Rescuing Olivia (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) (Nightshade Book 1) Read online

  He watched her move behind his cluttered desk and sink down into the chair, reaching for a pen, before he pulled away and closed the door behind himself.

  Connor had always been a sucker for a woman in need, but Olivia Grant was different. She probably didn’t need him as much as he thought, but there was something about the expression in her eyes. There was a reserve there, like she’d seen what life had to offer and she expected nothing more. She didn’t seem depressed, exactly, just… resigned. It was strange. It was like the world had battered her, and it was what she expected.

  Connor couldn’t remember ever meeting a more intriguing woman, though. She was delicate and reserved, but there was a core of strength to her that would not give.

  He headed out into the empty truck bay, but there was nothing pressing that needed done. The entire team had already done all the prep work and cleaning before the festival, so there was little to occupy him. There was always paperwork, but she was in his office…

  Heading to the locker room, he changed into a pair of shorts and a soft gray t-shirt. He’d lift some weights or something while he waited for her.

  CHAPTER 4

  Olivia hung up the phone, frustrated to hell. Gathering up her stack of post-it notes, she left Connor’s office in search of him. Maybe if she could get her clothes and take a decent shower, she wouldn’t feel so grumpy.

  Glancing at the clock on the wall, she shook her head in surprise. She’d been in there bitching and finagling for the past hour and a half, and it didn’t seem to have gotten her anywhere. As sympathetic as the insurance representative was, she couldn’t make a rental car materialize out of thin air. The Lockhart BBQ Fest struck again. Even the representative had mentioned it, and that she’d love to bring her husband down.

  The woman promised to put feelers out for a rental at the other agencies, but no guarantees. The dealership where they’d taken her wrecked Highlander didn’t have any courtesy vehicles either. Apparently, the crash she’d been in had affected almost fifteen other drivers, so the cars were gone. The world was conspiring against her.

  Then the world gave her a gift. She found Connor working out in a gym on the other side of the open bay garage. There was a discarded t-shirt on the floor near the bench press where he was doing reps. For the first time in a very long time, she just stopped and stared at a beautiful working form. His chest was deep and strong, the pectorals delineated, and it glistened with a light sheen of sweat as he breathed between his reps. Dark chest hair narrowed into a line down the center of his stomach, then beneath the elastic band of his shorts, teasing her.

  Men hadn’t held much appeal for her for a long time. She’d dated, but it hadn’t been a priority in her life. She was content being alone. Every once in a while, she found herself wondering about more, though. Couples around her intrigued her, because she couldn’t imagine being vulnerable to anyone. At least not the way they seemed to be. She’d worked years to be this self-sufficient.

  Her body craved closeness, though, and as she watched Connor work out, a low heat built in her belly. It had been a long time since she’d been with a man, and here was a handsome one, plunked right in front of her.

  Well, it didn’t matter, anyway. Between her head and her bruised ribs, she wouldn’t be doing any sexual gymnastics soon.

  Connor glanced back and caught her staring at him. He replaced the bar and rolled up from the bench, his abs tight. Then he crossed over to her, loose hipped. “Did you get resolution on anything?”

  She pursed her lips. “Not really. Only that I wasn’t the only one affected by the crash and that resources were tapped out.”

  He frowned and grabbed a towel laying on a bench. “Yeah, I kind of wondered about that. We’re not a big town, and that crash yesterday called on all of our services. We even had adjoining counties respond to transport the injured to the hospital.”

  She crossed her arms across her belly. “And the driver of the truck?”

  A hard glint flashed through Connor’s eyes. “Oh, Jack is fine. As he has been every other time he’s crashed while he was drunk. I talked to the sheriff, and apparently Jack didn’t see that traffic was coming to a stop at the light, so he plowed through everyone. He’s in jail, and already been denied bond.”

  Olivia’s mouth dropped open. “He’s driven drunk before?”

