Maybe if she kept telling herself that, she wouldn’t break down into a sobbing mess.
Returning his gaze to hers, Jake leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss before pulling away and whispering, “I’m so sorry, baby. I should have been here. I should have told Senator Cantrell to kiss my ass and stayed with you instead of worrying about the business.”
“No, you shouldn’t have,” Olivia returned the ice to her head. “R.I.S.C. isn’t just another business, Jake. What you and your team do is important. You were exactly where you should have been. Besides, if you’d stayed, it would have been you that man shot. And I seriously doubt you would have been wearing a vest.” Olivia blinked quickly, forcing away more tears threatening to escape.
While waiting in the parking garage for medical help to arrive, Trevor told her he’d chosen to take the extra precaution at the last minute, thinking he should treat it as he would on any other job, just in case. Thank God.
Pushing her own guilt aside, she said, “You heard Trevor. I’m a little banged up, and yeah, I was beyond terrified. I’m still a little shaken, but otherwise I’m fine.”
“A concussion is serious, Liv.”
“I’m well aware of that, and I promise I will tell you immediately if I notice any of the warning signs coming on. But right now, I just really want to go home.”
Her head was throbbing, and she was a little nauseated, but she’d get a heck of a lot more rest at home than in a hospital with nurses constantly coming in to check her vitals.
Still battling with the decision, Jake asked, “What did the doctor say about you leaving?”
“That he trusts me to come back in if I feel worse. I’ve already signed the release form.” He still didn’t look completely convinced, so she added, “I work here, Jake. I know how this goes, and I really don’t want it to be like when I first came back to Dallas, with everyone looking at me and whispering about what happened. Please...can we just go home?”
His face softened. Taking her free hand in his, he smiled. “Of course, sweetheart.”
Jake then turned to Trevor, shooting off rapid-fire questions. “What are local authorities saying? Any idea who this guy was or why he went after Liv? And what about you...are you good with the cops?”
Trevor shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “Liv and I have both already given our statements, which corroborated what they saw when they pulled the security footage from the garage. I’ve been cleared, and they’ve already declared it a justified shooting. The sheriff seems like a stand-up guy. Name’s Mahoney. I told him I work for R.I.S.C. and shared the short version of what we do with him. Thought maybe he’d be more willing to share if he knew.”
“And?”
Trevor gave him a smug smile. “It worked. The perp’s name was Carlos Hernandez. His rap sheet’s long, going all the way back to when he was in juvie. Started with petty stuff—vandalism, theft, that sort of thing. As he got older, things got more serious. Most recently, he’s been in for assault and was charged with armed robbery. That should have put him in for a stretch, but the lucky bastard got off on a technicality.”
“Yeah, well...looks like his luck ran out today.”
Trevor grunted his agreement. “Before the nurses rushed in to take care of Liv, I snapped a pic of the bastard’s face and sent it to Derek. If there’s more to know about the man, he’ll find it. In the meantime, Mahoney gave me Hernandez’s addresses. I’m going to head over there now to see if they’ve found anything. I wasn’t going to leave her until you got here.”
“Thank you,” Jake said sincerely. “Damn glad you were wearing that vest, man.” The two men shook hands and shared a look that seemed to say it all.
“Oh, and the sheriff offered his personal apology for his deputy not taking Liv’s complaints about the phone calls and the snake more seriously. The kid’s been put on administrative leave, pending an investigation as to why he didn’t.”
This bit of news surprised Olivia. “Really?”
Trevor nodded. “Apparently, this isn’t the first time the young deputy hasn’t followed through like he should have. I have a feeling his career in law enforcement is going to be short-lived.”
“I didn’t want anyone to lose their jobs,” Olivia muttered. “I just wanted the craziness to stop.” Olivia started to slide off the edge of the bed, both men rushed toward her.
“Easy,” Jake said as he took her elbow to steady her.
“I’ll go get the wheelchair,” Trevor offered.
“That’s not necessary, Trev. I can walk.”
Ignoring her, Trevor left the room. He returned less than a minute later with the chair, and Olivia didn’t bother to argue. With these two, it was pointless.
As promised, Trevor waited until she was safe and secure in Jake’s truck before leaving the hospital to meet the sheriff.
When Jake pulled into her driveway, she immediately sensed something was different. As they made their way to her porch, she noticed two new lights, one on each corner of the porch’s roof.
“They’re motion sensitive,” Jake explained from behind her.
“There are two more on the back of the house, along with a small camera there.” He pointed to the upper left corner of her doorframe. “They record a live feed, which is connected to yours and Derek’s computers.”
She turned to face him. “Why does Derek need a live recording of my front and back doors on his computer?”
“It’s just as a backup, in case something happens to your laptop.”
Olivia’s heart felt heavy. Just this morning, she’d been thinking how good it felt to live a somewhat normal life, and now this.
“Don’t be mad at Derek” Jake’s hands rested on her tense shoulders. “He was just following orders. You can be pissed at me if you want,
