| |
After waiting in painfully awkward silence for the coffee pot to fill, Olivia and Jake sat at opposite ends of her oval-shaped oak table.
Olivia inhaled deeply, the smell of freshly-roasted coffee beans somewhat soothing as she tried to decide where to start. Her life had become such a train wreck lately, it was hard to choose.
As if reading her thoughts, Jake said, “Why don’t you start with why you left Dallas.”
She wrapped her fingers around the porcelain mug, absorbing its heat. “What I said about the reporters was true. After you left...”
She paused, literally biting her tongue to keep from ripping into him about the way he’d left. She cleared her throat and tried again.
“After the Homeland agents were done questioning me about what happened in Madagascar and then...after, I was placed under their protection for a few days. As soon as I could, I went back to my apartment, except it wasn’t my apartment anymore.”
Her eyes rose to find his, and she gave him a sad smile. “Turns out when your landlord thinks you’re dead, he doesn’t tend to keep your place waiting for you.”
Jake didn’t smile back like she’d hoped, so she kept going. “But, he had another unit available with the exact same setup as mine. Thankfully, he’d boxed all my stuff up and put it in storage.” When Jake looked at her questioningly, she explained, “He said he thought maybe a family member or a”—she broke eye contact again—“uh, boyfriend or someone would eventually come by for it.”
“That was nice of him.”
She nodded and stared at the dark, steaming liquid in her cup. “Yeah. Of course, there was no one to get it, so it was just there, waiting for me to pick it up and start over.”
Olivia looked across the table at him, but he glanced away. Her little dig had hit its mark. Good.
A few seconds of silence crept by before Olivia went on. “Anyway, he helped me move my stuff into the new apartment, and I went back to work at Dallas Regional. It was almost like I’d never left.”
“Except you had.”
She glanced up again, surprised to find understanding in his eyes. “Yeah. I had. And I was reminded of it every time I turned around. I couldn’t work on a patient without either them or their friends or family members recognizing me. Even the staff at the hospital that I’d worked with for years couldn’t help themselves. I was constantly bombarded with questions, and when they weren’t actually asking me about what happened, I’d find them staring at me.”
Olivia knew they didn’t mean to, but everyone there made her feel like a freak show. “All I wanted to do was take care of my patients,” she mumbled more to herself than Jake. Then, she added, “The few girlfriends I occasionally hung out with were even worse. They constantly treated me like they were waiting for me to break or something, you know?”
Jake nodded with sympathy. “So, you moved.”
“Not at first. I thought it would die down. I mean, it had only been a week at that point, so I figured they’d all lose interest. Then, the reporters found out I was still living in the city and had returned to the same hospital I’d worked at before. They started hounding me. I couldn’t leave my apartment or the ER without a camera or microphone being shoved into my face.”
Olivia took a sip of coffee, mainly to give herself a second to regroup. “People started leaving me stuff, too. I got hundreds of letters in the mail, most wishing me well and offering prayers. I’d come home from work and find flowers, stuffed animals, and other gifts by my door.”
She looked across the table at Jake. “I know the gestures were meant to be nice, but it creeped me out. Knowing all those strangers, knew where I lived. Apparently, Jason’s idea to release my public statement the way we did hadn’t work as well as he’d thought it would.”
“Jason?” Jake asked as if he’d never heard the name before.
Confused, Olivia said, “Jason Ryker. The guy you work for, or with, or whatever.” Olivia moved one of her hands in the air as she explained.
All of a sudden, Jake almost looked angry, though she didn’t understand why.
“I know who he is,” Jake grumbled. “I just didn’t realize the two of you were on a first-name basis.”
Interesting. If she didn’t know any better, Olivia would think Jake was jealous. That was impossible, though. He’d actually have to want her in order to be jealous of another man.
She shrugged, “He helped me out. After.” She looked around at where she now called home. “He was actually the one who found this place for me.”
Jake rested his elbows on the table, his fingers intertwined in front of him. “Ryker found you a house?”
Olivia understood his skepticism. She’d called the Homeland agent merely looking for advice. Instead, the guy had stepped up in a pretty surprising way.
“The reporters calling and following me, the letters and gifts...it became overwhelming. I wanted to leave, but I wasn’t sure where to go. I figured the guy worked for Homeland, so he’d be able to suggest someplace quiet. Safe.” Although, Olivia understood now that safety was just an illusion.
