Page 24 of A Dark Place

That much was true. Holden had been gunning for him, as well as Declan, and now Olivia by association since he’d come on board.

“No, but she might buy it if he’s up for a medal of some sort.” Asher waited for Olivia’s reaction.

“Are you kidding? What type of medal?” He could see the gears of her mind working and he smiled.

“It doesn’t matter. We just need to convince her to believe us enough to speak about her husband’s past.”

“And if you’re caught?” That was a very real chance.

“Then I’ll say it was on me alone. You can’t be part of this, Olivia.”

She didn’t let him finish. “I am part of it. So is Declan. We’re in this together. If you go down, we all go down.”

He reached for her hand and laced his fingers with hers. “Thanks, Livy.”

But it wouldn’t be just a matter of losing their jobs if Holden found out. It could have deadly consequences. Holden was associated with some dangerous people.

He’d spoken to Will and Lizzy earlier using a burner phone to call theirs. The team they were part of believed Kirkpatrick and Pamphili were planning something that would change the course of the world. They’d already begun by trying to wipe out Strike Force with deadly weapons.

Asher needed to make her understand how serious this was. “Livy, Holden is a dangerous man. He acquired the director position because of his loyalty to the men who are trying to do some bad things to gain power. Holden is cut from the same cloth as they are.”

She searched his face. “Are you saying he’s capable of murder?”

Once the accusation was spoken aloud, it sounded inconceivable, but it wasn’t. “I do. I think he will do whatever is necessary to contain the Van Gogh case and to find where Strike Force is hiding out. And he could care less who gets hurt in the process.”

???

“Something Overton’s grandmother said still bugs me.” In fact, Olivia hadn’t been able to get it out of her head.

Asher turned briefly from concentrating on the road ahead. “What’s that?”

“She said, ‘he’s a good boy despite everything.’” Olivia shook her head. “What do you think she meant by despite?”

He turned his attention back to the road as they left the congestion of D.C. “Well, she said that she raised him, right? His parents and family disappeared when he was young. That had to be traumatizing. I’m sure that’s it.”

Maybe, but Olivia wasn’t convinced.

They were almost to Holden’s opulent suburb, and as much as she wanted to believe Miriam Holden would give them a clue into the workings of her husband’s mind, Olivia had a bad feeling they were playing with fire. But she wouldn’t let Asher take that risk alone.

“There’s more to that story.” She shifted in her seat and concentrated on his handsome profile. “I want to speak to her. In person.”

He shot her a look. “We’ll never get approval to travel to Arizona. Especially with Holden all but convinced Overton is Van Gogh. He won’t approve of us digging into Overton’s past.”

“Then he just doesn’t need to know.” She was determined that Charlotte Overton knew something that would either exonerate her grandson or convict him.

“It’s best that we don’t involve Declan and Luke in this for now. I don’t want to get them in trouble with Holden until we have the truth.”

She smiled and squeezed his arm. “Thank you.”

Asher pulled onto the tree-lined street where Holden lived with his wife.

“I called ahead to give her an idea of why we wanted to speak to her.” Asher shook his head. “I just hope she doesn’t tell her husband.” He spotted the address and turned into the Holden drive leading to the house. Once he stopped the car, he looked her way. “This is it. Are you ready?”

Oliva sure hoped they weren’t making a mistake that would cost them their jobs, or worse. . . “I’m ready.” She pulled the door open and climbed out. Asher was smiling at her bravado.

Together they walked up the curved sidewalk to the wide porch. Asher rang the doorbell and they waited. Olivia glanced around the snowy lawn. Perfectly landscaped yard and trees.

Light footsteps resounded inside. Stopped near the door. It slowly opened. A woman in her forties with salt and pepper hair cut into a short bob looked between them.

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