by Katie Reus
“Okay.” She wasn’t sure what that entailed but if she had to kiss a man publicly or whatever, she could deal with it. “What are his skills? My ex was good at conning people, which came in handy for getting into places when we needed a distraction.”
“We’ll go over all of that—at Brooks’s place. I promised Valencia she could see some of the horses. And maybe ride one with me?”
Half-smiling, Olivia nodded. “That’s totally fine. It’s going to be tough telling her no for anything today anyway. I’m ready.” She just hoped that Skye was as good as she seemed. Martina’s life depended on it.
* * *
Feeling refreshed and a little better after a shower, Olivia stepped out of the bathroom into the huge guest room decorated in country chic to find Valencia on the bed. Lying on her stomach, she was playing a game on her tablet. When she saw Olivia, she pushed it to the side and jumped off the bed. Valencia wore jeans and a bright pink sweater with little daisies all over it.
The second she was on the floor, she tugged on the cowboy boots she’d begged Olivia to buy last time they’d come to visit Skye in Redemption Harbor. They’d also visited this very ranch. She didn’t know Brooks well, but he’d been incredibly accommodating then, just as he was now. She was grateful to be able to keep her daughter safe here.
“How long do we get to stay here?” Valencia asked, choosing not to sign. She often switched back and forth with signing and using her voice.
“Well, that’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” Olivia bent down and picked her up before sitting on the bed. “We’re going to be here this upcoming week and maybe the week after. You’re going to miss a week of school, but the week after is Thanksgiving so you won’t be missing anything.” She just prayed they got Martina back a lot sooner and this whole mess could be taken care of before then.
Valencia’s bottom lip quivered. “I’ll miss the play. I’m one of the turkeys.”
Guilt slid right between two of her ribs, sharp and unforgiving. “I know. And I’m so sorry, honey.” Her parents had only attended the bare minimum of school events at the exclusive private school Olivia had attended. She’d sworn she’d make it to every school or extracurricular activity for Valencia. “But maybe you’ll get to see a real turkey while we’re here.” It was the only thing she could think of to ease her daughter’s disappointment.
Valencia’s eyes widened. “Mr. Brooks said that he knew where a bunch of them were. And Skye said I could ride a horse if I sit with her?”
“You can definitely ride a horse. Come on, I’ll pull your hair up. Ponytail or braids?”
“Braids.” As they headed to the bathroom, Valencia pulled her sound processors off her ears so the coil and cords wouldn’t get tangled in the brush.
Working quickly, she fixed Valencia’s thick, jet-black hair into place. When she met her daughter’s dark eyes in the mirror, she smiled. Olivia might have made some mistakes in the past—big ones—but she’d still gotten this wonderful, sweet girl. Right now it was like looking at a mini version of herself. You’ve got one chance to raise this girl right, she reminded herself. One chance. And she couldn’t screw it up. Once Olivia was done, Valencia slid her processors back on and turned her head back and forth as she looked at her braids in the mirror.
Apparently deciding she looked good enough, she spun to face Olivia again and gave her one of those blinding smiles she loved. “Time to see the horses.”
“I’m probably going to have to do a little work here at the house while you check out the animals.” And she definitely couldn’t go into details about her “work.”
“No problem, Mommy. I’ll be careful.” She sounded so grown-up in that moment, something that didn’t surprise Olivia.
It didn’t take long to find someone in the house. Colt was in the kitchen, pulling a water bottle from the refrigerator. “Hey, guys. I was going to come find you soon,” he said, looking at Valencia, who gave him a shy smile.
“Are the horses ready?” she asked, glancing toward the sliding glass doors that overlooked the lanai and Olympic-sized pool as if she could see the stables from here.
“Yep. As long as it’s okay with you,” he added, looking at Olivia now. “Skye’s in the office on the second floor. I can tell you how to get there. She wanted to go over a few things with you.”
“Is she still coming with us?” Valencia asked hopefully.
“As soon as she’s done talking to your mommy, she’ll be down by the stables.”
