“She can’t very well stay in a hotel indefinitely. But to answer your question, we’re still working on validating Blake is dead. But even if by some freak chance he’s not, the mercenary group is done. If Harper Moore survives, he’ll spend the rest of his life in jail.”
It made sense, but Ryker still didn’t like it. He turned and walked back outside, pulling up the rideshare app on his phone.
The same driver pulled up, eyeing him warily. This time, Ryker slid into the back seat of the Beamer, reciting Olivia’s address.
He sat back against the leather seat, trying to think of what he’d say to her when he saw her again. He wanted to support her, without being a constant reminder of the danger she’d been in.
There was no doubt he wanted to be there when her baby was born. But again, he wasn’t so sure she wanted him. She’d leaned on him at the hospital, but that was when she was anticipating a premature birth.
Her due date was less than six weeks away. Would they still be talking to each other? Or would they have already drifted apart?
He had no idea. But at the very least he could provide his contact information, before walking away.
He’d leave it up to her to make the next move.
Olivia felt ridiculously nervous when Duncan pulled up in front of her small house. Oddly, it looked different.
Or maybe she was the one who’d changed. In her head she knew the house was just a structure, but she couldn’t help but shiver as she stepped out of the SUV.
“Wait here with Tony.” Duncan glanced at the house. “I want to do a quick search of the place before you go inside. Just to be sure no rogue mercenaries are hanging around.”
She nodded, secretly glad to postpone the inevitable for a while longer. The more she thought about it, she knew she’d end up going to a motel once Aaron arrived. Even if Blake was dead, she didn’t feel comfortable here.
This house represented a chapter of her life that was over and done. Time to move on with the next phase. The sooner she could put the place on the market and unload it, the better.
Tony Seavers came up beside her and pressed something hard into her side. “You’re going to walk away with me, understand?”
Huh? She belatedly realized he held the muzzle of a gun against her. “You? You’re involved?”
“Let’s go.” Tony pressed the gun against her, leaving her little choice but to take a step away from Duncan’s SUV.
“Did Harper Moore or Kevin Blake put you up to this?” She wanted to keep him talking, hoping Duncan would return before they could get very far. She wasn’t sure where Tony was taking her, not that it mattered much. In her condition, she couldn’t make a run for it.
“Blake isn’t dead, although we faked his demise to throw Moore off track. Kevin is meeting us soon.” Tony walked her farther from the house, looking up and down the street. Everything made so much more sense now. The way he’d let Seth in to see her, the way he’d hung back, leaving them to go into the parking garage alone to meet up with Harper Moore.
Now this.
“It was you and Blake against Seth and Harper Moore, wasn’t it?” The fact that each owner had tried to outdo the other was so obvious now, she couldn’t believe they hadn’t considered the possibility sooner.
“Think you’re smart, huh? But I have you now.”
She swallowed hard, wishing Ryker was there with her. But he wasn’t.
And if Tony Seavers and Kevin Blake had their way, she’d never see Ryker, or Aaron, again.
Tears pooled in her eyes and she tried to blink them away. She had to be smart. There had to be something she could do to get away.
She glanced at the nearby houses, trying to remember the names of her neighbors. But she didn’t see anyone, much less someone she actually recognized.
A black BMW pulled up beside them. Her heart momentarily stopped in her chest as she frantically searched for a way to escape.
The driver’s-side window opened only an inch. “Get in.”
“Will do.” Tony must have been expecting a car sent by Kevin Blake to pick them up. He held her in place as the driver rolled the window back up and edged the vehicle ahead a couple of feet.
The door behind the driver was opened by someone inside. Tony pushed her in and she stumbled, catching herself by grabbing on to the edge of the door.
A quick glance inside revealed Ryker’s familiar face. Her heart soared. He’d come for her! With a quick movement, he tugged her toward him.
“Go!” Ryker shouted to the driver.
The BMW lurched forward, the rear door swinging shut behind her.
“Hey!” Tony shouted after them.
“He has a gun!” She reached for Ryker. “Keep your head down.”
“Gun?” the driver shouted. “You didn’t say anything about a gun!” The wheel jerked beneath his hands. “What if he shoots at me?”
“Just keep going,” Ryker barked. Then he turned toward her. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“F-fine.” She stared at him. “How did you know?”
“I didn’t at first, but as soon as I saw the two of you together, I figured it out. And convinced the Uber driver to play along.” Ryker pulled out his phone. “I have to call Duncan.”
“Tony is waiting for Kevin Blake to arrive. He’s not dead after all.”
Ryker let out a low whistle. “I’m glad I beat him.”
“Me, too.” She wanted to ask him why he’d left her in the first place, but he was quickly filling in Duncan on the latest turn of events.
Next he called Marc and brought him up to speed. “Tony Seavers is working with Blake. I need you to send a team to Olivia’s house ASAP.”
She couldn’t hear what Marc
