Jake was a statue. A very pissed off statue. Sensing his impending explosion, Ryker tried to appease him.
“Olivia will be in good hands. I’ll explain to her that you had no choice but to leave for another mission, and you’ll be back in a few days.” He paused for just a moment. “I assure you, she’ll be taken care of, Jake.”
Ryker’s tone mimicked that of a man speaking to a small child, and it grated on Jake’s last fucking nerve. His head was spinning, and he felt sick to his soul.
He wanted to get the bastards, no fucking question. And no, it shouldn’t take more than a few days to complete the job, but still.
He wanted to see Olivia. Needed to touch her and hold her while he explained what was happening.
Jake hadn’t been able to talk to her since they’d been separated upon their arrival here this morning. Now, he was being forced to leave her without so much as a—
Jake glared at the agent as understanding hit. “You fucking played me.”
“What the hell are you talking about, McQueen?”
Jake’s finger flew toward Ryker. “You knew I wouldn’t be able to resist seeing what was in that file. You purposely sat it down by the chair facing away from the glass, and you knew I’d be too focused on the intel to notice Olivia leaving the room.”
He recalled seeing the man on his phone earlier. “You sent that text, notifying the agent with her to take her away because you never wanted me to have the chance to say goodbye.” He was in the guy’s face in less than a second. “Why the fuck would you do that?”
Not bothering to deny it, Ryker answered, “I knew if you got the chance to talk with her, she’d most likely break down at the thought of you leaving her again so soon. If that happened, you would’ve said ‘fuck it’, and let someone else go after Cetro and the others. I need you for this, Jake. You’re the best we’ve got, and yeah...no one else would be as motivated to finding and stopping these bastards as you are.”
“Goddamnit!” Jake yelled as he turned away.
“There’s more at stake than just Olivia’s safety, Jake. Think of the next woman they hurt. And make no mistake, they will hurt another woman. Soon. She’ll be someone’s daughter or sister.” Ryker waited a beat, and with an insinuating tone, added, “Someone’s lover. So, no, I wasn’t taking the chance you’d decide to stay. I need you on this one, Jake. We have to keep these guys from hurting anyone else.”
Well, at least he didn’t lie.
Even so, for a second there, Jake seriously considered hitting the asshole. God, he wanted to. In the end, he didn’t...mainly because Ryker was right. Again.
No one else wanted to stop Cetro and the others as badly as he did. There was an innate need to do this, to keep them from hurting someone else the way they’d tried to hurt Liv. Didn’t mean Jake would let it completely slide, though.
Moving quickly, Jake turned and filled his hands with the front of Ryker’s pristine jacket lapels. The expensive material bunched together as Jake brought his nose to Ryker’s.
“I’ll go, but if you ever, ever play me like this again, you can find some other team to do your dirty work. And so help me, Jason, if I get back, and one hair...one single, solitary hair is harmed on Liv’s head, I’m holding you personally responsible. Are we clear?”
Surprisingly, Ryker actually allowed some fear into his eyes. “Crystal.”
Jake shoved him away roughly. “I want her watched at all times.” He ran a hand over his jaw. “She’ll hate it, but like you said, it’ll only be for a couple of days.”
Ryker gathered the information on the table and placed it neatly back into the folder. Handing it to Jake, along with a set of car keys he dug from his pants pocket, he said, “Everything else you need is already on the plane. Weapons, clothes, ID’s, burners and sat phone. I’ll be in touch after you land. Good luck.”
Jake took the folder and headed for the door. He was pulling it open when Ryker spoke quietly behind him.
“You never did answer my question.”
Still looking at the door—and more than ready to be on the other side of it—Jake impatiently asked, “Which question would that be?”
“What exactly is Olivia Bradshaw to you?”
This time, Jake did turn around. Looking right into the agent’s eyes, he told him the God’s honest truth. “She’s everything.”
With that admission, Jake walked out, feeling as though an elephant was sitting on his chest. He left the building through a private rear exit and made his way to one of Homeland’s many nondescript SUV’s.
Tires spun as he pulled out of the guarded, fenced-in parking lot and drove to the plane waiting to take him away from the one person who mattered most in his world.
He’d do this. For Olivia, Jake would stay focused and get the job done. His team would do what was necessary to ensure that any and all threats to her were eliminated. After that, all bets were off.
They’d finally found their way to each other. He’d be damned if anything else was going to stand between him and the woman he loved again.
****
Want to see how Jake & Olivia finally get their HEA
Click here to purchase Taking a Risk, Part Two
Want to read more from Ms. Blakely’s R.I.S.C. Series?
See how it all started with Jake and the rest of Alpha Team by checking out the other books in this series:
Book 2: Taking a Risk, Part Two (Jake & Olivia’s HEA)
Book 3: Beautiful Risk (Trevor & Lexi)
Book 4: Intentional Risk (Derek & Charlotte “Charlie”)
Book 5: Unpredictable Risk (Grant &
