Page 22 of Heartless

That would be a big hell no. She wanted answers to her questions, but beyond that, she was out of OZ, and she would remain out. Last Chance Rescue was where she belonged. Pretending otherwise wouldn’t be smart, but if she said upfront that she wouldn’t come back, would she be pushed out the door as she had been before? She couldn’t let that happen. Not until she had answers.

“I’m not sure. I have a lot to think about.”

“I know Ash would welcome you with open arms. We all would. And we’ve been crazy busy lately. Ash has talked about bringing on a couple of new people to take up the slack. Having you and Hawke back with us would be perfect.”

At the thought of working with Hawke again, Olivia suppressed a shudder. That would never happen. There was too much hurt, the chasm was too huge to even consider that. It was all she could do to be in the same room with him. She was sure he felt the same way.

“I’ve taken a leave of absence from LCR. So for now, I’ll be here.”

That was as far as she would go. That way, when she went back to LCR, no one would be caught off guard.

“Then we’ll just have to use that time to convince you to come back for good.”

Olivia said nothing.

* * *

Hawke stood in the middle of the OZ house. Indecision was not his norm. He rarely gave a second thought to anything, and when he made up his mind, he could be ass stubborn. But this… He admitted he did not know which direction to take. On one hand, he wanted to find Olivia and demand she give him answers. On the other, he wanted to find Olivia and hold her close, ensuring she wasn’t hurting.

If that wasn’t a dilemma, he didn’t know what one was.

“Well, that went about as well as could be expected.”

He turned to see Ash striding toward him. The grimness in his expression was a reflection of Hawke’s turmoil.

“You’re right. They could’ve just shot me.”

“Considering how capable they all are, I think it’s a positive that you’re still breathing.” He jerked his head toward the door that Sean had just stormed through. “You make peace?”

“Not hardly. I tried to make him understand that Serena’s silence was at my request. I don’t think he took that as a good thing.”

“Yeah, well, Sean’s got some trust issues, and this didn’t help.”

One more pile of crap on top of a mountain of it.

“So, tell me why we took a break when I know all the intel you need is in your head.”

“Did you see Olivia? She could barely hold her head up. She needs some rest.”

“I see. So you’ve decided to trust her?”

Had he? For over two years, that had been his nightly question. Had she betrayed him? Had she been lying all along? His gut told him she was as true and honorable as he’d always believed. But there was plenty of evidence that showed the exact opposite.

“I don’t know.”

“Then you need to find out. Sharing this intel with people you don’t trust is a good way to get our people killed.”

“You’re right.”

“I’m headed home to be with my wife.”

“I hope to meet Jules soon.” Hawke said.

The change in Ash’s face at the mention of his wife was amazing. The whole time he’d known the man, grim and grim light had been his demeanor. But the peace that swept over the other man’s face told the tale. “She’s looking forward to meeting you, too. And hopefully, you’ll be meeting my son soon as well.”

A heaviness landed on his chest, but Hawke managed a convincing nod before Ash walked out the door.

“You really know how to cause a stir, young man.”

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