No Reason to Run, page 10
“Nice set-up.” Officer Hampton scrutinized each inch of the comfortable space.
Shane couldn’t place the vibe he got from the guy but didn’t like it. “Thanks.” He frequently received compliments on his home. Mostly thanks to the decorating efforts of his mom and sister.
Legs braced, Hampton pulled out a notepad. “As you’re aware, we’re here to talk about the incident at the bus station outside Harmony this morning. The CPD is working closely with Harmony on this since many of the residents from both jurisdictions work or use the bus station in some capacity.”
“I understand.” Her voice shook but Shane forced himself to hold back. To not offer comfort and reassure her while local law enforcement took the lead on this. He trusted Aidan and Aidan brought this guy to his home so he better be trustworthy.
Aidan spoke in a gentle voice. “Who do we have here?” He aimed a smile at Chloe.
Chloe snuggled into her mom keeping her eyes turned from the sheriff and the officer.
“This is my daughter, Chloe. She was with me.”
“Can you tell us why you were at the station this morning?”
Hampton’s question came out abrupt and accusatory, cutting off whatever the Sheriff had been about to say. Shane stiffened and rolled his eyes toward Aidan with a clear warning. If he didn’t check his friend, Shane would.
Olivia looked to him first then back to Hampton clearly confused. “My daughter and I were taking a bus to North Carolina this morning.”
Hampton stared hard at her before scribbling something down. “Did you notice anything suspicious?”
She cleared her throat and a frown creased her brow. Shane knew she’d relive the explosion this morning if the questions kept going in this direction. “I don’t know if I’d call it suspicious. I wanted a coffee and my eyes were on the man at the cart. I noticed he left his briefcase at the same time as the attendant.”
“What man?” Hampton’s brown eyes narrowed. He focused on Olivia’s next words. Was there doubt in his question?
She must have sensed the intensity as well. Her shoulders hunched and she pulled Chloe closer to her. Shane got to his feet and circled to the back of the sofa putting him in the direct line of sight of the officer. Aidan glanced his way with a wary eye. His friend was smart to keep his gaze alert. Shane needed the distance because he was seconds away from using his fists on the uniformed officer.
“There was a man in a suit. A dark colored suit. He got a drink, I don’t know what kind but he sat his briefcase down to pay and then walked off to catch the bus.”
“What did he look like?”
Her voice trembled. “H-he had dark hair, I think.”
Hampton glared. “He did or didn’t Ms. Anderson?”
Shane dug his fingers into the sofa cushion and shot another look at Aidan. One more time and Shane was gonna throw this fuckhead out the front door.
Aidan leaned forward, obstructing Olivia’s view of Officer fuckhead. She immediately shifted her attention back to the sheriff. “Think back, Mrs. Anderson. Can you remember if he had dark hair or light?”
“Miss,” she corrected nibbling on her lip. “I went back to my maiden name after my divorce. The man had dark hair.”
“Good.” His half smile revealed dimples.
Shane tensed. Aidan had a reputation with the ladies. His pretty boy routine went over a lot better than Shane’s burned out distrustful guy vibe.
Olivia relaxed against the sofa cushions, her back bumping the knuckles of Shane’s hand. He stroked her hair in a calming gesture.
“Do you remember anything else about him?”
Her body language shifted. Aidan’s tone indicated empathy unlike Officer Hampton. Shane could sense her desire to remember something key.
“He had a cell.” She jerked upright startling Chloe and causing the one-arm bear to fall to the floor.
Aidan swooped it up and handed it back. Chloe smiled shyly before accepting.
“I thought he didn’t hear the coffee attendant because he was into his cell phone conversation.”
“Remote device,” Shane murmured, making eye contact with Aidan.
“Suicide mission.”
There were a dozen possibilities in light of this information.
“What are you talking about?” Officer Hampton’s face screwed tight. Not a good look for him. “We’ve no idea if this was a suicide. It could be a terrorist attack.”