She took a sip of coffee and backtracked a bit. “After my statement was released, I asked him to take me to see you, but he said you’d already left.”
A flash of pain crossed Jake’s eyes. “Liv, I—”
Not ready to hear whatever excuses he wanted to throw at her, she talked over him. “Two agents took me from the building where we were questioned that day. They drove me to an apartment they called a ‘safe house’. It’s where my statement was recorded, and where they kept me for the few days after. My last day there, Jason handed me his card. Said to call him if I needed anything while you were away. So, I did.”
She chuckled at the memory. “I was only looking for his advice, but in just a few short days he’d found this place and secured a job for me in the ER at Northern Falls Memorial. He even arranged for a moving company to bring all my stuff here, and paid the guys extra to set up the furniture so I wouldn’t have to.”
Jake’s face was deadpan. “Ryker did all that. For you.”
Olivia shrugged it off. “Trust me, I was just as surprised as you are. I think maybe he felt guilty for putting me through the ringer the way he did that day. Whatever the reason, I’m grateful.” She glanced around her little home. “I like it here.”
Jake looked like he wanted to say more about his agent friend. Instead, he asked, “And the reporters? Did they follow you here?”
Olivia shook her head. “None have come by so far. And the letters stopped. I didn’t fill out a forwarding address with the post office. That was Jason’s idea. He even went so far as to have every hospital employee, including the CEO, sign non-disclosure agreements to prevent any of them from sharing the fact that I work there with anyone.”
Jake’s brows went up at that. “And did it work?”
“Seems like it. The people there have left me alone as far as any of that goes, and I haven’t gotten even one request for a statement or interview from anyone.”
Olivia took another drink. “The people here...they’re different. I know we’re only an hour away from the city, but this really is a tight-knit community. They care about each other, but at the same time, they seem to be focused on their own lives rather than getting into everyone else’s business. At first, I got a few stares, or the old, ‘Hey, aren’t you the girl who’ bit, but nothing compared to what it was like in the city. These people live their lives and let me live mine.”
Jake’s gaze became more focused. Narrowed. “So what aren’t you telling me?”
“Jake, really. I’m—”
He leaned forward even further. “Swear to God, Olivia. If you say you’re fine one more time, I’m going to put you over my knee and spank that sweet ass of yours.”
Heat instantly flashed through her system, and that familiar ache began building low in her abdomen. Her insides involuntarily clenched, and Olivia shifted in her chair to find some relief. Unfortunately, there was really only one thing—one man—who could give it to her.
She’d never understood the appeal to the whole, dom-submissive thing she’d read about. But, the picture Jake’s words drew in her mind’s eye was one of the most erotic things she’d ever imagined. If she wasn’t mistaken, the look Jake was giving her right now meant he was thinking the same thing.
Unfortunately, he blinked and, just like that, the heat was gone. Now, he was just looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to share the rest.
Olivia shifted in her seat again. “I started—”
Her voice cracked like a boy going through puberty, and she could actually feel a blush crawling up her neck. She cleared her throat and tried again.
“Before I came here, I started getting these phone calls. No heavy breathing or anything like that. Just silence and then they’d hang up.”
“They never spoke?”
Olivia shook her head. “Never. I changed my number, and they stopped. Then, one night, I got to my apartment, and there was a man waiting for me by my door.”
Worry spread across Jake’s face. “Did he hurt you? Did you call the police?”
“No, he didn’t hurt me. Yes, I called the police. He said he just wanted my autograph. When I politely turned him down, he got a little pushy and refused to leave. But, that’s all he did. When the police got there, they recognized him.”
“Name,” Jake practically growled.
“I’ll tell you, but you really need to chill. This is old news, and the guy has already been taken care of. Okay?”
Olivia knew Jake wanted to say more, but he only nodded.
“His name is Norman Rogers. The poor man is mentally ill, but he’s homeless, so he couldn’t get the care and medicine he needed. As a result, he’s been in and out of jail for most of his adult life. Just petty things, like trespassing, loitering, that sort of thing. Nothing violent. And before you ask, no, he’s not in jail, now.”
Jake started to speak, but she cut him off. “I made a few phone calls to my contacts at Dallas Regional and was able to get him admitted into the psych ward that night. After that, Norman was transferred to a secure mental health facility.”
