No Reason to Run (11 page)

Chapter 19

The silence lasted a
minute tops then Vik chuckled. His chuckle turned into a full blown laugh. He
smacked the counter with his open palm. “Color my dick purple. No wonder he
wants to shut her down.” After his laughter his accent was more pronounced.
Russian or some other Slavic origin, Olivia decided.

“Shut up, Vik. Have
some manners.” This from Striker.

Olivia appreciated
his unexpected defense though it caught her off guard. Shane must have thought
she was hurt as well because his arms became bands of steel around her. “No
worries. I’m fine. We’ve been divorced a long time and whatever I felt,
whatever holds a marriage together was gone a long time ago.”

Her gaze shot around
the kitchen. All three of them looked doubtful. She guessed she understood.
They wanted theatrics and screeching. That wasn’t Olivia’s style.

She cleared her
throat. “Now you know.”

“Ok,” Shane heaved
out a breath. “It doesn’t explain why he wouldn’t want this to get out. The
scandal wouldn’t exactly ruin his career since he’s single and can do what he
wants.”

Vik spoke up.
“That’s easy. He ran his campaign as a conservative with strong views on
upstanding Christian values. His family’s old money and his old man would have
a fit if his only child announced his homosexuality.” 

Olivia nodded her
head in agreement. “His dad has some very staunch views on matters of sexuality
and Brian’s grandfather was a pastor that still ministers in the community.”  

“Question is why
doesn’t he believe his ex-wife won’t talk? She’s got as much to lose as him if
the media began questioning their marriage.” Striker’s question was a good one.

“And why the hell
would the bastard plan to kill his kid’s mother?” No longer leaning against the
counter, Vik faced them with a serious pissed off look.

Olivia stiffened in
Shane’s arms from the questions. He glanced down at the top of her head. She
twisted the hem of her tank. “Princess. What else do you know?”

Her muscles
flinched. “Brian called as soon as I got home that afternoon. He was frantic,
apologizing over and over. I told him I wasn’t concerned about what he did any
more. I’d never let it get out because he’s Chloe’s father.”

“Chloe?” Striker flicked
through the papers in his hand. “Your three-year-old daughter.”

***

Olivia nodded and
snuggled closer to Shane. Did she realize she sought comfort from him with the
telling gesture? Shane tightened his arms offering his strength
unconditionally.

“Any man that would
kill his kid’s mom is a man that needs killing.”

Striker eyed Vik at
his announcement and shook his head. “You’d agree he needed killing
regardless.” Vik had a hard-on for anyone that hurt women. Every one of the
operatives on their team knew it was his Achilles heel. Vik didn’t talk much
about his past but whatever it was set his stance on how females were to be
treated.

It pleased Shane to
see Vik relax. His smile blinded. “Yeah, well. Not like I’m a fan of the
bastard anyway.” Then Vik became serious. “What’s the plan? Do you want one of
us to take him out before he can hurt her?”

Shane would love to
do exactly that but their lives no longer revolved around following through on
kill orders. The business he’d created and nurtured involved security
assessment for resident and commercial property, security detail on US soil
only and recovery of high value stolen property. No killing if possible.

“No. Olivia thought
his parents would reel him in but that fell through.”

Striker snorted.
“You want Vik and me to give him the back-off message loud and clear?”

Shane maneuvered it
so Olivia had her back to the men and he could watch her face. “Your call,
princess. How do you want us to handle?”

Her mouth parted
then snapped shut. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest.
The move shifted something in his heart.

“They’d kill him?”
he heard her whisper.

“It’s off the table
unless you want it. Say the word, princess, and I’ll do the bastard myself.”
Easily. He maintained his skills as one of the best snipers around and wouldn’t
hesitate to put a bullet between O’Donnell’s eyes. Of course, like he reminded
Vik, they weren’t in that life any more.

Her head snapped up,
hands fisting on his shirt. Blue eyes widened with panic. “No. Don’t do that.”

Shane covered her
hands with his. “Right. No killing.”

“Can you just warn
him? Tell him to stop.”

“Of course.” Shane
didn’t believe for a minute that it would stop Senator O’Donnell but he’d give
the fool a chance. “Why don’t you check on Chloe and I’ll work something out
with my men.”

Her head nodded and
she released his shirt. He missed the contact. Especially when he opened his
arms to let her leave the room.

As if by agreement
they all waited until the tread of her footsteps could be heard upstairs. Vik
whistled low and clear. “Damn, Mitchell, do you feed the chick?”

Shane frowned but
saw Striker turn away to hide a grin. “What the fuck? They ate.”

“Well she sure as
hell wasn’t full because she did a number on your neck.”

Striker let loose a
laugh and headed for Shane’s fridge to grab a beer. Shane’s hand flew to his
neck where the skin was tender to the touch. Hell, she’d marked him as he
expected with that sweet mouth of hers.

