CHAPTER NINE
Olive sat behind Hiro and AJ watching the video of what was happening in the café. When the woman stood, she gasped.
“I-I look a little like her,” she whispered.
“You don’t look anything like her,” said Hiro. “You’re taller, prettier, different all the way around. And you damn sure don’t act like her.”
Olive gave a little smirk and nod, secretly thanking Hiro. She knew he was trying to make her feel better, separate her from the woman on the screen. She watched everything.
When her mother was lifted off her feet by her throat, she was almost ashamed of herself for wishing her dead. Thirty minutes later, they were all back in the offices again.
“Are you all okay?” she asked as they filed into the room.
“We’re fine, honey,” smiled Skull. “That was fun. But did anyone else notice something interesting?” Olive frowned looking at all the men as they nodded their heads.
“What was interesting? What did I miss?” she asked.
“Most clubs will straight up take a bullet for their president. They would have drawn no matter what. They did not. They didn’t rush to defend her, nor did they attempt to draw on us,” said Bodhi.
“What does that mean?” asked Olive.
“That means they’re not happy with their current leadership. My guess is that your mother is not treating her team very well. Rule number one on a team as the leader: take care of the team and the team will take care of you,” said Ham.
“Did you, did you think she looked like me?” she asked softly.
“Very little,” said Moose. “You have the same chin. Same hair. But that’s about it. I’m guessing you look more like your father.” She nodded with a sad expression. Iggy gently placed an arm around her shoulder and she leaned into him.
“Do you really think he’s dead?” she asked.
“There’s no way of knowing at this point,” said Ham. “We’re still trying to find him or at least what happened to him. We know that he was alive, up until the time he dropped you off at your aunt and uncles. Chances are when he left you there, he was trying to draw the club away from you.”
“So, he risked his life for me?” she asked staring at the men.
“Most definitely,” said Iggy. “Any man who dared steal something from a one-percenter club and run with that something for years, is high on my respect list. I’m sure he had no way of knowing they would treat you poorly.”
“What happens now?” she asked.
“We’ve found a weakness, a big one, in her armor. Her armor doesn’t want to be her armor. We need to find a way inside and get to someone who will take our side in this.”
“How do we do that?” she asked.
“We don’t do anything,” smirked Ham. “The team will do this. Your job is to stay safe and hidden, at least for a while.”
“But maybe I can help,” she protested.
“Olive, if you expose yourself you will risk your own life and no doubt our lives because we will not allow it to happen,” said Skull. “Respect us, trust us, and value what you have here. We will handle this.”
Olive nodded at the men then turned, looking up at Iggy. She’d known him only a few weeks. Yet she’d known these men for years. But for some reason, his opinion was the one she wanted to hear.
“Iggy? Do you agree?” she whispered.
“I agree that you are to remain here, safe, and hopefully,” he smiled, “in my arms.”
She laughed, nodding at him as she hugged his middle. He was so much taller than she was but he smelled like cedar and safety. She needed and wanted both.
“Maybe I could help search for my father?” she said. “From here. Don’t anyone panic. Just let me do some research on this end and see if I can find him or a trace of him.”
“No offense, Olive, but your degree is in mechanical engineering, not computer technology or hacking,” said Ham.
“What do you think every project I work on starts as? A search. I dig and dig until I find the answers to questions I need answered. Does the tech currently exist? Is there any reason to believe it won’t work?
Can it be functional on a day-to-day basis?
I’ve asked a million questions in order to improve our bikes, and other things. ”
“She’s not wrong,” said AJ. “Her research skills are on par with Hiro and me. If she finds a lead, we can help her trace it.”
“Please, Ham. I need to feel useful and that I’m doing something to save my own skin. Let me do this.”
Ham stared at the others and then nodded.
“Alright. But you don’t leave the main property. And one more thing. Listen to me clearly, Olive. If it comes down to it, we will not hesitate to kill your mother. Do you understand?” Ham stared at the young woman. She slowly nodded her head, her hand sliding into Iggy’s.
“I understand.”