stick lying on the forest floor. “Undercover agents tracking down a Russian mob ring selling kids . . . yeah, I know you do more.”
Neil nodded. “Some of our intel might not be gained in ways that your boss would approve of.”
Leo shrugged. “I know that, too.”
“Then you’ll have to respect when I, or my people, avoid your questions.”
“You can trust me, Neil. I’m sure Claire would vouch for me.” While Leo was playing undercover teacher, Claire was playing undercover student. Only for two different departments. He thought the world of the woman.
“She has. Many times. Our secrets aren’t just for us, they’re for you.”
“I’m not following.”
Neil took a deep breath. “What happens if you overhear or obtain information you can’t sit on?”
Leo stopped, turned to Neil. “You’re the good guys.”
“I like to think so. But we don’t call 911. We call each other.”
Leo stayed silent, digesting what that implied.
“We didn’t wait for your people when that scumbag held a gun to Claire’s head. We all know she wouldn’t have made it if we had,” Neil said.
Yeah . . . maybe Leo didn’t want to know all their secrets.
Just Olivia’s.
Or maybe he didn’t.
“I take it Claire’s situation wasn’t unique.”
Neil closed his mouth and stared.
“I allowed you to come here because I do trust you. I also saw something in your eyes that told me you weren’t going to take no for an answer.”
“Got that right.”
“Good. So now that we understand each other, let me tell you why she’s really here. And this is for you, not your boss.”
“I’m listening.”
“None of us are in a hurry for her to get her memory back. In fact, if I could stop it from ever happening, I would. But since the doctors believe it’s only a matter of time, I want to make sure that when it does return, she has healed one hundred percent. That her body is ready to jump out of an airplane and land on someone’s back when her chute doesn’t open.”
“That’s pretty hard-core.”
“It’s not far from the truth.” Neil wouldn’t be surprised if Olivia had taken that leap at some point in her life and lived to tell about it.
“Why?”
“If someone hasn’t already said this, I’ll let you hear it from me. The moment Olivia knows she is Olivia . . . you won’t see it . . . you won’t sense it . . . she’ll just be gone. And it may be years before she contacts me again . . . if ever. And I like sleeping at night. I want to know that we gave her the best chance of survival. You may never know what she saw the night she was shot. She absolutely won’t tell you for the purpose of going after the person who shot her.”
Leo’s expression dialed in on that. “She doesn’t call 911.”
Neil started walking again. “When you report in to your boss, we have a secure line. Give your phone to Sasha when we return so she can shut down all trackers.”
He’d turned off his phone the second they arrived at the airport.
“None of that is enabled,” Leo told him.
“Just give it to Sasha.” Neil found the first set of sensors. “Let me show you how this works.”
Olivia jolted awake.
Her feet tingled from the echoes of her recurring dream.
The room was dark with the exception of a small nightlight plugged into the wall between the bed and the en suite bathroom.
They’d given her the master bedroom, complete with a fireplace and access to one of the patios surrounding the house. The log home would have felt heavy if not for the tall ceilings and windows.
She stretched and turned to look for the time. Only there wasn’t a clock on the nightstand or the wall. She supposed a home like this was meant for holidays, and staying on any kind of schedule became irrelevant when trying to relax.
Her gaze gravitated toward one of the many windows in the room. Outside, the moon shed light on the trees as it descended on the horizon.
The room must be facing west.
Which meant the early morning sun wouldn’t blind her.
“Why do I even know that?” And what did it matter?
She tried closing her eyes and heard her stomach.
“I’m starving,” she whispered to herself. She’d fallen into bed after her shower and Pam’s doctoring. The memory of someone checking on her and the smell of food were there, but sleep was more important.
And now it was God only knew what time, and Olivia’s body was reminding