Page 19 of Redeeming Violet (Red Team #3)

Jaxon

Violet was lost in thought. She’d pulled into herself when Zane and the President started discussing how Tex was trying to track down her brother and Manuel.

I was proud of her for answering him with honesty.

She’d conducted herself with respect and never wavered from what she believed was the right thing.

I was surprised when she’d asked us not to tell Declan she was involved, though I shouldn’t have been.

All along she’d been willing to fall on the sword and never asked for anything other than understanding.

What mattered to Violet was not that we agreed with her, but that we understood why she’d done it.

I knew Tom was going to pardon Violet the minute he’d sat across from her.

Even though he still hadn’t told her. Tom Anderson was a fair man; he loved his country and family.

Both he held dear. And though I doubt he’d admit it, and I had a hard time acknowledging it also, but in the grand scheme of things protecting national interest outweighed one person.

It was a hard admission, especially because I now knew Olivia, and my friend and teammate Leo was in love with her.

The only thing Violet was guilty of was not telling someone she was being blackmailed.

The perimeter alarm sounded, and I looked at the monitor then at Zane.

His face was pulled into what could be described as a grimace, but for him it was a smile - a wicked one that told me I wasn’t going to like what he’d planned.

When the three occupants exited the SUV, I wanted to strangle Zane.

Violet’s knee had started to once again bounce, and she was biting her bottom lip. She recognized them as well.

Zane and Tom stood as the newest additions to our meeting joined us in the basement. Aaron and Gerald stepped aside allowing them to enter the room.

“Jasmin,” Tom greeted.

“Uncle.” She allowed Tom to pull her into a hug and when he released her, she gave the rest of us a lift of her chin.

“Panther. Nice to see you again,” Tom reached out and shook Leo’s hand. “Olivia.”

Olivia remained quiet and kept her eyes locked on Violet. I made a move to stand, wanting to put myself between the two women. Violet stopped me when she grabbed my hand and squeezed.

“Mr. Pres… er… Tom,” Leo quickly corrected his greeting. All of us, me included, still had a hard time referring to the POTUS by his first name, though he insisted and would brow-beat you if you forgot.

The silence in the room was deafening as Olivia, and now Leo, sized up Violet. Zane seemed pretty proud of himself for setting up this ambush.

“This her?” Leo asked. He’d slipped into the cold and calculating mercenary.

Much to my surprise, Violet stood, her back ramrod straight, and with steel infused into her tone, she introduced herself.

“Did you know?” Olivia’s voice broke the tension.

“Did I know what?” Violet asked.

She softened her tone when addressing Olivia directly and her shoulders hunched. Now that she’d come face-to-face with the woman she’d had a hand in kidnapping, the reality seemed to be getting to her.

“That they were going to kidnap and torture me?”

“No. I didn’t know what they’d planned on doing with the information. As far as I knew, they wanted the information to blackmail the Attorney General into releasing a man Mr. Newton was holding in rendition.”

“Would you have still given them the information if you’d known they were going to kidnap me?”

Tears formed in Violet’s eyes and she hung her head. After a few minutes of silence, she lifted her gaze to Olivia and answered.

“Yes.” Violet didn’t try and hide her shame or her tears. And when Leo growled, Violet startled but continued. “I was willing to sacrifice you as well as myself if it meant that the list didn’t become public. I had to try and protect their identities.”

“What the fuck gives you the right to decide who gets to be sacrificed?” Leo asked.

My muscles tightened at the tone he was using.

It was an inexplicable reaction, one I never thought I’d feel.

Leo was a close friend and a teammate. We trusted each other with our lives.

Our friendship was solid and battle-tested yet I wanted to rip his throat out for talking to Violet the way he was. A woman I barely knew.

“The same thing that gives you the right to go into battle and kill for the cause. I took the same oath you did to protect this country from all enemies. I didn’t get to decide who the enemy was and what they were going to do.

I had the lives of American agents in my hands.

Agents I am willing to give my life to protect.