Olivia was relieved to see some of the tension leave Jake’s shoulders. “It’s a non-profit place that specializes in patients like Norman. Ones who would otherwise be put back on the streets or stay in jail. Norman has no family, so the doctors there were able to get a judge to sign off on his admittance. He won’t be allowed to leave there without the court’s permission, and that will only happen after getting consistent medication and therapy for several months. Possibly years.”
Jake took a minute to process that information. “Okay. You said that was all before you moved here. So what’s happened since then?”
She didn’t even bother to lie. “Three weeks ago, I was on a break at work. My cell phone rang. It was an unknown number. I answered it, but no one was there. At the time, I didn’t really think much of it. Then, that night, it happened again. I started keeping a log.”
She saw a muscle in his jaw bulge. “How many calls, Liv?”
Olivia bit her bottom lip, praying he didn’t freak out. “In two days’ time, I had forty-eight hang-ups. One every hour.”
Surprisingly, Jake’s only reaction was to take a deep breath in through his nose and let it out slowly. Then, he asked, “Did the caller ever say anything those times?”
“No. After that, I went to the police.”
He gave a slight nod of approval. “What did they say?”
“What I expected. That they’re a small department and aren’t equipped with the staff or resources to waste time worrying about prank phone calls. The deputy told me it was probably some overzealous fan who’d seen me on T.V. and was just too shy to actually speak once I answered.” Olivia rolled her eyes. “They told me to change my number again, so I did.”
There was a stretch of silence before Jake spoke again. When he did, he sounded angry. “Ryker didn’t say a word to me about any of this. What did he tell you? Did he figure out who the caller was?”
Olivia scrunched up her nose. “I...uh...never actually told him about it.”
Something flashed behind his eyes, but it was gone too quickly for her to decipher what it was.
“Why not?” he asked, barely controlling his anger.
She slumped back in her chair. “Jason’s job is to keep terrorists from attacking the US, not babysit me. He’d done so much to help me already by finding this place and getting me a new job. I wasn’t going to keep bugging him. Besides, I haven’t had a phone call since changing my number the second time.”
Jake rolled his lips in, and Olivia feared he was close to losing his control.
“Is there anything else, or are the phone calls it?”
His tone had changed, reminding her of the fierce warrior who’d led her through the jungle.
She didn’t want to tell him. He’d already seen her as a helpless female enough for one lifetime. She didn’t want to go back to that. Not with him.
Apparently, her hesitation in answering lasted too long. Jake expelled a loud, frustrated breath, his patience clearly wearing thin.
“I thought we were past this, Liv. There’s something you’re not telling me. The real reason you’re answering your door with a fucking gun in your hand.”
Olivia really, really hated how well he could read her because she didn’t want to share the rest with him. Didn’t want to appear any crazier than she already did.
Focused intently on her coffee, Olivia quietly answered. “Sometimes I feel like someone’s following me. I haven’t actually seen or heard anyone, but...I’ll be walking down the sidewalk or to my car at work, and out of nowhere, the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up.”
That same, funny look from before crossed his face. “Did you go to the police?”
“And say what? That I think someone might be following me? There’s nothing they can do about a feeling, Jake. Besides, I’ve already been down that road, and I’m not too keen about repeating the trip.”
He looked at her questioningly, so she said, “After you left, I...talked to someone.”
“A shrink?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
His response took her by surprise. Sensing this, Jake went on to say, “That was some heavy shit that went down, Liv. Anyone would need someone to talk to after going through all that. So, what did the doctor say?”
Olivia lowered her chin a bit and broke eye contact, thankful that he at least didn’t seem to judge her for having gone to counseling.
“Mild paranoia resulting from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. The doctor said what I was feeling was normal.”
“And what are you feeling?”
She was quiet for a few seconds, terrified of what he would think of her after all she was revealing.
“It’s like my body knows someone’s there, even though I can’t see them, but—” she paused, shaking her head, and he took advantage of the silence.
Reaching out, Jake’s large hand covered one of hers. “You went through hell, Liv. There’s absolutely nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed of.”
She pulled her hand away. “I’m not embarrassed,” she bit out. Liar, liar.
Jake studied her for a moment, and Olivia assumed he was trying to decide on her level of mental stability. It irritated the hell out of her.
“I’m not crazy, Jake,” she said defensively.
He shook his head. “Never said you were, sweetheart. Actually, I think I might be able to shed some light on this for you.”
“Okay,” she drug the word out, not sure she was going to like what he was about to say.