  Connor nodded once, swiping the towel over his face. “Yes, a couple of times. He doesn’t care what suspension or fine the judge hands down. This time, though, he’ll be doing serious jail time for killing that woman. Her name was Evelyn Ritchie, by the way, and her daughter Jessamy is doing fine. They still can’t find family, though.”

  Olivia winced, wishing she was a stronger woman and it didn’t hurt so much to hear that. Jessamy. What a beautiful name for a precious baby. She hoped she thrived and overcame this horrible tragedy. And she hoped the family was located soon. The thought of a baby being in the hospital with no one to rock her or love her… It was one thing for a grown woman, an entirely different thing for a baby.

  “Hopefully he roasts in there,” she murmured, anger rolling through her. If the man had gotten away with it that many times, he needed to be put away and forgotten about. Innocent lives had been changed forever because of him.

  Sighing, she moved to the bench where the towel had been resting and sank down, tired and sore to the bone. “The only bright spot is that the clinic where I’m supposed to be working is having issues of its own. They had a water main break two mornings ago, and they appreciate adjusting the schedule a bit. I was supposed to report in two days. Now I have a week. And I’m supposed to call them first before I go down to make sure they’re open. The apartment where I’m staying is above the clinic itself, and the source of the line break.”

  His lips tilted up in a smile, and she wondered what he was thinking right then. Was he happy that she had more time? She wasn’t oblivious. She’d felt his eyes on her several times, and she had a feeling he was attracted to her, though Heaven knew why. She was a beat-up mess. Well, he was a firefighter. Maybe that’s what he went in for, damsels in distress.

  “So, I realize you letting me stay here was an emergency situation. I promise I will move to a hotel as soon as possible.”

  He waved a hand. “I’m not worried about it. The guys will be back on-station in a few days, some of them. And the rest Monday. Even at full staff, we will still have room for you in this big place, so you don’t have to feel displaced.”

  Appreciation rolled over her. He had really gone out of his way for a crash victim. “Do you bring a lot of strays home?”

  He chuckled, the sound deep and mellow. “No. I have to admit, you’re the first.”

  “I feel flattered…”

  And she really did. Connor had gone above and beyond for her. There was no way she could ever repay him.

  She had been blessed to have met a few special people like that in her life. For a moment, she wondered what had happened to the Delta team after they’d rescued her group. Those men had been amazing, and ruthlessly kind. After ten years, she wondered if they were even in the Army anymore.

  Pass on the kindness. As she looked at Connor, she wondered if he realized how important it was, what he did. “I want to thank you again for everything you’ve done for me.”

  He gave her a lopsided, chagrined smile. “You are very welcome. If you’ve finished all your calls, why don’t you go take a nap, and when you get up, we’ll go find your car and maybe run over to the festival. I need to check on the men and it’s an easy place to find some grub.”

  She nodded, not realizing until that moment how much the calls and arguing had taken out of her. A nap did sound good right then. And maybe some pain pills. “Okay. I’ll see you in a bit.”

  Turning, she headed back to the room assigned to her. She stripped down to her bra and panties and climbed into bed. Within seconds, she was asleep.

  Connor watched the woman walk away, her arms folded over her middle like she was cold or something. That can’t have been the case, though. It was like sixty degrees and fairly comfortable in the expansive bay. Maybe it was nerves. There were a lot of things not going right for her right now. Maybe tonight he could turn that around for her.

  “Sir,” Cadet Lang stopped in front of him, a broad smile on his face. “Dishes are done, and the groceries put away. I rewound the lines from the storage closet and cleaned the bathroom.”

  Connor looked at the eager kid and smiled a little. “Good job, Mike. Clock out and you’re done till tomorrow.”

  Mike’s eyes widened. “Thank you, sir!”

  “Be good,” Connor called as the young man ran toward the bedroom.

  “I will, sir!”

  He remembered what it was like at that age. Literally, you ate, slept and breathed fire until they finally let you pick up your own hose. Mike still had a lot of testing to do, and he was a little underweight, but they would get him where he needed to be in a few months. The kid was barely twenty-one and still growing.

