Enticed by the Operative (Doctors in Danger, Book 1) (19 page)

Logan pushed aside his hurt and betrayal and focused on the job at hand. He’d pretend like everything was still fine, that he didn’t know she’d sold him out to the cartel’s lackeys. Keep her close, so they would know the perfect moment to spring the trap. He’d tear down her lies one by one, using them against her to build his case.

And then he’d walk away and try to repair his shattered heart.

CHAPTER 20

O
livia forced herself to walk, matching the pace of Keith and Joseph as they led her down the hospital corridor. They were on their way to visit Logan, and the anticipation of seeing him again made her feel a little light-headed.

They had been separated soon after arriving in Bogotá. She’d driven straight to the hospital, not even bothering to turn off the engine of the Jeep before jumping out and grabbing the closest person to help her get Logan inside. Only after he’d been surrounded by medical personnel did she call the US Embassy and explain the situation. The doctors had taken Logan away for surgery, and soon after, an embassy representative had appeared and stayed by her side as she paced a hole in the floor and counted down the minutes until his operation was over.

She’d spent the night at his bedside, hyperattuned to his every small noise and movement. His coworkers had arrived the next morning, and Keith and Joseph had escorted her to the embassy. She hadn’t wanted to leave Logan, but the events of the last few days had caught up to her and her body had cried out for rest. Alan had promised to stay by Logan’s side and the other men had led her from the room, offering her a bed and a shower. She hadn’t had the energy to put up much of a fight.

Now though, she wanted to see him again.
Needed
to see him, in fact. Even though she knew Alan was there helping him and keeping him safe, Olivia had to see Logan with her own eyes to believe he was really okay. The memory of him, pale and unconscious, was too fresh in her mind. She needed to replace it with a vision of him awake and healthy, to chase away the cold fear that still lingered when she thought of losing him.

His brush with death had shaken his coworkers, as well. All of the men on his team had been reserved and subdued around her, their reaction a testament to how much Logan meant to everyone who knew him.

They slowed as they approached the door, and Joseph rapped lightly on the frame to announce their arrival. He pushed open the door and stepped inside, and Olivia and Keith followed.

“Hey, there,” Joseph said, walking forward to approach the bed. His body blocked Olivia’s view of Logan and she bit her lip to contain a sigh of impatience. Logan hadn’t seen his friends in weeks—he deserved a moment with them.

“Hey, yourself,” she heard him say. His voice was a little scratchy, probably from the intubation during his surgery. How’s his pain? she wondered. Were they taking good care of him here? Did he need anything? Her fingers itched for something to do, wanting to make him more comfortable in any way possible.

Joseph stepped to the side and Olivia got her first glimpse of Logan. She was relieved to see he was sitting up in the bed, which meant he was likely feeling pretty good. His color was much better, and the tightness around her heart eased as the knowledge that he was going to be okay sank in.

She swallowed hard, feeling suddenly shy. “Hi,” she said softly.

His gaze found her then, and something flashed in his green eyes. “Hello.” There was a coolness to his tone that hadn’t been there before, and Olivia felt a tremor of uncertainty in her belly. Was he angry with her? Did he blame her for his injuries?

“How are you feeling?”

He shrugged, then winced slightly. “Pretty good, as long as I don’t forget and move the wrong way.” He smiled ruefully and the awkward tension between them eased a bit.

“I’m so sorry about what happened,” she began, but he lifted a hand to forestall her words.

“Don’t worry—it wasn’t your fault,” he assured her. He glanced at his friends and the corner of his mouth quirked up. “Part of the job, am I right, guys?”

The men’s soft laughter was like the rumble of distant thunder, a sound that should have been comforting. But Olivia couldn’t shake the feeling that something was just a little bit off.

Keith said something that made Logan laugh, but it wasn’t the deep, booming noise she’d heard him make before. It seemed slightly forced, as if he were simply humoring his friend.

Maybe he’s in more pain than he’s letting on, she mused. It was possible Logan was trying to play it cool in front of his coworkers. Before they’d come to Colombia she had seen the way the men all joked around with each other. Perhaps Logan felt like he needed to act tough, to avoid getting teased about this later. But would they really give him a hard time about needing painkillers after a major surgery? She frowned slightly, able to picture it all too well. The male ego was a mystifying creature, one she would probably never fully understand.