Aidan rose to his feet. “Could be, Hampton, but I’ll check with the coroners and get a rush on ID’ing the bodies. The sooner we find out who he is the sooner we can search for the reasons for his actions.”
“This guy would have left a note or some message if it was suicide. Hell even if it was a terrorist attack there might be a message left behind.” Shane paced behind the sofa as he thought it out. Incidents like this on American soil were a lot different than what he used to handle. There was always a trail.
“We need to ask her more questions,” Hampton protested.
Aidan clapped the officer on the back. “After we find out who this guy is, if you still think Ms. Anderson’s a viable witness, you can come back.”
The statement firmly shut him down and Shane found himself ushering them out swiftly. Aidan winked over his shoulder as Shane firmly closed the door and locked up.
Olivia followed behind with a dazed expression carrying Chloe on her hip. “What’s this about? What does it mean?”
“It means it might have been a random bombing and you ended up in the wrong place, princess.”
The relief washed over her face instantly. “Then it wasn’t…him?”
Her ex. Shane wished like hell it was. It could have been one more thing to nail him on. “We don’t know for sure yet.”
Chapter 18
The next few hours passed by rather quickly. In need of a way to entertain Chloe, Olivia broke down and asked Shane if he thought it was safe to play in his backyard. Under his vigilant watch, she and her daughter passed a ball, chased each other and played a mutated form of hide and seek because Shane’s clean landscape offered no potential hiding spots.
Despite the distraction Chloe provided, Olivia remained hyper aware of Shane. Each glance over her shoulder revealed steely gray eyes monitoring her every move. If his attention diverted, it canvassed his yard as if he expected the occasional rabbit to have a hidden agenda.
Chloe, however, loved catching sight of the rabbits and spent half her time chasing them around the enclosed space. When her path crossed Shane, she’d pause give him a solid nod which he returned every time then she raced off again with a pleased giggle.
As the afternoon wore on, Chloe tired. She became cranky and her eyes could barely stay open. After being under Shane’s undivided attention, Olivia was glad to head back inside. She wasted no time getting Chloe settled in the room they shared. A quick snuggle and her daughter passed out. Once downstairs, Olivia immediately noticed the two strangers standing next to Shane.
Her spine stiffened. These were the men he’d brought in to talk to her about Brian. One man leaned against the island, his hip canted to the side, an arm braced on the counter while his brown eyes insolently watched her approach. Old defenses came to the forefront. Lifting her chin defiantly, she blazed forward and halted in front of him. Screw him, he didn’t know her.
Shane straightened from his slouch. He watched her closely while he performed the introduction. “Vik, this is Olivia Anderson, formerly O’Donnell. Olivia, this is Viktor Zonov.”
Viktor stood inches shorter than Shane with a head full of blond hair pulled back into a stubby tail. The angles of his face hinted at his European heritage. His black shirt and matching cargo pants covered a body that rivaled Shane’s in fitness. Another person with a military background, she assumed. Her eyes caught on the unusual shoulder holster crossing his chest which held a snub-nosed gun and a sheathed knife.
The second man didn’t turn when she entered the kitchen. His bald head stayed bowed over the counter as he read a document in front of him.
Shane raised his voice. “Striker, meet Olivia.”
The bald giant matched Shane in height when he slowly straightened from his position. He stared at Olivia for a full minute, his dark gaze missed nothing. A wave of fear shivered down her spine. His presence unnerved her more than Shane’s. “Ma’am,” his voice rasped.
“Hey.” She waved her fingers at him, trying not to stare at the twisted scars running along his neck and the left side of his face. His ear suffered some kind of damage too, the skin roped and red as if from bad burns. The rest of his face was cut from harsh angles broken only by the glitter in his midnight colored eyes. Whatever destroyed part of his face had taken its toll on this man’s soul.
“Vik and Striker are ready when you are. Tell us what you saw.”
She controlled the lurch in her gut. Shane warned her and she thought she’d prepared herself mentally but she hadn’t.
