Lethal Consequences (16 page)

The two women embraced. Behind Eve, Landon spotted Zane Archer stepping into the church, wearing jeans, a white button-down, and the same uneasy expression Landon was sporting.

Relief and disappointment stole through Landon, mixing with the nerves still vibrating through his limbs. With hands shaking more than he liked, he stowed his weapon and slowly made his way toward the newcomers.

Zane held out a hand as he drew close. “Miller.”

Landon accepted the handshake. “Archer. You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

“I bet.” Zane glanced around warily. “Is it just me, or do you feel an odd electrical charge in this place?”

Landon snorted. “It’s the Man upstairs getting the voltage right. He can take all three of us out in one strike. Pretty sure the only thing stopping him is Olivia.”

“Something tells me you’re probably not far off the mark.” Zane nodded toward the two women, still hugging. “Let’s try to slowly and inconspicuously herd them out the door. I really don’t want to get my ass fried today.”

Neither did Landon. He wanted Olivia out of harm’s way. But mostly, he wanted her safe. From him.

Shit. He’d almost told her . . .

What? How he felt? He wasn’t even sure how he felt. Fucking confused topped the list right now. But even if he did know, any kind of emotional confession would only mess things up more by muddying the waters for her, especially when she was so close to being free of him.

The woman in the back of the church holding a rosary turned with an angry expression and hissed, “Sh!”

Zane grimaced, then stepped toward Eve and placed a hand on her lower back. “Come on, ladies. I think it’s time we got out of here.”

Olivia blew out a long breath and looked his way. “Thank God.”

Thank God. Yeah, Landon could buy into that right now too. Especially here. Especially if it meant this was all finally going to be over for Olivia.

Eve didn’t let go of her sister’s hand as they moved through the vestibule and stepped out into the midmorning light. Landon followed, blinking several times at the bright sunshine. “We’re parked right over here,” Eve said, nodding to her right. “I’m so glad you remembered the church, Liv. When you didn’t show at the airport, I freaked.”

Zane huffed. “That’s an understatement.”

Eve shot Archer a look over her shoulder. “You were as worried as I was.” She looked back at her sister. “He’s all talk.”

To Landon, Zane muttered, “If we’d lost Olivia, I was never gonna get sex again. So thanks for keeping her safe, man.”

One side of Landon’s mouth curled. “You’re welcome.”

They reached the four-door sedan Landon was sure was stolen, and Eve popped the back door for her sister. “We’ll be in the air in a few minutes. Archer?”

Zane pulled out his cell as he climbed behind the wheel. “Already on it. Tony?” he said into his phone. “Yeah, we’re on our way. We want to be wheels up in fifteen.”

Eve slid into the backseat with Olivia, so Landon took the front next to Zane. He glanced down the street ahead, then behind, but saw no signs of the people who’d been chasing them.

“When did you hit trouble?” Zane asked as he pulled away from the curb and made a right.

“On the outskirts of Tortoli.”

“We saw the roadblock,” Eve said from the backseat. “That was meant for you, wasn’t it?”

When Landon nodded, she added, “Someone wants you hurt, Miller, besides me.”

“Eve,” Olivia warned next to her sister.

“Shush,” Eve snapped. “This is between him and me.” Eve leaned forward between the front seats as they made another turn and smacked her fist into Landon’s injured shoulder. “What the hell were you thinking? She could have been killed. Again.”

Pain spiraled up Landon’s arm, and he immediately reached for the spot with his right hand, cringing.

“Eve, dammit.” Olivia leaned forward too, pushed her sister aside, and reached for his arm. “Are you okay?”

“I’m . . . fine,” he hissed, carefully easing away from Olivia’s tantalizing touch.

Olivia turned a hard glare on her sister. “He got shot protecting me. The least you could do is be a little nice.”

“You wouldn’t need protecting if it weren’t for him.”

Eve was right, and all that guilt Landon had been trying to push away came screaming back. “Wolfe—”

“No,” Olivia snapped, her voice strong and calm, as it had been in the truck when she’d fired his weapon and taken out the tire on that van. “I’m the one who flew out here to surprise
him
. He had no idea I was on my way. My being involved in all this is not his fault. It was just dumb luck. He didn’t do anything wrong, so stop yelling at him.”

