Chapter 18 - Olivia

“What the hell is going on here?” Director Sheffield asks when he bursts into the boardroom upon Agent Matthews’s request.

“I can explain, Sir,” I say as I rise and bow my head curtly to the head of the undercover department.

He huffs and glares at me. “You have a lot of explaining to do, Agent Jackson. The rest of you…” He waves dismissively at the agents in the room. “... Get out. I need to have a word with Miss Jackson in private.”

As Agent Matthews and Agent Hawks leave the boardroom, a shiver of trepidation comes down my spine. My disappearance – my actual disappearance, and not the one we’d staged – had come as a shock to everyone.

But, after doing my homework and leaving no stone unturned before returning to the office, I was able to find that I could still salvage this operation. Thanks to Agent Matthews, of course.

“Sir…” I turn to the director, clasping my hands behind my back and standing at attention with square shoulders. “I know how bad this looks, but I can assure you, we’re still good to go.”

Good to go?” he scoffs disbelievingly. “You were AWOL, Agent Jackson. Disappeared without a trace.”

“Exactly…” I agree with a nod. “I ensured that Luca Mancini would not find me even if he tried.”

“None of us could find you, Agent Jackson. How about that?”

When Director Sheffield plops on a chair, I do the same, calmly taking a seat across from him. He steeples his fingers in front of him, gauging me through narrowed eyes.

I take a deep breath before pleading my case. “Luca Mancini couldn’t find me where he thought he would – but that just strengthens my hold on him.”

Director Sheffield grimaces only because he knows it’s true. Before making my grand entrance back at the office, I met up with Agent Matthews, who revealed how they tried to hold off Luca Mancini when they couldn’t find me. His own search for me led him to the safehouse I was meant to be kept in until he found me.

Everything was going as planned, except I wasn’t there for him to come in and rescue me. This only angered Luca, who agreed to pay a ransom the staged kidnapper demanded, which interrupted his business dealings.

The deal we were meant to intercept hasn’t gone through yet. We still have time to do damage control, and I’m ready to finally put him behind bars.

“You expect me to allow you to continue on this mission after what you did?” he asks with a raised brow.

“I’m asking you to let me bring him in at last.”

“You sound very sure of yourself, Agent Jackson,” he comments.

I nod firmly. “That’s because I am. If I had any doubt before that the Italian didn’t bite the bait, I am sure of it now.”

Every corrupt man in every corner of the world has heard about the disappearance of my alias, Vanessa. Luca Mancini has been caught, hook, line, and sinker, and there’s a manhunt in the underworld to find me.

Once I’m found, he’ll no doubt take me to his villa in Sedona. What we planned for will naturally materialize, and I can pick up where I left off before the dragon shifter picked me up and flew me away from my duties as an FBI agent.

“Fine…” Director Sheffield finally relents. “But I’m keeping a very close eye on you, Jackson. If you don’t get him this next round, I’m putting you back behind a desk.”

“Got it, Sir,” I nod curtly. “You can count on me.”

“I sure hope so,” he sighs discontentedly as he rises to his feet and stares down at me. “Where were you, anyway?”

“It’s classified, Sir.”

“I’m your superior, Jackson,” he reminds me.

“I know, Sir,” I sigh. “But I can’t reveal where I was.”

“You know…” he begins, stroking his chin contemplatively. “... The agents told me you disappeared into thin air.” He cocks his head to one side. “They called it a disappearing act.”

“I–” I pause, biting my tongue with the truth dangling dangerously close to the edge.

“Was it magic? Are you a witch?” he asks with a deepening frown.

“Would you believe me if I told you I was?” I put forth lightheartedly.

Director Sheffield stares at me for a long moment before shaking his thoughts aside. “No. That’s ridiculous.” He lifts a pointed finger at me. “You’d better step up your game and catch this character. Otherwise, I’m sending you to be evaluated.”

When Director Sheffield scoffs with jest, I can’t help but giggle under my breath. Of course, humans in the mortal world don’t believe in the supernatural. Not where I’m from, at least. They’d never believe me if I told them I was on an island full of dragon-shifter creatures.

Heck! Even I can hardly believe it now that I’m back in my own world. Thinking that I was on a remote island with such extraordinarily powerful creatures just a day ago is insane.