“Olivia.”
Shane crossed to her side. How did he move that fast? His hand came up to massage her shoulder. “It’s okay, princess. Just tell us. Spit it out.” He pushed her toward a chair and Olivia sat.
Deep inhale. It needed to be said. “When I went to pick up Chloe from his house.”
“The senator’s house?” The blond interrupted her, his voice tinged with an accent she couldn’t place. Olivia nodded.
“Yes, I was married to Brian O’Donnell.” They already knew this. “Anyway, Chloe was with her nanny getting her things together so I went to Brian’s study to let him know I was taking her.” She paused and licked her lips. “It was the polite thing to do though he wouldn’t have noticed. The door was open and there were sounds coming from within.”
“Bang bang bang kinda noises?” Again, the blond Shane identified as Vik spoke.
Clearly he found this funny since his smirk spread to an all out smile. A smile that moved his face from reasonably attractive to downright gorgeous.
“Yes. They were sex sounds,” she snapped. Shane came closer and curved his arms around her shoulders.
“Take it easy.”
Olivia leaned her weight unto him. “Sex sounds,” she repeated. “But it was too late to turn. I could see Brian with someone leaning over his desk.”
“Office action. Nice.” Vik’s joke fell flat.
“His partner was naked and,” she swallowed, vividly remembering her surprise. “Brian’s pants were around his ankles.” Stunned, her first thought had been he hated that position. When they shared a bed he insisted on missionary despite her desires to experiment, to try different things to enhance their pleasure. He’d been adamant and later it hadn’t mattered.
To see him in such a compromising position held her immobile. She must have made a sound or cried out. “He turned around and saw me standing there.” Brian’s face went pasty white while he jerked away from his partner and yanked up his pants.
“Why’s he scared? What else did you see, Olivia?”
The heat from Shane’s body so close to hers warmed her back. His reassuring presence gave her courage. “It was his assistant.”
“Man. What an idiot.” Vik’s tone was full of disgust but the look he leveled on Olivia showed sympathy. He thought she was hurt. She wanted to laugh. Brian’s shift in affections could no longer hurt her.
“Is his assistant married?” The deep rumble came from Striker. She wondered if that was his first or last name. His mouth twisted in a cruel smile when he noticed her prolonged stare. Dressed similar to Vik in a black tee shirt and cargo pants, he wore a thigh holster and she saw the matte edge handle of the handgun inside. Olivia doubted it was the only weapon on his person, it just wasn’t as blatantly displayed. Of that she had no doubt.
“Finish it, Olivia. Is the assistant married? Is that the bug up his ass?”
Vik barked out a laugh at Shane’s question.
She flushed and leaned away from Shane. He nudged her back into his arms. She struggled briefly until she saw the humor on both Vik and Striker’s face as they watched the two of them. “No, his assistant isn’t married.” She considered not saying more but Shane’s arms squeezed her shoulders in warning. “It’s a man. His assistant, Tim Gordon, is the one he was having sex with in his office.”
Chapter 19
The silence lasted a minute tops then Vik chuckled. His chuckle turned into a full blown laugh. He smacked the counter with his open palm. “Color my dick purple. No wonder he wants to shut her down.” After his laughter his accent was more pronounced. Russian or some other Slavic origin, Olivia decided.
“Shut up, Vik. Have some manners.” This from Striker.
Olivia appreciated his unexpected defense though it caught her off guard. Shane must have thought she was hurt as well because his arms became bands of steel around her. “No worries. I’m fine. We’ve been divorced a long time and whatever I felt, whatever holds a marriage together was gone a long time ago.”
Her gaze shot around the kitchen. All three of them looked doubtful. She guessed she understood. They wanted theatrics and screeching. That wasn’t Olivia’s style.
She cleared her throat. “Now you know.”
“Ok,” Shane heaved out a breath. “It doesn’t explain why he wouldn’t want this to get out. The scandal wouldn’t exactly ruin his career since he’s single and can do what he wants.”
