Olivia nodded, but her gaze was distant, like she had to reach back through layers of exhaustion just to pull the words forward.
“They weren’t watching me as closely by the end,” Olivia said. “I think they thought Iwas broken enough not to try anything. But I’d been planning it for weeks. There’s this delivery truck that comes through the back gate every other Wednesday. Food, supplies, I don’t know. I climbed in under some crates while the driver was unloading.”
Delaney nodded slowly. “Smart.”
“I rode under those boxes for over an hour,” she went on. “I didn’t even know where I was going. Eventually I jumped out near the motel and begged someone to help me. They called my mother for me.”
Eli glanced at Delaney. She was tracking every word, her posture tense but careful.
“But how did those men from the institute find me?” Olivia asked, her voice breaking. “We were so careful. The guards said the house was secure.”
Eli hesitated, then said quietly, “There was a tracker. Hidden in your shoe. Embedded so well no one caught it in the first sweep.”
Olivia gasped. Her hand flew to her chest as the tears came harder. “No. No, no, no. That means it’s my fault. Ty and Jackson almost died because of me.”
Delaney moved closer, crouching beside the bed now. “Stop. This is not your fault, Olivia.”
She frantically shook her head. “But if I hadn’t—if I had just checked—”
“There’s no way you would have known,” Eli insisted. “They hid it deep, and they knew whatthey were doing. This was a calculated move, not your mistake.”
Olivia broke down then, her sobs quiet but raw. Delaney gently reached for her hand and didn’t let go.
Eli stood back, jaw tight, pulse ticking. Every word Olivia had shared was another piece of a puzzle that was coming together in all the worst ways. And whoever had designed that trap was still out there.
Still waiting.
Olivia quieted after a few long moments, her fingers still curled around Delaney’s. She looked up at Eli, eyes red and swollen.
“Am I safe here?” she asked, voice barely above a whisper.
Eli didn’t hesitate. “We’ll make it safe.”
She didn’t answer right away. Her gaze flicked to the door, then to the shadows in the corners of the room.
He could see it in her face. She didn’t believe it. Not fully. And after what had happened at the safe house, he didn’t blame her. But he knew Noah, and he trusted Crossfire Ops. If anyone could lock this down and keep her secure, it was them.
“We won’t let anything happen to you,” Eli said. “That’s a promise.”
Olivia gave a small nod, but it looked more like courtesy than conviction. “I want to see my mom now,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.
Delaney shifted her weight, still crouchedbeside the bed. “Her fiancé, Grant, is with her.”
Olivia’s expression tightened. “I don’t want to see him. Just my mom.”
There was something sharp under the words. Not fear exactly. Disgust, maybe. Or resentment.
Delaney studied her for a moment, then said gently, “Is there a reason, Olivia? Why you don’t want him in the room?”
“I’m just not up to it,” Olivia said, her eyes falling away. “Please.”
Delaney didn’t press further. She gave Olivia’s hand a final squeeze, then stood. “I’ll get your mom.”
Eli stayed by the door, watching as Olivia turned her face toward the window, tears still clinging to her lashes.
He didn’t know what Grant Maddox had done to earn that look, but something told him it went deeper than Olivia was willing to admit.
And deeper still into the mess they were only beginning to untangle.