While I am deeply sorry Olivia was put in harm’s way, let’s not forget once I knew she’d been taken I tried my best to give you all the information you needed to find her.

I didn’t want one single American death.

However, one-hundred and five other Americans were at risk.

And I hate to be crass here, but you know their deaths wouldn’t have been clean.

They wouldn’t have been kept in a room chained to a wall, given food and water.

While my heart breaks for Olivia, and I’m not belittling what happened to her, those men and women would have been tortured, and it would’ve been broadcasted and celebrated.

I couldn’t live with myself knowing…” Her voice cracked, and she stopped to clear her throat.

“I couldn’t live knowing they’d suffer, like the last deep cover agent that was burned.

He was beheaded, carved up, and hung from a fucking bridge by his arms, Leo.

So, I’m sorry about what happened, but I still wouldn’t change it.

And I’m sorry Olivia. If I could’ve been the one locked in the room, I would’ve gladly changed places with you. ”

The room was so still. Olivia’s sobs seemed to echo around the room. Leo pulled her into his arms, his large frame engulfing the woman. When she spoke, her words were barely audible. “I understand.”

I should’ve known my friend wouldn’t let it go. “I don’t. I will never understand why you thought what you were doing was right. You almost got an innocent woman killed. When I found Olivia, her wrists were infected, and she was severely dehydrated. Another day and she could’ve died.”

“Leo. That’s not fair. Have you ever had to make a judgment call, one that was uncomfortable? One that you’re not proud of?” Olivia asked.

“Don’t. Do not compare my honorable service to what this bitch has done.”

“Easy, brother. I get why you’re mad. But let’s ease up on calling her a bitch,” I told him.

“Ease up? What the fuck? So now you’re gonna take her side over my woman?” Leo returned.

“It’s not like that and you know it. I’ll always have Olivia’s back because she’s yours. All I’m saying is if the woman we found in that house was anyone other than Olivia, you might be looking at this situation a different way.”

“Would I? She nearly cost Olivia her life! And it wasn’t another woman, it was my woman,” Leo yelled.

“No one is arguing that. But she did it to save more than a hundred others. And she did send us Olivia’s location.

And she did bring us intel to help Wolf and his team.

And she did step in front of a bullet for Jasmin and saved her life.

So, while you want to be pissed because it’s your woman who Violet wronged, let’s be real here.

Both of us have had to make hard calls, hard calls that ended with someone dead.

We’ve both been in her shoes. The difference?

We pulled the trigger. She didn’t have it in her to sacrifice Olivia. ”

“She gave intel to a fucking terrorist,” Leo continued to argue.

“She did.”

“She did not call it in. She went all rogue-fucking-warrior and took it upon herself to make judgment calls so far above her paygrade they’re in a different universe.”

“She did,” I continued to agree.

“And now you’re what, just okay with it?” he spat out.

“Fuck no, I’m not just okay with it. The difference is I’ve had more time to understand why she made those calls.”

“Serious as fuck. You’re buying this bullshit? Or is it because you’ve spent the last twenty-four-hours balls deep…”

“I wouldn’t finish that sentence,” I told him and pushed Violet behind me.

“Enough!” Zane barked. “Christ, when did my men start acting like thirteen-year-old prepubescent boys that just popped their first boner. Panther, you don’t have to like it. I knew you wouldn’t, but once you stop thinking about Olivia, you’ll see what the rest of us see.”

“And what’s that Z?” Leo fired back.

“A situation that was or is completely FUBAR. As pissed as I am at her, and I reserve the right to call her a dumbass or The Leak in the future, after reviewing Tex’s intel I agree with her.

I would’ve given the information about Peter Newton to Timothy Fuckwit Clark.

I’m sorry, you’ve always been a little crazy when it comes to protecting Olivia.

Once you have time to think on the situation, you’ll understand. ”

I wasn’t sure if my jaw had hit the ground. That was the first time I’d heard Zane say he agreed with Violet’s actions. I found it surprising he’d admit he would have done the same thing. The President cleared his throat, reminding us all he was still in the room and had witnessed our argument.