“Okay. See you later, Mommy.” After a quick kiss, her daughter raced to the back door, hopping up and down as she waited for Colt to give Olivia quick directions to the office.
Usually Valencia wasn’t so open or trusting with everyone—with most people she was shy. But every one of Skye’s friends had been incredibly welcoming to them the last couple times they’d visited Redemption Harbor. And the fact that they were all learning ASL because of Valencia… It was no wonder she adored everyone and felt safe enough here to be separated from Olivia. Which helped ease some of her guilt.
It didn’t take too long to make her way to the second floor, even though the place was huge. An “estate” was definitely the right term for this ranch. She wasn’t even sure how many rooms the house had, but everywhere she looked was real wood, stone and a whole lot of natural light.
Her flats were silent on the wood floor as she turned left down another hallway. When she heard Skye’s voice, she knew she was in the right place. As she neared the third door on the left as Colt instructed, she heard a male voice.
One she didn’t recognize. Deeper, kinda rumbly. “I’m just saying, what kind of mother drags her kid into something like this? That’s some stellar parenting,” he muttered. “At least the kid is safe here.”
Rage blossomed inside her chest, making her face go warm and her hands ball into fists at her sides. After driving all night, she was beyond exhausted and running on caffeine. Add in that she was terrified about Martina and keeping her daughter safe and she was about to snap. And some guy wanted to question her maternal skills?
Jaw clenched tight, she pushed on the already halfway open door. And came face to face with…The Hulk. Dark hair, green eyes, and huge.
Definitely one of Skye’s crew, since Skye was standing right next to him and he’d been discussing her. Well, Olivia didn’t care who he was. He had no right to judge her or talk about her as if he knew her. She really wished she’d worn heels or something to give her height and confidence. Even though it would have been ridiculous to do so on a ranch. Instead she was in jeans, a frilly feminine top and ballet flats. Meanwhile, this jerk was like a big, hulking…caveman. If he wasn’t such a jerk he might be attractive in a dangerous, bad boy type of way.
“Are you talking about me, you ass…face?” Gah. Normally she tried not to curse if Valencia was around so that had come out awesome. Internally wincing at her pathetic trash talk, she barreled on, unable to rein in her big mouth. “I didn’t drag my daughter into this intentionally. I made some really stupid choices when I was young and impressionable. Do I regret them? Of course. But I can’t take them back. And I might be a lot of things, but a bad mother isn’t one.” She should know, because she’d had one. “I just had to tell my kid that she’s going to miss her Thanksgiving play, something she’s been looking forward to for weeks. And it breaks my heart. The woman who raised me, my daughter’s ‘Nana,’ is being held captive by a psycho, and you want to talk about my parenting? Whoever you are, keep your thoughts to yourself. I already feel bad enough right now!” Heart pounding, she stared at the hard face of this unknown man. Normally she would never have gone off on anyone, and definitely not someone who must be friends with Skye. No, Olivia did not like confrontations. But she was exhausted, beyond stressed, and walking a tightrope right now.
He blinked once, staring down at her before he cleared his throat, and had the decency to look apologetic. “I’m sorry. You’re right.” His voice did that deep rumbly thing
again.
Skye cleared her throat as well, drawing Olivia’s attention to her. “Olivia…meet your partner, Zac Savage.”
Olivia sighed. Awesome. Of course this guy was her partner. Because why wouldn’t he be?
Chapter 4
—She’s not for you. Remember that.—
Zac didn’t have many regrets in life. A few, but he’d made it a rule to stop having them. Regrets and guilt were useless.
But right now he regretted that he’d opened his big mouth about a woman he didn’t know. He had his own baggage where mothers were concerned. He was self-aware enough to realize that. And he’d made a snap judgment when Skye had pulled him in for this job and outlined what was going on. The kid inside him who still resented a mother who’d never given a shit about him had reacted, rather than the man.
