“Is Liv short for something?” He asks suddenly, gruffly. The unease rolls over me, but not because I’m afraid… It seems as if he is seeing something that I’m not.
“Just Liv,” I answer kindly, but bluntly. Everyone calls me Liv, I insist.
I dive into my plan for prosecuting the Porter brothers, ignoring his stare, taking comfort in my craft. I know the law, it’s my strength.
I focus on Jo, handing her my business card before navigating carefully to my car. Attempting not to break an ankle barely outweighs keeping the dry dirt off my dark navy pants.
“I’m leaving town in a couple of days. Will that be an issue?” Jo asks, and I offer her a knowing smile.
“Jackson filled me in. It shouldn’t be an issue as long as you’re here for the trial.” He also mentioned her and Lochlan’s odd relationship.
As intimidating as he is, his body gravitates towards her, shielding her from my ominous words about what’s to come with the Porters, and fixating on her when she speaks.
They continue their conversation as I make my leave, and I can tell tensions are high. Jo’s a few years younger than I am, but I know a smart woman when I see one.
If she wants it badly enough, she’ll get everything she wants in life. If a man isn’t cut out to be a part of it, he can get lost.
“Hey, Loch!”
The toe of my stiletto catches the dirt as I reach for my car door, releasing a plume of dust, and my body lurches.
“Olive?”That voice.
Time transcends, and suddenly, I’m not Liv Greenwood, attorney-at-law and Interim Prosecutor. I’m Olive, the shy junior on the first day at my new school.
My eyes lock with Jo’s concerned ones across the roof of my car. “I’ve got to go.”I can’t do this.“It was nice to meet you. Call me if you need anything.”
Get out of here. Leave. Leave.My brain screams as my limbs struggle to respond.
“Liv!”
I barely hear my name over the rumble of my engine, but I don’t stop. My foot hits the gas before I’ve shifted into drive, forcing my tires to do the fleeing for me.
I hear the guttural, “FUCK!” But I don’t look back, not this time, even as the familiar tremors wrack my body.
Chapter Two
Hayes
Irip the throttle wide open, and my back tire fishtails as my bike rockets out of the garage. I don’t contemplate what I’m doing because none of the consequences are as bad as watching Olive get away.
I hit the main road heading down the mountain at lightning speed, but she got a head start. I only catch glimpses of her gunmetal bumper around each curve until the final stretch. She has to slow down to turn towards town.
Her brake lights merely flash before she accelerates across the two-lane highway.
I’m not letting her get away. I’ve waited too long for this.
I blow through the stop sign without looking, putting me on her bumper. Her eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror, and the wind drowning my eardrums fades away.
Olive. My Olive.
The whites of her eyes expand, tearing away from mine as her car hits the rough shoulder, and she’s forced to over-correct to get control.
We’re going too fast.
My tires squeal on the pavement as I slam on my brakes,widening the gap as she swerves onto the patch of dirt and gravel next to the road.
I’m barely off my bike before she’s slamming her door and stomping towards me in her navy blazer and slim-fitted dress pants. If she’s having any issue in the gravel with her death-trap heels, she doesn’t show it.
