Operation Midnight

by Sharon C. Cooper

  He pulled back slightly, drawing her attention to his eyes. “The only way you would know that is if Natasha said something.”

  “Well, she didn’t actually come out and ask me what I wanted you to get me, but considering all the questions she’s been asking, I figured you must have solicited her help.”

  “And here I thought I was the only P.I. in the family.” He glided the tip of his index finger down between her breasts and didn’t stop until he reached the top of her lace panties. “So … if I were trying to think of the perfect wedding present for you, what would make you happy?”

  Olivia folded her bottom lip between her teeth, suddenly hesitant in asking him for what she wanted. For the past couple of weeks, she’d toyed with how to present her request knowing that it wasn’t going to go over well.

  His hand covered her belly and shook her, regaining her attention. “What is it? What do you want?”

  No. Now was not the right time for the argument that she knew would ensue. She rolled onto her back and slid under the cool sheet, pulling it up over her chest.

  “You know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.” He stared into her eyes, concern on his face. The love she saw almost made her whimper. She knew he meant it, but knowing there was nothing he wouldn’t do for her made it even harder to ask.

  “Tell me.”

  She sat up and leaned her back against the headboard, bringing the sheet up with her. Seconds passed before she met his gaze again.

  “I want you to find my sister.”

  He froze. Didn’t move, didn’t blink and though she was staring at him, she couldn’t even tell if he was breathing. That love she saw brimming in his eyes only moments ago … vanished.

  Wiz raised up slowly, his gaze never leaving hers. She could count on one hand the number of times he’d been angry with her, and sad to say, each time centered around her twin sister, Keisha.

  Olivia watched his whole demeanor change before her eyes. His beautiful green eyes had darkened into narrow slits, his jaw tightened, and the bed covers fisted within his hand. She wasn’t afraid of Wiz, but at the moment, this was a side of him she hadn’t seen in years. Not since the last time she had seen Keisha.

  “Cameron, please say something.” She scooted to the far side of the bed and stood, wrapping her arms around herself.

  “Say something?” The venom behind his words almost made her take a step back, but she stood her ground. She wanted to see Keisha and if anyone could find her, it was Cameron.

  “I know how you feel about Kei—”

  “No!” He stabbed the air with his index finger with such force, it was a wonder he hadn’t wrenched his arm out of the socket. “You have no fucking idea how I feel about her, because if you did, you wouldn’t ask this of me. You wouldn’t even say her motherfuckin’ name in my presence!”

  Olivia’s breath caught and she reared back, stunned by the fury bouncing off him like vicious waves crashing against the shore. Never had he raised his voice at her, nor had he ever cursed at her. She knew he wouldn’t be happy with the request, but she had no idea he would freak out this way.

  Olivia and her sister hadn’t spoken since the last time Keisha had called crying, saying that she was in trouble and needed money. Alcohol and drugs had been her constant companion, so back then, Olivia hadn’t been surprised to hear that Keisha was in trouble with her dealer. Problem was, each time Olivia bailed her out, Keisha’s life went right back into a downward spiral, often times pulling Olivia into the whirlwind.

  But being born three minutes before Keisha, Olivia had taken her role as the older sibling serious from the moment they started kindergarten. And now, looking back, she wondered if she’d done all she could do for her sister. Maybe if she had talked her into going to rehab sooner, she could have saved her.

  Olivia stared across the bed at her hero, her protector, sure that he was remembering the number of messes Keisha had pulled her into. Wiz had always been protective of her. Though he never said, she was sure it had a lot to do with not only Keisha’s shenanigans, but also the way his mother died. Killed by a man who lacked mercy all because he wanted her vehicle. His mother had resisted and the carjacker shot her in the head. Cameron was eight at the time and his sister, six.

  It broke Olivia’s heart to see him this mad, especially since she was the cause. The red tint to his light skin was proof that he was holding back the rage brewing inside. If that weren’t a clue, the way his fists were balled at his sides were good signs that he was about ready to blow. But Olivia couldn’t back down. She needed him to do this for her.

