Page 58 of Too Guarded to Love

“Henry Richardson is what happened. I swear that man, who thinks he’s a king and is above the law, is a menace whether he’s wearing pinstripes or prison stripes.”

Scarlett paced to the end of the long conference room and back. Her shoes clicked on the tile. “Why can’t he just rot in prison like a normal criminal? No, Henry always has to have the upper hand, whether he’s behind his desk in that damn house he insists on calling a mansion or inside the boardroom. And now he thinks his office is a prison cell. I swear that man…”

Olivia leaned into Nic. “Why is everyone just watching her?”

“She rants when she’s nervous or pissed. It’s best to let her go until she’s through.”

“Well, she looks fabulous doing it in those red boots. They match her sweater perfectly. She and I need to go shopping.”

Nic laughed into her hair. “She hates shopping. Beth likely bought them for her.”

“Then Beth and I need to go shopping.”

“You should. The president’s birthday party is a black-tie affair.”

“Am I really invited?”

“If you’ve got the security clearance to be in this room, you’re good to go at the White House.”

Scarlett stopped pacing and sank into a chair. “Anyone care to guess where the great Henry Richardson is?”

Linc snickered. “Working as a greeter at ValueMart? That’s the last place anyone would look for a guy who thinks he’s a king.”

Chris laughed. “Richardson wouldn’t stoop to a blue-collar level. He’s holed up with a woman somewhere in the lap of luxury.”

“We have a winner.” Scarlett stood as a photo of Maria Chavez, the leader of the Diablo Mexican drug cartel, appeared on the screen. “Meet my new alleged stepmother.”

Kane rose from his chair so fast it slammed into the wall behind him. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Chris rubbed the ink on the back of his shoulder as he stood and moved to Scarlett’s side.

“I wish I were kidding.” Scarlett picked up the folder she’d slammed on the table and shook it toward Kane. “According to intel, my stepfather, who tried to sell me to a Middle Eastern terrorist faction, married—in God’s eyes, of course, and not legally since they’re both wanted criminals—the head of the drug cartel that tried to kidnap your fiancée. I’m pretty sure that makes us step-somethings or other.”

Even though the news alarmed the shit out of him, Nic smiled. Valentina was doing a great job following through on the deal she’d made with the Department of Defense to funnel information about the Diablos from her sources deep within the cartel. She hadn’t been kidding when she said she’d happily help send her mother and the rest of her family to prison for the atrocities they’d committed. If she turned out to be working both ends, he’d miss her when she went to jail.

Linc pulled out his phone and scrolled. “Checking to see where the newlyweds have registered so we can send a wedding present. Do you think they’re under Chavez or Richardson? Or maybe Diablo?”

“Try Deadly. And make sure you send some cyanide with the gift.” Nic slipped his hand under the table and rested it on Olivia’s knee. Richardson and Chavez alone were bad enough. Their blessed union and ties to Middle Eastern terrorists could only mean double the evil.

Olivia stared at the screen. She opened her mouth, but no words came out as she looked at her brother. “Jeez, Kane. You told me Beth was targeted because of a project she was working on at the National Health Agency. You didn’t tell me she was kidnapped by the Diablos.”

He glanced at the folder of documents next to Ryan’s elbow. “Now that you’ve signed your life away, you know. And now you know why we’re hypervigilant around here.”

“I wish I didn’t know any of this.” She rubbed her injured shoulder. “Jesus. Terrorists and cartels? I should have just called about my problems instead of flying here. Now I’m trapped underground in this crazier than fiction VIPER-verse.”

“VIPER-verse?” Linc laughed. “You must read the same shit as Nic and Valentina.”

Yeah, she did, and Nic loved that. He squeezed her knee as he ignored visions of his favorite sex scenes with a certain sirena as the star. He’d never fantasized about turning fiction into reality with Valentina. But dammit, Olivia would look too hot for words in his bed, her face flushed and her knuckles white as she gripped the headboard while he⁠—

His thoughts halted as she swayed closer to him. He dipped his head to her ear. “You okay?”

“I should have stayed in Atlanta.”

“You did the smart thing coming here.”

“Nic’s right. You weren’t safe in Atlanta.” Ryan looked up from his computer bank. “My research into Jonathan Garrity cross-matched with intel from our sources in Mexico. We have strong reason to believe that he and a well-known member of the Diablo cartel have been communicating for a little over a year. The topic appears to be you.”

Ryan’s words hissed through Olivia’s brain as the VIPER-verse closed in on her. “Excuse me?”