Enticed by the Operative (Doctors in Danger, Book 1) (3 page)

He hesitated a moment, clearly trying to decide what to say. Then he simply nodded.

Olivia took a deep breath, pushing aside her doubts. Logan worked for the DEA, so he was probably the best person to talk to about Carlos and his offer. Besides, she didn’t really have any other options at this point.

To his credit, he didn’t interrupt her. He sat there quietly, his large hands folded on the table and his broad shoulders looking like they could hold the weight of the world. She felt a small spurt of satisfaction when he sat up straight at the mention of Carlos—
See? I’m not crazy
, she wanted to say—but he remained silent until she finished telling him the whole story.

“Have you contacted your friends?”

Olivia stared at him, feeling drained of all emotion. “No. Avery would know something is wrong just by the sound of my voice. And Mallory is in the Caribbean somewhere on her cruise ship. But even if I could get ahold of her, I don’t want to put either of them at further risk.”

He acknowledged her point with a nod. “Fair enough. I just thought you might feel better if you talked to them, reassured yourself that they’re still okay.”

She looked down at her plate, the food blurring as tears filled her eyes. “I would,” she admitted. “But I’m too scared to try right now.”

After a moment, she raised her head and met Logan’s gaze. Sympathy was bright in his eyes, but he didn’t try to offer her empty reassurances or hollow promises. He simply let her process things without trying to brush away her emotions, a fact that she appreciated. She ran her gaze over his strong chin and long, straight nose, then up to his eyebrows, twin brown arches over his deep green eyes. He was a very attractive man, a fact she was finding harder to ignore...

“Okay. Let’s talk about Carlos. Can you tell me what he looked like?”

Olivia took a deep breath, appreciating the distraction. “Here’s the paperwork he filled out at my office.” She slid the folder across the table, then took a second to recall his face and rattled off a description of the other man. “If that’s even his real name,” she finished.

“Probably not,” Logan agreed, glancing through the forms she’d given him. “But he sounds like a guy we’ve been interested in for a while.”

“You know him? Does that mean you know where he is?” This could all be over soon! If the DEA knew where to find Carlos, they could arrest him and her friends would be safe.

Her hope must have shown on her face, because Logan shook his head. “We don’t have that kind of information yet,” he said gently. “We know he’s involved with an organization called Fantasmas del Mal, but we don’t yet have specifics about where he lives or who he associates with.”

“Fantasmas del Mal,” she repeated. The name triggered a dim spark of recognition in the recesses of her brain. She tried not to get involved in that aspect of Colombian life, but no one who spent time in the country could long ignore the collection of organizations that operated in the shadows. “The Evil Ghosts? Is that some kind of drug cartel?”

Logan lifted one shoulder. “In a manner of speaking. The Colombian cartel system isn’t what it once was, but the power vacuum left behind by the deaths of Pablo Escobar and his rivals didn’t last long. Fantasmas del Mal is one of several militant organizations that stepped in to fight over control of the drug trade.”

So it was as bad as she had feared. “That’s a rather poetic name.”

A small smile flitted across his face. “It is, indeed. Rumor has it the locals coined it because the members of the cartel sweep in to mete out punishments, then disappear like fading ghosts.”

She swallowed hard. “I see.”

“Olivia, I need to ask you something.” He pressed his lips together and looked away, as if he were searching for the right words. “Why didn’t you go to the authorities after Carlos came to your office? We could have moved on this, started the process earlier if you’d said something.”

“Would it really have mattered?” She walked over to the coffee table, picked up the photos of her friends and held them out for Logan. “Those pictures aren’t all from today or even yesterday. Someone has been following my friends for weeks, if not longer. They’ve been in danger this whole time. What good would a few hours have done?”

He reached up and gently touched her cheek. The pain from the slap had faded, but the memory of it made her shudder. “That’s a fair point,” he said softly. “Now that we know they’re being threatened, I can make sure they have protection.”

