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Olivia clenched her jaw. She would not cry. There was no point. Nothing had changed. Life would go on. She would return home and figure out what the rest of her life would look like. It wouldn’t include Nic, but she had lived without him for two years. She told herself that this time together had been good for her. It had given her closure. Most important, she knew now that he was alive. She needed to celebrate that fact and move on.
He pulled into the parking lot of OZ headquarters. There were half a dozen cars already here. She spotted Eve’s sporty baby blue convertible and blew out a shaky breath. That was another blessing. She had made peace with Eve and the other OZ operatives.
That was something her grandmother had taught her. When life fell into chaos and everything seemed doomed, she had to count her blessings. Look for the good, Olivia. Look for the rainbow behind the dark clouds.
She put her hand on the door to get out. There was nothing more to say, nothing more she could do to convince him of something he wasn’t willing to work for. This was it for them.
“You should find someone else,” he said gruffly.
She jerked her head around and stared at him. “What?”
“Find a man who can give you what you want. Someone who will be good to you, give you what you need.”
She tried to take comfort in the fact that his voice sounded like he’d said the words around a mouthful of gravel. And the expression on his face was one of torment. A part of her wanted to reach out and comfort him. Another part wanted to slap him for being so stupid and stubborn.
She spoke quietly and deliberately. “So you would be okay with another man touching me, kissing me, making love to me? Putting his seed into my body?”
He looked away, unable to face her. That was answer enough for her. She opened the car door.
“Thanks for that. It makes this much easier.” She got out of the car. Ignoring the trembling of her knees, she locked them into place. Preparing to shut the door as hard as she could, she halted and said between clenched teeth, “By the way, that was not your father talking, Hawke, that was all you. You said those words. You own them.”
She slammed the door and stomped away. Jerking her jacket on, she headed toward the building. She would stay for the meeting, say her goodbyes to everyone, and then she would be gone. She refused to regret anything. She had tried, and she had failed. That was all she could do. She’d had enough.
Halfway to the front porch, she stumbled. Inexplicably, her legs didn’t seem to want to work. Confused, she looked around, wondering when it had gotten so dark. She could’ve sworn the sun was shining and the sky was blue only seconds ago. Why could she still feel the sun’s heat?
Blinking rapidly, she tried to clear her vision, but darkness continued to close in, rimming the edges of her vision. Something was wrong…very wrong. She turned to look back at Hawke. Her vision was fading, but she saw the concern on his face, saw him mouth her name as he opened his door.
Her eyelids heavy, she blinked rapidly, fighting against the darkness. The darkness won.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Hawke was out of the vehicle and running before Livvy dropped to the ground. Had she been shot? He hadn’t heard a sound, but the look on her face had told him something had happened to her before she collapsed.
He reached her in seconds. She lay facedown on the pavement. His own heart racing, he touched her neck, relieved to feel a strong pulse.
“Livvy…baby?”
No response.
He looked around quickly to determine if there was a threat. He saw nothing. Heard nothing.
The front door swung open, and Gideon ran down the steps. “What the hell happened?”
“I don’t know. She just collapsed.”
Gideon took a sweeping glance around the perimeter. Hawke knew he was looking for a sniper, just as he had. But there was no indication of anything like that. Besides, OZ had the most secure location in the world. No one within a five-mile radius of HQ got in without their knowing about it.
“Let’s get her inside.”
Apparently noting that Hawke could barely walk, Gideon scooped her up and headed to the door. His heart thudding with a panic he’d never imagined, Hawke hobbled after him.
Eve met them at the door, her eyes dark with worry. “What happened? Is she breathing?”
“Don’t know, but she is breathing,” Gideon said as he carried Olivia to the living room area.
“I’ve instigated protocol one security,” Eve said. “The helicopter is on the way to take Liv to the clinic.”
The privately owned clinic, which had a wing on the top floor for OZ employees only, was about ten minutes away. Hawke reminded himself that the best doctors in the world were available to them. Whatever was wrong, they would fix it. They had to.