  He headed to the laundry, hoping he had a pair of jeans laying around so that he didn’t have to go into the bedroom he had given Olivia. That was his bedroom, not that he would ever tell her that. It would only make her more uncomfortable. It was semi-secluded, though, and he thought she could rest well there.

  Yes, there were folded jeans on the table opposite the machines. And a pair of his underwear. Grabbing them and a spare blue Lockhart FD T-shirt, he headed to the shower.

  Connor was in his office catching up on tedious paperwork when he heard the shower start. Since Olivia was the only other one on station, he assumed she was cleaning up.

  How did she manage that with an amputation? When he’d walked in the door and seen her arguing with the nurse, he’d caug
ht enough to know she had a prosthetic. He hadn’t seen which leg, though, or even what kind it was. She didn’t move like she wore one. Maybe he’d be able to broach the subject later.

  When she came down the hallway and stopped at his doorway, he had to smile. She fingered the blue cloth of the Lockhart FD T-shirt. “Thank you for this. My other shirt was pretty disgusting.”

  There had been a spare on the shelf, and he’d dropped it at the door after he’d taken his shower. It was in a bigger size, big enough for one of the men, but it was damn cute on her. She was probably average height, but she wasn’t very big. She had grippable hips, which he appreciated, but she looked like she’d lost weight recently, or maybe she just never really gained weight. The fine bones of her face suggested that she had a bit of a nervous personality. Or maybe it was the way she held her hands across her stomach.

  “You know you’re safe here, right?”

  She smiled slightly. “I appreciate that. It just takes me a while to settle into a place.”

  “Well,” he said, standing, “maybe if we show you a little south Texas hospitality it will help. Would you like to go to the BBQ Fest?”

  She grinned a little, making Connor blink. There she was. There was the spark of life he’d been looking for.

  “Sure,” she said, over-enunciating. “Let’s go get some BBQ.”

  Connor wasn’t going to argue with her agreement. Circling the desk, he guided her out of the bay and across the building. He locked the doors to the living area on the way out, then guided her across the parking lot to his truck.

  “This is your personal truck,” she asked as he opened the door for her.

  “Yes, why?”

  “Fire engine red? Really?”

  Connor grinned as he slid into his seat and cranked the ignition. “What can I say? I live and breathe fire.”

  “Obviously,” she murmured, looking out the window as they pulled away.

  The sun was heading toward the horizon, but he turned away from the sight and headed toward the edge of town. He regaled her with a few tales about the town and its inhabitants.

  “And your family?” she asked, head turned toward him. “You sound local.”

  Connor grinned. “Oh, my family is right here in the mix, too. My parents are about half an hour to the north, and I have a couple of siblings around. One is on the department. The other is happily married and living next to Mom and Dad, raising babies.”

  “That must be nice, having them so close. And your brother works with you? That could be difficult.”

  “Yeah,” he sighed. “It is. We do butt heads about certain things.”

  She snorted, looking more relaxed than he’d seen her since he’d known her. “That’s the nature of having a sibling.”

  “And you?” he asked carefully.

  “I have a sister,” she admitted. “Opinionated, bossy, but I wouldn’t take her any other way. She lives out east with the rest of my family, so we don’t see each other much.”

  “So, how did you end up down here if the rest of your family is up there?”

  Olivia blinked, glancing out the window. “I was stationed at Fort Hood for seven years.”

  He snorted. “Hell, you’re almost a local girl. That’s just a couple of hours away.”

  She nodded. “And I love Texas. So, once I got out of rehab, a friend of mine turned me onto the traveling nurse gig, and I’ve been doing it ever since. It’s good money and gives me the freedom I need.”

  “That’s cool. Do you have a base of operations?

  She shook her head. “Not really. I have an apartment in College Station, but I’m not there much.”

  He gave her a frowning look as he turned to the left and sped up. Olivia had worried that she would have issues driving or being in a car again, but she really didn’t. And since she was in the passenger side, even the seat belt crossed in a different location. She watched Connor’s hands on the wheel.

