cage.
“What are you doing out of bed?” Olivia asked. She scrambled from her place at the table and crossed the cabin. Conor winced as she draped his arm over her shoulders and walked with him back to the table. He didn’t bother to sit and Olivia could see what it was costing him. It was as if he didn’t want to show any sign of weakness.
“So tell me what you have for me,” Conor said, glancing at each one of his brothers.
“Brian got you a car,” Dylan said. “It’s parked at the end of the dock. It’s wicked ugly, but it runs. I brought you some fresh clothes. They’re in the trunk.”
“Here,” Brendan said. “You can take my cell phone. I’m not sure if they can trace the calls on your phone, but it’s better to be safe for now.”
“We should stay here for a little while longer,” Olivia suggested. “You need to rest.”
“No,” Conor said, not bothering to look her way. “We’ll leave in a half hour.”
“But-”
Conor turned to look at her, his gaze unyielding. “This is not up for debate,” he said. “We’ll do it my way.”
Olivia bristled at the tone of his voice, so different from that of the night before, and she felt a flush of embarrassment creep up her cheeks. He turned and started back to the forward cabin. Olivia glanced around the table. “He should rest,” she murmured. “He was shot.”
Brendan shrugged, then sent her a sympathetic smile. “Con does things his own way.”
Olivia spun on her heel and followed after Conor. When she reached the forward cabin, she stepped inside and closed the door behind them. Conor stood beside the berth, trying to slip into his shirt.
“Why do we have to leave?” she asked, holding onto the shirt as he twisted into it. “We’re safe here. And you need to rest.” He refused to answer her, focused on his shoulder holster. “What is this?” she demanded. “Are you determined to kill yourself just to show your brothers what a tough guy you are?”
He glanced up at her. “Don’t think because of what happened last night I’m going to stop doing my job,” he murmured. “I’m paid to protect you and if that means we move, then we move.”
Stunned by his indifferent tone, Olivia wasn’t sure what to say. Had she imagined what they’d shared last night? Was she naive to believe that it changed things between them? With a soft curse, she grabbed her purse, her shoes and her jacket, then yanked open the cabin door. “Forgive me,” she muttered. “I didn’t realize that what happened last night was all part of the job.”
Olivia walked out into the main cabin and didn’t bother turning around when he called her name. Maybe this was all for the better. They’d had a little fun and now it was time to get back to business. She was a witness and he was a cop and she’d do well not to forget that in the future.
But Olivia knew in her heart that it would take her a very long time to forget her night with Conor Quinn-if she could forget it at all.
6
“WHAT THE HELL are you doing?”
Conor stepped out of the forward cabin only to find his two brothers blocking his way with broad shoulders and angry expressions. “What do you mean?”
“She’s out there on deck and I think she’s crying,” Dylan said. “What did you do to her?”
“Nothing,” Conor replied. “I’m just doing my job, that’s all.”
Dylan shook his head. “You seduced her, didn’t you. You slept with a witness.”
Conor cursed softly. “I did not-”
“Come on,” Brendan said. “One look at that girl’s face was all it took to know what went on in
Conor had never been one to open up his private life to family scrutiny. As far as his brothers were concerned, he didn’t have a private life. “All right,” he said. “So we…were intimate. Don’t tell me you guys never lost control with a woman.”
“Not me,” Dylan said.
“Never,” Brendan added.
“Well, someday you will,” Conor warned, “and then you’ll know what it feels like. I couldn’t stop myself. It seemed-no, it
“So what’s your next move?” Dylan asked.
Conor was glad for the change of subject. Now that he’d admitted his weakness, he didn’t want to dwell on it. But his reaction to the events of last night had carried into the morning. He wasn’t sure what had happened between him and Olivia, beyond an incredible physical release. He only knew that it had changed something deep inside of him, opened a door that he’d always kept firmly locked.
“I called my partner,” he said.
“I meant what’s your next move with Olivia. If I were you, I’d apologize for every stupid thing I said. And then I’d thank my lucky stars that a woman like her wandered into my life.”
“Well, I’m not you, Dylan,” Conor murmured. He took a sip of his coffee. “Danny found us a place to stay.”
“Can you trust him?” Brendan asked, concern coloring his tone.
Conor brushed him off with a shrug. “The kid transferred to the district three months ago. Even the most corrupt cop doesn’t go bad that fast.” He turned and leaned back against the rail. “His grandmother just moved to Florida and he’s selling her condo for her. It’s still furnished. He says we can stay there as long as we want.”
“So you’re going to play house with Olivia until the trial?” Dylan asked.
“I’m keeping her safe,” Conor countered.
Brendan shook his head. “She’s a nice lady, Con. I wouldn’t want to see her get hurt any more than she already is-and I’m not talking about bullets here.”
“Neither would I,” Conor murmured as he ran his fingers through his hair. But then maybe he already had hurt her, simply by making love to her. Though their night together had been incredible, it was also a dangerous move. She’d come to depend on him, first for her safety and now for intimacy, and he wasn’t sure that he could continue to give her what she needed.
Soon, they’d be free to go their separate ways. Would she be able to let go? And even more importantly, would he? “Right now everything is so unreal,” he said. “Feelings are magnified because of the circumstances. She can’t possibly know how she really feels. To her, I’m some big hero. Believe me, give her time. She’ll figure out who I really am.”
“And what if she does and she doesn’t turn and run?” Dylan asked.
“Did you ever think she might be the one?” Brendan asked.
“Maybe,” Conor said. “But I can’t think about that now. From now on, I have to concentrate on the job and nothing else.”
Brendan stepped around him to the hatch, then climbed the stairs. “Just don’t be such a hard ass, Con. Give her a chance.”
Conor and Dylan followed him out and they found Olivia sitting on a locker, her hands clasped on her lap. She’d pulled her hair back into a ponytail and her fresh face was barely touched with makeup. Whether in the soft glow from an oil lamp or the bright morning sunshine, Conor thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. An image of her flashed in his mind, her hair tumbling around her face, her body flushed with passion and his blood warmed in the chill morning air.
“I’m ready,” she murmured as she stood.
Given the choice, he’d rather take her by the hand and lead her back into the cabin to kiss away the tension