“I’m going to go grab some food for us,” Alan said, rising from the chair and stretching his hands over his head. “Help me carry the stuff, Keith?”

“Sure thing,” the other man said.

“I’ll hold down the fort,” Joseph said with a smile. “Be sure to bring me back something good.”

Alan punched him lightly on the arm as he walked by. “Oh, I’ll be sure to find something special just for you.”

The teasing continued as the men left the room. “Do you know where the bathrooms are?” Joseph asked.

“Down the hall and to your left,” Olivia said. He nodded thanks and stepped out.

She turned back to face Logan, the atmosphere in the room lighter now that his friends had left. The men were nice enough, but she wanted to be alone with Logan. She’d grown used to his constant company over the past few weeks, and it was amazing how much she’d missed his presence after only a few hours apart.

“I missed you last night,” she said, trying to keep her tone light. “I’ve gotten so used to the sound of your snoring it was hard to sleep in a silent room.”

He lifted a brow and gave her an arch stare. “I could say the same about you,” he replied drily.

She smiled and crossed over to his bed. “Are you feeling all right? You seem a little off today.”

“I did just have surgery,” he pointed out.

“True. But it just seems like you’re holding something back, or that something isn’t quite right with you.”

A look of shock passed over his face, but it was gone so quickly she might have imagined it. “I’m fine.”

“Are you in pain?” Maybe he would admit it to her, now that they were alone.

“A little.”

“And you don’t want to say it in front of your friends?”

He shifted on the bed a bit, as if the question made him uncomfortable. “They’d never let me live it down,” he confessed, confirming her earlier suspicion.

Men.
She mentally shook her head. “Do you want me to call a nurse? She can bring something for you before any of them get back.”

“No need. They gave me something before you got here. It’s starting to kick in.”

“Okay.” She eyed him doubtfully, but didn’t press the issue. It seemed he would rather suffer now than deal with the teasing of his coworkers, and she wasn’t going to be able to convince him otherwise.

Joseph returned, and he and Logan fell into the easy banter of old friends. Olivia was content to sit and listen to them chat, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that Logan was keeping something from her.

But what?

She needed to get him alone, away from his coworkers. Whatever was bothering him, he wasn’t going to talk about it in front of them. Maybe the men would head back to the embassy after lunch and she could stay and talk to Logan. There was so much she wanted to say to him, and she didn’t want an audience for their conversation.

His injury had made her aware that her feelings for Logan went beyond a simple attraction. She had fallen for him, despite all the reasons why she shouldn’t. It seemed her heart was immune to the logic of her mind.

Did he feel the same way? She watched him quietly, happy to see him alive and whole. The thin hospital sheets did nothing to hide the long, graceful lines of his body, and she was struck by the memory of touching him, feeling him next to her, reveling in his heat. Her skin warmed at the memory and she glanced away, hoping neither he nor Joseph would notice her reaction.

Maybe he regretted what they’d done. After all, they’d been caught up in the emotion of the moment. It was easy to lose yourself in passion when you were far from home, away from all the reminders of normal life. It was possible this hint of awkwardness between them was nothing more than Logan trying to distance himself from her so he could let her down easily once they returned. And it made sense he wouldn’t want his colleagues to know how the nature of their relationship had changed in Colombia—it hadn’t been terribly professional of either of them. Still, she held on to the hope that her feelings for him weren’t all one-sided.

Losing her parents had been devastating. If she lost Logan, too...

She wasn’t sure her heart could take it.

* * *

Logan took a deep breath, steeling himself to get through the next few hours. It was going to be difficult, but he didn’t have any other choice.

He took his seat next to Olivia and attempted a normal smile. She frowned slightly but gave him a shy smile, then returned to her magazine.

She was far more perceptive than he wanted to admit, and it was clear from the puzzled looks she’d been giving him that she knew something was up. Of course, his acting skills weren’t anything to write home about, so it was no wonder she’d picked up on his distress.