  “So, you’re completely alone down here?”

  Olivia didn’t like the sound of pity in his voice. “Sometimes it’s best to be alone.”

  He didn’t say anything, just refocused on the road. Olivia hated arguing that point all the time. Her mother was terrible about pushing her to find a significant other, but she’d met no one she would give up her lifestyle for. As it was, she reported to the immediate supervisor of the contract, and that was it. She made her own hours and if she wanted to take a week off and go to Mexico, there was no one to tell her no. There was no applying for vacation time and fighting over seniority. And the pay was incredible.

  Yes, sometimes she did get a little lonely, but everyone did, right? If she got really lonely maybe she’d get a turtle or something.

  He left her with her thoughts for a few minutes as he navigated streets. Then he pulled up in front of a locked gate connected to a garage. “Is this where my car is?”

  Connor nodded, stepping out of the truck and into the little cinder block office or guard house, whatever it was. The gate began to move as he got back into the truck to pull through.

  Yup, there was her poor Highlander. It looked worse than she remembered. There was damage on the front driver’s side quarter panel, which she didn’t remember. If he came in from behind, though, she might have been bumped with another car and sent spinning. Connor pulled to the front of her truck and stopped, letting her get out. Olivia circled the front to the driver’s side. How had she gotten through that little crack? One door, the passenger side rear, would open, so she leaned in to retrieve what she could.

  Her big metal cup was still in the cup holder at the front, but she couldn’t reach it. Maybe Connor could. Her travel bag was on the floor, wedged behind the front seats. She pulled it up, her body aching.

  “Why don’t you let me grab your stuff? Just look through the windows and tell me what you need.”

  Olivia drew back without argument. She was hurting, even with the pain pills on board, and if he wanted to strain, she would let him. Besides, it would give her a chance to watch those muscles.

  There was no strain, though. Connor plucked the bag up out of her car like it was nothing and even retrieved her cup. “Anything else?”

  She shook her head, wondering what had happened to her medical bag. It wasn’t in the car. It might have been cleaned up with the rest of the debris. She turned and climbed back into the truck, letting him set her bag in the back seat.

  It was a little sad leaving her trusty little car in the junk lot. She’d had it for years, ever since she got out of the Army. It had served her well.

  They were quiet as they left the garage. Connor turned onto a street and traffic began to slow as it turned into the wrought-iron gates of a huge park. It looked to be acres and acres wide, and just as long. Olivia rolled the window down and the scent of several different kinds of wood smoke rolled in. In the distance, she could see the beginnings of a fair going up, with rides and games.

  “Mmm,” Connor drawled. “I smell apple and cherry, and a hint of hickory.”

  Olivia laughed, glancing at him. “Seriously?”

  He nodded once. “Definitely. I also smell charcoal and flammable lighter fluid. There’s an oily tang to it.”

  Snorting, she shook her head. “So, are you your own arson investigator as well?”

  He grinned at her, teeth flashing. “Well, I have noticed some things before,” he admitted.

  He drove through the park grounds and was let through a secondary gate on the backside of a large pond. Fire trucks were parked here, as well as a long line of personal vehicles. And just on the other side of the personal vehicles there was a covered pavilion full of firefighters. They all wore the same blue t-shirt she was wearing, so she wondered if she would be mistaken for a fireman. Firewoman.

  A line of grills were smoking along one side of the concrete, manned by firefighters.

  “You didn’t tell me you had a stake in the competition,” she murmured.

  Connor grinned. “Well, I don’t personally, but we do as a station. Manu is our pit master, and he’s phenomenal. He won the junior title last year, up in Austin. This year he’s competing against the big dogs.”

  Olivia loved the pride she could hear in his voice. A wave of nostalgia washed over her. She remembered the pride she had felt being a member of her surgical team, and part of the Army as a whole. Her surgical team was down to just a few members now, and they talked less and less. After Nightshade, they only numbered ten. They’d lost half their team in the assault. Baylee and Rex were the only ones in Texas, that she knew of.