“Why is my biscuit looking back at me?” Cage gave a confused look around the table.
The children giggled at the general confusion around the table, and Olivia loved the feeling she got from making them so happy.
Looking around the table, she watched how everyone interacted. The loving family was still something of a mystery to her. Sure, she understood what it was, but on a day to day level, the operation of a family wasn’t something she had ever really been exposed to.
Even when visiting friends, she had really only been around smaller family units.
This group was interesting. Dynamic in many ways. Not everyone got along all the time, but there was still a sense of unity. The argued about their favorite football teams or who would get the last roll, but there was always a sense of love.
She came out of her haze when a pair of small hands tugged on her. When she peeked down, a little blond head popped up.
“Want up,” Tommy said to her.
Scooting back slightly, she slid the little boy up onto her lap. Roving fingers itched to explore the contents of her plate. Olivia switched him to the other knee and slid her plate the opposite direction. After pulling her napkin from her lap, she took a plain biscuit and slithered it with butter and honey.
When she looked up, several were watching the exchange.
“Do you have any kids?” Candice asked from across the table.
Olivia shook her head. It wasn’t the first time someone had assumed she did.
“When I was younger, I had to do a lot of caring for my brother.” She winked at the girl. “Once you learn it, it’s hard to forget. Sort of becomes a habit.”
Marilyn and Heather nodded in agreement.
Sarah snorted her displeasure. “Yeah well, that isn’t stopping Tommy from dripping honey all over you.”
Olivia turned to look at the sticky toddler. The room fell silent as she surveyed the mess.
“Tommy, did you make a mess on me?” The little boy shrank back and nodded.
She leaned forward and took a big bite from his sticky biscuit.
“I love honey too,” she said around the mouthful.
When she turned back, Sarah shot her a sour look and went back to picking at her dinner.
Reed leaned into her to whisper in her ear. “You’ve got a little honey on your lips.”
He swiped a finger on her bottom lip and licked it off.
“Well I should really go take care of that.” She placed Tommy on a very surprised Reed’s lap and got up to go to the restroom.
Reed grabbed her hand and pulled her ear back to his mouth. “Maybe while you’re in there, you should knock off the sawdust.”
He grinned wildly as she pulled away. When she looked around, several were wearing the same knowing smirks. She shrugged and excused herself.
The rest of dinner went without much issue. Sarah sat sourly to the side, her husband doing everything in his power to make her happy. Olivia tried not to stare as she struggled to figure out their situation. Mason was great with his children and spent much of the evening doting on them. He seemed like such a great guy that Olivia had a hard time understanding the woman’s issues.
As the dinner neared an end, she felt worry creep in. There were so many things that could go wrong with her brother. She turned to Reed, who rubbed her back absently.
“Should we go soon?” she asked.
Reed nodded.
“Oh, you kids aren’t going are you?” Marilyn popped out of the kitchen.
“We’ve got a meeting tonight,” he said.
Pinning him with a hard stare, Marilyn moved in front of him.
“You be careful,” she whispered.
She swept Olivia into a warm embrace. She had never felt so loved.
Once outside, they walked in silence to Meg’s truck, where he pulled her into a crushing kiss.
“Go get dressed, and I’ll meet you at the office. Ryder is going to meet us at the dock in order to make the delivery.”
He pulled her in to softly kiss her lips again.
“See you soon,” she whispered.
***
The parking lot outside the security building looked too empty and alone when she pulled up. She parked next to Reed’s car and went into the building. The swish of her coat echoed in the great room as she climbed the stairs. The door to his office was open.
“So do you think we’re on track?” she said, coming around the corner.
Olivia stared in horror at the office. The file cabinets were lying on the floor. Files littered the floor. The desk had been flipped, and all the contents tossed around the room. When she looked at the carpet, red dots speckled the floor, and there was no question that a struggle had taken place. She only hoped it was the other guy and not Reed that had been hurt.
She jumped when her phone went off. Shaking, she pulled it from her pocket and looked at the screen.
“Hello?” Her voice shook.
“I assume you’ve seen my handy work,” the cool voice washed over her.
“Neil,” she hissed. Her stomach lurched.
“I have something you want, and you have something I want. Let’s make a deal.” The smile in his voice sent a shiver down her spine.
“How do I know Reed is still alive?”
There was a rustle on the other end.
“Liv?” She nearly sobbed when his voice came over the line. “Don’t come. He’s not going to deal. Don’t come!” he yelled as the phone moved away from him.
“Call when you have Ben and the file,” Neil said coldly. “You know what will happen if you don’t call.”
The line went dead, and Olivia fell on her knees to the floor. She placed her hands in front of her and breathed in deep. There was no winning with this. Either way Reed would die. She thought about calling the cops. No, that wouldn’t work. Neil would kill Reed the second he heard any sirens. She sat back on her heels and fought the tears that threatened to come.
She stared at her phone. There was only one option in this.
She pulled up Meg’s number.
