Page 39 of Too Guarded to Love

Olivia’s breath caught at the feral look in Nic’s gaze before he turned to the kitchen counter. She hadn’t meant for him to be the someone she needed. Any of the others in the room seemed capable of answering her questions, especially Ryan and his three laptops, yet her gaze had collided with Nic’s. Unlike the beach, she didn’t swerve from the collision. Christ, she really needed Gran to wake up and tell her this connection was all in her head.

Nic turned and handed her a cup of coffee. “Come with me. You can meet Hudson and his family, and Scarlett too. We’ll discuss what’s on your mind on the way.”

She nodded, unable to yank her attention from the outline of the harder-than-steel abs she’d traced not even an hour ago.

Simple attraction and nothing more.

Or maybe it had been the smell of the coffee that had drawn her to him. She’d go with the coffee explanation.

“I’ve got video footage from bingo.” Ryan looked at Kane. “Want to review it with me and see what happened to Gran?”

Kane’s gaze ping-ponged from Ryan to the door, no doubt deciding between meeting Beth or looking for clues about who attacked Gran. Olivia didn’t envy his position. Even though she’d been the one shot tonight, Kane was the one to receive back-to-back phone calls about her and Gran being hospitalized. And now he was worried about Beth’s safety.

A sharp pain lanced Olivia’s heart as memories of the phone call no child should ever receive invaded her mind.

“Olivia.”

She turned from the full-length mirror in her friend’s bedroom, the blouse she’d been holding up to her body against her breasts. “What do you think, Mrs. Green? Should I wear this color to the dance?”

Mrs. Green wiped a tear from her eye. “I, uh…” She looked at the phone clutched in her hand as another tear fell. “I’m so sorry, sweetie. Your grandmother just called. Your dad…”

Mrs. Green choked on a sob, but Olivia didn’t need to hear the rest. Her dad wasn’t coming home from his latest deployment. Ever.

Squeezing her fists, Olivia strangled the memory of another call a few months later, that one from Gran, who couldn’t hide her tears.

Kane had also received the same phone calls about their father’s death and then their mother’s. Tonight, he’d received two more that could have delivered equally devastating news if Nic hadn’t shoved her away from a bullet faster than a phantom, and Gage hadn’t given Gran CPR in time.

Fighting the pull to throw her arms around Nic and thank him for saving her life and sparing her brother the loss of his twin, she turned to Kane.

He shot her a grin. “Please tell Beth to come right up as soon as she’s back.”

The stabbing burn in Olivia’s chest morphed to a warm glow at the anticipation in his eyes. Her parents had loved each other with every fiber of their hearts and every grain of their souls. It seemed Kane had found what they’d had.

What she longed for.

Her gaze drifted to Nic. Not with him, though. Gran needed to wake up and tell her VIPER’s playboy wasn’t the man of her dreams.

Edgar cleared his throat. “We’ll reconvene after everyone is settled.”

Kane slid to her side and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll see you later.” He looked to Nic. “Keep her out of trouble.”

She slapped Kane on the shoulder. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

Glaring at her brother, she took a sip of coffee. The contents were as heated as the look Nic and Kane exchanged.

“Let’s go.” Nic cupped her elbow and guided her to the door.

Once outside, she jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. “What was that look about? Some sort of bro code?”

“Something like that.”

“Does that mean you’re the lucky one in charge of me now?” Since she’d entered VIPER headquarters, she hadn’t been alone. A man named Gage, who looked like he could snap her in two with his bare hands but had tears in his eyes when he gushed about how Gran had adopted his daughter as her own grandchild, had escorted her to Gran’s room. Even when Olivia changed into her boots and jeans, Patience had been there to assist.

Edgar hadn’t been kidding when he’d explained VIPER was a classified facility and, for the sake of her and the program’s safety, access to the building would be restricted and she’d be escorted everywhere she went. She’d thought her hometown had been like life in a fishbowl. In the space of one night, she’d jumped into a shark tank.

Nic shook his head. “I’ve been in charge of your safety since I saw you crash your car.”

The hard cut of his jaw said he wasn’t thrilled about the responsibility. “I didn’t ask for your protection.”