Assignment: Second Chances

by Honor James

  * * * *

  Morning started off with a phone ringing. Olivia wasn’t sure whose it was since it was silenced quickly, which allowed her to doze back off. Eventually she roused herself again, this time because of the smell of coffee, bacon, and something with a hint of cinnamon to it. On top of that was the fact that Nathan and Lee were both on the bed with her talking in low tones.

  Olivia finally rose up and leaned back against the headrest. “What’s going on?” She reached out and took Lee’s coffee from him. “Who was that that called?” she asked with another yawn as she took another drink of his coffee. “What’s going on, by the way?”

  “Michael called,” Nathan told her. “Sorry about that, I thought I had the damn ringer off. He got an earful from me that may, or may not have been coherent. Not even the foggiest clue though. He didn’t seem to care one way or another. He called to let us know that Timmons had managed to get a reasonable number of pieces for the guy Phyllis is with to create a composite. It’s a little Frankenstein, but he thinks it’ll be enough to run through facial recognition. If this guy is in a system somewhere on the planet, he’ll find it. Cinnamon bun?” he asked, holding out the plate he’d grabbed off the side table.

  “Yes please, thank you.” She took one of the buns and asked, “What about fingerprints? The mason said that the police had taken prints off of the sledgehammer that had been found by Lee’s grave as well as on the tombstone. Did they come up with anything from those?”

  “They didn’t have anything in their database, and were going to submit them to the FBI to run through the national, and international ones, but I had them shoot us a copy too,” Lee said. “Timmons will add that to his ‘to do’ list. The plus is he has access to the military database on top of all the FBI, Interpol, and so forth databases, whereas the FBI would have to request the military to run it through their own database. If of course this guy doesn’t pop on something in their own that is. Still it would take some time given it’s rated as a low-priority crime, meaning no one was killed or injured during the committing of the crime.”

  Nathan rolled his eyes when she looked at him. “It goes to the bottom of their ‘to do’ pile unlike with us, where it gets top billing over everything else.”

  “Thank you”— she took a deep breath and nodded—“for ensuring that this guy is found. Phyllis as well. I still can’t get over her being one to help him. The only thing I can think, and this will sound odd, I think she was jealous because of how much time Parker spent torturing me. I know, crazy right?”

  “If she fancied herself in love with him, who knows what was going through her head,” Nathan pointed out. “It’s obvious that something inside of her broke during your confinement, and her mind did what was necessary for survival. Not an excuse, just facts. Some people handle stressful situations like that better than others. She was not one of those people that handled it well as has been proven by her actions thus far.”

  Lee shifted slightly, leaning forward to prop his elbows to his jean cover knees as he crossed his legs.

  “Uh-oh, I know that frown. What is it?” Nathan asked.

  “Her whole goal was getting Parker out so he could complete his mission. A mission she was a part of with the assistance of this third person, our unknown male. Parker is now out of commission permanently. For one thing, he’s not going to be getting any visitors, and any mail he does get will go through six different people so she won’t be talking to him again in any form. Which means she’s now running off of whatever the plan is. But she’s got her own game plan going. Olivia has a valid point. You said she was jealous of the time Parker spent with you. All because he couldn’t break you, you wouldn’t scream for him and give him the satisfaction is what Clara told us. She’s gunning for you. But without Parker’s vision we’ll call it, she’s running this sideshow now. With Parker, we knew for a fact he was going to try and finish what he started. The boxes of things were part of the ploy to fuck with your heads, make you start jumping at shadows, and get sloppy.”

  “Right, but calling in Nightshade wasn’t something they could have foreseen,” Nathan pointed out.