Eve was silent. She met Zane’s gaze in the rearview mirror, glanced at Landon, and then looked back at her sister. “I’m just worried about you, Liv. You scared me.”

“I know,” Olivia said, softer. “But you don’t need to worry. I’m okay. Landon kept me safe. He didn’t hurt me. I don’t blame him for any of this.”

Surprised by her words, Landon turned to glance at Olivia. At her sweet face, her gemlike eyes, all that blonde hair that made her look like an angel. And his chest constricted. Tighter than before. So tight it felt as if his heart was about to burst.

Because he knew now what he’d been feeling in that church. Knew what all those emotions were pummeling him from every side.

He loved her. Loved every part of her. Loved her so much he hurt. Loved—

“Um,” Zane said from the driver’s seat. “I hate to break up this fun-filled family festival, but we’ve got trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?” Eve asked, leaning forward between the seats to look out the windshield, her head blocking Landon’s view of Olivia.

“The AK-47 kind,” Zane answered.

Whipping around, Landon spotted the truck ahead and the three men standing in the bed, pointing assault rifles over the cab, right at them. “Fuck me.”

“Fuck us is more like it,” Zane said, cranking on the wheel. “Hold on. We’re about to take a little detour.”

O
livia braced her hand on the door and ducked down in the backseat next to her sister. Could nothing go right? How the heck were these guys tracking them?

The sickeningly familiar click of magazines being snapped into place echoed in the car as Zane whipped the vehicle to the right, then left, and stomped down on the gas.

“I’m almost out,” Landon said from the front seat.

“Take mine.” Eve handed him a big black handgun she’d pulled from somewhere on her body. “I’ve got Olivia.”

Oh God . . . They were going to fire into the city? Hadn’t Landon told her not to do that?

Eve’s arm wrapped around her, and she leaned toward Olivia’s ear. “It’s okay, Liv. We’re almost to the airport.”

The car hit a speed bump and hurled through the air. Zane yelled, “Hold on!”

Olivia’s eyes snapped shut, and she gripped the seat beside her as the wheels slammed against the ground and the entire vehicle jolted. She could hear Eve talking to the pilots on her phone, but she couldn’t make out her sister’s words.

Okay, she’d been wrong. She wasn’t cut out for this kind of stuff. The whole spy-on-the-run thing was so far outside her measly range of normal, she didn’t know what to do. And, dammit, she wanted Landon back here holding her, not her sister. When she was with him, she felt totally safe, even in the middle of car chases and shoot-outs and buildings exploding. Why the heck had he sat in the front?

The car jerked to a jarring stop. Olivia hit the driver’s seat in front of her, then bounced back. Eve pushed her door open and scrambled out. “Come on, Liv. Now is not the time to dawdle. Pick up the pace.”

The door at Olivia’s side popped open before she could scoot across the seat toward her sister. And then Landon was there. His hand closing over Olivia’s, pulling her out of the car, his body warm and solid and real as he tugged her against him, then turned and ushered her toward a plane yards away on the tarmac, the engine already running. “I’ve got you. Come on.”

The fear slid to the wayside. That strength came rushing back. She hurried with him toward the stairs and gripped the handhold as she headed for the open cabin door. Somewhere close, brakes screamed, and voices echoed over the roar of the plane.

“Go, Livy,” he said at her back. “Hustle.”

She stumbled into the plane. Gunshots sounded. She jerked around, afraid he’d been hit again, but he was right at her back, a gun in his hand as he stepped in behind her, followed quickly by Eve and Zane.

Olivia breathed deeply as Zane brought up the stairs and closed the door. Eve rushed toward the cockpit and hollered, “We’re here. Go. Now.”

Landon ushered her toward a seat. They plane was small, posh, with captain’s chairs on one side and a bench seat along the other. She found a seat in the middle and sat. Landon took the window next to her and reached for her seat belt, buckling her in like a child.

Okay, that was a little overkill, but right now, she didn’t care. Her hands were shaking too much from that last run, and she liked having him close. Liked having him take care of her, even if somewhere in the back of her head she knew it wouldn’t last.

