your mother died, Olly. And I knew I hadn’t done enough. You hurt so much and I –”
I swallowed and tried to make him understand.
“I didn't know you would be here,” I said. “I thought you would be with your father or your cousin. With your family. I just didn’t realize that this…” I made a gesture with my hand to include everyone around the table. “This is your family.” I felt my eyes fill up with tears, and said quietly, “I knew you were grieving, Olly, and I thought I could...”
He looked at me with hard eyes, and when he spoke, his voice was cold and angry.
“Really? You came here thinking you could do what? Bang the grief right out of me?”
Someone said something in the background, but I didn't listen. I just stared at the man in front of me and his words hurt so bad I didn't know how to continue breathing. Then I did what I'd done so many times before, and it happened just as effortlessly as it had back when I used it as a defense mechanism against another angry man.
I closed down all parts of my brain that hurt, which meant almost everything. It cut out most feelings and made the world a little gray at the edges, but it also took away the pain. I heard Dante make a hoarse sound, but kept my eyes on Olly.
“Both you and your da are doing better so yeah, it wasn't my plan when I came here, but I did bang it right out of you, didn’t I?” I could hear how cold my voice was, but I just kept going. “I thought we were making love, but I guess I was wrong.”
His eyes narrowed, but I ignored him, and everyone else, and turned to Hawker.
“I’m leaving,” I said. “I’ll be in touch.”
Then I walked out of there, still not allowing myself to feel anything at all. The gray shades in my mind were thickening, and I had trouble breathing in a way I'd only experienced once before, but I ignored it and kept moving. As I walked down the steps from the front porch, someone started yelling angrily behind me, but I ignored that too.