Striker tossed a
beer to Vik who snatched the bottle from the air with the same lightening
reflexes that made him an asset during his years in the military.

“How bad is it?”
Shane directed the question to Striker who’d give him an honest answer. Vik
would only fuck with him.

Striker pointed at
his neck and moved his finger in a slow circular motion. “Very dark, too. Like
she took her time.”

“Hell.” Nothing he
could do about it now. “Let’s go to my office downstairs. I want to show you
the other stuff. Despite what Olivia believes, I think her ex is beyond a
simple warning.”

****

The information
scrolled across both screens for the men to read what Shane already had. In
order to restrain himself, Shane stayed back not needing to read it all again.

“Kyle turned it
down?” Vik’s voice conveyed the same sense of amazement Shane felt when his old
friend sent him the message about not doing women.

“I told you I don’t
think he’s too far gone. He just went a little deeper than the rest of us and
needs time.”

Vik rolled his eyes.
“You offered him a job same as us. He turned you down and then rents himself
out to the highest bidder doing the stuff that made all of us sick to our
stomachs at night.”

Shane understood. In
the last years before they got out their former boss had sent their Delta unit
on one gruesome mission after another until the government had caught wind of
it and forced him into retirement. The last assignment had been a cluster fuck
and one by one they’d all gotten out while they could. Six of his ten-man unit
now worked for his company. Two hadn’t made it home and the final two including
Kyle chose to make their own way as independent contractors.

Shane held hope
they’d eventually join him. Striker turned from the screens and stabbed a
finger at Shane. “This bastard’s been running her to ground. It’s clear as fuck
he’s outta control.”

Good to know he
wasn’t alone in the thought. Shane handed over the cell phone he’d palmed from
Olivia’s pocket. “See what you can do with this. I got the old phone records
but didn’t have a chance to start on the new one.”

A wide smile spread
across Striker’s face and his brown eyes glinted with determination. “Now
you’re talking.”

Striker whipped out
the laptop he’d brought downstairs with him. Shane left him to it. Vik shook
his head, murmuring under his breath in Russian. During down time on their ops
while they waited, the younger man taught Shane his native language. What he’d
muttered roughly translated to son of a bitch. Or close enough.

“You should let us
return the favor and fuck with him then blow his brains out. Did you see the
little one? Such sweet innocence should not be defiled.”

Chloe’s picture
beamed back from one of the monitors. The child personified cuteness with the
swirls of red curls on her head, bright blue eyes and chubby cheeks. Shane
admitted if only to himself that she was growing on him. Her exuberance for
life spoke to the love she received from her mother.

“Did he abuse them?”

The question pierced
Shane’s mind. He didn’t know how to answer Vik about O’Donnell. Occasionally
Chloe tensed when he came near just like her mother had earlier today when he’d
stormed her in the hallway. Part of him said the guy didn’t have the balls to
fight anyone but there was no missing the way Olivia folded on herself. He’d
wanted to slam his fist into something. Or better yet someone for putting the
look of fear in their eyes.

“I don’t know,”
Shane finally answered.

Vik muttered another
curse. This one in English clear as day.

“Got it.” Striker
voiced the declaration in the same tone he’d use announcing breakfast ready.
“You should let me shoot him, Shane.”

Vik and Shane turned
as one. Striker had an assortment of miniscule tools laid out beside him on the
chair. Olivia’s phone was dismantled but what Striker held up in the air kept
both men’s attention on him

Un-fucking-believable.
“A tracker? He put a damn tracker in her phone.” No wonder he’d been able to
find her when she ran to the hotel.

Striker placed the
tracker on a side table and reached for a mallet shaped tool. Shane’s mind spun
with thoughts. “No.” Shane started to line up a plan in his head. “Don’t. Put
it back.”

Shane felt Vik give
him a crazy eyed stare. “Man, you want Striker to put it back?”

Shane nodded. “Yeah.
The faster he thinks he can find her, the faster he’ll come to us.”

Vik’s mouth
stretched into a smile. “And maybe he meets an accident, right?”

Striker snorted.
“He’s a senator, Zonov. We can’t cover that.”

“We could. Mitchell
taught us how.” Vik’s grumble was full of disappointment.

Shane had to smile.
“That’s not where we are anymore, guys. Let the fox come closer to the hen
house. I suggest we give him an up close and personal reason to back the hell
off Olivia and Chloe going forward.” If the bastard tracked her it wouldn’t
take long to figure out her location at Shane’s house.

“Fill us in,
Mitchell. You seem in pretty deep for a woman you just met.”

Striker’s words were
steeped in truth. Vik’s laser beam gaze latched onto Shane, awaiting his
response. Vik’s amusement was momentarily absent.

Shane showed no
hesitation. “I’m not sure yet. But I’m committed to protecting her and her
daughter.”