Vik spoke up. “That’s easy. He ran his campaign as a conservative with strong views on upstanding Christian values. His family’s old money and his old man would have a fit if his only child announced his homosexuality.”
Olivia nodded her head in agreement. “His dad has some very staunch views on matters of sexuality and Brian’s grandfather was a pastor that still ministers in the community.”
“Question is why doesn’t he believe his ex-wife won’t talk? She’s got as much to lose as him if the media began questioning their marriage.” Striker’s question was a good one.
“And why the hell would the bastard plan to kill his kid’s mother?” No longer leaning against the counter, Vik faced them with a serious pissed off look.
Olivia stiffened in Shane’s arms from the questions. He glanced down at the top of her head. She twisted the hem of her tank. “Princess. What else do you know?”
Her muscles flinched. “Brian called as soon as I got home that afternoon. He was frantic, apologizing over and over. I told him I wasn’t concerned about what he did any more. I’d never let it get out because he’s Chloe’s father.”
“Chloe?” Striker flicked through the papers in his hand. “Your three-year-old daughter.”
***
Olivia nodded and snuggled closer to Shane. Did she realize she sought comfort from him with the telling gesture? Shane tightened his arms offering his strength unconditionally.
“Any man that would kill his kid’s mom is a man that needs killing.”
Striker eyed Vik at his announcement and shook his head. “You’d agree he needed killing regardless.” Vik had a hard-on for anyone that hurt women. Every one of the operatives on their team knew it was his Achilles heel. Vik didn’t talk much about his past but whatever it was set his stance on how females were to be treated.
It pleased Shane to see Vik relax. His smile blinded. “Yeah, well. Not like I’m a fan of the bastard anyway.” Then Vik became serious. “What’s the plan? Do you want one of us to take him out before he can hurt her?”
Shane would love to do exactly that but their lives no longer revolved around following through on kill orders. The business he’d created and nurtured involved security assessment for resident and commercial property, security detail on US soil only and recovery of high value stolen property. No killing if possible.
“No. Olivia thought his parents would reel him in but that fell through.”
Striker snorted. “You want Vik and me to give him the back-off message loud and clear?”
Shane maneuvered it so Olivia had her back to the men and he could watch her face. “Your call, princess. How do you want us to handle?”
Her mouth parted then snapped shut. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest. The move shifted something in his heart.
“They’d kill him?” he heard her whisper.
“It’s off the table unless you want it. Say the word, princess, and I’ll do the bastard myself.” Easily. He maintained his skills as one of the best snipers around and wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet between O’Donnell’s eyes. Of course, like he reminded Vik, they weren’t in that life any more.
Her head snapped up, hands fisting on his shirt. Blue eyes widened with panic. “No. Don’t do that.”
Shane covered her hands with his. “Right. No killing.”
“Can you just warn him? Tell him to stop.”
“Of course.” Shane didn’t believe for a minute that it would stop Senator O’Donnell but he’d give the fool a chance. “Why don’t you check on Chloe and I’ll work something out with my men.”
Her head nodded and she released his shirt. He missed the contact. Especially when he opened his arms to let her leave the room.
As if by agreement they all waited until the tread of her footsteps could be heard upstairs. Vik whistled low and clear. “Damn, Mitchell, do you feed the chick?”
Shane frowned but saw Striker turn away to hide a grin. “What the fuck? They ate.”
“Well she sure as hell wasn’t full because she did a number on your neck.”
Striker let loose a laugh and headed for Shane’s fridge to grab a beer. Shane’s hand flew to his neck where the skin was tender to the touch. Hell, she’d marked him as he expected with that sweet mouth of hers.
Striker tossed a beer to Vik who snatched the bottle from the air with the same lightening reflexes that made him an asset during his years in the military.
“How bad is it?” Shane directed the question to Striker who’d give him an honest answer. Vik would only fuck with him.
Striker pointed at his neck and moved his finger in a slow circular motion. “Very dark, too. Like she took her time.”