Zane and Eve both sat on the bench seat to her right, grappling with their own seat belts. As the plane pulled out onto the runway, Olivia glanced past Landon, out the window, toward the truck racing beside them. Several men stood in the bed, waving their rifles, trying to get the pilots to stop.

Landon’s hand closed over hers on the armrest, and she didn’t think to pull away. She turned her palm over, wrapped her fingers around his, and held on tight as the plane rocketed down the runway.

The force of the liftoff pressed her back into the buttery leather seat, and she closed her eyes, breathing deeper the higher they climbed.

“Well,” Eve said several minutes later, somewhere to Olivia’s right. “That was fun. I need a drink.” The clink of metal echoed as she ripped off her seat belt and pushed to her feet.

Zane chuckled. “I’ll help you, babe.”

The two moved for the back of the small jet, and Olivia opened her eyes and blinked rapidly, but she still didn’t let go of Landon’s hand. Couldn’t.

“You okay?” he asked softly.

Was she? She wasn’t sure. Couldn’t quite process everything just yet. She was thrilled to be out of Sardinia and away from those thugs who’d made their lives a living hell these last few days, but that freedom brought on a new set of worries, ones she thought she’d been prepared for but now realized she wasn’t.

He was leaving. As soon as they got wherever it was they were taking her, Landon planned to disappear. In a matter of hours, he’d be out of her life for good.

“Yeah, I’m . . .” Slowly—because she couldn’t go on touching and relying on him like this, not if he wasn’t sticking around—she pulled her hand from his and swiped her sweaty palm across the thighs of her dirty jeans. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t have to be. You know that, right? It’s okay not to be fine, considering everything we’ve been through.”

Her gaze lifted to his, and she thought back to the tender way he’d held her on the street when she’d started to freak out. To the almost desperate look she’d seen in his eyes when he’d gazed at her in that church. “Are you? Fine?”

A small smile pulled at his lips, and he shrugged. “Part of the job description. I’m always fine. It’s what I do.”

He wasn’t, though. There was something sad and unsure in his eyes. Something that told her whatever he’d been about to tell her in that church was important. And for whatever reason, she knew it was something she needed to hear.

Her pulse picked up speed, and she licked her lips. “Landon, when we were—”

“Here.” Eve pushed a glass into Olivia’s hands. “Drink. I know you need this more than I do.”

Startled, Olivia looked down at the ice and clear liquid and took a careful sniff. Vodka. Yuck. She held the glass out toward her sister. “I’m fine.”

“Drink it,” Eve said, pushing the glass back and sitting on the bench beside her. “You’ll feel better, trust me.”

Olivia wasn’t in the mood to argue. She downed the inch of liquid, grimaced, and then coughed. Zane handed Landon a bottle of water over her head. “Sorry, no beer.”

“That’s fine.” He uncapped the bottle and handed it to Olivia. “Try some of this.”

Olivia mumbled a thank-you, tipped the bottle back, and drank deeply. When she finally came up for air, Zane was handing Landon another water. She swiped her mouth with the back of her hand and looked his way. “You don’t drink?”

“Not the hard stuff.” He uncapped his own bottle and took a long swallow. “Better?”

She nodded and relaxed back into her seat, loving that he always seemed to know what she needed, sometimes even before she did. What was she going to do when he left? Thoughts pinged around in her brain as she looked at his dusty hair, his ripped black shirt, and his dirty pants. God, she was pathetic. She’d just given her sister a diatribe about all the reasons she didn’t need to be coddled, and here she was wanting
him
to coddle her all over again.

“We should be in Naples in an hour.” Zane sat beside Eve on the couch and rested his arm on the back of the sofa behind her. “Then it’s a twenty-minute drive to the safe house.”

“That’s close,” Olivia said, surprised.

“It is,” Eve answered to her right. “But don’t worry. No one will be able to find us there.” Her gaze skipped past Olivia and landed on Landon. “Which means it’s time you started talking. Who were those people, Miller?”

Landon capped his water bottle and set it in the drink holder to his left. “The Red Brotherhood.”

