Page 29 of Too Guarded to Love (Project VIPER #3)
“Nic’s right. You weren’t safe in Atlanta.
” Ryan looked up from his computer bank.
“My research into Jonathan Garrity cross-matched with intel from our sources in Mexico. We have strong reason to believe that he and a well-known member of the Diablo cartel have been communicating for a little over a year. The topic appears to be you.”
Ryan’s words hissed through Olivia’s brain as the VIPER-verse closed in on her. “Excuse me?”
The rushing between her ears roared as Kane cursed and questioned Ryan’s findings.
The Diablos were the deadliest cartel in Mexico.
The media reported the organization had ties to the Middle Eastern drug trade.
Scarlett had said Richardson tried to sell her to a Middle Eastern terrorist faction.
The marriage of the organizations would be terrifying if she’d simply read it in the news.
How the hell had Jonathan become involved with them?
She entwined her fingers with Nic’s under the table and gripped hard. “This doesn’t make sense. The intel has to be wrong. Jonathan’s a moron, but he’s a doctor. Why would he do something to harm me?”
“Livvie, when will you learn that not everyone deserves your trust?”
“Shut up, Kane.” She already felt like an idiot for wasting time with a man who didn’t believe in her. Her ego—and her heart—couldn’t take knowing she’d given a piece of herself to a bad guy even though deep down she knew it could be true.
Nic held on to her fingers. “The source is credible, I assure you. Ryan and Scarlett are the best in the world when it comes to shit like this.”
Ryan nodded. “He’s right. On both counts.
The communications didn’t tell us much other than they have a contract that Jonathan needs to deliver on.
Messages from the Diablos stopped coming to Jonathan’s secure email, which we unsecured, about six months ago.
I’ll follow the money trail. If there’s a contract, there’s a payout. ”
The timing and connections added up in Olivia’s brain.
The sum of the situation landed in her gut like a fireball.
“We began dating six months ago. That’s when I felt like I was being watched, and then the crap at work started happening.
” She pulled her fingers from Nic’s. “All this time I questioned if I was…”
Stressed. Tired. Paranoid. Delusional. All the things Jonathan tried his damnedest to make her believe.
Nic yanked her hand back and squeezed. “You’re none of the things you’re thinking.”
“I know, but I was being watched. Why would Richardson and the Diablos care about me?” Anger overshadowed her relief about being right.
Nobody in Atlanta, beyond her patients and colleagues, was supposed to care about her comings and goings.
She’d fled her hometown because she’d craved anonymity, but she’d somehow jumped from harmless gossips to terrorists.
“Dammit, I really should have stayed in Atlanta.”
Nic dropped his lips to her ear. “I’m warning you, don’t say that again. You’re right where you belong.”
Hot tingles zipped down her spine. Dear Lord, what was wrong with her? She pressed a hand to her stomach, where desire danced without a care above her cyclone of emotions. VIPER headquarters was too suffocating. The outside world was too scary. Nic was bossy, cocky, and too much of everything.
Edgar narrowed his gaze in her direction. “Are you okay? We’re used to a storm of grenades being dropped on us at once, but I understand that this is a lot.”
“No, I’m not okay. I just learned that my ex-boyfriend was in bed with me and a drug cartel at the same time.”
Chris dropped into the chair next to her.
“I hate to make the situation sound worse, but I think it’s safe to say we can add Henry Richardson to that threesome.
Your ex is in some sort of contract with Diablos.
Richardson is now ‘till death do us part’ deep with the cartel, and there’s a Middle Eastern faction putting pressure on Richardson to deliver VIPER secrets. ”
“So I’m the endgame in all of that?”
“We need more intel, of course, but it appears that way.”
“Just great.” She rested her elbow on the table and cradled her face in her palm. “Anything else you need to pile on?”
“Maybe, and yes.” Ryan slipped off his loosened tie. “First, we’ll see if we can find any intel that suggests your problems in Atlanta and your car accident and shooting are related to Jonathan and the Diablos.”
“And not a vendetta from the dead reporter’s loved one?
” She tried to tamp her sarcasm. This situation wasn’t anyone in the room’s fault, but the side of her that acted without thinking won out.
“My ex working with a deadly cartel scenario is so much better than a crazed person shooting me for something I had nothing to do with.”
To Ryan’s credit, he didn’t react to her tirade. Did VIPER have a “keeping your cool” class she could take? “What’s the ‘yes’ part of what you need to tell me?”
“I’ve pulled together the proof you need to save your job and took the liberty of drafting an email to explain the findings. If your director doesn’t reinstate you, we have a lawyer lined up to fight him. Would you like me to send it on your behalf?”
“Yes, please.” Ryan, with his cool head, would know the right thing to say to get her job back. “That’s so above and beyond, I don’t know how to thank you.”
“I told you we protect what’s ours,” Nic whispered.
Nodding, she shuddered. She should tell him she didn’t belong to the VIPER-verse, much less him. Instead, she asked if they had any more grenades to drop on her.
Edgar crossed his arms over his chest. “Jonathan Garrity is one determined man. Since Nic turned him away at the hospital, he’s been inundating the Pentagon with emails and phone calls looking for you.”
“That makes sense. He doesn’t like to be told no, and he knows Kane is with Project VIPER.”
“He also recognized me at the hospital.” Nic held up his steel hand. “This was in my pocket, but his eyes kept traveling to my pants like he was looking for confirmation about who I was.”
“That makes sense too. I told you he was obsessed with Kane and VIPER. The press release you put out when the program started included photos of the team. Jonathan showed it to me once and asked what I knew about each member.”
Edgar sighed. “I told the Pentagon we shouldn’t have included a photo, much less put out a press release, but they insisted on spinning VIPER as a public service.” He snickered. “Public service, my ass.”
Ryan pointed to the screen. A map of several city blocks appeared. “Jonathan wants to meet Olivia tomorrow for lunch at this location. He claims he’s worried sick and has information about a case he knows is important to you.”
“He must be talking about Harlee. Has she called back?”
“Not yet. Want me to send her a message?”
“Yes, please.” Something didn’t sit right about Harlee not calling yet.
“Can you also set up a meeting with Jonathan?” She waved away Nic and Kane’s objections.
“Oh, come on, I’m sure you guys can secure the location.
And you know Jonathan is hiding a lot. Maybe we can learn something. And I need to know about Harlee.”
Scarlett studied the screen. “I can cloak your departure from the underground tunnel.”
Of course she could. Making them invisible was probably just one of Scarlett’s superpowers.
Olivia had a few superpowers of her own she employed in the operating room.
She was the only doctor Harlee entrusted to do her surgery, and the only one who understood that a successful outcome could be the difference between life and death.
Nic stood and slid next to Scarlett. “Too risky considering the new intel. And we still don’t know if the alleged vendetta against me is credible. We can set up a video chat with Jonathan.”
Kane stepped next to the group. “That works.”
Blood blistered in Olivia’s veins as she sprang to her feet. “That doesn’t work for me.”
Scarlett raised her hand. “I don’t mean to dismiss Olivia’s thoughts, and I can make a meeting with Jonathan happen securely, but can we talk about this later?
I have a call in fifteen minutes and there’s more intel I need to share about my evil stepparents that involves the wearable weaponry demonstration at President Bradley’s birthday party. ”
Olivia sat back in her chair. Despite the danger, Richard and Chavez’s union and wearable weaponry sounded fascinating. If the Joint Chiefs walked in and demanded she leave the room, she’d remain fixed to her spot. If she was stuck in the VIPER-verse, she might as well enjoy the drama.