“Can we at least
have some fun with O’Donnell when he shows?” Vik’s fingers caressed his ka-bar
with loving strokes as he added the plea.

There wasn’t much
outside of his family that brought Shane the same zing of pleasure he got from
an op run well. This time, he let his grin break through.
“Abso-fucking-lutely.”

Even Striker’s mouth
stretched into a satisfied grin while his hands made quick work of
re-assembling Olivia’s phone.

Chapter 20

It looked like they
were going to be at Shane’s house longer than she expected. Olivia asked if she
could run to the store. She and Chloe needed a few more outfits and if she went
to a chain retailer, she could stretch her forty dollars. Shane agreed as long
as one of his men went with her. The hardest part was trusting Chloe with he
and his man Vik. After the bus station incident, Olivia wanted her daughter
under lock and key.

Standing in front of
the aisle of the girls’ underwear and sock section, Olivia couldn’t believe how
Shane had worked around her refusal to take money from him again. Out of the
corner of her eye, she glanced at Striker standing vigil a few feet away while
she made her selection.

The scarred giant
looked out of place amongst the pink frilly décor in the girls section. Several
passersbys cast curious stares in his direction. Shoppers worked their carts in
wide circles around his still form. She didn’t blame them, he made an imposing
figure. Striker raised a brow bisected by a scar when he caught her look.
Olivia flushed and turned back to the display. She grabbed a couple of packages
of socks, t-shirts and cartooned underwear. Jeans, shorts and colorful tops
went in the cart next.

Olivia moved to the
women’s section and grabbed a few items for herself. She put in more than she
planned to spite Shane since he blithely handed Striker the money she wouldn’t
accept. Striker seemed to ignore her actions but she knew he’d stop her if she
moved an inch out of his range.

His clear focus
remained on making sure no one got near her. Deep inside, it reassured Olivia
that he took her safety so seriously but a part of her wondered at the
necessity. Perhaps, Shane was overthinking matters. All of this surpassed what
she’d come to expect from Brian.

“I think I have
everything. We can go to the front to pay.”

Striker nodded his
bald head and grasped her arm above the elbow to direct her through the aisles.
Olivia frowned. “I do know how to get to the cashiers.”

“I’m sorry, Ms.
Anderson. We’re working our way around the crowd.”

If he considered the
ten people in the store a crowd, she hated to think how he’d react in a larger
retail environment. The pretty cashier in the lilac apron smiled at Olivia but
a brief check at Striker’s expression had her ringing Olivia’s purchases
quickly. Everything ended up in several light blue plastic bags with the
store’s logo on the front.

Striker handed the
woman some cash and waited for change. Olivia gathered the bags and smiled
wryly when Striker gave her a warning stare. She rolled her eyes. As if she’d
move from his side. She remembered the rules Shane issued prior to leaving the
house. Sticking close to Striker and following his direction topped the list of
orders.

“Stay inside, Ms.
Anderson. I’ll bring the car around to the front.”

“Olivia,” she
corrected for at least the third time. He paid her no mind and escorted her to
the atrium by the exit of the store. Razor sharp eyes did a rapid scan around
them before he appeared satisfied. Olivia tracked his progress as he strode
quickly to the parking lot to retrieve the truck they’d arrived in. His, she
presumed because it hadn’t been at Shane’s the night before.

She hunched her
shoulders as people walked in and out of the store. To make things easier, she
went outside and stood to the side of the entrance. This way she didn’t block
anyone’s path. She settled the bags at her feet when someone bumped into her
shoulder from behind. “I’m sorry,” she automatically apologized and turned.

The man dressed in
the dark hoodie and jeans pushed up close to her aligning his front to her
back.

“Hey,” she
protested, fear rolling down her spine. A look at his stern features brought on
a rush of paranoia. She recognized him as one of the men from the hotel.

He grabbed her by
the elbows and something sharp jabbed at her back. “Keep moving unless you want
your daughter to see you covered in blood.”

The fear turned to
panic. “Chloe? What about Chloe?” Worry poked holes at her fragile sense of
security.

The man’s grip
tightened, roughly tugging her outside the store and Striker’s line of sight.
She resisted but thoughts of her daughter had her heart pounding. “She’s just a
child.”

He forced her around
the corner of the building cutting to the side of the store where large trees
kept them hidden from others. “No one’s going to get hurt as long as you listen
to us. O’Donnell just wants to have a word with you.” Olivia choked back a cry
at the harshly worded threat.

Continuing to
struggle, she tried to buy Striker time. He had to have noticed her
disappearance by now. “This really is about Brian and his paranoid fear. I
already told him he has nothing to worry about.”

The stranger pushed
her toward a dark sedan with tinted windows at the rear of the store lot. “Then
you’ll have no problem reassuring him again.”