  “True, that threw a kink into Parker’s plans. But he started to work around it almost immediately. Likely that other guy or even Parker himself dug some info up on us, enough to give Parker an idea of who he was now having to get through, or around to get at Clara. He was focused on her for a reason, but we need to assume he would have also come after Olivia at some point too. She got a box from him of pointed reminders. So she was on his list. But he was focused, thought things out. Yes he reacted badly trying to get at Clara. That was a huge mistake on his part. Had he not tried to get her, then he might have gotten her later. Since he’s caught, now we have to assume that while Phyllis may be using his plan for Olivia’s downfall, she’s got a personal stake in this because in her mind Olivia was taking away time Phyllis could have had with her man. Phyllis is going to be hard to predict. She’s not right in the head so we have to find her fast. Because we can’t predict what someone in that state is going to do especially since Parker’s now out of her life permanently. She’s going to blame Vi for that too.”

  “This is very true. She was slipping on the edge of insanity when we were captive. I saw it and so too did Clara. Wait, what was in the box that they sent to me? Remember Clara called me and told me not to open it.” She saw the look that the men exchanged and sighed. “Come on, talk to me, please? What was in the box?”

  “You don’t really need, or want to know that,” Nathan said softly.

  “A child’s toy foot, a heart necklace, and a monogrammed wood panel that said ‘Lee’ on it,” Lee told her. “That’s what was in your box. She has the right to know, Nathan. This is her life we’re talking about. There are a lot of things I won’t ever tell her, that I can’t, but I’m not going to keep anything from her on this.”

  The other man let out a breath. “I get it.”

  Olivia felt her heart beating fast in her chest. She swallowed, hard. “Oh,” she whispered and wiped at the tears that fell. “Thank you for telling me.” She was grateful that she knew, but then again she really prayed she had never known. “Lee is right however, Nathan. I needed to know.” Holy Christ, she had never dreamed that she would be targeted through her child, a completely innocent soul.

  “That’s how Clara figured out it had to be one of the women helping Parker,” Lee said even as Nathan gave her hand a squeeze and nodded. “You four were the only ones in the room when you spoke about your personal lives and pasts. Once we cleared Deandra it naturally led us to Phyllis since we knew it wasn’t Clara, and I knew it would never be you. Though they still dug around to be sure,” he muttered in a clearly pissed-off tone.

  “But you didn’t think that the child that I had was yours?” Olivia asked Lee. “That’s why you were so shaken when you learned that Lee was yours, isn’t it? Because of the items in the box.” He hadn’t known that the child was his until she had told him. That much she knew.

  “I didn’t even know what was in the box until prior to us going to Florida. I wasn’t there for that part. I’d heard about the box and knew what was in Clara’s but no one told me anything about your box. And Michael wasn’t letting me see anything they’d dug up on you. Timmons was under orders to keep it all close to the vest because apparently I had an attitude when it came to you. The first I heard about having a son was when you dropped that bomb on me.”

  “I’m so sorry that I had dropped it on you as I had. I truly hadn’t meant to,” she said honestly. “He likely dug up Lee’s birth certificate that had him named as Lee Jacob Green with you listed as the father. I never hid the fact that he was yours.” She leaned back again and shook her head. “So now that Phyllis is off the script, so to speak, how will we find her? And Deandra, she’s safe as well, right?”

  “Michael was in contact with the Marshalls. They are temporarily moving her for two weeks. She’s calling it a vacation with her neighbors and
anyone that is asking. No clue where they are going, but they have her moved already. She is fully untouchable,” Nathan assured her. “As to Phyllis, we need to figure out who she’s working with. Until we do he is an unknown threat that could be extremely dangerous. He’s our priority to identify which is why Timmons is working on it round the clock.”

  “Good. Deandra was such a sweetheart so to think that she might be harmed.” She shook her head. “Well whatever it is that we need to do, we will do it. Together. No more leaving me in the dark. Right?”

  “I’m not going to leave you in the dark,” Lee said.

  “I didn’t mean to leave you out,” Nathan said softly. “It was completely unintentional on my part. I actually thought you were fully up to date on everything. But you’re always welcome to read my memos. Then you can tell me what they say so I don’t have to read them.”

