Page 57 of Heartless

She glanced around the room, and instead of judgment, she saw compassion, empathy. It wasn’t what she had expected. She knew they knew everything, but there wasn’t an ounce of condemnation on their faces.

Realization hit her hard. She’d been so wrapped up in her own self-pity and torturous thoughts that she hadn’t seen what was around her. These people were her friends. Yes, they’d turned on her at one time, but their feelings then had been justified. She had set it up that way.

She needed to get out of her own head and remember she wasn’t alone. Not anymore.

“Thank you.” Her gaze swept the room. “Thanks to all of you. It’s weird to mourn a person I despised, but it is what it is.”

“We’ve all been there, Liv, in some form or fashion,” Eve said.

She was right. Everyone at OZ had experienced their own hell in some way. Just because hers was her own didn’t mean others hadn’t gone through the same, or worse.

Ash came into the room, and everyone immediately knew something was wrong. His expression wasn’t one Olivia had ever seen on him. If she didn’t know him better, she would say he was in a mild panic.

He went to the front of the room, and his gaze immediately went to Olivia. “I’m sorry for your loss, Liv. We all are.”

“Thank you, Ash.”

“I know you’re hurting and need time to grieve, but we really need you on this op. Will you stay?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Good…good.” Ash took a deep breath and said, “Okay, even with the additions of Olivia and Hawke, we’re going to be down a few operatives. Sean has asked for a leave of absence, and I approved it.”

Olivia glanced over at Serena, whose face was pale but composed. She swallowed audibly and said, “He just needs a few days to decompress.”

Everyone knew why. Olivia hoped Sean and Serena could work things out. One of the sweetest things she’d ever seen was when Sean had proposed to Serena in front of the entire OZ family. At that time, she remembered thinking that if anyone could make a marriage successful in this kind of environment, Sean and Serena could.

Ash went on, “Jazz and Xavier are out, too. They’ve uncovered some new intel on her brother that’s time sensitive. And”—he glanced at his watch—“in about an hour and a half, I’m going to be a dad.”

Everyone exploded with the same question. “What?”

Though he smiled, Olivia saw the worry behind his eyes. “Jules is in labor. Kate’s with her right now. I just left the house for a few minutes to give you this info and to let you know that Hawke is going to run point on this op. He knows the Gonzalez cartel better than anyone. Any questions?”

“I have one,” Gideon said. “What the hell are you still doing here, man? Get out of here and go have a baby.”

A huge grin spread across Ash’s face, and everyone laughed.

“Then I’m outta here.”

“Give Jules our love,” Eve said, “and call us as soon as we have a new family member.”

Striding toward the door, Ash said, “Will do.”

The lighthearted moment had been much needed. Seeing Ash so happy and nervous was a delight. Olivia glanced over at Hawke to share this brief moment of happiness and was shocked to see him staring at his laptop as if nothing momentous was happening. If that didn’t show her that he hadn’t changed, nothing would. Bringing a child into this world was nothing special to him.

To her, it was the greatest blessing.

The instant Ash was out the door, Hawke clicked the remote in his hand. “All right, everyone, let’s get started. This is the Gonzalez family.”

Photos of Priscilla Gonzalez and her son, Juan, appeared on the screen behind him.

He knew everyone was staring at him as if he had two heads—everyone except Olivia, who was looking away from him. Yeah, he was an ass. Not always, but when it came to a discussion of babies, he shut down. He always had, always would. They weren’t a part of his world and never could be.

He pointed to the photo of a well-dressed young man in his late teens. A scar ran down one side of his face. “When Hector went to prison, Juan was fifteen. His mother…” He pointed to the photo of the woman in her late thirties. “Priscilla presumably took over the operation until her son was old enough.

“Most of the cartel was disbanded after Hector’s arrest. His soldiers scattered, going to other cartels. There was almost nothing left. Somehow Priscilla found a way to hold on to a fraction of it for her son. For four years, there was nothing to indicate the remaining operation had any power whatsoever. Then, almost overnight, the Gonzalez cartel exploded on the scene again with more money and power than anyone could ever have expected. They took over the smaller cartels, killed the leaders and some of their families. The rest were allowed to live if they pledged fidelity to the new and improved Gonzalez cartel. They were richer, better connected, and twice as powerful as they were before.”

“Has anyone tried to stop them?” Gideon asked.

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