“Before leaving with the team, I...”—he gave a slight hesitation—“I told Ryker I wanted eyes on you. I pretty much ordered him to assign someone to watch you while I was away. To make sure you were safe.”
He at least had the good graces to look guilty. Well, that’s something at least. For a second, Olivia thought about making him dangle a little longer, but decided against it.
“I know.”
Surprise flashed across his face. “You know?”
“Ryker assigned Mansfield and Brunor, the two agents I originally stayed with to be my protection detail. They followed me everywhere I went for the first couple weeks after you left. Jason told me it was at your request, but he wanted to make sure I knew the agents would be following me so I wouldn’t freak out if I noticed them.”
Rather than commenting on Ryker’s sharing of that bit of information, Jake asked, “So, where were they the night Norman Rogers was waiting for you?”
“They were there. They stayed back, just as I asked them to.”
“You did what?”
“I didn’t want them scaring him and making the situation worse.”
With disbelief, Jake shook his head and moved back into his chair. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“Norman never touched me or made any move to hurt me, Jake. The agents were close enough to intervene, if needed, and waited with me until the police came. Once the officers left to take Norman to the hospital, both agents cleared my apartment, and then went to their car. They watched my place from the street like they had the previous nights.”
“What about after?” Jake looked toward the window next to them that showed her front yard. “Who’s watching you now?”
He won’t like this part. “No one.”
As predicted, Jake’s teeth clamped together as he asked, “Why not?”
“Because, I called Jason a few weeks ago and told him I wanted the agents gone.”
“Why the hell would you do that?” He asked the question as if she were stupid.
“I can’t have those two following me around twenty-four-seven for the rest of my life, Jake.”
“The fuck you can’t. If they left a few weeks ago, then this feeling you’ve been having...like you’re followed? It wasn’t because of them.”
Now, she understood the funny looks he’d given her earlier. Jake had thought her fears of being followed had come from her not knowing he’d told Ryker to have her watched and felt guilty. Too bad that wasn’t it.
“I know,” Olivia begrudgingly admitted.
She didn’t want to share the rest, but decided it was best to just put it all out there now and get it over with. Like ripping off a bandage. “That’s not all.”
“Okay.” He ran an aggravated hand over his jaw. “What else?”
“One morning, about two weeks ago, I was leaving for work. When I opened the door, I found a snake on the porch. It was lying on the mat right in front of the door.”
He considered this for a moment. “Okay. Well, I know how you feel about snakes, but you do live in the country now. It could happen, right?”
“It could,” she agreed. “Except it wasn’t the kind of snake you’d find out here. Not even close.”
His brows turned in and he leaned his elbows on the edge of the table. “What kind of snake was it?”
“A ghost snake.”
Jake’s forehead scrunched. “Never heard of it.”
“That’s because the species was only discovered a few years ago. Researchers found it in the Ankarana National Park.” She let that little tidbit sink in.
A few seconds later, as expected, Jake’s brows shot up. “Madagascar?”
Olivia nodded then took a sip of her cooling coffee. “Before going, I researched the types of wildlife found there, just to be safe. I didn’t want to be caught in the wrong company with my pants down, you know?”
The joke fell flat. She could easily see why Jake wouldn’t find it amusing. She’d taken the time to research the country’s wildlife but hadn’t bothered to look at the crime statistics? Brilliant.
“Anyway, this particular article stuck with me because I remember thinking how cool it was that in this day and age we’re still finding new species of animals. Finding one on my front porch, however—” she didn’t need to finish.
Jake looked unhappy, to say the least. “Where’s the snake now?”
She lifted her chin toward the large kitchen window on her left. “Most likely it’s been eaten by a hawk or a buzzard. It was already dead when I found it. It’s neck twisted.” She shuddered at the memory. “I took a picture of it with my phone then used my grabber tool to pick it up and carry it out into the weeds. I showed the pictures to the police and told them what I’d found out about where it came from. They think it’s someone’s idea of a sick joke, but...” her voice trailed off.
“But you don’t.”
She raised one shoulder. “I don’t know. Maybe. I mean, the snake was dead, and even if it weren’t, they’re not really a danger to humans, so maybe they’re right.”
“So, is that all?”
I wish. “There’s one more thing.”
He looked at her expectantly. Saying the words quickly, Olivia dropped the last bomb.
“Last week, while I was at work, someone broke into my house.”