  “Cameron.”

  He still didn’t speak and she searched her mind for the right words to convince him, but her throat tightened. They continued to stand on opposite sides of the bed.

  “I can’t believe you’re asking me to do this. Have you forgotten all the shit she put us through … put you through? Pick an incident that she dragged you into, any incident, and tell me you don’t remember. What about the last time, Olivia? The last time when …” His face contorted in pain. “You will never know the fear I felt when I found y—” he choked, unable to finish his sentence.

  Olivia hurried around the bed and reached out to him, but stopped when he took a step back. An ache lodged in her chest. He didn’t even want her to touch him.

  “No one remembers those times more than I do. But lately I can’t stop thinking about her. Keisha and I will never be friends, I know that. All I want to do is see how she’s doing, what she’s up to, whether or not she ever got her life together. I can’t do that without your help.” Olivia also knew that her conversation with Natasha a couple of weeks ago played a part in Olivia’s need to talk to Keisha. Natasha had recently spoken to her sister, Alandra, and talked about how well she and Quinn were doing in Bora Bora.

  Considering all that Keisha had done to Olivia, she wasn’t delusional enough to think that she could ever have the same type of relationship with her sister as Natasha had with Alandra. Yet she did care about Keisha’s well-being. After Olivia had first cut ties with her sister, she didn’t want anything to do with her. Now that her life was back on track and she and Wiz had reunited, guilt for not trying to help Keisha more, rested in her chest.

  “Cameron, I’m sorry to just spring the request on you, but I need to see her. It’s been almost ten years and besides you, she’s the only family I have left.”

  His expression clouded in anger as his chest rose up and down as if he’d just ran a marathon.

  “Please say something.”

  “Say something? Okay, here’s something.” A quiver raked over her flesh as he eased up on her but stopped a foot away. “It will be a cold day in hell before I search for that bitch!”

  Olivia’s hand flew to her chest, her heart feeling as if it were being ripped out of her body. She stood rooted in place as he stormed out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Wiz had always been there for her from the moment they first met when she was thirteen. Even while divorced, he had a presence in her life saying that he would always take care of her. And he had. Everything from making sure her lawn was maintained, to putting money in a bank account for her. Though she reminded him plenty of times that he didn’t have to provide for her, he never backed off. He never left her alone … until now.

  Chapter Three

  I want you to find my sister.

  Wiz stormed into the living room and snatched his pants from one of the chairs. His heart thumped wildly at the words he thought he would never hear. He couldn’t wrap his head around her request. Clearly she had forgotten about all the crap her sister had done.

  “It’s like suddenly I don’t even know you.” Olivia’s voice broke into his thoughts when she silently entered the room.

  Wiz shook his head and stepped into his slacks, keeping his back to her. “You know me. You know me well enough to understand that I would rather swallow a grenade than to have your sister in our lives.”

  She sighed loud
ly. “Cameron, I didn’t say I want her in our lives. I’d like to connect with her for nothing more than a conversation.”

  Fastening his pants, he glanced over his shoulder to find her standing near the bedroom door. The satiny red robe she wore stopped just above her knees, the color bringing out the warmth in her smooth, dark chocolate skin. His breath hitched as his gaze drifted slowly down her shapely body emphasized by the sash cinched tightly around her narrow waist. Damn if a certain part of his anatomy didn’t spring to attention. He knew what lay beneath the thin material. He knew how soft every inch of her skin was to the touch. And he knew that if he stayed in that room much longer, he would tell her whatever the heck she wanted to hear. Everything but the truth that is.

  His gaze moved back up to her face and his heart leapt into his throat. The love radiating in her eyes, even after the way he had spoken to her made the vice around his heart tighten even more. He felt like crap for denying her of her request.

