Page 52 of Her Silver Fox Firefighters
Maybe I will finally be able to love and be loved freely by my men, without the fear of tragedy tearing us apart.
16
LEO
There’s something going on with Olivia.
Something that simmers just beneath the surface, and it’s not the concern of her past coming back to haunt or hurt her. It’s a different kind of worry, one that’s more mellow. I catch it in the tremor of her voice sometimes, or in the way she averts her gaze whenever I ask what’s wrong, just before she smiles and says that everything is okay.
One morning we’re in the kitchen, cleaning up after a scrumptious breakfast. The smell of bacon and pancakes still lingers in the air as I scrub the pans, then rinse and slip everything into the dishwasher for a thorough cleaning.
“Where’s Luke today?” Dax asks as he pours himself another cup of coffee.
“Summer camp and soccer practice. He’ll be gone most of the day.”
“He’s going to go out like a light by the time he gets home,” Beck chuckles, then looks around. “Where did Olivia disappearto? She has a way of sneaking out like a thief in the night sometimes, even in broad daylight.”
The sun bathes our kitchen in a golden shimmer at this early morning hour, but it only serves to highlight Olivia’s sudden absence. It’s an old house, and I can hear water moving through the pipes upstairs. I can usually tell who’s doing what and where on account of the relatively thin walls.
“She’s upstairs.”
“So I heard from Carlos. He’s due to meet with his NYPD buddies early next week,” Dax says.
“Finally,” I reply.
“It’s hard to get law enforcement folks on board when it’s about prosecuting one of their own,” Beck reminds us. “It’s that ‘thin blue line’ that keeps them so close. It’s perceived as the ultimate betrayal.”
Dax sighs. “Even so, it doesn’t change the reality of the situation. There’s a dangerous, crooked sheriff running Devon PD, who has probably killed his fair share of innocent people. The man needs to be taken down.”
All I can do is hope that Carlos will manage to get those guys on board. Based on Olivia’s past experiences with the police, we definitely need people we can trust. In the meantime, we’ll keep our woman safe, happy, and sated.
“Sorry, I had to take care of something,” Olivia says as she comes back downstairs.
Her face is pale. Water trickles from the honey-blonde hair framing her temples. Tiredness adds a certain depth to her beautiful eyes.
“What’s going on with you, Olivia?” I ask, determined to get to the bottom of it and frankly tired of all the secrets. “We can’t protect you if you’re still keeping secrets from us.”
“Leo…” Beck tries to rein me in, but Dax agrees.
“No, Leo’s right. There’s something else she’s hiding.”
Olivia gives us all a startled look, and for a second, I’m tempted to feel bad about it. But then I see a softening in her gaze, defeat lowering her shoulders, and I realize we’re close to getting her to fully open up to us. If we’re to become an unbreakable unit in order to be together, I need full transparency, nothing less.
“This isn’t about my past,” she says with a heavy sigh. “I’ve told you everything there is to know about that. Really, I did.”
“Then what’s going on?” I ask, gently taking her hand in mine.
She shudders at my touch. I stay still, watching and observing every twitch, every subtle change in her expression. Hell, I can almost hear her thoughts rumbling as she tries to find the right way to express them. Still, she is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever had the fortune of meeting, even in her darker moments.
“I was sick,” she quietly says.
“What? When?” Beck asks from his seat at the kitchen table.
“A minute ago. I was sick. It’s why I slipped upstairs to the bathroom.”
“Are you feeling alright?” I ask.
Beck comes over and gently touches her face, checking her body temperature. “You are a little warm.”