Or, maybe my insanity comes from wanting to forget that I was ever there. To forget that Stryder ever existed. I hope throwing myself back into work will allow me to forget him for good. God knows I need the distraction. I also need to save my career if I’m meant to live out the rest of my life in this vapid world.

***

“I don’t want any wires,” I tell Agent Hawks as we prepare to leave the office. I’m meant to set up camp in another safehouse near Las Vegas, so Luca Mancini will believe that he couldn’t find me because I never left Vegas at all that night. Right under his nose, he’d somehow missed me.

We’ve had to plan this out in a way that would sound plausible to his ears.

“Why not?” Hawks asks with a frown.

“It’s just a precaution. If–”

“If he tries to hurt you, there’s no way we’ll know about it,” Hawks warns.

“Don’t worry,” I assure him with a pat on his shoulder. “I have your number saved in my memory. I’ll find a way to make contact as soon as we’re on the villa.”

“You better be sure about this,” Hawks shakes his head.

“Didn’t you hear?” I chuckle. “Sheffield thinks I’m a witch. I have innate senses, okay?”

Agent Hawks rolls his eyes. “Whatever, Rookie. Let’s go.”

The ride in the department chopper is a short one to the Las Vegas safehouse on the city's outskirts. Once we’re there, Hawks and the other agents who’d been staged for my kidnapping prepare the house to make it appear as if I’d been held captive there for the past two weeks.

I take my position in the basement when Hawks joins me.

‘You’re sure about this, Olivia?”

When he uses my first name to address me, I know it’s because he genuinely cares. This isn’t just about making headway in Luca’s arrest but also my safety.

“Of course,” I assure him, tossing him a smile as my hands get tied behind my back on the chair. “This was the plan, all along. We’ve just dragged it out a little more now.”

Hawks nods. “Thanks to your disappearing act,” he chuckles. “Mancini has already wired the funds into the offshore account. He has the location, so he’ll be here soon. You make sure you get your hands on a device as soon as you get to the villa, okay?”

I nod as a gag is placed over my mouth. Everything is set up to seem like I’d been here for two weeks, my eyes even puffy as if I’d been restless for as long as I’ve been here.

The truth is, the past two nights have been torture to my state of mind. Two restless nights was all it took to have me looking beaten up enough to be convincing. My time on Aurora Island made me radiant enough to feel like a Goddess, until I was back in my apartment in Los Angeles, bawling my eyes out because of a man.

Not any ordinary man, but a dragon shifter who I mistakenly thought was different from the others. The entire male species has lost my trust, thanks to Stryder Vulkan. Now more than ever, I’m determined to catch every male criminal on Earth and put him behind bars.

They don’t deserve freedom when they use that freedom to break an unsuspecting woman’s heart. While I sit in the silence of the eerily quiet safehouse alone, waiting for Luca Mancini to “save” me, all I can do is wallow in the anger and resentment I feel for Stryder.

“ Signorina!”

I look up to find Luca Mancini bursting through the basement door and flashing down the flight of wooden stairs. I hadn’t even heard the rush of footsteps when he arrived with his men behind him carrying guns.

I was so lost in my thoughts, that I probably appeared as bewildered as I should be. At least it’s a bonus towards the act.

“ Signorina Vanessa!” he exclaims with relief, rushing forward and quickly untying me. His men file in and stand around us in a protective circle.

But it’s not protected that I feel. Instead, a wave of nausea floods over me when Luca’s hands brush my wrists as he unties me. I’m instantly folded into unwelcomed arms, lifted to my feet as my body grows limp from the rejection of Luca’s touch.

“Vanessa…” the man breathes with his thick Italian accent. “I was so worried about you, signorina.”

“I–I–” I fumble on my words when he cradles my face with both hands. My reaction adds to the act, but it’s not because I’d been locked away for two weeks that my brain is fuzzy.

Instead, I can barely meet the man’s gaze, his dark eyes becoming the abyss of internal doom for me. I can’t lose myself in them, not the way I’d easily lose myself in the warm depths of natural greens.

Gulping, I don’t say a word as Luca lifts me into his arms and carries me out of the safehouse bridal-style. His gallancy doesn’t move me an inch. Not because he’s the enemy, but because I’m in the wrong man’s arms.