“Meg, I need you to call everyone to the warehouse. Something’s happened to Reed.”
***
“She isn’t going to come,” Reed spat out. His arms had been tied behind his back, and his legs taped to the chair. He struggled to get out.
Neil leaned forward. “Oh, she’ll come.” A wicked smile spread on his face. “Or maybe she’ll pick her brother over you. Either way I get to have my revenge.”
Neil lunged forward and cracked Reed in the mouth with his fist.
“Revenge?” Reed spit blood onto the floor.
“I was so close to making a name for myself in this town,” Neil snarled at him. “Then you and that bitch Niki had to fuck it all up for me.”
“What?” Reed smiled at him. “You mean your associates weren’t too happy about being fucked over by you?”
The two Russian thugs shifted uncomfortably.
“What is he talking about?” the larger man asked.
“He’s full of shit.” Neil turned to glare at Reed.
“Oh?” Reed addressed the two thugs. “Guess, he didn’t tell you that the last people to work with him ended up doing twenty in prison.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Neil screamed at him.
“I don’t think Viktor sign up for this.” The larger Russian continued to stare daggers at Neil.
The shrill sound of the phone cut through the warehouse.
Neil smiled at Reed. “I knew she would call.”
He flipped open the phone.
“Do you have it?”
The room fell silent as Reed strained to hear her voice on the other end.
“One hour. You bring them both to the dock in one hour, or Reed takes a swim.”
Neil turned back and smiled at the room.
“One hour and this will all be over.”
***
“You sure you want to do this?” Ryder looked apprehensively at Oli
via.
She nodded, her eyes never leaving the pawnshop.
This was really the last place that she wanted to be, but then she really didn’t want to have to operate a rescue mission to save both her brother and boyfriend. She sighed and opened the door. There really was no time to think about this.
The bell chimed over the door as she made her way inside. The musty smell of cigarettes and grime hit her.
“Can I help?” The woman behind the counter stood stock still. “Well I’ll be damned.”
“Hello, Mother,” Olivia bit out.
“What’s your fancy ass doing in here?” Tina looked Olivia up and down, clearly not happy.
“Ben’s in trouble,” Olivia said evenly.
“That boy’s always in trouble,” Tina cackled. “He’s just not very good at this. What’s it now?”
A man came out from the back to stand beside her mother. She assumed this must be Charlie, and, for what it was worth, he seemed better than some of her mother’s other men.
She locked eyes with Charlie.
“Russians.”
The menace of the word hung in the air. It didn’t matter what kind of life you’d led. No one fucked with the Russians and got away with it.
To her surprise, Tina paled at the mention of the Russians and had to lean on the counter for support.
“Is he all right?” she whispered.
“He’s fine for now. That’s why I’m here.” She turned to Ryder. He handed her the money bag. She turned back to Charlie and handed it to him. “I hear you’re a man who can get things done.”
“Maybe,” he said slowly, glancing over at Ryder. “Who’s he?”
“The one making sure Ben gets out of this alive,” she answered simply. “That’s two thousand. I need papers for Ben, and I need them fast. Can you do it?”
Charlie scratched his face and flipped through the money. “That’s going to cover my guy, but what about my cut?”
“You get the papers to me in an hour, and I’ve got a boat for you. It’s not registered, but I figure that won’t be much an issue for you.” Olivia prayed in her head that this would work. She needed this to work.
Charlie nodded after some time. “I can do that.”
“Good, a man will be by in an hour to pick it up and to tell you where to pick up the boat.” She glanced back to Ryder to indicate he could make the calls.
He nodded and stepped out the door.
Charlie handed her mother the money. She paused just before she went in the back.
“I might not have been the best mama.” Something that sounded like true emotion caught in her throat. “Just don’t either of you die.”
Olivia stood in shock as she watched her mother disappear into the back.
When she turned back to Charlie, he had a small gun on the counter. A chill swept through her. She knew this had gone to easy.
“You got a gun?” he asked.
Olivia shook her head.
“You can’t go to war without a weapon.” He slid the gun toward her. “Ever shot a gun?”
She nodded, checked the safety and tucked the gun into the back of her pants.
When she looked back up, Charlie was watching her. “Ben’s a good boy. You tell him I said he should use this chance to be a different sort of man.”
A lump caught in her throat and she swallowed hard. “I will. Thank you.”
Olivia fled the shop to the car and stared into the distance. Things just had to work out right.
Chapter Nineteen
Reed stood off to the side as Neil paced the dock. The Russians searched through the fog for any signs they were walking into an ambush. He tried not to stare at the boat in front of him, but the sinking feeling in his stomach wouldn’t clear out.
“Where they fuck are they?” Neil whirled on Reed.
“Maybe they decided I wasn’t worth it,” he said, shrugging.
Neil advanced on him but stopped just inches away at the sound of approaching cars. Neil smiled smugly at him.
The outline of two cars closed in the distance. They parked just far enough away to not be made out. Several people filtered out of the two cars. As the forms came into view, his stomach completely dropped out.
