Carlos waltzed into her home like he owned the place, trailed by his silent, menacing bodyguard. His smug confidence sucked up all the oxygen in the room—or at least it felt that way to Olivia. She put a hand to her chest, struggling to breathe in the wake of his appearance. Why was he here?
Her next thought was of Logan, still in the other room. Had he heard the doorbell? Please stay away. If he were to walk out now, there was no telling what Carlos or his henchman might do.
“Why are you here, Carlos?” she asked, a little loudly. Maybe Logan would hear her and could text for help before things got out of hand. The thought made her feel a little better and helped steady her nerves. Logan would do his job. She just had to distract Carlos until the DEA arrived.
“I’m here for my merchandise.” Carlos raised a brow, his expression clearly indicating that he found her question ridiculous. “Did you think I had forgotten?”
Olivia shook her head and fought the urge to look at the door of her study, where Logan had gone to make his call. “No. But we had agreed to meet tomorrow.”
Carlos smiled, a thin, cruel slant of his mouth. “We had. But I do not trust you.” He took a step forward, and his bodyguard followed suit. They were trying to intimidate her, and Olivia was ashamed to admit it was working.
She swallowed, trying to stall. “I’ve given you no reason to doubt me,” she said, her voice only a little shaky.
Carlos tilted his head to the side, studying her the way a cat might a mouse. The look in his dark eyes made her stomach twist and she felt the burn of bile in the back of her throat.
“Where is your friend?” he asked softly.
Olivia held her ground and met his gaze. “Which one?”
He snorted softly, apparently amused by her response. “Let us not play games. I know your potential financier is not who you claimed.”
His words made her blood run cold. He knew. Somehow, Carlos had discovered the truth about Logan’s identity.
Her denial was automatic. If she admitted the truth, Carlos would likely kill her on the spot. She thrust her chin up and took a step forward, determined to sell her bluff. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Now he laughed outright. “I don’t know if you’re brave or merely stupid.” When she didn’t respond, Carlos grabbed her arm and squeezed hard. Olivia tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but he pulled her up to him and shoved his face in hers.
“Logan Marshall is really Logan Murray, a DEA agent. Did you honestly think I would not discover your deception?” His breath was hot on her cheeks and Olivia closed her eyes, drawing deep for strength.
She had two choices: admit the truth and hope Carlos didn’t kill her outright, or continue to play dumb and pretend to be shocked.
Carlos gave her a little shake, apparently annoyed by her silence. In that moment, Olivia made up her mind. She was tired of letting this man terrorize her, tired of feeling at his mercy. He had hurt the man she loved, threatened her friends and almost ruined her life. She was done letting her fear of him rule her actions. It was time to take back her life.
Even if it only lasted a few moments longer.
She opened her eyes and glared at him. “I told you,” she said, her voice low and threatening. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She yanked hard against Carlos’s hold and took a step back. He released her but didn’t take his eyes off her face.
“You’re lying.” But there was a thread of doubt in his voice.
“Why would I lie? You threatened the lives of my friends, the people I love most in this world. Why would I do anything to jeopardize their safety?”
He studied her for a moment, clearly considering her words. She stared him down, knowing that if she looked away now he’d see through her bluff.
Finally, he nodded once. “Very well. We will move on. For now.”
Olivia sighed silently, some of the tension leaving her body. He had bought her story and hopefully the DEA would arrive before he figured out the truth.
“I’ll give you the drugs and then I want you to leave.”
Carlos’s eyes widened a bit, as if he was shocked by her boldness. “You dare to tell me what to do? You forget you have no power here. I am in control.”
A flash of movement caught Olivia’s attention and she saw Logan creeping out of the study. He moved silently, tracking Carlos’s bodyguard, clearly intending to take the man down. Her heart thumped double-time as a mixture of relief and fear swirled through her. She no longer had to face Carlos alone, but what if Logan got hurt again while attacking the other man?
She returned her focus to Carlos, hoping her temporary distraction hadn’t clued him in to what was happening behind him. “Forgive me,” she said, almost choking on the words. “I just want to conclude our business.”
“As do I.” He turned to gesture to his associate just as Logan reached the bodyguard. Carlos let out a cry of alarm, but it was too late. Logan hooked his arm around the man’s neck and pressed his gun to his temple. “Drop your weapon,” he instructed calmly.
