Her eyes narrow. "What are you talking about?"
"I warned you, Olivia. I told you to back off. But you couldn't help yourself, could you? Had to keep digging."
"So that's what this is about?" She tries to swing her legs off the bed, wincing as she moves. "La Corona decided to shut me up? Send a message?"
The accusation couldn’t hurt more if she swung the knife her attacker caught me with earlier tonight. "Is that what you think? That I'd order a hit on you?"
"You said I kidnapped Rocco. Then you told me to stop investigating. I didn't. Now I'm attacked. Connect the dots, Dom."
I step back, jaw clenched so tight it hurts. "If I wanted you gone, you'd be gone. I definitely wouldn't have saved your ass tonight."
She stares at me, uncertainty replacing some of the accusation in her eyes. "Then who did this?"
"Think about it, Olivia. Who benefits from you backing off the investigation? Not me. I'm the one who pushed you to look into it. Someone doesn't want you connecting those dots."
I see the moment it clicks. The slight widening of her eyes, the quick intake of breath. "Someone I work with."
"Tell me exactly what he said to you," I press, sitting on the edge of the bed. My side throbs where that bastard landed his blow, but I ignore it.
Olivia winces as she shifts position. "He grabbed me from behind, slamming into the door. Said 'Stop digging.’"
Relief washes through me, though I'm careful not to show it. "So this was a warning, not an execution." I stand, pacing the room. "That's good."
"Good?" Her voice rises. "How is any of this good?"
"Because warnings mean they don't want you dead yet." I pause, thinking. "They want you scared enough to back off, which gives us time to figure out who's behind this."
Olivia pushes herself up from the bed, grimacing with the effort. "I need to go. My phone?—"
"Is off and staying that way." I move between her and the door. "You're not leaving."
Her eyes flash dangerously. "Are you kidnapping a federal agent, Dominic? Because that's a spectacularly bad idea, even for you."
"It's not kidnapping. It's protection."
She tries to step around me, but sways slightly, still unsteady. "I have protocols for this. People I need to contact."
"The same people who just beat the shit out of you?" I catch her arm to steady her. "If someone in your office is dirty, your protocols just paint a target on your back."
"You don't know if it’s really?—"
"And you don't know that it isn’t, but you have doubts about someone at work. Are you willing to risk your life for protocol?" I soften my tone, aware of how close we're standing. "Look, I'm not asking you to trust me completely. I'm asking you to consider the possibility that I'm right."
She pulls away from my touch. "So those are my options? Get kidnapped by you or potentially murdered by my boss?"
I meet her gaze directly, not backing down. "I can’t believe that it's a hard decision. Am I so monstrous that you’d rather be dead than with me?”
Her eyes aren’t clear, but there’s no missing the heat in them toward me.
I step closer, voice dropping. “What will it be? Stay here where I can protect you or walk out that door and hope whoever sent that warning doesn't decide to upgrade to a bullet next time. My protection or your protocols?"
OLIVIA
My head throbs as I weigh my options. Kidnapped or dead. What a choice.
"I need to think," I say, pressing my palm against my temple where a nasty bump has formed. The room spins slightly when I try to stand again.
He gives a derisive laugh. “Gee, thanks.” Dom steps forward, his hand hovering near my elbow but not touching me. "You need to rest."