“Fuck me,” Zane muttered. “You did not piss off the Red Brotherhood.”

Landon glanced toward Olivia and shrugged. “Afraid so.”

Olivia looked from face to face, confusion clouding her mind. Landon had told her all about the scientist the DIA had sent him to kill and the girl he’d let go free, but he hadn’t said a word about the terrorist group other than to mention that he recognized their tattoos. “Who is the Red Brotherhood, and why are you all wigged out by them?”

“They’re only the biggest and most dangerous group operating in all of Europe right now,” Eve told her. “They’ve got ties to al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, and the IRA. But unlike most of the groups they associate with, their goal isn’t the liberation of any religion or the advancement of any fundamentalist principles. No, they’re interested in money, plain and simple. And their tactics for getting what they want often come with a shitload of bloodshed.”

“They’ve been a major factor in the decline of the European economy,” Zane added. “Every time a country starts to have trouble, the Red Brotherhood goes in and causes even more instability in the region with targeted attacks designed to create increased chaos, as was the case in Greece. You heard about several key banks being bombed in Greece over the last year, right?”

Olivia nodded.

“That was the Red Brotherhood.”

“And that cruise liner that was hijacked a few months ago in the Mediterranean,” Eve said. “Eighty-three passengers killed, another two hundred eventually ransomed and rescued? That was the Red Brotherhood too. They’re funded by some influential people throughout Europe who are pulling the economic strings to get Europe exactly where they want it.”

“People like who?” Olivia asked.

Eve shrugged. “No one quite knows. But the theory is they’re a major player in the move toward a new world order.”

Oh shit.

“And they’re expanding,” Landon said at her side, drawing her gaze. “It’s only a matter of time before they start hitting targets at home.”

In the US
. Olivia’s stomach felt like it was set on perpetual spin. She much preferred living in the dark and not knowing any of this stuff was happening around her. Landon had mentioned there were people in the shadows, working behind the scenes to keep Americans safe. She was starting to get her first glimpse of what that was all about.

Eve’s gaze shifted from Olivia to Landon, and her eyes narrowed. “If they’re fixated on you, that means you have something they want. Something important. What the hell are you involved in, Miller?”

Landon ran a hand through his dusty hair. “I let the daughter of a mark go free. One who had access to her scientist father’s research. The Red Brotherhood knows, and they want what she’s got.”

“Which is?” Eve asked.

Landon glanced once at Olivia, sighed, and then looked toward Eve and Zane. “Which is some seriously fucked designer biotoxin shit the US government doesn’t want out there. The kind that could be targeted to take out an entire race.”

“Fuck,” Zane muttered.

“Yeah. Pretty much. The Red Brotherhood won’t rest until they find Danica Crossler.” Landon glanced once more at Olivia, and she watched the guilt creep into his eyes. Guilt that hit her hard. “And that means I need to locate her before they do and warn her before it’s too late.”

The drive from the airstrip in Naples to the safe house took exactly twenty-eight minutes. Landon knew because he counted every single second as he sat in the third row of the Escalade, watching Olivia in the front seat.

Mick Hedley had picked them up at the airport, and the Aussie was currently chatting with Olivia about the Amalfi Coast where Ryder’s private vacation villa was located. For her part, Olivia was making polite small talk as she looked out at the passing scenery—the mountains rising steadily out of the sea, the pastel-colored buildings, the lemon groves, and the winding coastal road—but Landon could tell she was rattled. She’d barely spoken two words to any of them since he’d mentioned the Red Brotherhood on the flight.

He should have waited to discuss the situation with Zane and Eve until after they got to the safe house and Olivia was well out of earshot. After everything she’d been through, he didn’t need to scare her into thinking she wasn’t going to be safe when she went home.

But would she be safe? He rested his elbow on the windowsill and rubbed his aching forehead. The woman did what she wanted, when she wanted, and even if Ryder assigned security to her in the interim, there was no telling if she’d play nice. He couldn’t be a hundred percent certain what she’d do, and that bothered him. But he couldn’t possibly keep her with him, not where he was headed, and he had a strong hunch she wouldn’t want to go even if he asked.