  That had her laughing. “Right, okay, well I will ensure that I keep you up to date on what your memos and all that fun stuff. Just.” She hesitated and then said, “Thank you. For being willing to be so open with me, both of you. I won’t ask that you share highly classified material with me, however.”

  “We don’t get any of that sent to our phones or tablets. That stuff is only ever discussed behind closed doors,” he said. He passed her another cinnamon bun while Lee took his mug back, got off the bed, and headed out of the room. “So you never have to worry about seeing any of it, or hearing anything of that nature. Michael’s super paranoid about that kind of thing. Not that we discuss a lot of top-secret crap anymore.”

  “Okay good. That makes me feel much better.” She was eating the bun and watching Nathan as she did so. “So what’s on your mind?” she asked him with a smile. “Talk to me, Nathan, you have something on your mind. Right?”

  “Me? Nah,” he said shaking his head. “I will say though it’s nice to see you smiling again,” he told her. “I much prefer you without that glower on your face.”

  Lee wandered back into the room. He had two mugs in his hands and passed her one before settling down next to her again, and taking a sip out of his original mug. “Gives you wrinkles too, not a good thing for someone as adorable as you are.”

  “Oh you are too funny, both of you. Poopie heads.” She wanted to call them something else but instead she called them poopie heads and waited for them to give her a hard time for it. She was certainly looking forward to it.

  Lee was frowning at her with a confused look on his face. Nathan was snickering. “What the hell was that?” Nathan asked. “I know for a fact you have a much more creative vocabulary than that. I’ve damn well heard it, woman.”

  “I do, but I wanted to see just what you boys might do if I were to use silly words instead. Both of you look so caught off guard and my poor Lee looks as if he doesn’t know if the world is upside down or not.”

  “Quite frankly I’m wondering what it is that Nathan put in those cinnamon buns. And yes, the world is not right when you start using words like that. Stop it, you’re freaking me out,” Lee muttered. Picking up a piece of bacon he crunched on it while he watched her.

  “He didn’t put anything in the buns. I’m just in a good mood. Is that really so bad?” She liked being playful with her guys, when they were around she was in a good mood and felt better than she had in years, literally. “Aren’t you boys in a good mood?”

  “I definitely am,” Nathan said with a grin. “Mostly because you’re in a good mood. And because I got to putter around in Jacobs’s kitchen despite his suspicions. He was all worried I had no idea what I was doing.”

  “You did know what you were doing, right?” From the taste of the cinnamon buns, he certainly did know what he was doing. “I guess I just feel better, knowing that Lee knows what happened to our son, and now having him back in my life. I’m happier by far.”

  “I can’t believe you are even asking me that when you’re sitting there devouring my hard work,” he said. “Do you have any idea what time I had to get up to start working on those for you?”

  “Nine,” Lee muttered into his cup.

  “I slaved away over those. I even had to run to the store for some of the ingredients because our host didn’t have what was needed.”

  “Ended up bribing one of the neighbors.”

  “Only because the little place on the corner didn’t have what I required. You really should get to know your neighbors, Jacobs. They are very nice people.”

  “I know all about them. I had Timmons run full background checks on each and every single one of them before I bought this place. I know more about them than you do from your five-minute plea bargaining you had going on. He almost ended up having to go on a blind date with one of the ladies daughters. It was a train wreck in the making.”

  “I’m sure her daughter is a very nice girl,” Nathan said with a frown.

  “Sure, I’m sure she is. But you would have had to wait another six months for that date given she’s still serving out her time for car theft. Oh and then of course the time she had tacked on for beating the snot out of one of the other inmates for stealing her cupcake, I believe it was. I’m sure it would have been a match made in heaven.”

  “Mrs. Handover never said anything like that,” Nathan said. His eyes were huge. “She told me the girl was out of town working on bettering herself.”

  “The girl is out of town, she got busted in Jersey. I’m also sure she is working at bettering herself. I hear that some of those inmates really bulk up, and they even get classes too.”

