Page 17 of Operation Wolf: Eli
CHAPTER 10
Eli
IT WAS ANOTHER HOURor so before we finally landed at the private airport near Birmingham, and it was the longest hour of my life. I’d spent the entire time reading the same page inSports Illustratedover and over while trying desperately not to stare at Olivia—or worse, actually go over and try to touch her like I’d been wanting to ever since I first laid eyes on her after coming home.
It had been hard enough keeping my distance while living across from her, but now that we were in the same space, only a scant few feet from each other, the temptation was nearly impossible to resist. But resist, I did.
Better to keep my distance for now—at least until we are someplace safe.
The landing was smooth and uneventful, which I supposed was to be expected from one of Hunter’s pilots.
Once the pilot gave us the okay to unbuckle, I finally did leave my seat and went over to Olivia. “Wake up,” I murmured, gently shaking her shoulder. “We’re here.”
Olivia blinked, her eyes still cloudy with sleep. “Where are we?” she mumbled, stretching her arms over her head and then wincing, likely at the pain caused by her shifting ribs.
Instantly, my hands were on her torso, lightly gliding over her injured abdomen to try to soothe her hurt. “Careful now,” I said, ignoring the way her eyes flared in surprise. I quickly transferred my hands beneath her shoulder blades and helped her sit up. “We’re in Gardendale, Alabama, and we have a train to catch in Birmingham that leaves in two hours, so let’s go.”
“A train?” Her voice sharpened as her mind seemed to catch up with what was going on. “A train going where?”
“North,” I said shortly, helping her down the steps.
Someone escorted us across the airfield to a small, nondescript sedan waiting for us, which Hunter had arranged to get us to the station in Birmingham.
“I’ll tell you more once we’re actually on the train.”
Olivia looked like she wanted to argue, but the driver had come around the side to open the back door for her, and she held her tongue. I waited until she was properly situated, and then I closed the door before the driver could usher me inside as well.
“I want to sit in the front,” I demanded.
The driver didn’t argue, and soon, we were on our way. Olivia was snoozing in the back seat, and I kept a vigilant eye out on the roads in case we were ambushed in any way. I wouldn’t put it past the Outfit to have a trap already waiting for us right here. They had all kinds of resources and could have found a way to track us here even though Hunter and I had been careful.
Things seemed to be going fine for the first ten minutes, and then the driver surprised me by turning off the highway two exits early.
“Hey,” I said, turning to the man. “Where are you—”
“I would stop talking now,” the driver said in a thick Italian accent as I stared down the barrel of a gun, “if you know what’s good for you. We’ll be arriving at our destination, and Miss Giordano will be safely returned home. For you, I cannot promise the same.”
“What—” Olivia came awake in the back seat and then inhaled sharply. “Oh my God, Eli—”
She didn’t get to finish the sentence because, in a lightning-fast move, I knocked the gun out of the man’s hand, shifted the car into neutral, and grabbed the steering wheel to pull us to the shoulder. At the same time, I yanked on the parking brake, bringing us to an abrupt halt and throwing Olivia against the back of the driver’s seat. She cried out in pain, but I had to ignore the cold grip of horror that seized me when the driver turned on me, reaching for a knife that was hidden in his jacket.
With a roar, I sprang at him, my canines already extending, and I bit down on the bastard’s jugular, hot blood spraying into my mouth. My inner beast delighted in the carnage, shaking the man’s limp neck in my jaw for a few moments before the human side of me, disgusted, finally forced my beast to release the dead body.
The sound of a woman screaming cut through the remainder of my bloodlust, and I turned in time to see Olivia wrench open the back door and burst onto the road. Cursing, I launched myself after her and caught her gently around the waist before she managed to get more than three yards.
“Liv, stop,” I said.
I yanked her around to face me, but that was a mistake as she only screamed louder when she saw my bloodstained face and mouth.
“It’s true!” she half sobbed, half screamed, trying to wrench out of my grip as her body shuddered with pain. “You are a monster. You—”
“No!” I barked between clenched teeth, clapping a hand over Olivia’s mouth.
When she continued to struggle, I snaked my other arm around her waist and crushed her against me, deliberately applying pressure against her broken ribs and causing her to pant in pain. I’d hated to do it, but it worked. The fight went right out of her.
“If you keep carrying on like that, someone’s going to come by, and they’re going to find the dead body sitting in that car. We don’t want that, do we?”
Wide-eyed, Olivia shook her head, her entire body trembling against mine.
With a sigh, I loosened my grip around her waist and removed my hand from her mouth. “I know this is scary and confusing, and I promise, I’ll explain it all when we get to our destination, but right now, we need to keep moving.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Olivia said, the terror in her voice twisting my insides into knots. “I don’t know who the hell you are anymore, Eli.”
“I’m your fucking savior,” I roared, furious with her for making me feel ashamed, and furious with myself for allowing myself to feel that way. “And, if you don’t do what I say, we’re both going to wind up dead or worse.” I spun her around and gently nudged her toward the car. “Now, keep a lookout while I clean this mess up before we get caught out here and wind up in jail.”
