If it’s just the mob, I can handle it.
As far as I know, they don’t yet track credit cards and cell phone towers like the government.
Owen needs to disappear for a bit to get some of the heat off him so maybe an offer for the three of us to go away somewhere would be something that she would consider.
Bringing him along isn’t ideal, by any stretch, but it’s…something.
It’s an option. And Olive and I would still be together.
That can’t be bad, right?
Art’s proposal is still heavy on my mind the next day when Olive comes to see me at my hotel room.
We talk about Owen and Sydney and what we should get for dinner.
It feels like there’s something else that she wants to bring up and I know that I do. Over some Chinese takeout, I finally ask.
“I have a new job. It’s a painting. Are you up for it?”
I look at her trying to gauge her response, but she barely reacts.
“I don’t know, Nicholas,” she finally says. “I don’t know if I’m up for this anymore.”
My mouth runs dry.
“What? Why?”
“I'm worried about Owen. We haven’t talked about it but those people who tried to kill him, they’re still out there. He seems to think that it’s all going to be fine, but they tried to kill him once. They’ll do it again. And next time, they’ll succeed.”
“So, what are you planning on doing?”
She puts her hand in mine and looks up at me with her big wide eyes.
“I don’t know but I’m not sure I can stay here with him.”
“It’s not safe. I totally agree.”
“You do?” she asks.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about it,” I say.
Watching her eyelashes flutter with each breath, I gather my thoughts.
I can sense where she’s going with her thinking and, if only I can jump ahead and get there before she does then maybe I have a chance at making this plan come together.
“Owen shouldn’t stay in this town. I’m not sure who is after him but we all know that they are very dangerous. He needs to get out of here and he needs money to disappear.”
“Disappear?” she whispers.
Her eyes light up for a second but then her shoulders fall.
“No, I don’t think-” she starts to say but I interrupt her.
“Hear me out. I need to get out of here, too. But my money is tied up a bit. If you help me get this painting, I can bankroll the whole thing.”
One lie rolls into another and another.
I don’t have nearly enough for me to start a whole new life, let alone pulling along two other people who would rely on me.
But I need her help.
If she was able to steal those paintings then she is much better at this than I had ever realized.
Hell, she’s probably better than I ever was.
“Why did you promise me all of that money if you don’t have it?” she asks quietly.
“I do, Olive. I really do. But it’s just not all available at once. Besides, you promised to help me in return. This is my next job. Will you do it?”
“How much is the take?”
I let out a big breath.
“It’s not that I don’t want to work with you anymore, Nicholas. It’s just that I can’t jeopardize anything happening. I’m lucky to have Owen back in my life, alive and well. I lost him once. I’m not going to do that again.”
“That’s the whole point, Olive. That’s why I need to do this job. It’s going to give us enough money to start a whole new life,” I say. “That is, unless you want to just start a new life with Owen.”
“No, of course not,” she says quickly.
“I mean, I know he’s not really your brother. You two are close…”
I let my voice trail off and hope she gets the point.
“Don’t even go there, Nicholas,” she says, making a gross-out face. “He’s my brother even if our DNA isn’t the same. That’s never going to change.”
“What about your mother?” I ask.
She sits back on the couch and wraps her arms around her knees. “Now that I’m not so sure about. It’s kind of nice having a good reason to get her out of my life. I just wish that I could find out who my real mother is.”
I look away.
I’m tempted to pull out that folder and reveal the truth.
Of course, I am. But something stops me.
The folder feels a lot like a Hail Mary and something is telling me to keep it in my back pocket just in case this conversation goes to hell.
“Do this job for me, Olive. This will be it for us,” I say, taking her into my arms. “We steal this painting and our original agreement is dissolved. But we can use the money from it to start a new life. New identities. Somewhere far away from this place where no one knows who we are. There, no one will know who Owen is and he won’t owe anyone any debts.”
She looks up into my eyes and I watch as the irises of hers flicker in the sunlight. “And you won’t owe anyone any debts either, huh?” she asks.
I shrug. “If they say I owe them something, then maybe I do. Though, I believe I paid my debts a long time ago.”
She looks away from me.
“Why is this a bad plan?” I ask. “What’s keeping you from saying yes?”
Whipping her head around to face me, she narrows her eyes. “You want to know the truth, Nicholas?” she asks.
I nod.
“I think you’re lying to me.”
My heart sinks into the pit of my stomach.
I swallow.
Hard.
“About what?” I ask.
“I don’t know. Are you lying to me?”
“No.” I shake my head.
I lift her chin upward and press my lips onto hers.
She tries to pull away but I pull her closer.
After a moment, she kisses me back.
17
Olive
When he kisses me…
At first, I pull away.
I don’t want him to kiss me because there is so much more that we need to talk about.
But the longer our mouths are on each other’s, the more I’m reminded of the way things were when we first met.
The fire that seemed to go out during all of that time when I was waiting for Owen in the hospital suddenly gets reignited.
His hands make their way up and down my body and my head starts to swim. I forget all of the millions of thoughts that course through my mind and just let a more primal part of me take over.
He starts to undress me.
My knees start to buckle but I adjust my stance.
The room, which already felt hot is now sweltering.
My breaths speed up.
“Tell me to stop,” he whispers in my ear.
His words catch me by surprise and I laugh. He laughs along with me.
“Never,” I say, kissing him on the neck.
His hands tug at my clothes and he slides his hand underneath my shirt. HIs fingers feel warm against my skin but shivers still run down my spine.
I look up at him.
Our eyes lock.
When he blinks, I see that fleck of gold in his iris.