Page 106 of Merciless Sinner

He dips his head. "You're welcome. But we're still a work in progress until it's over."

I couldn't agree more.

He stands, gives me a final nod, then leaves. I remain seated in my chair and think about all of it. There are so many moving parts to this mystery that I don't know which to focus on first. At least we have a few things cleared up and a few more revelations. Like the fact that Callahan died in his home.

When Olivia first came back, I thought that both her parents died in Europe, but it was just her and her mother who went there. And the enemy caught up with them. I've been trying to figure out how that happened, but the only thing that makes sense is that after they were attacked in their home, the enemy might have been able to get the information from Callahan somehow, like maybe on his phone. Olivia said that they were to leave with the men. If her father had arranged for men to meet them, it makes sense that he would've told them where to go. So that traitor got the intel from New York and followed them to Europe. But they could have only gotten that information from Callahan, because it's nowhere else.

Not even Cillian was able to pinpoint where exactly they might have gone in Europe.

I have him working on this as much as possible because I know right now Olivia needs me. I can't neglect that.

The weekend comes and she seems brighter. As in she's crying less. As far as I know, she hasn't been in touch with anyone. I've been messaging Amelia when she messages me to find out how Olivia is doing. The only thing I've made Amelia aware of is that Olivia remembered details of the attack that upset her. I assured her that as soon as she was feeling better, she'd be in touch.

In the evening, I decide to make Olivia that teriyaki steak. Eden already cooked lunch, but I wanted to cook dinner again for her.

We haven't really spoken much about anything else, and all she's done at night is curl up next to me, cocooning herself into my chest as if she wants me to protect her.

Olivia walks into the kitchen and sees me cooking. She gives me a little smile, which is a good sign.

"Hi," she says, looking at the steak in the skillet.

"Hey.”

“Cooking for me again?" She asks in an appreciative tone.

"I thought I'd make you dinner." I smile but my heart sinks at the sight of her frail body. "How are you feeling?"

"Awful," she replies and sits on the stool near me.

I reach over to touch her cheek and she rests her head against my hand.

"I'm here," I tell her. "I'm here for whatever you need. I wish I could tell you it will get better, but I can't."

She straightens and nods. "I know. How can you tell me such a thing when I watched my parents die? No wonder I didn't want to remember. The whole thing explains why I was so terrified."

"I know."

“I'm trying so hard to remember who did killed them, but I can’t."

"Maybe that's another block in your mind," I suggest. "But give it time. Please don't try to stress yourself out by pushing too hard. You've experienced a big blow."

She nods agreeing. "Okay. I'll try to take things slowly. And, I guess I should also message Amelia back at some point, or call her. It’s just difficult to talk to anyone."

"I've been taking care of that. She understands."

"Thank you."

"Whenever you speak to Amelia, I think it’s important that you don’t give her any specifics or details about the memory," I caution. "The information about the memory stick could be dangerous. The less people who know, the better. Especially because you know where it is. We need to keep that information between us for the moment.”

“Okay. I won’t mention it.”

The only other people who know are Cillian, Dante, and Seamus.

“The last thing I want to do is put my friend in danger." She sulks.

"I think she’ll be okay if we’re careful.” I tap her hand.

"Can we eat this together and watch a movie like we did at the beach house?" A small smile brightens her face.

---