  Damn Keisha. Even when she wasn’t around, she was still wreaking havoc. Just the thought of her made him want to rip something apart. But then there was Olivia. Staring at her now, the unyielding love he had for her made him want to take the three short steps it would take to reach her, and pull her into his arms. He wanted to come clean and tell her what happened to her sister all those years ago. But the bastard in him stayed rooted in place because he had vowed to take that one secret to his grave.

  “I’m sorry,” Olivia said.

  He lifted the striped dress shirt that he had discarded earlier and slipped his arms through the sleeves. He didn’t want her apology. He wanted to go back in time and wipe out the last fifteen minutes. Specifically erase the mere mention of her sister.

  “I’m sorry I’ve ruined our evening.”

  He refastened the buttons on his shirt cuffs, trying like hell not to let her soft words and her intoxicating scent, which was uniquely hers, get to him. Why had he insisted that she tell him what was on her mind? This whole mess could have been avoided, at least for now.

  He sat on the sofa and slipped into his dress shoes.

  She moved closer. “Where are you going?” Despite the rash of emotions swirling inside of him, her nearness was doing wicked things to his senses. Everything about the woman from her sharp mind and her scent, to her graceful, lithe body was like his kryptonite. If she ever realized just how much power she had over him, he would be doomed. Hell, she probably already knew. He couldn’t explain it. From day one, he lived to please and take care of her.

  “I’m going downstairs to the bar.”

  For the first time in like forever, getting drunk, and numbing himself to his current reality seemed like a brilliant idea.

  “I said I was sorry. You don’t have to leave.” The anguish in her voice made him slow his moves. But he knew if he stayed, she’d start the conversation all over again and it would definitely lead to an argument.

  Anger swept through his body at the thought of Keisha Abernathy. To say he hated his sister-in-law would be an understatement. For years, he had felt guilty about discarding her from their lives, but for the first time in a long time, he felt no remorse for what happened all those years ago.

  “At some point we’re going to have to talk about this.”

  “Maybe. But it won’t be tonight.”

  Olivia sat across from him. The opening of her robe revealed dark, shapely thighs. Thighs he thought he would be buried between by now. Blood shot straight to his groin and he sat up straighter, willing himself to divert his gaze, but failing. If he didn’t know her better, he would think that she was intentionally trying to tempt him. But he knew better. She was the type of person who asked for what she wanted and gave whatever she wanted to give. She wasn’t a game player.

  He diverted his gaze, his eyes sweeping the room, taking in the large screen television, the mini bar, anything he could to slow his racing pulse and tamp down the desire swirling within him.

  He wanted to be angry at her. Wanted to make her pay for even requesting such an impossibility. He couldn’t. He had every right to be angry, yet, if he were honest with himself, he couldn’t blame her for wanting to see her sister. Her twin. Of course she would think of her. It had been ten years and they had a birthday coming up.

  “I don’t ask for much and … I want you to do this for me.” Wiz saw the determination in her eyes. If he didn’t at least pretend to consider her request, she’d figure out a way to find Keisha on her own. She wasn’t one to let the word “no” stop her from getting what she wanted. “It would be nice to reconnect with the only family I have left.”

  “She’s not the only family you have. You have me, my father, sister, and what about Malik and the gang? They are closer than any family we could have.”

  “That’s different.”

  The annoyance from earlier seeped back into his body and he narrowed his eyes at her.

  “How can you act like nothing’s happened?” He sprang up, his hands on his hips as he glared down at her. “As if nothing she did affected every aspect of our lives, of our marriage?”

  “Forgiveness. I had to forgive her. Otherwise I would have gone crazy years ago.” She stood slowly and reached out to touch him, but he stepped back. He’d be a goner if he let her touch him.

  She glanced up at him with those dark, beautiful eyes that were filled with so much hope. If she was trying to make him feel guilty about his refusal, it was working. Almost. He couldn’t help what he felt inside. He couldn’t help the rage that flowed through his veins whenever he thought about all that her sister did to them.

  “I haven’t forgotten or forgiven.”

