Chapter 1
Olivia parked her Honda Civic in the gravel driveway. She turned off the ignition and, with an exaggerated sigh, let her head fall back against the headrest.
Closing her eyes, she allowed herself a moment of peace before re-opening one eye to look down at her watch.
Seven forty-five a.m. She grimaced before getting out of her car, not wanting to stay out in the open alone for too long. Just in case.
Yawning, Olivia put her hand over her mouth. She barely noticed the slight chill in the air as she walked up the small sidewalk, wishing she hadn’t covered the night shift. Again.
She’d been doing that a lot the past few weeks...covering for nurses who couldn’t make it in for one reason or another.
Olivia was pretty sure everyone thought she was just trying to prove herself since having come ‘back from the dead’. The truth was, she needed to stay busy.
The hospital here wasn’t as non-stop as Dallas Regional—where she used to work—but the minor injuries and illnesses seen in the ER here were enough to provide the distraction she desperately needed.
So, for the past month and a half, Olivia had signed up for every available shift she could. It helped...or, at least it used to.
She’d moved to Northern Falls six weeks ago. It was a small city located half an hour northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Its population of nearly 6,000 made it a tiny spec compared to DFW’s three million. It was exactly what Olivia had been looking for.
Northern Falls was quiet. Peaceful. After the chaos that had become her life, Olivia felt she had no choice but to leave the city for somewhere smaller and more secluded.
Now, that same seclusion she craved just a few short weeks ago was becoming yet another source of heightened anxiety.
As she made her way to the quaint porch, Olivia studied the small house she’d rented. It was the only one around for miles.
Before, she thought she’d never want to leave the city. After barely surviving what Olivia now referred to as “The Volunteer Mission from Hell”, that changed.
Everything changed...after.
Her life was like that now, clearly divided into two halves—Before and After. God, how she longed to go back to Before.
Before she’d ever stepped foot in Madagascar. Before her new friends had been ruthlessly murdered right in front her. Before some idiot had decided to fixate on her.
Before Jake. An invisible weight fell on her heart as his name entered her mind.
For years, Jake had been her best friend. For one magical night, he’d been so much more.
Then, the big jerk left without so much as a word. Two freaking months ago.
Olivia quickly shut the door on those thoughts. At least, she tried to.
Even on mornings like this, when she was so bone-tired she could barely make it up her porch’s four steps, thoughts of Jake somehow managed to push their way through.
She’d tried everything to keep from thinking about him, including nearly working herself to death. Some days it worked, but lately, even the double-shifts weren’t enough.
No matter what, Jake always seemed to be there. Drifting around in the back of her mind.
Olivia would be in the middle of completing a patient’s chart or stocking a room’s cart with various medical supplies, and she’d find herself wondering where he was and what he was doing.
Day after day, no matter what she did to avoid it, the same questions would roll through her mind.
Was he ok? Had he been hurt on the job? Was he ever coming back? If he did come back, would he even bother to come see her?
Then, she’d start to worry he would show up, which created a whole new set of questions.
What the hell would she say to him? Would he still want to be her lover, or would they go back to being just friends?
Could they even be friends after the way he’d left her? Did she even want to be his friend anymore?
It began to consume her. So much so, Olivia hadn’t been able to resist contacting Homeland Security Agent Jason Ryker—Jake’s handler and one of the agents who’d questioned her about her abduction—more than once to try to find out what she could.
Olivia had only recently learned that Jake left his Delta Special Forces team—and the Army altogether—a few years ago to start R.I.S.C., an elite, private security company.
The acronym, which stands for Rescue, Intel, Security, and Capture, pretty much sums what Jake and the other members of R.I.S.C.’s Alpha Team do.
While running for their lives in the Venezuelan jungle, Jake explained his team often worked with Homeland Security, and sometimes even the FBI and CIA.
R.I.S.C. sometimes took on private citizens as clients, depending on the people involved and the situation.
Thanks to the very limited amount of information Jason had been willing to share with her so far, Olivia knew Jake and his team were on some big, important job. Supposedly, they had been since their questioning that first day back had ended.
Not every job R.I.S.C. took on was dangerous, but from what Olivia understood, most were. This explained why, even though she was beyond ticked at the man, she was still worried about him.
The last two times Olivia spoke with Agent Ryker, he’d assured her that he’d been in contact with Jake, and that he was fine. Each time he told her that, she’d had the same, roller-coaster reaction.
She felt immediate relief in knowing that, at least for the time being, Jake was safe. Then, just as quickly as her relief hit, the anger and pain would start to slide in.
When this part of the cycle came, Olivia’s mind would conjure up all sorts of mean-spirited—and very colorful—things to say to her good buddy, Jake. Words that would make a sailor blush.
Because the obvious question was, if Jake really was okay, then why hadn’t he contacted her? He’d obviously spoken to Homeland, so why hadn’t he