Some of the tension left her body at his assurance, but then a horrible thought entered her mind. “What if Carlos’s men see their guards? Won’t that tip him off that I spoke to you?” She started to pace, wrapping her arms around her waist as she walked. If the police suddenly showed up at Avery’s home or office, it would definitely be noticed. And she had no doubts that Carlos was ruthless enough to take out a couple of patrol officers if it meant killing her friends, too. That was just the kind of message he’d love to send, and something told her he wouldn’t hesitate to act.

Had she just signed a death warrant for her best friends?

A terrible squeezing band of pressure wrapped around her chest, and she struggled to breathe.
I shouldn’t have said anything.
Damn her emotions! They had made her weak, made her seek out the comfort of an understanding listener. She’d thought Logan could help her, but now she realized getting him involved had been a huge mistake, one that would cost her friends the ultimate price.

Black spots danced in her vision, and the roar of blood filled her ears. Something grabbed her shoulders, and then she was pushed down, her fall broken suddenly by a solid structure underneath her. A warm weight pressed against her back, guiding her head forward until she was nearly bent over.

After a moment she registered a low voice, close to her ear. “Take it easy. You’re okay. Just keep breathing for me.” It was Logan, his breath warm as it fanned across her cheek.

He sounded so calm, so soothing. She felt the pressure in her chest ease, and the whooshing sound in her ears receded as she focused on his voice.

“There you are,” he said, after a moment. “Glad to have you back.”

“You have to leave Avery and Mallory alone.” She gripped his arm and squeezed hard, trying to make him understand how important this was. As much as it pained her to think of her friends being under surveillance by the cartel, at least they were still alive. If the police suddenly showed up, it would do more harm than good.

“Whoa,” he said, placing his hand over hers. “Slow down. You’re jumping to conclusions here.”

“I can’t risk their safety. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to them.”

“It won’t,” he said, his tone brooking no argument. “This isn’t my first rodeo. I’m not going to have uniformed officers suddenly start following your friends around like lost puppies. The type of protection I’m talking about is more subtle than that. These guys hang back and watch. They focus more on the cartel’s men than your friends, making sure the bad guys don’t try anything.”

“So Carlos won’t know they’re around?”

Logan shook his head. “Think of them as guardian angels. They’re around, but invisible to most people.”

That sounded better. Olivia took a deep breath and felt her heartbeat slow as she considered his words. It would be nice to know someone was watching over them, someone who was trained to keep them safe. And if they could do it without tipping off Carlos and his men? All the better.

“Okay,” she said. “I’m sorry I doubted you.”

He smiled, his gaze warming as he looked at her. She felt drawn in by his eyes, their mossy green color reminding her of the jungles of Colombia. Was that why she had started talking to him? Because her subconscious had made a connection to her familial home?

For the first time, Olivia became aware of Logan as more than her nice neighbor. He was a handsome, strong man, and he seemed to be very interested in helping her deal with her problems. Her stomach did a funny little flip as the implications of that sank in. It had been a long time—
too long
, her libido chimed in—since she had noticed a man and been noticed in return. She’d been in a serious relationship once. But Scott had dumped her after the deaths of her parents, saying she’d changed too much. Maybe he’d had a point. At first, her grief over their loss had been so raw it kept her from doing much more than surviving. Scott had accused her of shutting down and had pushed her to move on. When she resisted, he’d left, saying he didn’t want to be tied down to someone who could give up so easily.

His departure had been another painful blow to her heart, and Olivia hadn’t dated since. She couldn’t bring herself to trust another man, but she was also a little afraid: if she didn’t open her heart to new people, she wouldn’t be hurt by their inevitable losses. Avery and Mallory had made it clear they thought she was making a mistake, but in truth, Olivia hadn’t met anyone who made her want to take that risk.

Logan spoke again, interrupting her thoughts and reminding her this was no time to get distracted. “There’s another possibility you should consider.”

“What’s that?”

“Your friends may not be under constant cartel surveillance at this time. Carlos may have had his men follow them to get the pictures he showed you, but that doesn’t mean they’re still being trailed.”

