The Mercenary: The Savage Seven. Katherine Garbera

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ lost cause.”

      “I am only just married. Jack and I aren’t exactly a conventional couple.”

      Anna was married to a mercenary—a gun for hire. While Olivia knew she’d never be comfortable with that kind of man, he was perfect for her friend. Olivia needed a certain level of sophistication and refinement from her men, which Ray delivered nicely. Anna worked in the shadowy world of spies and agents and having Jack for a husband made a lot of sense.

      “You know more about marriage than I do.”

      “Okay, what do you want to know?”

      “Um…I’m not sure if it’s simply living here in Jo’burg or if Ray has changed.”

      “Do you like South Africa?” Anna asked.

      Sometimes she liked it. Despite the poverty and unrest left by the end of apartheid, Olivia was safe enough in her insular world. She knew that. It was simply that she was tired of always having someone by her side. She knew that she had to have guards, because many of her acquaintances here did, but enough was enough.

      “It is one of the most fascinating places I’ve ever lived, but it’s hard to balance the constant threat of violence with the beauty. I’m not sure if I like it.”

      “You might think about joining one of those meet-up groups. There are plenty of expats there.”

      “I have thought about it, but Ray likes me to stay close to home or take a bodyguard with me.”

      Anna said nothing.

      “I sound like I’ve lost my backbone, don’t I?”

      “Yes, you do.”

      Olivia had relied on Ray for much of her support during the last month. Their engagement wasn’t really a love match, but they were fond of each other. Her mother had always said that was enough to make a good marriage last.

      “I guess I’ve answered my own question.”

      “What was the question? You sound lost, Ola, and that’s not like you.”

      “I’m thirty, Anna. You know what that means?”

      “That you aren’t young and impulsive anymore,” Anna said.

      “Exactly. I’m ready for my life to begin.”

      “Don’t discount the years you’ve already had. Your life has been pretty exciting.”

      “I’m not, but I want a husband who cherishes me and a family of my own,” Olivia said. The drive to the mines outside of Cullinan made her feel a bit more normal. Getting away from the guards in Sandton, the suburb where she lived, was what she needed. She liked her new life, she thought.

      Really, she did.

      “I never felt that way,” Anna said quietly.

      Anna had been kidnapped as a child, something that Olivia realized had shaped her friend into the woman she was today—a woman who didn’t really trust in the future. It made sense that Anna wouldn’t have been thinking about kids before her marriage.

      “Even now?” Olivia asked.

      “It’s worse now. The work I’m doing with Jack’s group…it makes me realize how very vulnerable we all are.”

      “You know, that’s part of what I’m feeling here in South Africa. There is a definite feeling that I’m never really safe.”

      “Can you live with that? You’ve always had your father and brothers. You seemed very secure in your life.”

      Olivia laughed. “Not really secure. I guess I picked up my mother’s acting skills.”

      Anna laughed too. “Probably.”

      She felt a hundred percent better having talked to her friend. “Thank you.”

      “I don’t think I did anything, but you’re welcome.”

      “You distracted me on my drive to the mines.”

      “Why are you going to the mines?”

      “Ray needed a file he’d left at home,” Olivia said.

      “Do you do that often?”

      “Not really, in fact he’s never invited me out before. I’ve been begging for a tour,” she said.

      She’d thought that the diamond mine would make an excellent setting for one of her spy-girl books. But so far Ray didn’t want to discuss his job and he had been pretty adamant that the diamond cartel would have to approve any idea she had. Her cousin was married to an executive with the diamond consortium, so Olivia figured she could use that inside track to get her book idea approved. Besides, things always worked out for her.

      “I’m almost there…hang on a sec.” Olivia couldn’t be certain, but she thought she saw Ray’s Mercedes off to the side of the road. She slowed her car as she saw his car on the other side of the road. There was a barrier in the middle of the road, so she pulled off on her own side.

      “Sure—is anything wrong?”

      “I’m not certain. Ray’s Mercedes is on the side of the road,” she said, straining to see over to the other side. “Well, I think his car is. Let me call you back.”

      “Okay. Be careful, Olivia.”

      “I will be. There’s no one out here.”

      “But if his car is on the side of the road, then someone may have forced him to stop. Don’t hang up. Stay on the phone with me.”

      “What can you do from D.C.?”

      “I’m in London.”

      “Still hours away,” Olivia said.

      “Jack has men closer. If you need help, I will send someone.”

      “Thanks, Anna. I’m getting out of the car now.”

      Olivia checked to make sure there was no other traffic and there wasn’t. Since the two-lane highway only led to the mine entrance, there wasn’t a lot of traffic on it. She opened her door and walked across the single lane to the barrier in the middle.

      “Is it Ray’s car?” Anna asked.

      “Definitely,” she said. She recognized his signature key ring dangling in the ignition. “I’m going to climb over the barrier and see if I can find him.”

      “Be careful.”

      “You already said that,” Olivia said. She was worried. Maybe leaving Burati at home hadn’t been her smartest decision. So much for having to prove she was independent. She held her phone loosely in her left hand and carefully sat down on the barrier and then swung her legs over to get to the other side.

      She approached СКАЧАТЬ