Chapter Six
Hauling Olivia’s suitcase and satellite phone, Eli trudged into the hospital room, where Liv had been moved once she was released from the hyperbaric chamber.
He had driven back to the hotel. The fires had been more widespread than he first realized.
In addition to the restaurants, the spa, and ballrooms, they’d also torched the housekeeping department and security office, as well as the maintenance and engineering section.
The fires had been contained, but the authorities weren’t letting anyone back inside the building yet.
Fortunately, Jason, the security guard, was still on-site and knew one of the firefighters.
After an introduction, Eli convinced the firefighter to grab his and Liv’s belongings from the room.
Dr. Kelly wasn’t pleased that he’d left, but it wasn’t as if the hospital could stop him. Besides, he felt fine, and his intention was to return. He never would’ve left Liv to begin with if she didn’t need her things.
Eli held out the encrypted Iridium phone.
“Thank you. You’re the best.” Liv took the satphone from his hand. Their fingers brushed, and all the chaos and confusion churning inside him stilled at the contact.
His first instinct was to set aside the phone and interlace his fingers with hers, but then his gaze dropped to her lips and the urge to kiss her was overwhelming. He cupped her face and lowered his mouth to hers.
Liv’s lips were so soft, and her breathing hitched as her tongue met his and she pressed a palm to his cheek. The kiss was tentative and gentle. At first. Letting his fingers sink into her hair, he cradled her face and kissed her harder. Deeper.
He didn’t know any other way with Liv.
Don’t be a fool. This is a bad idea.
His brain kicked in, making his throat tighten and his palms itch. She pulled away before he could, like she realized the kiss was a mistake, too. He backed up, lowering his head.
Being near her felt as natural, as vital, as breathing. But he needed to find a way to change it. Was it even possible now that they were going to be linked through a child forever?
Maybe he was going to have to reconsider everything.
Turning around, not able to meet her eyes, he set the luggage down. He entered her usual passcode to open her suitcase, removed her laptop, set it on a bedside table, and plugged it in to charge.
She was watching him, her expression unreadable.
“Put the call on speaker,” he said. “I want to hear what Lauren has to say for herself.”
“Trust me, it won’t be much. The woman rarely explains and never apologizes.”
Eli sniffed the clothes. Fortunately, they didn’t smell like smoke. “We’ll see after I give her a piece of my mind about this assignment.”
He plunked down onto the other bed in the room.
Before he went to the hotel, he informed the doctor he planned to claim it as his for the night. He removed his Stetson, still in pristine condition since he’d left it in the hotel room.
“You can’t say a word,” she said, her eyes gleaming, her complexion a rich golden-brown once again.
The HBOT restored her hemoglobin levels. According to several doctors, Olivia and the baby were going to be fine.
He was going to be a father. Out of all the things he thought she wanted to talk about, things he’d braced himself to hear, that was not one of them.
“I’m serious. Laruen can’t know you’re listening in on the call. Violates protocol.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve broken the rules.”
Liv turned to him and gave him a look that made him want to cross the space separating them and pull her into his arms. Kiss her again. Make love to her one last time.
“This won’t be as much fun.” The corner of her mouth tugged up into a half grin. “Not a peep. Got it?”
He gave her a tired mock salute.
The call went through and was answered on the second ring. “Aegis Strategic Intelligence Group,” a male voice said.
“This is Kestrel,” Olivia said, giving the code name she only used with the home office. He thought it was kind of cool a kestrel was a type of falcon. “Code 333.”
He’d never heard her use those numbers before and tried to think what it could mean.
“Please hold while I transfer your call,” the male voice said.
Hesitant to speak, even if they were supposedly on hold, Eli grabbed the notepad and pen from the side table. He jotted down three dots, three dashes, three dots—Morse code for SOS—added a question mark and showed it to Liv.
She nodded.
It meant operative in distress.
Everything with ASIG was cloak-and-dagger. Eli anticipated the conversation with Lauren would be more of the same. Although the satphone was far more secure than a traditional cell phone, they weren’t entirely immune to hacking or surveillance.
“Kestrel, I’m glad you’re alive,” Lauren said, coming onto the line.
“They knew I’d be there, and they were very well prepared.”
“I was informed things got quite hot.” Lauren’s tone was matter-of-fact.
“That’d be an understatement. Send me everything this time. I mean the files you neglected to show me during the briefing. The ones that mention black-footed ferrets.”