Now, staring into the dark eyes and stunning face of a clearly agitated woman—who looked a little like she wanted to throat punch him—yeah, he regretted that this was her first impression of him. Everyone else who worked for Redemption Harbor Consulting, plus Mary Grace and Mercer, who didn’t, had all met Olivia Carter. But he’d been away on jobs when she’d visited with her daughter.
Looking away from him toward Skye, Olivia winced as Skye announced he was her partner. “Oh…ah…”
He cleared his throat once, eager to smooth things over. “Skye tells me you’ve worked jobs with this Neely before. It’s been six years since you’ve seen him. Correct?” Might as well move right past the awkwardness and jump into business. There was no time to waste.
She nodded, and some of the tension in her shoulders seemed to ease. “More like seven, but yes.”
“Okay, we’ll need to go over the type of jobs you did with him, your role, what he’s like to work with and what type of crew he normally uses. Once we’ve established that, we’re going to come up with a cover for our relationship.” Standard procedure for building a background. Luckily they could work from scratch and come up with any history they wanted. All Skye had told him so far was that this Kyle Neely thought Olivia was bringing in a male partner, that her ex-husband was a dick, her deceased mom was Korean, her dad was alive, and she was a single mother. Skye hadn’t told him how stunning she was.
Skye cleared her throat, and when he looked at her, he knew he wasn’t going to like what she had to say. Because she looked nervous as she played with a strand of her auburn hair. He’d never seen her do that.
“What did you do?” he asked, suspicion in his voice.
“Nothing big. But we’ve already established with Neely that you and Olivia have a history. That you’re uh, sort of obsessed with her. That you’ll do anything for her.”
His gaze narrowed. “What the hell?”
Skye lifted a shoulder, not looking the least bit apologetic. “It’ll work. Who’s the pro at this kind of thing? Me. I told Olivia what to say and Neely is on the hook. He would only believe that a man who was into her would drop everything when she came running. You’re a guy, so you know I’m right. So I started building your cover on the fly.”
He shifted on his feet and looked over at Olivia. With long, jet-black hair and long, thick lashes, delicate features, sharp cheekbones and a tight body… He glanced away. Pretending to be attracted to her wouldn’t be an issue. And he wouldn’t be pretending. This woman was walking sex appeal. “All right, so we’re…together?”
“For the duration of this job, yes. Olivia made it sound like you’d do anything for her. So once we’ve established the parameters of your past relationship—the rest of which you two can figure out—you’ll just sell it to him. I know undercover stuff isn’t normally your thing, but I think you’re the best person for this job. I could ask Leighton, but…”
Zac simply nodded. Leighton had been working jobs with them since they’d started their consulting firm, but this was the type of job where he’d have to be on his game 24/7. He didn’t think Leighton was up to it. And…Zac didn’t like the thought of anyone else being this woman’s partner. He wasn’t going to analyze why he cared one way or another either. “I got this.”
Skye turned to Olivia now, who was a lot quieter than the raging woman who’d stormed in here looking sexier than any woman he’d ever met. “Gage and I are going to start going over the list of data you gave us, see if we can make a timeline of Neely’s past movements, where he might be hiding Martina. If we figure that out, all this planning will be a moot point. But it’s better to be prepared and act as if you’re going to pull a job with him.”
“Do you think he has her at that hotel?” She moved slightly and winced, as if she was in pain. When she did, he realized that she had makeup covering what definitely looked to be a bruise on her eye. Her skin tone was a pale peachy color and some of her coverup had been rubbed off.
All his protective instincts went into overdrive. What the hell?
Skye shook her head, her ponytail shifting with the movement. “No. It would be stupid on his part. But I’ve already sent Leighton down there to see what he can dig up. Gage didn’t find anyone by the name of Kyle Neely on the guest list, but that’s not a surprise.”
“Wow…you work fast. Thank you.”
“Who hit you?” Zac blurted.
Both women turned to him and Olivia gently touched the side of her eye. “Thought I covered it up pretty well.”
