of us, the orphans, those that showed aptitude, were pushed harder and given more incentives to learn languages, perfect our weapons training, hack computers.”
Neil crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. “Why are you telling him this?”
Sasha glared at Neil. “Because he loves her and will discover these facts. While searching, he may end up leaving a trail straight to her. None of us want that.”
Leo blinked past Sasha’s label of his feelings for Olivia and moved on. “All of these skills made Olivia a better operative. So what government does she work for?”
Neil stepped out of the way and let Sasha continue.
She turned back to Leo, took a deep breath. “None of them. I have no doubt that was what she was told when she signed up. That there was a covert arm of British intelligence, maybe the CIA or even the FBI. And in your search, you will find that these legitimate organizations did in fact recruit students from Richter. But they weren’t the only ones picking the cream from the top of the vat. There were others. Ones who acted as benefactors for orphaned students and manipulated which employment those students chose. One of these benefactors attempted to recruit me. I was older, had been away from Richter for a half a dozen years, and understood exactly what he was asking of me.”
The picture was coming in clear. “Which was?”
“Do what they say, when they say, no questions asked.”
“Anything?”
Sasha looked him straight in the eye. “Anything. Infiltrate, collect data—”
“Kill?” he asked, not wanting to hear her answer.
“Anything,” Sasha said slowly.
Leo took a few steps back and sat on the edge of the bed.
“The truth is, none of us know exactly what Olivia is guilty of,” Neil told him.
So much bile rose to meet the back of his throat. “Murder.”
“Most assuredly,” Sasha said without hesitation.
Something Leo had guessed all along.
Silence filled the room like thick and heavy fog.
“Olivia escaped this employment seven years ago,” Neil told him.
“How can you be sure? You said yourself she isn’t on your payroll. Only called in on occasion.”
“The man who employed her is dead.”
Leo’s gaze snapped to Sasha. “Did she . . . ?”
Sasha shrugged, as if the answer was maybe. “He died in prison. Apparent suicide.”
“You don’t believe that.”
Sasha once again said something in a different language, this time sounding like Russian. She rolled her eyes. “If someone forced me to kill innocent people, or even the guilty, and then held my life hostage to be his bitch, I would not hesitate.”
It was then that Leo saw in Sasha that same look of determination Olivia had in her eyes right before she pulled him to the ground in Vegas.
“Only Olivia did,” Neil said. “She was given a chance to take this man out. But we were there, witnesses and guilty by association. All he suffered at that time was a beating Sasha delivered and a gunshot wound to the hand. The wheels of justice started to roll, but he was dead before trial. That death could have been on Olivia’s hands, or another like her. Could have been whoever paid him. We will never know.”
“Nor do we care,” Sasha added. “She wanted out, disappeared, and eventually reconnected with an old school friend, Amelia, AJ’s sister.”
All the dots started marching in line as Sasha spelled out the facts.
“When Amelia ended up dead, Olivia blamed herself.”
Leo ran both hands through his hair. “When a suicide bomber changes his mind, it isn’t his life he is threatening, it’s his family.”
“That would be us. Even if she doesn’t like it,” Neil explained. “I wanted her to see, feel, touch, and taste that connection with people here. Let her know that we can care for ourselves. That living in fear isn’t living and there is another way.”
“But then someone shot her,” Leo said. “Is there a price on her head?”
“We don’t know. The man who all but owned her is dead, and she only reported to him. That doesn’t mean someone else out there doesn’t have a grudge. Or someone may have obtained information to try and pull her back in,” Neil pointed out.
“If she saw the shooter and recognized him, she’ll find them. If she didn’t, she’ll assume the bullet was for her and avoid us . . . you . . . to keep us safe,” Sasha added.
“I can keep myself safe,” Leo said. As if he were a child telling a parent he could climb the stairs all by himself. There was