Shattered Secrets. Jane M. Choate

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       TWO

      After spending ten years in the mountains of Afghanistan, Sal was still adjusting to being home in Georgia, with its supercharged humidity and honeyed air. Though he’d been back in the States for over three years, he was still struggling with the difference in climate. The heavy smog that had hung over the city was absorbed into the darkening sky and was only a memory, but the humidity hung in the air and played havoc with his right shoulder, which still carried pieces of shrapnel from enemy fire, a souvenir from his days as a sniper’s spotter. Even in the air-conditioned offices, he felt the clamminess that clung to his skin like cheap polyester.

      But it wasn’t the heat or even the energy-stealing humidity that caused him to go on high alert. Something was wrong. His senses flared in alarm at an unknown threat.

      He felt it in the tension that pulsed in the air, saw it in the drawn lines that had moved into Olivia’s face in the short time he was gone to pick up dinner.

      “What is it?”

      She turned away for a few seconds as if gathering her thoughts. When she faced him once more, she smiled brightly. No doubt she believed she’d successfully hidden whatever was bothering her, but it wasn’t good enough to fool him. “Nothing. Why do you ask?”

      On the surface, she sounded calm, even convincing, but something was off. Her smile was too wide, her voice too determinedly cheerful. Her eyes were full of turmoil that hadn’t been there thirty minutes ago. She’d barely picked at the plate of steaming food he’d set in front of her.

      “Something happened. You might as well tell me because I’m not going anywhere.”

      “What? Are you my keeper now?” The harsh words appeared to have surprised her as much as they did him.

      “Olivia.” He kept his voice soft. He didn’t want to spook her. “What happened?”

      “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking, bringing you all the way here. I realize I overreacted about the whole break-in thing.” She gave a forced laugh, the sound only deepening the taut atmosphere that charged the air. “I’m fine. Really.” Another laugh. “I appreciate you coming all this way, but you don’t need to stay. I’m sure you have real work, something better than babysitting me.”

      The dismissal in the words had him wincing. Well, she’d find that it wasn’t so easy to send him packing.

      Sal went at a problem straight-on and didn’t turn away until he had a solution. Seeing Olivia again wasn’t the usual kind of problem. Charging at it full speed ahead wouldn’t change the way things had ended between them. Nor would pretending that he no longer had feelings for her.

      Right now, he had to put those feelings away and find out what she was hiding from him. That required finesse, not Delta strong-arm tactics.

      “You don’t look fine. You look like you’d blow away if I breathed on you too hard.” It was no exaggeration. Olivia looked like a strong sigh would topple her. Shadows, as deep as a Georgia night, had taken up residence under her eyes.

      Her earlier smile had vanished, a frown taking its place. “Thanks. I needed that.” The sarcasm in her words didn’t get to him, but the flash of hurt in her eyes did.

      Sal wanted to kick himself. From the moment he’d shown up in Olivia’s office that morning, he’d blundered. Big-time. The drive from Atlanta to Savannah, plus worry for Olivia, had ratcheted up his impatience and sent his tact, never abundant under the best of circumstances, into a nosedive. That was no excuse, though.

      Something had caused Olivia to turn her back on his help.

      “You know I can’t leave you. Not like this. Tell me.”

      Her frown darkened into a scowl, the lines of it so hard that he thought her face would break. She squared her shoulders, as though she needed to shore up her resolve. Chin pulled in, she gave the impression of a queen looking down at her subject. The effect was mitigated by the quiver of her lips. “I told you. I’m fine. You can go back to Atlanta.”

      Sal had been trained in interpreting microexpressions, those unconscious gestures that revealed far more than words. His Delta unit had been assigned to Counter Terrorism for a stint.

      The CT boys knew their stuff when it came to ferreting out information from suspected terrorists. Once back in the States, he’d gone to work for S&J Security/Protection, named for its founders Shelley Rabb Judd and her brother Jake Rabb.

      Shelley, an ex–Secret Service agent, had shown Sal other tricks in detecting lies. Not much got by him.

      Olivia’s gaze kept sliding to her left, a telltale sign that she was lying. “You have to go. Please.”

      The plea in her voice caused him to frown. Gone was the calm of a moment ago. She sounded frantic. He was more certain than ever that something was going on, something that terrified her at least as much as last night’s attack.

      “What aren’t you telling me?”

      She shook her head from side to side, as though willing away whatever had scared her. “N-nothing.”

      Sal fitted his finger beneath her chin, raising it until her gaze was level with his. She held it for a moment before looking away. “You always were a poor liar.”

      “I’m not lying.”

      “No? Then why can’t you look me in the eye?”

      “Please, Sal.” Her voice hitched on a tiny sob. “You don’t understand.”

      He placed his hands on her shoulders. “What don’t I understand? Tell me, Livvie. I want to help.”

      “It’s Calvin. Someone took him.” Her shoulders СКАЧАТЬ