After the plane took off, Olivia shut her magazine with a sigh and shoved it into the seat pocket in front of her. Then she turned to face him, wearing a determined expression that made his stomach flip.

“Can we talk?” She kept her voice low, presumably so the guys couldn’t overhear. They were seated across the aisle and chatting with each other like this was just another trip. As far as he could tell, Olivia didn’t realize that
she
was now the focus of the investigation.

“Sure.” He tried to sound casual. “What’s on your mind?”

“I’m just wondering if everything is okay. You’ve been distant lately. Ever since the hospital.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

Olivia nodded. “I get that. And I figured you wouldn’t want your coworkers to know how things developed between us.”

“That’s part of it.” Bad enough he’d fallen for another liar. If the guys knew, they’d look at him with pity and forever question his judgment. He didn’t deserve any better, but he wanted to keep this secret as long as possible.

She placed her hand on his and squeezed gently. “I understand. But I want you to know that I treasure the time we had together. I don’t want to lose you after all this is over.”

She sounded so sincere, and her dark brown eyes were large and inviting. Despite everything Alan had said and all the evidence of her deceit, Logan found himself drawn to her, wanting to trust her. His brain knew she was trouble, but his heart refused to get the message.

“I feel the same way,” he said, almost choking on the words.

If she noticed his trouble, she didn’t show it. “I was worried you were angry with me,” she went on. “Because of your injury. I still don’t know who that man was, or why he gave us the keys to the Jeep.”

Logan lifted his shoulder, being careful not to pull on the stitches. “We’ll probably never know.”

“It doesn’t make any sense!” There was distress in her eyes now, and his traitorous body wanted to fold her in his arms and comfort her.

“You can’t obsess over it,” he told her. It was advice he should heed himself. No matter how much he wondered, he’d never understand how he’d fallen for another beautiful liar. He’d go mad trying to figure it out.

“I know. But I hate that you got hurt.” She shook her head and strands of her hair fell forward to frame her face. “I was so scared that night. I thought I was going to lose you...” She trailed off and Logan frowned, hearing an echo of her voice in his mind.

Please, Logan. Don’t leave me now.

Where had that come from? Had he imagined it, or was it something she’d actually said?

Help me, please. You have to save him!

He shook his head to clear it of the disjointed thoughts. Alan’s explanation of events was logical and made sense. But sitting next to Olivia now, hearing the memory of her words, he began to wonder...

If she really had wanted him dead, why bother rushing to Bogotá? He’d been mostly out of it during the drive, but he remembered the beating his body had taken as Olivia hit every divot and ditch in the road at full speed. It would have been much easier for her to let him bleed out on the way and claim she hadn’t made it in time...

And what about the things she’d said? It was starting to come back to him now, and he could hear her muttered voice chanting “stay with me” over and over like some kind of mantra. Not exactly the words of a woman who wanted him dead...

Was it possible Alan was wrong? The facts were compelling enough, but maybe they had misinterpreted things.

Or maybe
, his cynical side said,
you just don’t want to be wrong about another woman.

“Do you think Avery and Mallory are still safe?” The question jerked him out of his thoughts and he glanced over to find Olivia’s features twisted with worry.

Logan nodded. This was something he did know for sure. “We’ve still got people watching them. They’re fine.” And apparently totally unaware of Olivia’s entanglement with the cartel.

Relief shone brightly in her eyes. “I’d never forgive myself if something happened to them. I can’t wait for this ordeal to be over so my life can go back to normal.”

Normal.
Now there was a thought. Would things ever be normal for him again? Was it possible for his life to go back to the way it was before he’d met Olivia? He wasn’t sure what was worse: getting shot or finding out about her betrayal. Both wounds hurt badly, and he’d carry their scars for the rest of his life.

“Soon,” he promised. “We’ll have you set up the meet with Carlos once we get back. You’ll be done before you know it.” The thought should have given him pleasure, but instead he felt hollow inside. This was the worst op he’d ever been on, and it was all his fault. He’d let his emotions rule his behavior and he’d gotten attached to Olivia when he should have kept his distance. Was it any wonder he felt like he was falling apart inside?