Surrender (The Command Series Book 3) (18 page)

Olivia sat in one of the rear-facing seats across from Rance as they finished their lunch. She didn’t turn to watch the flight attendant open the door and extend the stairs for their final passenger. And, true to form, he didn’t make any noise when he boarded.

“Glad you could join us,” Rance said, then summoned the flight attendant to signal the captain they were ready to leave.

Olivia sucked in a breath and turned, sweeping her gaze all the way up to Ethan’s intense and beautiful eyes. There was that feeling of being weightless again. How did he have such an effect on her? And the insane part was he stared at her like he felt the same weightlessness. His chest rose with a deep breath and he came toward her, dropping into the seat across the aisle from Rance.

“You rescued Kara Hayward?” she asked.

Ethan’s surprise was quickly replaced with a glare, directed at Rance. “Yes. What else did he tell you?”

Before she could say anything, Rance replied in German. Ethan’s attention snapped back to her, his eyes shocked and accusing.

“You told him we slept together?”

She pressed her lips together. “No, but I’m sure your reaction just did.”

Rance laughed, grinning at his friend. “Clever girl. Certainly more clever than you.” He waved off Ethan’s icy stare as he climbed to his feet, collected the last of the lunch items on the tray, and moved toward the galley. Rance’s departure forced her attention onto Ethan.

“I’m exhausted,” he said flatly. “How are you holding up?”

It came out sounding casual like she hoped it would, masking her anxiety. “I’m keeping it together.”

“I’ve noticed.”

A compliment from him? She felt flushed. Determined to distract herself, she attempted to buckle her seatbelt, but winced in pain. The sting of the cut on her palm hurt like hell.

And then the pain went unnoticed as he rose from his seat. “I can do that.”

So she sat still with her breath held as he leaned over, so incredibly close that she wanted to touch him with her good hand. There was the faint sound of metal clicking, and he tugged gently on the belt to cinch it around her hips. Outside the fuselage, she could hear the engines priming.

“Ethan,” she whispered. “Why am I not on a plane headed back to America?”

He froze. “Because we wouldn’t . . .” His expression was unreadable. “Is that what you want?”

Her heart thumped in her chest. Blood rushed in her ears. Answering that honestly was a risk, but she was willing to take it. Besides, he could tell when she was lying anyway. Did she want to be on a plane headed home and never see this man again? “No.”

He straightened and his stare burned into her, making every cell in her body feel alive. He looked relieved, maybe even pleased. “Me neither.”

The plane began to move, rolling toward runway alpha, where she usually got clearance to take off from, and the strange spell was broken when Rance returned. Ethan’s demeanor shifted into one that was pure business. He dug something out of the laptop bag he’d brought on board, and passed it to her. Her logbook. The sight of it made her angry.

That fucking family. They’d destroyed so much.

“How many people,” she asked, “are the Abramos responsible for killing?”

Ethan’s face turned to stone. “A lot. And I’m sure more, if I don’t go back to them soon.”

She shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d have to go back, but she felt disappointment deep down. She ignored the odd feeling and refocused her thoughts. “All right. What can I do to help?”

“I didn’t have much time but I flipped through that thing. You said you made notes?”

“Oh.” She had, only she’d done them in a shorthand system that probably made no sense to him.

He took what had been Rance’s seat across from her and buckled in, leaning forward while she explained the notes for destinations and times, weather conditions, and what he was most interested in—the passenger descriptions. She’d jotted down whom she’d flown, when and where, plus any other details she had on passengers other than the Abramos.

“I told you when we met that it’s my job to know what happens on my plane.”

He turned the pages, combing through her writing like it was fascinating, but he paused on the last page. Curiosity flashed in his eyes. “Why is there an asterisk here?”

He didn’t have to show her the line scrawled in her writing for her to know what he was talking about. “It’s not relevant,” she answered quickly.

The asterisk was beside the name Nathan on the flight down to South Africa. The curiosity intensified on Ethan’s face. He wasn’t going to let it go.

“I thought you were interesting, all right?” she said, annoyed. “I put that asterisk there so I would remember Nathan, the freakishly tall American who said he was dangerous.”

Rance’s chuckle rumbled from across the aisle, but it seemed to go unnoticed by Ethan. He blinked away his stunned look, and his gaze fell down to the star beside his name. What was he thinking about? Slowly, he shut the book and slipped it back into his bag, but she could see the hint of a smile on his lips.

Olivia followed Ethan into Shawn Dunn’s Munich penthouse. Rance and Ethan had spent most of the flight discussing something in German, and then they parted ways with the Englishman at the airport. Ethan hadn’t said much on the thirty-minute limo ride into downtown. He used most of his time on his cellphone, reading and tapping out messages.

The entryway led into an open, modern kitchen and sitting area, decorated with lavish furniture. Every inch boasted of expense and taste. The back wall was all windows, displaying a breathtaking view of downtown and the billowing smokestack of a factory off in the distance. The Osterhägen logo gleamed in white lettering.

She recognized the woman in several of the photos that cycled through the digital picture frame on the counter. Kara Hayward. It was odd, the idea that Olivia would meet her. What else did they have in common besides Ethan? Did Kara hold the same disdain for the media attention that Olivia did?

The next picture in the slide show was captivating. A brute of a man, a police badge slung around his neck and over a bulletproof vest, standing beside a younger woman, who wore a glittering white ballet costume. The juxtaposition of masculine and feminine was fascinating, but Ethan’s shoulders tensed at the image.

