Page 20 of Too Guarded to Love (Project VIPER #3)
Envy slammed into Nic as he rose and strode to the coffee maker.
What would it be like to have the kind of relationship where you didn’t have to worry about the repercussions if you screwed up?
He’d never let himself get close to anyone in foster care.
Kids his age came and went so quickly it wasn’t worth the trouble of forging connections.
At West Point and on active duty, he’d formed relationships with his teammates, like Joe and his siblings, but he hadn’t truly felt like he had a family until VIPER blessed him with the closest thing to brothers.
He trusted them with his life, but he lived in constant fear of fucking something up and losing them.
Olivia and Kane didn’t have to worry about that. They continued to hurl insults at each other, yet their unconditional love and respect shone through every time.
He added cream and sugar to the two coffees he’d brewed. As he looked at Olivia over his shoulder, he grabbed one. “What happened after you dumped Jonathan at the airport?”
“I’d planned to drive to Gran’s house, but after my flight landed, I got a call from an unknown number. It was Harlee calling from a burner phone.”
Nic spun so fast, coffee spilled onto the back of his hand. “You answered a call from an unknown number even though you think someone is following you?”
“If the person on the other end threatened me, I’d at least have proof I was being targeted.”
“Why was Harlee calling from a secure line?”
“I’m prohibited from talking to patients while I’m on suspension, but Harlee said she had information she needed to share about Jonathan.
She hadn’t known I was on the East Coast, and I hadn’t known she was at her family’s beach house, but since we were only a couple of hours away from each other, it made sense to meet.
Is there a phone I can use? I need to call her and my director back in Atlanta. ”
Ryan stood and pulled a device from his pocket and punched a few keys. “You can call them here. Just press one and it will take you to the unknown number. Press two for your director’s line.”
“Thank you so much.” Olivia left a message for her director stating she did not plan to quit and requested a return phone call. She left another for Harlee, asking when they could meet.
Nic paused his coffee cup halfway to his mouth. Meet?
He ate up the few steps to the table and placed his coffee down with more restraint than he felt. “Until we get more information about who tried to harm you tonight, your meeting will have to wait. You aren’t leaving headquarters unless it’s to a safe house.”
“Wait. What?” She darted her gaze around the table. “I get that I may be in danger, but I need to see Harlee. And I need to get back to Atlanta with proof I didn’t make those mistakes and present it to my director.”
Nic placed both hands on the wood and leaned toward her. “No buts. You listen to what you’re told until the threat has passed.”
Kane rose from his seat. “I hate to say this since I still want to punch the other side of his face, but Nic’s right. There are several forces at play here, all dangerous, and you somehow got yourself in the middle of them.”
“Are you two for real?” Olivia stood. “I somehow got caught in the middle? All I did was my job, quite well, and now I might lose it.” She pointed her half-eaten banana at Kane.
“And then I got on a plane to ask for your help, and I got run off the road. Do you think I called a travel agent and booked the deluxe danger package to DC?”
Nic snickered. Anger looked good on her.
She turned her banana to him. “And you. All I did was follow you into your bungalow, where I was supposed to be safe from the weather and out-of-control drivers and I got shot.” She knew she was acting like a child, but even her parents’ ghosts showing up and yelling at her for being a brat couldn’t stop her sarcasm or lower her voice.
“Spoiler alert. It wasn’t safe in your house. ”
He couldn’t argue that point. Nothing had felt safe since Stella’s death. And nothing had felt in control since he’d rescued a beautiful mermaid from the rain.
One of the laptops on the table chimed. Nic turned from the hellion who threatened his sanity and looked Ryan’s way. “What’s up?”
“Hudson, Tessa, and the baby, and Scarlett and Beth, are ten minutes out.”
Chris appeared in the doorway, a bloody towel under his nose.
Olivia drew in a sharp breath. “What happened to you?”
“Linc and I got a little carried away with sparring.” Chris pulled the towel away and sniffed. “I’m going to MedLab to get something to stop the bleeding and get cleaned up. Tell Scarlett to meet me there.”
Linc jogged up behind Chris and clapped him on the shoulder. “That was fun, man.”
Chris nodded. “Yeah, but next time it’s your turn to bleed.”
“Fair enough.” Linc shrugged. “What did we miss?”
Olivia rolled her eyes again. Nic couldn’t blame her this time.
Normal men didn’t think punching each other until the other bled was fun, but there was nothing normal about him and his brothers.
It took a special type of mentality most people didn’t possess to make it as special forces.
Becoming a human weapon brought that level of commitment, and inarguably a bit of insanity, to new heights.
She rounded the table and dropped her banana in the garbage.
“I’ll tell you what you missed. I apparently have to stay here, or in a safe house, until someone figures out what the attacks on me and Gran mean, which I get, because gunshots and poison are no joke.
But not only is my career at stake. I made a promise to my patient.
” She gave a quick overview of Harlee’s situation.
“Getting her back on the professional circuit might not sound like life and death, but trust me, it is, and I take that very seriously.”
Nic felt that responsibility—and respect for Olivia’s compassion and commitment—to his steel toes as he watched indigo flames shimmer in her stormy gaze.
She looked at each man in the room as if sizing up his ability to help her. The fire in her eyes seemed to crackle in his ears as her attention landed on him.
“I need to understand everything that is going on, and I need you to make sure I meet Harlee.”
Macho pride surged through him. She’d chosen him again. He was powerless to stop the rush and prayed neither of them would drown.