His words lit a candle of hope in the darkness of her thoughts. “Do you think so?”

Logan lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Following people takes time and ties up resources. I’m not saying your friends are in the clear, but Carlos probably feels pretty confident that he can find them. Why waste time having men shadow their every move when he can just pick up the phone and get them back on the radar at a moment’s notice?”

A growing sense of excitement made Olivia’s skin tingle. Were Avery and Mallory safer than she thought right now? If that was the case, maybe she could somehow warn them, get them to run far away until the danger had passed.

Her thoughts must have shown on her face, because Logan held up a hand as if to slow her down. “I can’t be sure they aren’t being followed,” he began, but Olivia cut him off.

“What if I somehow got a message to them, let them know what was going on? They could hide until we figure out what to do about Carlos.”

Logan shook his head, his mouth flattening in sympathy. “Too risky. Carlos is going to be hyperaware of your actions until you’re in Colombia. I know you’re worried about your friends, but trust me, staying away is the best thing you can do for them right now.”

Olivia sank back into her chair, her enthusiasm waning. “How can I be sure he hasn’t killed them already?”

“Believe me, you’d know.” He sounded quite certain, but Olivia didn’t share his conviction.

“How do you figure that?”

Logan grimaced. “These are the kind of people who send graphic videos accompanied by body parts. If your friends were already dead, Carlos would make sure you were aware of that fact.”

Olivia felt the blood drain from her face. “Oh, God.”

“Try not to think about it.”

Oh, sure. Like her imagination was something she could just switch off on command. Maybe that was how Logan dealt with such matters, but Olivia’s mind didn’t work that way.

She glanced around the room, looking for something to distract her from thoughts of Avery and Mallory being tortured at the hands of vicious strangers. Logan seemed to sense her trouble, and he reached out to grab her hand with his own.

“I know it seems hopeless now, but we will find a way to make sure everyone comes through this safely. Especially you.” He punctuated his words with a gentle squeeze, and warmth traveled from her hand up her arm and into her chest. Although she didn’t know him very well, Logan’s presence was a comfort. It might have been the fact that he was so calm when her emotions were all over the place. Or it might have been the confidence he projected, as if he could take on the problems of the world and put them to rights. Or perhaps it was just the peace that came from being touched by another person seeking to offer reassurance, something she hadn’t felt since Scott’s departure. Either way, Olivia closed her eyes and allowed herself a moment to savor the contact.

When she opened her eyes, she saw that Logan was watching her. His expression was one of concern, and she had the fleeting sensation that he really and truly cared about her and her problems. But that was probably just wishful thinking on her part. After all, they barely knew each other, so why would he care about her on a personal level? He was likely interested in her story as it pertained to his job, but nothing more.

Disappointment felt like a stone in her stomach, but she ignored it. It was her own fault she had to turn to a neighbor she barely knew for help.

Pushing aside those thoughts, she refocused on Logan. “What happens now?” The words were unfamiliar in her mouth. As a doctor, she was used to having complete control over a situation. In her office, in the operating room—even in Colombia—she was in charge. People looked to her for guidance and direction, and she had no problem stepping up and taking the reins. But this was a situation she didn’t understand and didn’t know how to navigate. She felt like she’d been dropped in a foreign country, with no idea of the customs or how to speak the language.

He frowned slightly. “Two things. First, I need to call this in and inform the team what we’re dealing with here.”

“Wait a minute,” Olivia replied, disentangling her hand from his and holding it up. “I’m not willing to risk the safety of my friends like that.” Had she made a mistake after all?

Logan’s expression was a mix of pity and kindness. “We’ll do everything in our power to keep them safe,” he said. “But I have a responsibility to report this, and the only way we can find out what’s really going on is if we launch an official investigation.”

“Won’t that alert the bad guys that I talked to you?” Panic clawed up from her chest, threatening to strangle her. Things were moving too fast, spinning out of control. If Logan got more people involved, it increased the chances of Carlos finding out and killing her friends.