Page 30 of Protecting Olivia

“Let’s take this in the house,” Wolf suggested and stepped aside to fully reveal the beautiful woman beside him. She was stunning with shiny brown hair that fell loose around her shoulders.

Wolf waited until the door was closed before he made the introductions. “This is my wife, Caroline.”

“Sorry for the intrusion. I hope it’s not too much trouble. I’m Leo.”

“Finally, someone who introduces themselves by their given name instead of by their nickname.” Caroline laughed. Thank goodness, I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t remember all the extra names the guys had.

“I’m Olivia. Nice to meet you.”

“I have a package for you in my office,” Wolf told Leo.

“Great, work. Let’s go in the kitchen while the guys do guy stuff,” Caroline suggested with a mock eye roll.

Before I could move to follow Caroline, Leo’s grip tightened, and he lowered his mouth to my ear. “I’ll be right here if you need anything. You’re safe in this house but don’t go outside for any reason.”

When he stood to his full height, I looked up at him, shocked to find concern in his eyes. I figured he’d be elated to get rid of me for a while.

“Okay,” I whispered.

Leo let me go, and when I turned, I found matching smiles on Wolf and Caroline’s faces. They looked like they had a secret only they knew. What was that about?

Wolf kissed the top of his wife’s head and gestured for Leo to follow.

“You’ve got to be so happy to be out of that car. Matthew said you guys drove in from Maryland.”

“Who’s Matthew?” I asked.

No one was supposed to know where we were. Only Leo’s team and now Wolf and Abe. I wondered if Leo knew that more people knew where we were going.

“Wolf is Matthew. Sorry, I never know what name they’ll use when they introduce themselves. At least Leo used his real name. Abe is on his way over now. His real name is Christopher. His wife Alabama wanted to come with him to meet you, but their son had a practice she needed to take him to.”

“Honestly, I don’t know how you keep the names straight. When Leo rescued me, he said his name was Panther. Then later the doctor said that Leo would help me, and I almost had a panic attack thinking a stranger was going to touch me.” I snapped my mouth shut, and my hand flew up to cover it. Shit, I’d messed up. I wasn’t supposed to say anything. Zane said that it was a matter of national security and people would die.

“Honey, it’s okay. I know the drill. I’m married to a SEAL. Opsec is something I’m very familiar with.” She must’ve noticed the panic on my face.

“I don’t even know what opsec is.” I thought I was about to break down and cry in front of this woman because everything was confusing.

“Come on, let’s get you something to drink.”

We walked into her kitchen. “Have a seat. Would you like a soda, water, orange juice?”

“I would love soda. Captain bossy pants hasn’t let me have anything but water filled with electrolytes in the last three days.”

The thought of having caffeine was almost enough to make me forget my gigantic screw-up. Caroline sat in the chair opposite me and pushed the glass of bubbly amber liquid my way.

“First, opsec is operational security. Basically, it means I know to keep my mouth shut. Matthew is not at liberty to tell me about his missions, and I don’t ask. You said Leo rescued you, and there was a doctor involved. I don’t want to invade your privacy, and we just met, but are you okay?” Caroline’s eyes dropped to my wrist.

I sat and thought about her question. Was I okay?

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “I think I’m still in shock a little. Too much has hit me all at once. I don’t know. I’m a mess. I want to go home so I can break down alone.”

“That’s the worst thing you can do, be alone. I’ll spare you all the details, but I met Matthew on a flight to Virginia. I was moving there, and Matthew was visiting his friend Tex.” I’d heard Zane and Leo talking about a Tex. I wondered if it was the same person. “Anyway, the plane was hijacked.”

“Did you say hijacked? As in bad guys took over the plane?” I asked in amazement.

“Yep, that kind of hijacked. A group of terrorists poisoned the ice. Thankfully I smelled the poison and Matthew was able to alert Sam and Christopher and they landed the plane.” Caroline stopped for a moment obviously recalling something that was unpleasant. “My point is, Matthew, Sam, and Christopher took me in and protected me. They didn’t let me shrink away like I wanted to. If you haven’t noticed, I’m the type of woman that most people don’t give a second look. Especially three hot Navy SEALs. But they wouldn’t hear of it.”

“What? What do you mean give a second look? My first thought when I saw you was that you were stunning. You have the girl next door look. I’m amazed the guys saved the plane. Actually, I’m amazed you saved the day and smelled the ice. How did you not freak out? I feel like I am about to shatter into a million pieces. The only thing that is holding me together is that Leo is a big fat jerk and he keeps pissing me off. I know he doesn’t want to babysit me and I really don’t think he even likes me.”