“You know them?”

“Shawn’s brother, Jason. And the girl, her name is Laurel.” It advanced to a picture of that same couple in a garden, wearing wedding attire. “I haven’t seen Laurel look like that . . . in a while.”

Warm, late-day sunlight streamed into the apartment and made Olivia tired. Even though she usually didn’t need much sleep, the past few days had been anything but usual. Exhaustion promised to overtake her. So she remained standing, rather than sink down on the couch beneath a gorgeous black and white framed picture of what seemed to be the front of the Osterhägen brewery.

“Hallo,”
a female voice said, edged with caution. Then Ethan stepped into view and the woman froze. Kara Hayward was shockingly tall. Perched on top of heels and in a beautifully cut navy business suit, her pale blue eyes filled with shock. “Ethan?”

“Kara,” he said. “How are you?”

She stared at Ethan like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “I’m much better than the last time we saw each other.” She brushed back a lock of hair as if she could push away the bad memory just as easily. “I never got a chance to say it, you know. Thank you. Thank you for helping us.”

He shifted as if uncomfortable. “You don’t need to thank me.”

Her pretty face took on a dubious cast. “You saved my life. You saved Laurel’s life.” She set her purse down on the counter and leaned forward on her hands. “Has something happened?”

“Did Shawn not tell you we were coming?”

“No, he didn’t.” She pulled her phone out and took one look at her screen, rolling her eyes. “
Scheiße
, I forgot to turn the ringer on.” Her attention turned to the other woman in the room.

“This is Olivia,” Ethan said. “We’ve had some trouble and Shawn and Jason offered to help. She needs a place to stay and lay low for a few weeks. But things have—”

Just outside the kitchen, the front door banged shut and heavy footsteps pounded closer. A dark form appeared in the doorway. A black suit wrapped around the man who was almost as tall as Ethan, but his frame was lanky whereas Ethan’s was broad and hardened. Shawn Dunn was as traditionally handsome as Kara was classically beautiful.

“Fuck, Kara,” Shawn said, a German accent flavoring his words. “I’ve been trying your mobile for the last three hours. I almost sent my assistant to get you.” He pulled to a stop when he noticed the others in the room.

“That would have gone over well during the ad launch meeting.” She set her hands on her hips. “Oh, and by the way, we have company.”

Ethan nodded a hello to Shawn. “This is the pilot we spoke about.”

Olivia was exhausted, and wearing sweatpants of all things, but she steeled her expression to look professional and confident. Shawn Dunn ran one of the largest beer companies on the planet. Even if he didn’t have a position for her, he was sure to have connections. She straightened her shoulders and approached with her hand out.

“Mr. Dunn, I’m Olivia Wallace.”

“It’s Shawn. He didn’t say you were a woman.” His grip was firm.

Kara beat Olivia to it, and there was annoyance in the tall, blond woman’s voice. “Does that make a difference?”

“Of course not,” he said quickly. “It’s just unusual.”

It had secured her last job, the one where she almost died.
Where you did die, remember?
The sting of her hand had faded enough to let her temporarily forget Ethan’s knife. “It’s uncommon, but I have plenty of experience.”

“Do you speak any languages other than English?”

“Spanish, and I’ve been learning Italian.”

Shawn glanced at Ethan. “German?”

Her confidence flagged. “No, but I’m willing—”

German poured from Shawn’s mouth. It rocketed Olivia’s blood pressure to the sky. She could no longer handle people speaking languages around her she didn’t understand.

“English, now.” The command from Kara fell on Shawn, a hammer made of ice. Apparently she didn’t like the German either, and if Kara kept this up, Olivia was sure they’d be fast friends.

“English is better,” Ethan agreed. “I need both of you to understand that you’re in danger. Jason and Laurel, too. One of the men Juric worked for, he’s coming here to Munich.”

Kara tensed. “Why?”

“Because you’re here. He thinks you have information about who killed his brother.”

Color faded from Kara’s face. “Do I?”

“Yes.” Ethan scrubbed a hand over the stubble etching his jaw. “I don’t know how this is going to play out. The quickest way might be to deal with the situation head-on, but that’s going to be a challenge. My cover is as this man’s translator.”

Giovanni Abramo was coming to Munich. Why the hell had Ethan brought her here?

“I’ll let you know more,” Ethan continued, “when I know more. Until then, stick to your security procedures and don’t take any meetings with people Jason hasn’t vetted. And now that I’ve just laid all that out there, I’m also going to need a favor.”

Shawn lifted an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“Olivia needs a new identity. You did it with Laurel, so I assume you know people who can make that happen.”

“Yes.” Shawn’s face contorted with confusion. “You’re telling me
you
don’t have those resources?”

“I do, but . . . I can’t.” Ethan faced Olivia, his gaze intense. “The situation’s complicated.”

Her breath caught in her throat. No shit, it was complicated. Rather than think about it, Olivia’s focus shifted to Shawn. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to be a burden.”

She’d been on her own since coming to Europe, and didn’t like depending on other people. It was impossible to find the right way to communicate that she’d only accept help because she was smart enough to know there was no other option. If Gio or Vitale figured out she was still alive, it wouldn’t just be her life. It would be Ethan’s. And the others Ethan had hinted at in South Africa.