Chapter 16
Olivia watched as the warehouse door closed behind Garret, and everyone else scattered off to finish the cleanup. Then it was just her and Eli, alone together for the first time in three months.
She hadn’t planned for this part. When Garret had approached her on the street yesterday, she’d been terrified and then furious and then terrified again, all within the span of seconds.
The man was enormous, and his resemblance to Eli had been so jarring that she froze on the spot.
He’d spoken fast and given her the information in clipped, efficient sentences.
O’Grady was alive. Eli was walking into a trap.
Gave her where and when, then told her to call whoever she needed to call. And then he was gone.
She’d stood on that sidewalk, absorbing his words, then pulled out her phone to call her father.
By the following day, Killian had assembled the team and they made their way to Boston.
Garret was already waiting for them on the docks to walk them through the layout.
She’d insisted on coming, and her father had agreed on the condition that she stayed in the van.
The plan had been simple. Get Eli out alive and secure O’Grady and his accomplices.
And then, she would look Eli in the face, say what she needed to say, and leave.
She had rehearsed it in her head the entire van ride up here, choosing her words carefully so they were clean and final.
But then Garret spoke. And in that moment, the speech she’d prepared crumbled and then she didn’t know what to say.
“Olivia.”
She turned. Eli faced her, his hands at his sides. He looked awful, shadows tattooed under his eyes, his beard scraggly, and his hair long and unkempt. His clothes looked ratty, his jeans sporting holes in the knees where the fabric had worn away from wear.
Her wolf ached at the sight of him.
Shut up, she snapped at her animal, then tried to recall the words in her speech.
“I don’t know where to start,” he said.
“That makes two of us.”
He took a breath. “I’ve had a lot of time to figure out what I need to do, and now that you’re standing in front of me, I can’t remember any of it.”
“What you need to do,” she repeated. “To do what?”
“To get you back.”
The words hung between them for the longest time.
These were the words she’d been waiting to hear, but now that he said them, all she could think of was everything that had happened since that night he left.
Of the past three months. Ninety-four days of waking up alone.
Ninety-four days of her phone not ringing, of staring at the door, waiting for him to walk back in.
Of lying awake at two in the morning, wondering if he was dead in a ditch somewhere.
Ninety-four days of hating herself for even caring.
He’d put her through all of that. And hearing Garret’s story, understanding why Eli was the way he was explained things, but it didn’t erase them.
“I don’t deserve you,” he said, breaking the long silence. “Leaving you like that, after everything you said to me. You were right. About all of it.”
“I know I was right.”
He visibly winced. “I was so focused on stopping Garret that I convinced myself it was the only option. That keeping you safe meant keeping you away from me. But the whole time I was gone, the only thing I could think about was you. Every day. Every hour.” He stepped closer.
“Olivia, please. I’ll do whatever it takes. Tell me what you need.”
She looked at him, really looked at him.
The man underneath all of it was the same one who’d put extra fries on his plate for her without being asked.
Who’d carried her dying body out of a diner with his hands shaking.
Who’d made her laugh, who’d made love to her for hours.
Who told her she was the most beautiful girl in the world and for the first time in her life, made her truly believe it.
She wanted to forgive him. Her wolf was screaming at her, to accept his apology, to make it all okay. But it wasn’t. Not after the last three months.
“I’ll think about it,” she said.
Hope flared in his face and she held up a hand before it could take root.
“I said I’ll think about it. That’s not a yes. I don’t know if I can trust you, Eli. You’ve broken that so many times I’ve lost count.”
“No more secrets,” he said. “I’ll tell you everything. Anything you want to know, any question you have. I’m done hiding.”
“You’ve said that before.”
“And this time I’ll prove it.” He held her gaze. “Not with words. I know words aren’t enough anymore. I’ll show you.”
She studied his face for a long time. He didn’t flinch, didn’t look away.
“I don’t know,” she said. “That’s the most honest thing I can give you right now.”
“Then I’ll take it.”
Footsteps on the dock behind them. Sloane appeared around the side of the shipping container.
“Cross is here,” she said. “He’s taking the prisoners to the High Council holding facility. O’Grady, the hired men, and …” She glanced at Eli. “Garret. They’re ready to go. Olivia, you should go back to the van.”
Olivia nodded. She gave Eli once last glance. He hadn’t moved, not an inch, and the same expression remained, that hope she had tried to tamp down, but now it was mixed with raw need. She tucked it away, then turned and walked back to the van.