“You did,” Skye said. “And it was that asshole Neely. Hit her and kicked her in the ribs when she was on the ground.” There was a familiar menacing edge to Skye’s voice. Skye had a mile-wide protective streak in general, but if someone had hurt one of her friends? Yeah, she’d be feeling lethal. He could relate right about now. He had issues with bad parents—and he knew his snap judgment of Olivia had been his own bullshit—but when it came to women he tended to feel protective. “I’m going to relish bringing this guy down.”
Zac had never had a problem with control. Not since he was a kid. He’d learned patience and control were valuable tools in his arsenal. Especially living with an unstable, selfish mother. But knowing that a man had struck a defenseless woman, then kicked her when she was down? He saw red for a moment. And whatever was on his face made Olivia take a step back. Which just made him feel like a bigger jackass. “Me too,” he said simply. And he was going to make sure he got in a few shots with this Neely when the time came. “Do you need anything for the pain?”
Olivia looked surprised by the question and started to shake her head, but then nodded. “Actually, that would be nice.”
“All right. You two start getting to know each other and building your past,” Skye said. “I’ll be with Gage if anyone needs me. Once he’s got a handle on things I’m headed to the stables. Are you okay with Valencia being with Colt and Brooks without me?”
“Yeah,” Olivia murmured, a smile tugging at her lips. “She loves her Uncle Colt. I’m not worried. But thank you for asking.”
“Okay, then. I’ve got my cell on me. Oh, if Neely calls or texts you, Gage is monitoring your phone. So any calls that come through, he’ll be tracing.”
“Good.”
As Skye left, Zac started rustling around in the drawers of the oversized mahogany desk. Brooks used this as his personal office, though since starting Redemption Harbor Consulting, they’d all been using it on occasion. Brooks didn’t seem to mind the invasion of his house. Zac smiled when he found a bottle of Advil. He looked up to see Olivia watching him cautiously.
“Look, I’m sorry about what I said. It was a shitty thing. I made an asshole comment without even knowing you. It had nothing to do with you.” He sure as hell wasn’t going to tell her about his past, but he felt he owed her another apology. And if they were going to pose as partners—lovers—there couldn’t be tension between them. Not that kind of tension, anyway.
“It’s…” She pushed out a breath and raked her fingers through her still damp hair. Still wet, it almost looked blue-black it was so dark. She must have just taken a shower.
Which made him think of
her standing under the hard, streaming jets, water rolling over her smooth, soft skin— Nope. He needed to get his head in the game. It had been a while since he’d been with a woman. That was the only reason for this reaction he was having to her.
“I’m sorry for yelling at you like that. I probably could have handled it better.”
“Nah, I deserved it.” That earned him a small smile. “Come on, let’s go grab some water so you can take your Advil. And we can start coming up with our cover.”
Nodding, she fell in step with him. She was about an inch taller than Skye, but she was still a hell of a lot smaller than him. Not exactly petite, but slender and beautiful. She looked like the kind of woman a man wanted to protect, keep safe. Something told him it was all an illusion, however. Especially after she’d just reamed him out. Olivia might look delicate, but he didn’t think she was.
“I’m sorry about your friend,” he said as they entered the kitchen. “But Gage is the man you want behind you. If anyone can find her, it’s him.”
“He already managed to track Kyle down to the hotel he’s at.”
Savage snorted. “There’s a reason he’s been headhunted by the NSA.” Among other agencies.
“Seriously?”
“Yep. Private paid better.” Though Savage knew that wasn’t the only reason Gage had declined to work for the government. “So, our history?”
“Ah…I’m open to anything that works. The couple jobs I did with Neely, my ex-husband was involved too, so it’s not abnormal for me to have a partner.” A brief look of distaste crossed her face as she mentioned her ex.
“Any chance your ex is involved in this? Maybe as a way to separate you from your daughter or something?” They needed to cover all bases and possibilities. Zac didn’t like leaving anything open to chance.
She blinked, looking truly confused, before she snorted. “I have no clue where my ex is, but he’s not involved in this. Or I seriously doubt it. He wants nothing to do with my daughter.”