  It was too late in the day to be talking about forgiveness or anything else for that matter. He snatched the keycard for the room and headed for the door, Olivia hot on his trail.

  “Please don’t leave. Stay,” she said to his retreating back.

  “I can’t.”

  It tore him up inside to leave this way, but he had to. Otherwise, he might do something stupid like tell her the real reason why he would never search for Keisha. Which was something he couldn’t do. It would break her heart.

  *

  Wiz pulled his Land Rover into his assigned space in Supreme Security Agency’s parking garage. He shut off his truck and laid his head back on the headrest, thoughts of Olivia running rampant through his mind. Dread had taken permanent residence in his stomach, heavy like a ship’s anchor. It had been two days since he blew up at her and their fight tore him apart. Yet, even after they had returned home, he could barely look her in the eye. Searching for her sister wouldn’t happen, couldn’t happen.

  Malik pounded on the roof of the car, making Wiz reach for the gun in his ankle holster.

  “Man, what the fu— heck is wrong with you?”

  Wiz would have laughed at his friend’s slip up if his nerves weren’t getting the best of him. He lowered his pants leg and released an exaggerated breath. Malik had always had a cursing problem, but over the last few months Natasha had surprisingly broke him from his excessive swearing.

  Wiz grabbed his laptop from the passenger seat and climb out of the vehicle.

  “What the hell is going on with you today?” his friend asked, walking toward the elevators that would take them to the top floor. “During that whole damn meeting you were in fucking la-la land. And don’t get me started about Saturday, after you returned from D.C. I felt the tension bouncing off your ass from the moment you stepped into the ballroom, even Tasha noticed. So before we head into the office, you need to get yourself together. I don’t want your shit jumping off on everybody else.”

  So much for having his cursing problem under control.

  Malik stabbed at the up button. “Is there something going on that I should know about?”

  Wiz hesitated. “Yeah, but nothing I want to talk about right now.”

  The elevator doors opened and they stepped on. Wiz swiped his ID card that would give them access to the top floor. Due to the
cameras in the elevators, they rarely talked about anything of importance. Unlike in the garage where the cameras were for visual, these recorded visual and voices.

  The moment they stepped off the elevator, Wiz said, “Meet me in my office when you get a chance.”

  Malik gave him a concerned look and then shrugged. “Will do, but first, I have to get some motherfucking lunch.”

  On that, Wiz laughed. “I thought you stopped cursing.”

  “I have … when Tasha’s around.”

  Wiz shook his head and chuckled. Some things never change.

  They entered the back hallway that serviced their two offices as well as the space Victoria used.

  She was on the telephone and waved at Malik as he walked to his office, but stopped Wiz by touching his arm, asking him to give her a minute.

  Victoria Bracero, their secret weapon. On paper, she was their executive assistant, but in reality, she was a fighting machine. With long blond hair curled at the ends and a body that could easily belong to a super model, no one would ever know by looking at her that she could take a man out, who was twice her size, without breaking a sweat. Wiz was glad she was on their team.

  She ended the call. “Hey there. Sorry about that. I’m getting ready to head out for a couple of hours, but I wanted to let you know that Olivia called you a few times. She said she tried your cell phone with no luck. I told her you probably hadn’t called back yet because of the meeting this morning.” She pulled a large handbag from the bottom drawer of her desk. “Call her. She didn’t sound like herself.”

  “Will do. Thanks.”

  “I’m going to stop by the deli on the corner on my way back. Do you want anything?” She studied him as if sensing something wasn’t right, but didn’t say anything.

  Wiz shook his head. “Nah, I’m good. I’ll probably order in a little later.”

  When he walked into his office, he closed the door behind him and leaned against it. He couldn’t keep avoiding Olivia, but he didn’t know what to say to her. He had left the house early while she had been on her run, which was a first. Rarely did he leave before she returned home, always wanting to make sure she was okay before starting his day. Yet today, like a wimp, he made himself scarce.