Page 67 of Alik

“Tell your boss?” She pokes her head up to peek at me. “Or your Russian friends? They’re the ones who want me dead, aren’t they?”

My breath catches.

How does she?—

“Except, thatwasyour boss, wasn’t it? So he wouldn’t really need to tell anyone. He could just kill me himself or tell you to do it like he told you to kill all those other people.”

My jaw slackens, but when the smirk sprouts on her pink lips, I let out a sigh. “You’re not Olive.”

She shakes her head.

Although I must’ve slept for hours, exhaustion overwhelms me as I run a hand over my face. I turn my back on the woman and brace myself on my desk.

“I’m not going to tell her it’s your organization who is out to hurt her. To be honest, I figured that out even before I saw your face when you took the mask off the friend you shot. I think it’s noble that you’re willing to kill your own in order to protect her, and I wouldn’t take a chance on her not understanding that.”

“What do you want me to say to you? Thanks?”

My guard raises as she nears, but I don’t turn around, even as the muscles in my arms bracing me on my desk wind tight. I watch her peer up at me in my periphery.

“I’d like to know why they want to kill her.”

Soft voice again. I thought she was pretending to be Olive before, but maybe not. Maybe that’s part of who she is.

I consider lying to her or shutting her out, but I can’t see the harm it could do for her to know. On the contrary, she could lose her shit if I anger her. She’s proven to be more destructive than I can anticipate.

“What happens if I don’t tell you? You gonna frame me for something else?”

“No,” she whispers, her hand reaching for me. She pauses just before touching my arm then pulls her hand away. “Alik, I… I don’t want to hurt you. I have a responsibility to protect Olive the same as you have a responsibility to protect yourself. You would’ve killed her if I hadn’t taken precautions.”

“I would’ve killedyou.”

“It’s the same thing. I think you’re smart enough to realize that.”

My face stiff, I turn to her.

“Please?” she asks, crossing her arms over her chest after she goes to touch me again, as if she’s trying to fight the impulse. “I just want to understand.”

This is insane. It is.

Olive assured me she’d still be her. She can’t control when this bitch comes out. She’sdangerous. A walking threat, swinging those sexy hips through my house. Staring at this woman’s sweet face, knowing it’s the same person who viciously attacked a woman last night, I can’t help but want to laugh at myself for the fear I felt minutes ago.

But I still feel it. I still don’t want Olive harmed. I feel the strange responsibility to her this psycho is describing.

I’m fucked. On all accounts.

Letting my face relax, I push off the desk and walk to the couch. Olive 2.0 follows me, carefully sitting down beside me after I crash.

“The DEA is targeting the Bratva.”

Her brows furrow, but she slowly nods. “And they want to send a message to Olive’s father?”

“Yes.”

“That’s it?” The woman shifts toward me and frowns. “Really? I could’ve helped you with that in asecondif you’d asked.”

“How?” One side of my lips lifts as I lean back on the couch. “Would you have asked him nicely to back off?”

“No, I would’ve done a hell of a lot more to pull his attention to another organization. But not by testifying. That was a suicide mission you put her on. And that she put herself on, for that matter. I tried telling her it wasn’t the way to go when she was filming that exchange with the Irish mobster, but she wouldn’t listen. The bitch wouldn’t even hear me out before she erased my part of the tape.”

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