  “Oh heaven’s sakes.” Now it was Olivia’s turn to start to laugh like madness. “You guys, you’re killing me.” In the best of ways, actually. “I wouldn’t want anyone to have to be stuck on a date with a woman that would do nothing more than compare tattoos and such things with her. So I guess that I will keep the two of you all for my own so that you never, ever have to chance being forced out on a date with her. I enjoy your company far too much.”

  “See, Olivia would save my bacon from the scary prison chick,” Nathan said. He slipped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a hug. “Thank you, sweetheart. It means a lot to me knowing you’re looking out for my wellbeing.”

  “More like your manhood,” Lee said with a crooked grin. “I think we should make him go out with Mrs. Handover’s daughter when she gets out. The girl will need some help acclimating to society. Someone to show her around, keep her from boosting cars, and hopefully from decking some unknowing cupcake thief.”

  Nathan rolled his eyes at her but threw Lee the middle finger as his only reply.

  “Sorry, not my type,” Lee told him.

  “No way in hell am I going to let you force Nathan to take that girl out, not when he’s one of mine. He is mine, just like you are mine, by golly,” she told both men, letting them know exactly what it was that she needed, now and always. “Both of you. Right?”

  “What she said.” Pressing a kiss to her temple Nathan gave her a smile when he pulled back. “I know he’s teasing, so don’t get all protective of me, sweetheart. It’s adorable, don’t get me wrong, but there’s absolutely no need in this case. Right, Jacobs?”

  Lee merely cocked a brow, and took a sip of his coffee.

  “I changed my mind, protect me, Olivia,” Nathan whispered.

  She was laughing. “Oh no, seriously come on you have to fight with Lee now. I’m keeping you for mine but you will have to survive the fight with my other guy.” She was satisfied to have two such amazing men in her life. “So what’s on our schedule again today?”

  “Now that’s mean,” he muttered.

  “Not much on the schedule, I don’t think. We need to keep you indoors, and out of sight as much as possible for the time being. Timmons is working on his mashup he created for the facial rec, but beyond that I don’t know what there is for us to do,” Lee told her. “Is there something you were thinking about, or wanting to do?”

  “Not really. I’m pretty excited just to be able to spend some time alone with
the two of you. It wouldn’t be bad if we were going to be able to watch a movie together? Maybe dim the lights and simply relax together?”

  “Sounds good,” Nathan said. “As long as it isn’t one of those chick flicks,” he added. “I much prefer action flicks, or suspense, or anything that doesn’t involve a lot of tissues.”

  Lee chuckled at that. “You might be in trouble then. Depending on her mood, she tends to pick some doozies. Though that was when we were teens, so unless her taste has changed we may need to break open a couple more boxes of tissues.”

  Olivia rolled her eyes. “That settles it. I’m going to make you guys watch freaking Beaches with me, or Steel Magnolias just so that I can get back at the two of you for saying that about me.” Both movies made her cry, and if she recalled correctly even Lee had shed a few tears when they were kids over the movies. “However, I wouldn’t be at all grumbly if we watched a great blow-’em-up movie.”

  “Not Beaches,” Lee said, shaking his head. “Damn movie still makes me choke up. But it’s your choice since you made the call on our activities for the day. Lucky for you I also have some popcorn kicking around.”

  “Awesome,” Nathan said. “Doesn’t matter what the movie is as long as there is popcorn available. Mainly because then I can pick through the kernels if it’s a sappy scene.”

  “You boys are too funny,” she said with a smirk. “Okay, no sappy movies, no love movies either or else we might be in trouble because I’m already seriously attracted to the two of you,” she told both of them honestly.

  Nathan looked confused. She was surprised Lee didn’t help him figure it out. But a minute later his eyes went big and he looked from her to Lee. “Seriously?”

  “Yup, never fails. Doesn’t even matter what the movie is, it hits a certain point and you’d better be braced for the attack,” Lee said. He shot her a wink and a smile.

  “Interesting. Very interesting,” Nathan said while giving her an assessing look. His lips curled into a big smile. “I will definitely have to remember that for later.”