The words had no more left his lips when they heard multiple male voices coming from the trees to her right. Olivia’s heart sank, thinking more of Cetro’s men had found them.
They were coming for her. Would kill them both when they saw what Jake had done to the other two men. Fear and anger bubbled up inside, and she’d had all she could take.
I'm so over this bullshit!Olivia didn’t think about what she did next. She simply acted.
Determined to take out as many of the bastards as she could, Olivia reached down and snatched the gun from Shorty’s lifeless hand. She turned toward the sound and raised it out in front of her, ready to shoot.
Three shadowy figures stepped out from between the trees. Olivia started to squeeze the trigger, but Jake’s hand whipped up, grabbing hers at the very last second.
“Olivia, no!”
Startled, she looked first at him, then back toward the other men. The one with shaggy blond hair sauntered toward them as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He looked at the two bodies on the ground and back at Jake.
Whistling between his teeth, he lowered his gun to his side. “Cutting it a little close there, huh, boss?”
Boss?She swung her gaze to Jake’s again, praying she'd heard right.
Taking the gun from her trembling hands, Jake flipped on the safety and shoved it into his waistband at the small of his back. His lips curved.
“It’s alright, sweetheart. They’re the good guys.”
Olivia was still processing exactly what those words meant when Jake added, “See? Trevor's here.”
She turned and saw Trevor standing with the other two. Like them, he held a very large gun at his side. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t recognized him right away.Oh, God. I almost shot him!
Trevor smiled. “Hey, Olivia. I gotta say, it's damn good to see you, girl.”
“H-hi.” She tried to smile. Instead, her face crumbled, and she burst into tears.
“Ah, baby. Come here.” Jake pulled her back into his arms.
With her face buried against his chest, Olivia’s entire body shook as everything hit her all at once. After a few embarrassing minutes, she pulled herself together and backed out of Jake’s arms.
Wiping her face dry with her hands, she whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Looking as though he wanted to throttle her, Jake spoke low, his words only for her. “You don’teverapologize to me. Not for this. You hear me?”
Warmth spread through her chest, and for the first time since leaving the cave, Olivia felt something other than fear. “Yeah, Jake. I hear you.”
His eyes softened, and he gave her a smile. “Good. Now, what do you say we get the hell out of here?”
Finally able to breathe again, Olivia smiled back. “Okay.”
Jake linked his fingers with hers, his thumb caressing the skin on the back of her hand. It was a small gesture, but to her, it meant everything.
After weeks of living in hell, it was finally over. Jake’s team had found them, and they were going home. The rest was simply too much to deal with, so Olivia chose to focus on what mattered.
With a sideways glance, she couldn't help but wonder where she and Jake would go from here.
Hand-in-hand, they walked toward the three men. Like Jake, the others were dressed in black cargo pants, boots, and t-shirts. They even had matching backpacks.
If she wasn’t still reeling from nearly dying just a few minutes earlier, Olivia probably would have made some joke about them looking like a super-soldier boy band.
Trevor and the blond were still smiling back at her and Jake. The other one—the bigger one—just stared. His cold-as-stone expression made her nervous, but if Jake trusted him, she figured she could, too.
“Guys, meet Olivia Bradshaw.” Jake turned to Olivia. “Liv, this is my team. Well, part of it. This is Derek West, the computer specialist I told you about, and Grant Hill, our explosives expert. Of course, you already know Trevor.”
“Ah, talkin’ about me to your lady, boss? I’m honored.” Derek greeted her with a nod, “Ma’am.”
