Jake had taken her riding, yesterday. The horses were truly majestic. Just being around them gave her a sense of peace, which was something she desperately needed now.
“Sure.” Mac’s smile was genuine as she added, “I can handle the boss, don’t worry.”
Olivia had no doubt that was true. It was hard to believe this petite woman with her cute dress and ponytail was a contract killer for hire.
Legal or not, it was still a scary thought. Olivia was just damn glad she was on Mac’s good side.
The two women got out of the car, and Olivia headed down the large, grassy hill. She stopped suddenly, turning back toward Mac, who had almost made it to the porch steps.
“Hey, Mac?”
The blond warrior turned toward her. “Yeah?”
“Thank you. Maybe...I mean, when things have calmed down a bit, do you think you’d want to—”
“Name the time and place, and I’ll be there,” Mac interrupted with a smile. Then, she rolled her eyes dramatically. “You may have to sweet-talk my boss for me and convince him to give me the time off. In case you haven’t heard, he can be a real hard ass.”
Olivia chuckled as Mac winked and waved goodbye. By the time she’d made it to the barn, Olivia already felt a little better and had nearly forgiven herself for the insane reaction to being followed.
Maybe Mac was right. Who wouldn’t be easily spooked after everything she’d experienced?
Even so, she decided not to tell Jake. The last thing she wanted was for him to worry about her any more than he already did.
Olivia almost turned around to head back up to the house, but the temptation to pet the horses was still too great. She’d go in, say high to Daisy and Champ then head up to the house to find Jake. There were many ways he could make her feel better.
She smiled to herself, thinking she may even go a little crazy and keep her heels on for the first round.
Grinning at the images that thought created, Olivia reached for the barn’s door. She stopped abruptly when she heard two male voices. One was most definitely Jake’s, but the other was harder to distinguish.
Jake had told her that he had a guy who helped with the place when he was away for work, so maybe it was him. Or it could have been Trevor or another member of the team.
She hadn’t noticed a strange vehicle in the driveway, but given her state of mind when they’d pulled in, that didn’t really surprise her.
Olivia opened the door and started to go in. She smiled when she saw Jake walking toward her, but instead of smiling back, his eyes grew with that whole, deer-in-the-headlights look. Olivia had just opened her mouth to ask what was wrong when she saw him.
A pair of hazel eyes as wide as Jake’s—and identical to her own—stared back at her. He had a beard and scraggly hair that had been haphazardly pulled back into a ponytail.
He was more muscular than he’d been when she’d last seen him, and his face was older now. Tanned from the sun with a few wrinkles that hadn’t been there before.
But none of that mattered. There was no mistaking those eyes.
Unable to speak—or even breathe—Olivia stood frozen as the man smiled nervously and quietly said, “Hey, Junebug.”
Her vision tunneled. The world began to spin around her. And within seconds, she felt herself falling.
Chapter 9
“Olivia?”
Jake’s voice sounded far away, and there was an annoying tapping on her cheek. She tried to move away from it, to tell whoever was touching her face to stop. Instead, what came out was a low moan.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m here. Come on, now. It’s time to wake up.”
“Jake?”
Olivia’s eyes fluttered open. Her head pounded, and at first, all she could see was a big, fuzzy blob.
As she continued to blink, Jake’s face slowly came into focus. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“Welcome back.”
Her mind struggled to remember what had happened. She’d been shopping with Mac, then—Ah, man—her moment of total craziness at the mall.
They’d come here, to Jake’s cabin. She’d gone down to the barn, and then...what? She couldn’t remember anything after that.
Looking around, Olivia realized she was back in the house, lying on Jake’s couch. He was crouched down in front of her, and he looked really worried. But other than a headache, she felt fine. She started to sit up.
“Easy.” Jake slid his arm around her waist to help her. “Not too fast.”
Once she was vertical, Olivia closed her eyes for a moment to steady herself. She actually felt okay, now. She looked back at Jake. So, why does he look so worried?
“What happened?”
The look Jake gave her was confusing, like a combination of guilt and relief. Which made no sense to her at all.
“You fainted.”
Fainted? That couldn’t be right. “I what?”
“You fainted,” Jake repeated. “You don’t...remember?”
He sounded hopeful. Or did he? Damn, she was confused.
“Quit messing with me, Jake. What really happened?”
He shook his head. “I’m not messing with you, Liv. You fainted. I got to you just before you landed. You’re okay, though.”
Olivia was getting aggravated. Mainly at herself, because she couldn’t remember.
“People don’t just faint for no reason, Jake. I certainly never have.”
“Well, you know what they say. There’s a first time for everything.”
The low voice came from behind her, and suddenly, Olivia was back at the barn.
She was standing just inside the door, and someone else was inside. Standing next to Jake. Mikey was in the barn with Jake.
“It’s not possible.” She stared into Jake’s eyes.
Jake whispered a curse before glaring at whoever was standing behind her. “I told you to wait.”
In her peripheral, Olivia saw a man walk around the end of the couch and stop next to where Jake was still
