Lethal Consequences by Elisabeth Naughton Page A

lingered in his eyes, one she hadn’t seen before. One that was so at odds with the confident, take-charge operative the rest of the world saw.
    Was he saying he didn’t deserve to have someone care? That he didn’t deserve compassion? Everyone deserved that, no matter what they’d done in the past.
    She let go of his arm and moved for the ATV. “Get back in.”
    “Olivia—”
    She climbed behind the wheel. “You need bandages and antiseptic and”—holy cow, she didn’t know what else—“antibiotics. We should be able to find that in another village, right? So get back in and stop wasting time.”
    He didn’t move, just stood still staring at her, and she knew what he was thinking. That she had to be completely mental. She’d gone from scared and freaking out to screaming at him to now ordering him around, but she didn’t care what he thought. Because only one thing mattered. Regardless of what he’d done, he’d saved her life—twice now. And it was her turn to do the same for him.
    “Aren’t you getting in?” she asked.
    “Yeah.” He moved around the Kubota and climbed in beside her. “Yeah, I am.”
    He handed her the keys, and she slipped them into the ignition and started the engine with hands that were steadier than she expected. As the vehicle lurched forward, she felt his gaze resting on her, but she didn’t turn to look. Couldn’t. Because her emotions were still too raw to deal with anything but his immediate wound. After that . . .
    Yeah, after that she wasn’t sure what she’d do. Living moment to moment seemed like the best plan right now. Because if she thought too far ahead, she was afraid she might lose it for good.
    “You’re amazing,” he said in a low voice. “You know that? Simply amazing.”
    She huffed. “No, I’m just stubborn. Trust me, in the long run it will be my downfall. Just watch.”
    “I doubt that.”
    Olivia didn’t. Stubbornness had gotten her into more trouble over the years than she could count. It had wedged a rift between her and her sister. It had kept her rooted in a career she knew she wasn’t passionate about. And now it had brought her to Europe when Landon had warned her not to come.
    And yeah, look how well that had turned out.

     
    Relief was as sweet as wine.
    As Landon rounded the corner in the small village and spotted Olivia slinked down behind a hedge, her blonde hair picking up the rays of moonlight, his heart rolled in his chest.
    She could have run. As soon as they’d reached the next village, she could have beat feet and taken off without him. But she hadn’t.
    After they’d ditched the Kubota in a ravine and covered it in brush, then hiked the mile toward the small town, he’d left her behind this hedge while he’d taken a quick glance around to get the lay of the land. Part of him had expected her to be long gone by the time he came back, but another part—a bigger part—was so relieved that she was waiting for him, he almost couldn’t breathe.
    “Did you find it?” she whispered as he drew close.
    He nodded, fighting back the need to pull her close. “Yeah. Three blocks down. No alarm system.”
    They’d discussed their options on the way here. They needed food, water, and warm clothes, if nothing else. Olivia had lost her sweater back at the compound, and though Landon had offered her his shirt, she wouldn’t take it, saying he needed it more than her. She wasn’t saying so, but he knew she was cold, and since he couldn’t put his arms around her and warm her with his body heat, finding another alternative was their only option.
    They moved quietly through the empty, dark streets until they came to the back of the shop he’d scouted earlier. Judging by the position of the moon, it had to be close to three a.m. Landon pulled the screwdriver from his pocket and went to work on the lock on the back door.
    “Where did you get that?” Olivia whispered. Close, but not close enough.
    He jimmied the lock. “From a