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“My butterfly escaped again, Dirken. I need you to get her back.” He knew he sounded pathetic and of course it was the drugs taking over. Dirken was the only one he allowed to see him like this, besides Olivia. She knew the real man and she'd rejected that man. She would suffer for what she did to him. She would have to prove her loyalty again.
Dirken circled the desk and picked up the monitor and picture of Olivia. At one time Ethan suspected Olivia was having an affair with the guy. He stared up at Dirken, willing him to come into focus. The muscled guy was huge and he had classic Italian looks. He'd been working as a stuntman when Ethan found him. Of course Olivia would be attracted to him. His fist clenched unconsciously as he thought about the two of them together. But had it really happened? Right now he couldn't remember.
Dirken loomed over him. “You can count on me; I'll bring her home. Just tell me where to go and this time I’ll be more careful not to alert her. We’ll have her back soon.”
Ethan reached for the photo and stared at it morosely. The glass was broken. He traced his finger down her face and pricked himself on a sharp edge. He stared in fascination as blood welled on the tip of his finger then ran down the side. She caused this. She made him bleed, both inside and out. “She had help escaping me, you know,” he muttered darkly. His head was pounding but he was beginning to think more clearly. “I tapped into the security cameras. There was another woman who sneaked in and talked to Olivia. I don’t know who she was but I’ll figure it out eventually. Her face was hidden by a hood. There was also the senator's aide. I knew he was trouble. I knew Olivia was lying when she said he meant nothing to her. I've already taken steps with him. It was fun crushing the little weasel.” He shared Dirken's knowing smile. That's what happened when you messed with Ethan's woman. “Since then I’ve tracked her to six different places. She’s very predictable, usually. But this time she’s giving me some trouble.”
“But you have new leads?” Dirken asked, peering over Ethan's shoulder at the computer screen. The guy was a moron. The screen was blank because he had to reboot the system. Did Dirken think he could stare at the black monitor and the answer would magically appear? Maybe he did. The answers always came but Ethan was the one who made the magic happen.
“I don't know yet but I'm getting close. I have a few hunches I need to check. Soon she'll be back where she belongs and I'll make sure she never gets away again.”
FOUR
Olivia stood outside the mall, shivering in her thin coat. She needed heavier clothing if she planned to stay in Colorado. She liked Denver. The mountains cast a beautiful backdrop to the city and soon snow would blanket everything. It was a big change from California. If only her career options were bette
r, she thought with a sigh.
Thank goodness the work day was over.
The hours seemed to creep by as she sprayed people with perfume and tried to get them to buy overpriced fragrances. Her mind hadn’t been on her work. She was constantly trying to solve the problem of what to do with Paul Justice. She never reached a solution because her mind always snagged on how attractive he was. It was stupid really. She’d never had silly crushes, even as a teen. And now she was mooning over this guy while Ethan was still tracking her. Talk about misplaced priorities. Thankfully Ethan hadn’t caught up with her yet, but she had only been in Denver a little over a week. She knew her fake ID would slow him down. This wasn’t the first one she’d had but it was the best one. The first one was done by an industrious teen in his parents’ basement. She’d learned quickly that Ethan could track a bad ID faster than it took the ink to dry on her new driver’s license. This ID was much better, handled by professionals on the wrong side of the law. She’d been so impressed with their work that she bought a second ID to help with the next move, which completely wiped out her savings. She hoped Paul never asked to see her license. She needed to stop drooling over the guy before he learned how much she’d falsified – her name, her social security number, her driver’s license. She had a fake birth certificate too. Being an ex-cop, she was sure he would recognize the lies and she didn’t need a trip to the police station. Telling the truth, even to the police, would bring Ethan down on her head in a matter of hours. All they had to do was type her name into the computer. She shuddered at the thought. Not even Paul and all his police force friends could protect her once Ethan realized where she’d hidden.
She heard Paul’s loud truck before he pulled into the mall parking lot. She watched the big black beast lumber through the lot then come to a stop a few feet away from her. Before she reached the passenger door Paul hopped out and circled around to her.
His boyish grin made her heart skip a beat. “Hey! Have a good day? Wow, you smell great.” He jerked open the door then quickly scooped her up. Rather than depositing her in the seat quickly, this time he held her against his chest a few seconds.
“Paul?” She eyed him questioningly as a slow sexy smile curved his lips. She sucked in her breath.
“Can you blame me for hanging on a little longer? Here, up you go.” He set her carefully in the seat like she was a fragile doll then tugged on the seatbelt so she would fasten it. She watched him circle to the driver’s side and climb in. If she wasn’t careful, Paul would worm his way into her heart without a single protest from her. She needed to get the bus schedules, maybe find a closer job. She couldn’t keep relying on him.
As he drove, Paul peppered her with harmless questions about her day. At first she felt stiff and wary but he assured her he was only trying to be friendly, not probe for national secrets. “Unless you’re an undercover agent? Maybe working for the Russians?” His blue eyes twinkled when he teased her.
“I’m no spy,” she retorted with a laugh. “I’ve traveled a little but mostly I focused on my career since I was a little girl.”
“Ballet?” he asked with a glance, then turned back to the road. “You must be really good if you’ve danced since you were a kid.”
“Uh –“ She wasn’t sure how to answer. She didn’t want him knowing everything about her yet it seemed impossible to keep secrets from him. She felt compelled to tell him. He was the first person to get this close since Ethan.
He threw her a sympathetic look. “It’s okay, Liv. I pay attention to people and their details. It’s the training and was my job for so long. But I promise I won’t use the info against you, unless you did something illegal. Even then I’ll help you out. You can trust me.”
Define illegal, she thought with a grimace as she thought of the fake ID in her wallet. It wasn’t easy remembering she was now Chelsey Reynolds when he kept calling her Liv. Pretty soon she’d divulge everything. It would be nice if she could. “You keep saying that, that I can trust you.”
“Yeah, and I mean it. Were you any good?”
“At ballet?” she asked, knowing she was allowing him to lead her with these questions. “I was okay,” she answered softly. “But please don’t do any searches with a computer. Don’t look for me.”
“Why? Because something bad happened?”
Or will happen. She nodded. “I’d like to keep it in the past. I’ve already told you more than I’m comfortable sharing.”
The look he gave her was short but penetrating and she was afraid he could see much deeper than she wanted. “You’ve got to realize your evasiveness only makes me more curious.”
Olivia shifted uneasily in her seat. “Yes, but you said I could trust you and I need to believe you’ll comply with my wishes and not do a search on me. I can’t be found. You have to understand – at least try to.”
The rest of the ride was made in silence. She knew Paul was digesting the little bit of information she’d allowed and was problem solving, or least trying to decipher it. It didn’t really matter what conclusion he came to as long as neither the police nor Ethan showed up on her doorstep. It terrified her that he would go straight to his computer and start running searches. It wouldn’t be hard to find information on her, but then Ethan would know. He would arrive within twenty-four hours. “Please Paul, no searches. I know I’m asking a lot but it’s really important.”
He eyed her grimly for a moment then reluctantly nodded.
She released the breath she’d been holding. “Good. Thank you. And thank you for the ride.” She offered him a small smile as she unlatched her seatbelt.
