Page 76 of Deadly Hope
The conversation died. Everyone turned to look at him.
“What?” Kenji asked.
“Team Tank.” Axel sat straighter, conviction growing. “We’re building something new, but we’re building it on what Tank believed in. Unshakeable faith. Unwavering courage. Being bold in what matters most.”
“T-squared for short,” Ronan added softly. His eyes met Axel’s, understanding passing between them.
Maya nodded slowly. “It’s perfect. Shows we’re carrying forward the best of what came before.”
“While making something new,” Zara finished.
Zara’s eyes glistened. “Tank would have loved it. Probably would have made some terrible pun about being ‘tanked up’ for missions.”
Quiet laughter rippled through the group. Even Olivia’s lips curved slightly.
“Team Tank,” Deke repeated, testing the weight of it. “Yeah. That fits.”
Axel watched the name settle over them like a mantle. Like a promise. And somehow, in that moment, he knew what he had to do next.
Tank had never let fear win. Neither would he.
His gaze drifted back to Olivia, who’d finally looked up, her eyes soft with something that might have been understanding. Or memory. Or maybe just that spark that had been there from the beginning, the one he’d tried so hard to ignore.
He wouldn’t be her patient. The break-in at her office had settled that question permanently. But he could be ... something else. Something more. The way she’d looked at him these past few days, before he’d shut her down so completely—there’d been possibility there. Promise.
And he’d crushed it, trying to do the right thing. No. Not the right thing. The safe thing. Trying to protect himself from her insights.
Tank would have called him ten kinds of fool. Would have told him that sometimes doing the right thing meant being brave enough to reach for what mattered, even if you might get hurt.
Axel straightened, his decision crystallizing. No morehiding behind professional distance. No more rehearsing conversations in his head. He was going to channel his inner Tank, man up and tell Olivia exactly how he felt.
Today. Before he lost his nerve.
Before he lost her.
44
Olivia tracedher fingertip around the rim of her empty coffee mug, staring around the kitchen where her world had turned upside down less than a week ago. The cricket pendant tinkled against the cross at the base of her throat. A final gift from her brother, thanks to Margaret Voss.
Her phone buzzed again?—
Marisol: Finally! When can I hear EVERYTHING? And when should I start rebooking patients?
Olivia typed back:
Monday for patients. Coffee soon for details.
Marisol: Soon = immediately. And don’t think I won’t ask about Mr. Tall Dark and Haunted. Something happened there. Don’t try to deny it. I have instincts.
A hollow ache spread beneath Olivia’s ribs.Nothing happened. Nothing could happen.
She set the phone down, her throat tight. Nothing could happen, but that didn’t mean nothing had been there. The way Axel looked at her sometimes ... But it didn’t matter now. That chapter of the story was over.
Her phone lit up again.
Marisol: Monday it is. But we’re talking about this over lattes ASAP,Chiquita.
Olivia managed a slight smile, grateful for her friend’s persistence. But the thought of returning to her normal routine felt strange now, like trying to squeeze back into clothes she’d outgrown. The past week had changed her. In too many ways to count.