The man did as he was told, but Olivia could tell by the flash of fire in his eyes that he hadn’t truly surrendered. If Logan gave even an inch, he would jump into action...
Logan eyed Carlos over his henchman’s shoulder. “Have a seat,” he said. “You might as well get comfortable while we wait for my friends to arrive.”
Carlos sighed and shook his head. “I think not.” Before Olivia realized what was happening, Carlos snaked his arm out and grabbed her, pulling her roughly to stand in front of him. She felt a sudden pressure on her neck, cold and flat. The detached part of her brain realized Carlos must have drawn his own gun, but before she had time to process what was happening, his voice filled her ear.
“Your move, Agent Murray,” he said coldly.
* * *
Logan cursed silently and tightened his grip on the man he held hostage. He should have gotten Olivia out of the way before making his move, but there hadn’t been time. He’d meant to take this guy out while Carlos had his back turned and then go after Carlos, but he’d been forced to act when Carlos had turned around. Now he was in a classic standoff, and his enemy wore the flat, calculating look of a man with nothing left to lose.
He shook his head slightly, trying to clear his mind. His emotions were all over the map, a maelstrom that threatened to drag him down. He’d gone from trusting Olivia to feeling betrayed so fast it had given him whiplash. After overhearing her conversation with Carlos, he realized she’d been innocent all along. She’d had several opportunities to sell him out in the last few minutes alone, and every time she’d protected him, buying him time to organize a response. A heavy surge of guilt washed over him—how could he have ever doubted her?
He met her eyes, wanting to apologize for this, for Colombia, for everything. He expected to see her brows drawn down in anger since he had failed to protect her from Carlos. Instead, she wore a look of total and absolute trust, her brown eyes steady and warm. Her faith in him shone brightly on her face, and it nearly brought him to his knees. After the way he’d questioned her integrity, the last thing he deserved was her unwavering loyalty. She was too good for the likes of him.
He was going to have to work hard to be a man worthy of her confidence.
“It doesn’t have to be like this,” he said, darting his eyes from Carlos to the door. The guys should be getting here any minute, and he didn’t want the surprise of their arrival to spook him into shooting Olivia. There had to be some way he could convince Carlos to let her go...
“You’re right,” Carlos said. “It doesn’t. Put down your gun.”
“Why do you care?” Logan asked. “The cartel has never been concerned with the lives of its underlings.”
A flash of anger sparked in Carlos’s eyes, and Logan realized with a shock that the man he held hostage was no ordinary cartel employee.
“Who is he to you? Your brother? Your son?”
Carlos didn’t respond, but Logan saw his jaw clench and knew he’d hit upon the truth.
In light of this information, Logan mentally reviewed his options. He could stand here and argue with Carlos, trying to stall the man until Alan and the rest of his backup arrived. It was the easy choice, but there was no guarantee Carlos would cooperate. He was a smart man and would probably see through the tactic. And Logan knew Carlos wouldn’t hesitate to shoot Olivia if he thought it would help him escape.
That left another option: he could surrender. Carlos wasn’t expecting him to give up so easily, but it was the only way he could see to protect Olivia. If Logan gave up his weapon and released Carlos’s relative, Carlos would have no reason to hold Olivia hostage. And if he let her go, she’d be out of danger when the guys arrived, which they were likely to do any minute.
Of course, there was nothing to stop Carlos from shooting him the moment he surrendered, but Logan would have to take that chance. Olivia’s safety was more important to him than anything else.
“If I drop my gun, will you let her go?”
He saw the flash of surprise in Carlos’s eyes. “Naturally.”
It was a lie and they both knew it, but Logan nodded, pretending to accept his word.
“Logan, don’t—” Carlos jerked his arm up, choking Olivia. She blinked hard, her eyes watering, and Logan felt his blood begin to boil. He tightened his grip on the man in front of him, digging his fingers into the side of the man’s neck. He felt the pulse of blood thrum under his fingers and squeezed, keeping his eyes locked on Carlos. The man began to go limp in his arms, and he loosened his grip just enough to keep him conscious.
“Play nice,” he warned Carlos. “If you hurt her, I hurt him.”