Eli stared at Olivia, perplexed, and mouthed, Ferrets?
I’ll explain later, she mouthed back.
“Those are above your pay grade.” Lauren didn’t even bother to deny it.
“Then it’s time I get promoted.”
“I don’t reward failure.”
Olivia clenched her hand into a fist. “This isn’t over. I’m on the hunt. But I need information if you want me to succeed.”
No response.
From what Olivia told him about Lauren Hahn, since he never met her, she only spoke one language. Money. Eli wrote a dollar sign on the pad and held it up.
Olivia nodded. “I wonder how much extra the client would pay to be rid of those pests. For good. To have their leader brought to justice.”
“Something for me to consider. Perhaps I’ll send a different birdie to handle it.”
“You owe me,” Olivia said. “And now I’ve got skin in the game. No one wants them more than I do.”
Those violent radicals almost killed Liv and his unborn child. His child. If Eli got his hands on those responsible, he didn’t know what he’d do. He definitely wanted them more.
“I’ll send the files,” Lauren said.
“One more thing. This is a significant departure in tactics used by those pests. I need to know why. Splinter group? New leadership? Some other factor? Find out. Fast. I’ll also email you names of employees who I know were involved. Do a deep dive on them.”
“The FBI has been called in.”
Finally. Eli hoped it might be enough for Olivia to back off from this assignment.
“Do you know who’s working the case?” Liv asked.
“Not yet.”
“I need the special agent to be an asset, not a hindrance.”
Not surprising, she wasn’t backing off.
“Since you think I owe you,” Lauren said, “I’ll grease the wheels to ensure your first contact is smooth.”
“If you’re expecting a thank-you from me, you won’t get it.”
Lauren chuckled but the sound was cold. “I’d be disappointed if you said it. Is Pioneer staying with you on this, or do I need to send a real partner from the agency? It’s been over two years. Don’t you think it’s time you team up with someone new?”
Eli noted the woman’s utter lack of concern over his welfare. Lauren barely seemed to care about Liv’s.
“He is a real partner.” Olivia looked at him. “I don’t want anyone new. Pioneer is going to see this through with me.”
Eli would do everything he could to help her. He just didn’t want to be the reason she got hurt.
“It’s good he doesn’t scare easily,” Lauren said. “I’ve got the feeling you’re going to need someone rock-solid with you on this.”
“He’s tough. Won’t break. But he wants double the fee you agreed to pay him, considering he risked his life to save mine and the manager’s, Dempsey. An exceptional feat that might not have been required if we’d had all the pertinent facts.”
“Fine,” Lauren said, curtly. “I want results. Soon. I’ve got to go back into the office to email the files. Send me those names, and I’ll get a team focused on NDR.”
The line disconnected.
“Double the fee is big bucks,” Eli said.
“I should’ve tripled it.” Olivia switched off the phone. “She can afford it.”
“Pioneer, huh? I thought that was just our thing.” Sounded strange coming from Lauren.
“You were assigned to a mission. I had to give you a code name. It was either that or cowboy.”
Cowboy made him think of his days working on ranches in Texas. Then it made him think of his mother.
He shoved those sad thoughts from his mind. “Don’t you all have names of birds?”
Olivia nodded with a faraway look in her eyes.
“Thinking of Sean?”
Another nod from her.
The dead were on both their minds.
“It’s so uncanny,” she said. “Sometimes it’s like you can read my mind and at other times, it’s like we’re from different planets.”
“Let me guess, Mars and Venus?” He tried to make a joke, but she didn’t smile. Getting into a heavy discussion was too much for him right now. Either he needed to start moving or he had to redirect the conversation, and he was too tired to get up. “What was Sean’s code name?”
“Osprey.”
A hawk.
Both birds of prey.
“If it’s protocol for field operatives to protect their identities, even from each other, how did you and Sean end up close enough to violate protocol?”
Olivia studied him carefully. “You sound jealous.”
Eli used to be. Of how close she was to Sean. How highly she regarded him. How protective the Aegis agent was of her. Their level of familiarity and affection. The long hours they got to spend together.
But not anymore. What was the point of being jealous of a dead man? “I guess I just realized I’m not the only man you’ve broken the rules with.”
“True, but you were the first and you’ll be the last.” A sexy grin curved the corners of her mouth and a shot of wild, unexpected heat bolted through him.
It took every ounce of willpower not to go to her and kiss her again.