Page 4 of Get Kraken

“Yeah, crazy, right?” Olivia tried to smile back at him, but it only left her mouth feeling stiff.

The worst part of it all was the way she’d only barely stopped herself from swan diving into Chase Belair’s arms. It was as though the scent of his musk was enough to make her into some kind of primal animal in heat.

Chase had looked at her with intense gray eyes like he wanted to eat her up, and she’d wanted to let him.

Then she was directed out of the room, her hand still burning from when she’d shaken Chase’s hand, and into another room where she found another male who made her blood sing, her heart pulse, and her sex swell and fill with moisture.

The water godssohated her.

“Mike, this is for you.” Jack held out a folder to Mike, who turned away from her, though he seemed to do so hesitantly. He took the folder, flipped it open, and then shut again quickly.

“Jesus, are you kidding me?”

“She's going to see it soon enough. We've already shown her some of the tamer photos.”

Mike glanced back at her, his eyes intense and searching. “You have?”

Olivia steeled herself, lifting her chin just a little. “Yes. I know this killer is someone like me.”

“Allegedly,” Mike said quickly. “We don't know that for certain yet.”

Olivia nodded. She didn't want to argue with the people in the room who had more experience than her and knew more of the case than she did. She was here to help in any way she could, but it was probably best to leave the investigating side of things to them. “Right, yes, allegedly, sorry. Anyway, it's most likely someone like me. I asked to see the photos.”

They started her off with the less horrible ones, hoping to ease her in, but she thought she was ready to jump straight in.

Before Mike could say anything else, there was a soft knock at the door.

“Hey, just checking in.”

Chase.

Oh no, what if he sensed what was happening in the room?

Olivia couldn't ignore the way Mike and Chase stared at each other. Chase tilted his head just a little. Barely enough for anyone else to notice, but for Olivia, sirens might as well have been blaring in the room.

They noticed.And now they were proceeding to size each other up like men did whenever they were fighting over a piece of meat. Which wasn’t such a far-out idea, when you considered that Chase was a male harpy, and Mike was supposed to be a shark of some sort.

Chase placed a hand on her am in greeting, sending an immediate surge of sexual desire through her. That was something she couldn't help, regardless of how innocent it was. Otherwise, she wasn’t sure how she felt, being in the middle of these two men.

"You're going to be swimming in the deep with her. Can I count on you to keep my mate safe?" Again, the casual observer might not have noticed the way Chase put emphasis on the wordmate, but Olivia sure as hell did.

Christ, if she caught it, didJacknotice? It was sort of his job to be aware of those things, wasn't it?

It was starting to look as though the little muscles beneath Mike's eyes were beginning to twitch. "Yeah, I think I can keep an eye on her and make sure nothing happens. Hell, all this worry might be for nothing. One of the other teams might end up catching this guy before we do. It's a big ocean."

Chase grinned, and he looked right at Olivia. “You see? Nothing to worry about, and if something were to happen—”

“Which is unlikely," Mike added.

"Just swim up to the surface, and I'll pluck you right out of the water if I have to.

Olivia nodded, hoping that their posturing had some real promise of protection under it. “Sounds good."

She was annoyed that Mike and Chase were having a silent dick measuring contest while she was worried about what would happen if she ran into another kraken.

"Riiiiiiiight,” Jack clearly sensed something was off with the frequency in the room and wanted to be free from it. “The three of you can get acquainted with each other. You have one week. Olivia, spend some time getting to know what to expect, and we’ll have some of our other team members working with you too, to get you prepped."

"Yes, sir. I’m fully prepared to face what I need to in order to help. The gruesome photos, the long hours. I know I’m not a trained agent, but you can count on me to give everything I can to this mission.” She ignored Mike and Chase, focusing on the boss, Jack, and hoping she was doing a good job of convincing him that she was confident and capable.

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