Page 20 of Protecting Olivia

“Alrighty. With that, I’m going to the office. You all be safe. Call me if you need anything, I’ll be on standby.” Jasmin started for the door when she stopped and turned back to Olivia, her voice gentling in a way I’d never heard before. “I heard about your mom and Peter Newton. The men in this room will tell you that they don’t think I have a girly bone in my body or feelings, and they may be right. But the truth is I know what this cut feels like. It is deep and ugly and will eat you up inside. I guess what I’m trying to say is if you need to talk, reach out. Don’t let this fester in you.”

“Thank you, Jasmin.” Olivia averted her eyes and started to fidget with the hem of her tee. She looked nervous and still on edge. I needed to get her away from the commotion of the room. Not that any of the other guys had spoken to her. It still had to be nerve-wracking to have five men circling around you.

“Tesorino, I’m going to take out your IV now so we can hit the road.” I didn’t wait for her to acknowledge me before I got to work.

“Zane. I’m walking my niece out, and I’m sure Gerald and Aaron are ready to have a coronary by now. It burns my ass I cannot even leave my own house without a five-hour security brief. Jesus!”

“Where are you supposed to be today, sir?” Colin asked, speaking up for the first time.

“In the basement gym. That’s where I am every time I need to leave without my detail. Now the hard part is getting back.”

“You know people are gonna catch on soon if you don’t start bulking up.” Colin laughed.

“Funny guy today, eh? Keep me updated, Zane, and everyone be safe.” Tom placed a kiss on Olivia’s forehead as I placed a Band-Aid on the needle mark from her IV. “Everything will work out, kiddo. I trust these men with my life, and yours. I’ll look after your mom until you get back.”

Olivia didn’t speak, she just nodded her head and closed her eyes. I wasn’t sure if she was that exhausted or if she was upset at the mention of her mom.

Tom leveled me with a look that could not be mistaken for what it was. The look of a man who cared deeply for this girl and wanted her safe.

“Not one single hair on her head will be hurt, Tom. You have my word.”

“I know, or I wouldn’t be walking out the door. Men, Godspeed and good luck.”

“We’re gonna bounce, too. We’ve got gear to grab before we head out,” Eric said as he and Colin made their way to us. “We’ll be an hour behind you tops. Olivia, we’ll see you soon.”

“Oh…kay…” Eric and Colin both laughed at her response. I honestly couldn’t remember if they had actually been introduced. They’d been in the corner all morning going over SITREPs and intel with Garrett.

“Olivia, this is Eric and Colin. They will be our backup team for this op,” I explained.

“Nice to meet you both. And thank you for coming to get me,” she whispered.

“No need to thank us, Hash. Listen to Leo, he’ll keep you safe. We’ll meet up again soon. But you need to know that just because you don’t see us, doesn’t mean we’re not around. We got your six,” Colin said.

“Thanks, bro. We’re headed north first. I’ll hit you with the route when Garrett finishes mapping it out. We’re gonna straight shot it, the less CCTV cameras he has to disable on the way the better.” Both men gave me a chin lift and left.

“How many of you guys are there?” Olivia asked.

“Zane has three teams, six people to a team. Red, Blue, and Green,” I told her.

“What team is this?”

“Red.”

This girl asked a lot of questions. Normally I wouldn’t answer a single one of them regarding my job. The most a woman would get out of me was that I was in garbage disposal. They could draw their own conclusions from there. Being Italian, I’d had plenty of women who assumed that meant I had ties to the mob. I didn’t correct them, I didn’t talk about my military service, or where I went when I was gone for months on end. It was no one’s business.

“I feel like an idiot not knowing anyone’s name,” she admitted.

“Don’t. You’ve been through a lot. No one cares if you know their names. Besides, most of the guys will answer to asshole. If you can’t remember a name, try that.”

There it was.

Her first smile, and damn it was beautiful. It changed her whole appearance. She was already beautiful. However, when she smiled her whole face lit up, and her chocolate eyes caught fire. This girl was trouble.

“That’s not going to happen.” She laughed. “They kinda scare me too much for that.”

“We’re ready. Garrett is heading back to the office, and Blue and I are following you,” Zane told us.

“Copy that. Olivia, I’m gonna carry you up the stairs. When we get out of this building, keep your face buried in my chest, and your head down in the truck.”