2. Olivia #3
“Then use those boys the way they used you,” Jonathan demands. “Use their emotions to get inside their gang. You have insider scoop now. It’ll be easy to initiate with JJ at your side. Make him help you.”
He talks like they weren’t the ones who killed me. Or betrayed me. He acts like they won’t retaliate against me if I go back and they know who I am.
“Why would they want me to do that?” My grip tightens around my badge, reminding me of who I am and what I’ve become. A stronger woman. A woman who won’t take anyone’s shit. Including Jonathan’s. “Why would they want anything to do with me? They wanted me gone and got their wish the first time.”
“So don’t grant their wish the second time and make it hard for them.
” His voice sharpens with every word, echoing through the space as it grows louder.
“You’re a badass agent, Olivia. I’ve trained you for years to bring you to this moment.
You want Franco to go down in flames, don’t you? For everything he put you through?”
“Th-they killed me,” I gasp out, grasping at straws as to why I can’t return.
Why is he making me?
Jonathan immediately steps forward and pulls me into his arms. His chin rests on the top of my head as his soft heartbeat thumps in my ear. I stiffen at his affection. He’s never one to show his emotions or voluntarily give hugs. He tightens his arms around me until I’m slumping in his grasp.
“I know this is hard for you, Olivia. I’m sorry I have to push so hard.
” He stops for a second, sucking in a deep breath.
“They’re really pushing for this case from the top.
I asked my boss to replace you. I asked them to send someone else in your place to begin with, but they weren’t having it.
I fought so hard for you, Liv.” I swallow the lump in my throat at the emotions pouring from his voice.
“I’ll never forget what those boys did to you.
I know what happened to you that night I rescued you.
” Pulling back from our awkward embrace, he holds me at arm’s length and forces my gaze to his.
“You need to let them know it won’t be as easy to get rid of you this time.
That you’re here to stay.” He quirks a brow again, a smirk pulling at his lips.
I don’t have a choice. They’re making me go back.
He’s making me return. In any other circumstances, I’d be pulled from the field, and the mission would be postponed until a better time.
But for some reason, the higher-ups want me here.
No one else. Maybe I am the only useful option. Even though I wish I wasn’t.
I nod slightly, sighing. “So, the big boss really has you by the balls, huh?” I quip, trying to ease all the tension out of my body.
His lips pull at the edges again, and he huffs a laugh. “One day when you meet the man in charge of all this, you’ll understand why my hands are tied.”
Relief runs through me at the sight of the uncle I’ve come to know and trust. He’s always been a hardass, but he’s always had a soft spot for me, too. Maybe because we grew up in the same sort of family structure with the Viottos nipping at our heels and laying down the laws.
“Are you ever going to tell me about the big boss?” I ask.
Jonathan smiles. “One day, when you have higher clearance.”
The boss has always been a big mystery. Jonathan runs things, but there’s a big boss making all the decisions within the agency. My uncle answers to him and then relays everything back to us.
“Remember to do your check-ins. I expect you back in your dorm room with a page of notes on what happened and sent to us through the portal. Tonight.” He eyes me with a softer gaze. “Now, I need to attend to other recruits. You’ve got this, Olivia. You’re the best woman for the job.”
“Yes, sir,” I say, straightening my spine. I’ll have to turn it to steel to do what I have to do in the next few hours.
I’ll have to return to campus. Dress as Oliver. Sleep in my dorm room with my enemies twenty minutes away across campus. They’ll know who I am. That I’m not buried in the dirt.
They’ll have questions.
Questions I’m not sure I can answer.
Veritas is a protected agency. Very few people know that we exist. They’re the people who reach out for help and call us.
So, how can I explain to them that I’ve been a ghost within an agency? That I didn’t really die, and they can’t destroy me now. That I’m here to investigate Franco and take them all to prison after I’m done.
The answer? I can’t. I can’t say anything of that nature. Not with the oath I took when I swore in. So, how can I pull this off? How can I pretend that JJ didn’t look right through me and see Olivia?
I can’t.
I take a shuddering breath of fresh air outside the warehouse. The quiet streets do nothing to hide the anxiety building inside me. Nothing can stop the utter panic growing.
I quit walking and lean against the building with my heart in my throat and bile rising by the second. There’s only one person I can call. Only one person who will understand the pain squeezing my heart into a vice.
“I need you,” I murmur into the phone once it’s dialed and he picks up, quickly agreeing to meet me for food and a vent-fest.