For a terrible moment, he thought Carlos was going to strangle Olivia in front of him. A calculating look flashed across the man’s face and his arm tightened around her neck. She emitted a soft choking sound but didn’t move, as if sensing any kind of struggle would give him the excuse he wanted to kill her. After what seemed like an eternity, he loosened his arm and Olivia drew in a full breath.
“Very well,” Carlos said. “We seem to have arrived at an understanding. I believe you were going to drop your gun?”
Logan tossed his weapon on the sofa but maintained his grip on the man in front of him. “Your turn.”
“I never said I’d drop my gun,” Carlos replied.
“No, but you did say you’d release her.”
Carlos cocked his head to the side. “True. But I neglected to mention what her condition would be.” His smile was pure evil as he cocked his gun and lifted it to Olivia’s temple.
Logan reacted on instinct. He shoved his hostage forward, ramming him into Olivia and knocking both her and Carlos off balance. The bodyguard rolled off his boss and lunged to the side, clearly going for Logan’s discarded gun. But Logan didn’t care. He pushed Olivia out of the way and threw himself on top of Carlos, scrabbling for the man’s hand before he could bring his gun up to fire.
Carlos was a lot stronger than he looked, and he put up a decent fight. He landed a glancing blow across Logan’s chin and a spike of pain radiated through his jaw, distracting him.
There were the sounds of a scuffle behind him, and Olivia let out a muffled cry. Then the sound of a gunshot ripped through the air, and both Logan and Carlos froze.
“Olivia?” Logan turned, half-afraid of what he might find. Had she been shot? Was she lying dead on the floor? Please, no...
She stood a few feet away wearing a shocked expression as she stared down at the body of Carlos’s relative. Logan saw at a glance that his gun was in her hand, and he felt a fierce surge of pride and relief at seeing she was safe.
He turned back to Carlos with renewed determination, but the other man had managed to regroup during the distraction. He swung for Logan’s head, and Logan realized too late that Carlos had picked up a bowl that had been knocked over during the scrimmage.
He heard a terrible crack as the bowl struck home, and his vision wavered as pain swamped his consciousness. He keeled over and curled up on the floor, clutching his head in a vain attempt to stop the ringing in his ears.
His brain cried for him to get up, some part of him knowing that Carlos must be rising to his feet, gun in hand to shoot him. But his body wouldn’t cooperate. He was as helpless as a newborn, and any second now, Carlos was going to kill him.
Logan managed to open his eyes. The room swam around him and black spots danced in his field of view. He squinted to try to clear them, but it didn’t work. No matter. As long as he could still see Olivia. He wanted to see her face one last time before he died.
He moved his head slightly and gagged as his stomach revolted. Blinking hard to clear the tears from his eyes, he saw her, still standing a few feet away. There were two of her now, and they both turned to face him.
He tried to speak, but his tongue was thick and heavy in his mouth. He wanted to tell her he was sorry for letting her down, for leaving her like this. He’d promised to protect her and he’d failed. Hopefully Alan and the rest of the team could make up for his shortcomings.
Olivia and her twin moved as one, lifting their arms in his direction. Two loud booms rang out, and a sudden, heavy weight fell on Logan. He struggled to breathe against the unexpected pressure and tried to move away, but he couldn’t coordinate his limbs and wound up flailing helplessly.
Then Olivia was there, her arms pulling him free and cradling his head in her lap. “Don’t move,” she said, her hands on either side of his face.
He stopped struggling and gazed up at her, trying to decide which one of her faces to focus on. They wore identical expressions of concern, but it was too difficult to tell which one was Olivia and which one was her twin. He gave up, closing his eyes to block out the confusing sight.
“Open your eyes,” she said urgently. “You can’t go to sleep here.”
“Wasn’t gonna,” he mumbled. But in truth, he was suddenly very tired. His body felt heavy and sluggish, and his brain struggled to process the reasons why he should stay awake. He’d just take a quick nap and when he woke up things would make more sense.
He dimly heard Olivia’s voice, growing more panicked as she continued to talk. Logan felt bad for worrying her, but he’d explain it all when he woke up. There was a loud crash from somewhere far away, and then something grabbed at him, pulling and prodding. The sensation reminded him of fishing with his grandpa, the way the pole would vibrate when he’d managed to hook a fish. His grandfather’s face flashed in his vision, smiling and proud, and Logan drifted off with him, eager to cast the next line.