Olivia knew without
a doubt if she got in that car, she’d never get out of this alive. She screamed
as loud as she could and threw her weight backwards hoping to loosen his hands
enough to escape.

“Bitch,” he barked
and his hand powered toward her face.

The blow slammed
into the side of her cheek. The instant throb echoed along her jaw. Olivia
reached up tasting the salty trickle of blood in her mouth. Her face burned
like the sting of a hundred bees and her steps came to a grinding halt. She’d
vowed long ago to never take a man’s physical blow without retaliating.

Olivia aimed for his
face but he gripped her wrist before she connected. Another man inside the car
opened the back passenger door. “Get her in here quick.” He was the second man
from when they’d cornered her at the hotel and insisted they only wanted to
talk.

Olivia dug her heels
in. The pinch of sharp nails in her flesh caused her to wince but at least his
hold slackened. She kicked out with her legs aiming for his private parts but
he easily dodged her efforts. Lips feeling puffy, Olivia screamed again and
received a hard shove toward the opened car door. “No.”

She stumbled and her
knees hit the concrete hard. Her arms were ruthlessly yanked back as he hauled
her to her feet. The man inside opened his door and stepped out. “Shit, man.
Hurry the fuck up.”

“I’m trying,”
Olivia’s assailant protested.

Her efforts doubled.
Where was Striker? She shoved her elbow backward but his arm wrapped around her
mid-section and squeezed until Olivia thought she’d vomit.

Her vision grew hazy
when she finally heard Striker yell out. The man by the car jumped back in the
driver’s seat. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Shit.” The man
holding her tossed Olivia to the ground. Her hands came out to catch her
weight. She struggled to her feet, the sound of running steps music to her
ears.

The dark sedan drove
off with a squeal of tires. Striker helped her get her footing. Olivia turned
in relief when Striker touched her shoulder briefly. “You alright, Ms.
Anderson?” He held a gun in his hand, arm down to his side.

Chest heaving,
Olivia calmly gathered the bags she’d dropped. “I think after this you should
call me Olivia.”

His grunt wasn’t an
agreement or negative.

Striker put her bags
in the trunk of the car and whipped out his cell to call Shane. Olivia kept
quiet during the ride back. The tiny speaker allowed her to hear Shane shouting
through the phone after listening to Striker explain the incident.

Striker accepted the
tongue lashing patiently though a muscle ticked in his jaw. Horror at what
could have happened still danced through Olivia’s mind. When Striker hung up,
Olivia swallowed. “I’m sorry. I’ll tell Shane it’s my fault.”

And it was because
she hadn’t followed Striker’s instructions. She never should have left the
store or moved from the spot where other customers could see her. It frightened
her to think she’d almost been snatched from the sidewalk in broad daylight.
Then Olivia remembered the other things the man said.

Her gaze turned
frantic. She pat her pockets for her cell phone but couldn’t find it. She
pulled her purse on her lap and dug through it until she found it but she
didn’t have Shane’s cell. “Call him back, Striker. Call Shane.”

He stiffened and
eyed her over the seat.

“Please.” She
reached out and picked up his cell, holding it towards him. “One of the men
said they’d hurt me and I’d be covered in blood when Chloe saw me. I need to
know she’s okay.”

Striker’s dark eyes
narrowed and a wave of menace rolled from him. The muscles in his arms flexed
but his grip on the steering wheel remained steady. “I’m sure she’s fine, Ms.
Anderson.”

A painful scream
clawed up her gut desperate to escape until Striker relented and tapped his
earpiece. “Call Shane.”

Olivia relaxed back
in her seat grateful that he listened. Her fingers tapped restlessly against
her thigh as the waited for the call to be picked on the other end.

“Hey, Mitch, how’s
the kid?” Striker listened closely and this time Olivia couldn’t hear Shane’s
voice.

Striker spared her a
glance as the SUV roared down the main road to Shane’s place. “Your daughter’s
fine.”

His words relieved
the last knot of tension balled deep in her abdomen. Olivia’s muscles went lax.
As long as Chloe stayed safe throughout this nightmare, she could handle all of
this. Whatever sympathy she felt for Brian after this latest attack, faded to
the way side. It no longer mattered to her ex if she and Chloe were hurt in his
quest to maintain his secret. She lost her last vestiges of respect for him.

“You okay?”
Striker’s gravelly voice pulled her from her deep thoughts.

Olivia turned and
faced him. While he kept his eyes on the road, his question let her know his
attention had been on her while she absorbed the confirmation of Chloe’s
safety. She didn’t question why she intrinsically trusted Shane’s words. “I’m a
little stunned.”

Taking stock, she
looked at the palms of her hands which suffered minor scrapes. Her left knee
felt bruised but overall she didn’t need medical attention. “They really meant
to take me.”

The scars on
Strikers face twisted as he answered immediately. “Yes.”