In the middle was Olivia.
He nearly choked when he saw Finn and a few of his men. Ryder stood next to her on the other side.
Neil yanked him up and pulled him along.
“Check them,” he said to the Russians. They patted down the men and came back to the other side.
“Clean,” he said.
“Where is he?” Neil said when they were close enough.
They stopped and stared at one another. Reed was amazed with how calm she seemed to be.
“It’s too late,” Finn said. “The file has been handed over to the police, and as we speak, they are closing down all operations.”
“What the fuck do you mean it’s too late?” Neil pulled out a gun and pointed it at her and then put it on Neil. “Hand over your brother and the file, or he’s going to get it.”
“How about this?” Olivia said, pulling out her own gun. “You get your fucking gun off my man, and I don’t shoot you.”
Reed felt him shaking before the shrill laugh came to his ears. Neil was losing his grip on things. He stared wide eyed at Olivia as she flicked the safety off the gun. She arched an eye at him, nodded her head to the right.
“Listen here, you bitch—” Neil started. Reed yanked his body to the right. He slipped away. His head slammed on the ground just as she fired.
“You cunt,” he screamed. Olivia watched as Neil fell, the gun clattering to the ground. Reed lay unconscious, and her breath caught in her throat. She watched as Ryder made his way to him, Neil’s gun in hand.
“Get him out of here,” Finn said to Ryder and his men. They worked quickly to move him out of way. She glanced back and caught Ryder looking at her, uncertainty etched on his brow. She nodded her head to the car and turned back around.
“What the fuck are you waiting for?” he screamed to the Russians. “Take out that cunt!”
The large Russian stepped forward and drew out his gun. She swallowed, knowing there was no way she’d be able to make it out of a gun battle. Standing stock still, she watched as he stood over Neil. Blood oozed out of his arm where she had shot him.
“We not go to prison for you.” He spit on Neil and fired several rounds into his chest.
Bile rose in her throat.
The large Russian looked at Finn.
“Viktor not like this,” he said, the threat clear in his voice.
“You tell Viktor I don’t like people playing on my turf,” Finn leveled at him.
“No, Viktor not like this,” he said again.
Finn yanked the gun out of her hand.
She gasped as he shot the man several times in the chest and then leveled it on his smaller partner.
“Now you listen, you tell Viktor I don’t like people playing on my turf.”
The man held up his hands and nodded.
“Good,” he said, he pointed with the gun. “Now get the fuck out of here.”
In the distance, they could hear the sirens. She breathed out a sigh of relief.
She took the gun from Finn’s hand. “I think that’s your cue to get out of here.”
She gave him a shaky smile as she used her shirt to wipe the prints off. “No one is going to believe that a mob boss killed in self-defense.”
Finn smiled. “You know, if you weren’t his…”
He turned and whistled to his men. As they filtered onto the boat, he tossed her his keys.
“I’ll pick it up later, when I make the delivery,” he said and smirked. “Tell sleeping beauty when he wakes up how lucky he is.”
She smiled and watched as the pulled away.
She hurried way to Reed. Her heart beat in her throat the closer she got. He was leaning against the car and looked mad as hell.
“What the hell do you think you we
re doing? I—” The rest of his words were cut off as she launched herself at him.
She sighed as he squeezed her to him.
“Never again,” he said, pulling her away from him.
“What was I supposed to do?” she asked. Angry tears streamed down her face.
“Save yourself,” he said hoarsely.
She placed her hands on either side of his face. “I can’t just let you go,” she whispered.
She gently kissed him and then rested her forehead on his.
“I love you,” she said quietly.
Strong arms came up around her. “I don’t deserve you,” he choked out in her ear.
“Get used to it.” She pulled back and smiled at him. “You’re not getting rid of me.”
Reed pulled her in for a crushing kiss, not pulling back until they were both panting.
“I love you too,” he said, looking into her eyes.
Olivia snuggled into his warm embrace, and let the day’s horrors wash away as the sirens drew closer.
None of it mattered as long as they were together.
***
Reed sat on the back of the ambulance as Kace and a few other officers talked to Olivia. He had never wanted to beat the shit out of his brother as much as he did at that moment. Not that she seemed to be phased by his suspicious stares and the occasional shouting.
“She’s tough,” Ryder said from beside him. “She organized the whole damn thing.” Ryder shook his head and laughed. “Seems she got all the brains when it comes to under the table shit. Your woman could be a criminal mastermind if she put her mind to it.”
Reed narrowed his eyes. “She shouldn’t have been making the calls to begin with. It was too dangerous.”
Ryder put a hand on his shoulder. “You think I didn’t try?” He stared him in the eyes. “You ever try to stop her from doing something? Like talking to a damn brick wall. Said she was going to do it with or without my help.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Figured she was better with us than without.”
Reed looked to her again and saw she and Kace were making their way over. His brother’s face was contorted with rage.
Reed (Allen Securities) Page 15