Page 64 of Twisted Secrets
Which would be exactly what Sergei and Dmitri would want if they were really the ones responsible for this.
She turned in his arms to watch Hadley roll around in the grass.Thatwas her endgame. She had to keep her eye on the ball and keep her daughter safe. Even if that meant holing up here and possibly putting the few friends she had in the world in danger. “Benji!” She jerked away. “I have to call Benji and warn him.”
Cillian stopped her with a hand on her arm. “I’ll take care of it, Olivia. Though, to be honest, Benji has seen worse than the Romanovs could bring to the table.”
If he could say that, he hadn’t seen their worst. She had. Or at least she’d been on the borders enough times to hear more than she ever wanted to know. But he wasright. There wasn’t much more she could do other than call him. She took another step away from Cillian, and tried to put on a brave face. “Make your calls. I’ll be out here with Hadley.”
He hesitated. “I’d prefer it if you both would come inside. We can put on a movie until I know something and then we’ll make lunch.”
Because they couldn’t guarantee that someone wouldn’t come for her. God, how had this turned into such a mess? All she’d wanted was her freedom. She didn’t realize it’d come at the cost that the people around her would be forced to pay. It was so damn wrong.
“Yes, you’re right.” Truth be told, she didn’t really want to let Cillian out of her sight, either. Her phone rang again, and she frowned at yet another strange Boston number. Maybe it was the hospital again? “Hello?”
“Olivia.”
Her whole body went cold at the rough Russian voice on the other line. “Sergei.” Instantly, Cillian was at her side. She shook her head when he motioned for the phone, but took his hand instead, his warm grip keeping her grounded and the panic at bay. Barely.
“You’ve been a naughty girl. Tell me where you are, and I’ll forgive you.”
God, how had she ever convinced herself she was in love with that bastard? She glanced at Hadley, still playing happily, and then at the forest around the property. Suddenly the backyard felt horribly exposed, like danger could be lurking beneath any of the trees framing it. “Leave me alone, Sergei.”
“I can’t do that, and you know it. You’re mine. And if you think I’ll let what’s mine walk away from me, you’re as fucking stupid as yourbrother says you are.”
She jerked, the sheer violence in his tone like he’d reached across the distance and slapped her. Cillian squeezed her hand, his hard expression letting her know he heard every word. She swallowed hard, fighting to get the words out. “I’m not yours. And I’m hanging up now.”
“I’ll find you, Olivia. It would be better for you and that little brat if you just come to me willingly. If you don’t, things will get ugly…Like they did with that old bitch.”
Mrs. Richards. She gripped the phone, her head going fuzzy.He really was the one to hurt that poor old woman. “You’re a monster.”
“I do what’s necessary. I always have.”
Why was she even talking to him? Nothing she could say would change the way he felt, and if Dmitri had given his blessing…Wait. “Does my half brother know what kind of shit you’re pulling in O’Malley territory?”
“Let that bastard enjoy you while he can. I’ll be taking back what’s mine soon.” He hung up.
She stared at her phone. “These things can be tracked, can’t they?” And she’d had hers on for the entire time that she’d been here—plenty long enough for Sergei to figure out where she was.
She started to take the battery out, but Cillian stopped her. “Call the hospital first and give them my number.”
“Right. Of course.” She should have thought of that herself. It took five minutes to get a hold of the nurse she’d talked to earlier and give her Cillian’s phone number as a contact to call, but they felt like the longest five minutes of Olivia’s life. She kept picturing Sergei staring at his phone, watching her GPS as he traveled ever closer. As soon as she hung up, she yanked her battery out. It was probably too late, but on the off chance that no one hadalready tracked her down, there was no reason to make it easier on them.So damn stupid. Getting rid of your phone is Running 101.
“It will be okay.”
Maybe if he said that enough times, she’d start to actually believe it. Olivia let him draw her into his arms. Cillian rubbed a hand down her back and up again. “I promise it will be okay. I’ll keep you both safe no matter what it takes.”
“Mama?”
Keep it together, Olivia. If you don’t, you’re going to scare Hadley, and that’s not going to do anyone any favors.“I’m here, baby girl.” She extracted herself from his arms to find Hadley offered her a handful of dandelions. She sank to her knees next to her daughter and made a show of examining them. “What have you got there? Flowers for your mama?”
Hadley presented them to her solemnly, and then split into a grin wide enough to make Olivia want put all her problems on the back burner. She climbed to her feet. “Come on, baby girl. Let’s get these flowers in a vase.” Cillian’s presence at her back was almost enough to steady her and make her believe that everything would be okay.
Almost.
Chapter Twenty
Sloan stared at the little house, the sound of the ocean in her ears. She’d done it. She’d really done it. It had taken her the majority of two days to get here—first a plane to Denver and then a rental car to LA and adifferentrental car north to the little Oregon town of Callaway Rock.
She rubbed her hands over her arms, the sea air distinctly chillier here than it was back in Boston.I’ve been alone more in the last two days than I have in the last five years. There had been no one looking over her shoulder or checking up on her or drawing her into some plot that she wanted no part of. There had just been her and the open road. It had been…terrifying.