I have to numb myself to the feeling of wanting to be as far away from Luca as possible, yet needing to go through with this for the sake of my job. He speaks in urgent Italian to his men when we enter a blacked-out SUV that takes us further to the outskirts of the city. He doesn’t let go of my hand, his fingers feeling despicably unbidden, causing a cold shiver to run down my spine.

We finally ended up in a large, vacant field with a private landing strip, permitting Luca to let go of my hand and give me the internalized private space I needed. Not only am I saved from having to physically touch him, I’m able to gather my thoughts and prepare myself for what lies ahead.

For now, I’m on my own. I don’t have a wire or a tracker on me, in case he has a way of scanning me for those things. The last thing we need is to attract attention to his suspicions, and I have to buy myself enough time to find an electronic device to contact my people.

Luca throws my door open and offers me a hand, and I have to fake being unsteady on my feet and make my situation believable. He clicks his tongue, lifts me in his arms again, and then carries me into the waiting private jet.

“I–I don’t feel so good,” I murmur, pressing a hand on my forehead as we enter the lavish private jet.

He nods and sets me down onto a seat, stroking the stray hairs out of my face. “It’s okay, signorina,” he assures me. “We are going to Sedona, where you will rest, and I will protect you. This will never happen again.”

I nod feebly and lean my head to one side, closing my eyes to feign sleep. In Luca’s mind, he thinks he’s protecting me. It should be something any woman would be grateful for. I can’t be grateful, not just because he’s the enemy.

Because he’s not Stryder Vulkan, whose need to protect me was something I found myself desiring.

***

All I can think about is what we’ve achieved now that I stand here on the balcony overlooking Luca’s villa.

This is exactly what we wanted – for me to exploit his kindness so grandly, I’d be the first woman he took to his compound. That way, I’d be able to spy on his every move and alert my team when he’s about to sell arms to a Russian dealer. Catching him in the act is the only way to get him behind bars. His dealings have always been hushed and so discreet, that the FBI has never been able to prove him guilty enough to form a case.

With a little courtyard out in front housing a statue of Mother Mary, the villa isn’t as grand as I thought it would be. The lawn isn’t as vividly swept as the ones on Aurora Island, and the flowers are not as bright and beautifully colored.

Everything is rather… Ordinary. Plain, even. Perhaps, if I hadn’t visited Aurora Island, I would have been able to appreciate this a little more.

Maybe, if I hadn’t met Stryder Vulkan, I would have been able to appreciate Luca’s swift charms when he comes in wheeling a serving tray carrying breakfast.

“I see you have rested well, signorina ,” he audibly applauds as he joins me on the balcony. A shiver of discontentment creeps along my spine when his hand settles loosely on my hip. I can’t wait for this to be over.

“I have, thank you,” I sigh, staring out at the rest of the villa. “It’s a lovely place you have here, Luca.”

“You like it?”

I nod. “I would love to see the rest of it if you’ll show me around.”

“Of course, signorina ,” he agrees. “Soon, I promise.”

Luca’s hand grows stronger on my hip as he firmly turns me around to face him. The moment I’d been dreading is here, and I know I have to cross this bridge if I’m ever going to double-cross Luca.

Mentally numbing myself, I loosely place my hands on his shoulders as he stares at my lips keenly. He attempts to lean in, but my heart skips a nervous beat, a worrying knot coiling in my belly. I see Stryder’s face flashing before my eyes, but the man in front of me is nothing like him. Not his lips, not his eyes. Nothing.

“Luca…”

“Yes, signorina ?” he asks, still proceeding toward my lips.

I instantly pull back when his breath uncouthly fans my face. I’m repulsed by him, and it’s not because he’s the enemy.

“I don’t think we should… Not yet…” I say with a false apology on my tongue. When he quickly steps back, I feel relief washing over me.

“Forgive me, signorina Vanessa,” he quickly apologizes, taking my hand and placing a chaste kiss on my knuckles. “I didn’t mean to rush you.”

“It’s fine, Luca,” I bat my eyes deliberately at him. “I just… I had a rough two weeks. I need time to rest.”

“Of course, signorina . I will arrange for your comfort, and perhaps, when you do feel better, we will pick up where we left off.”

“Thank you,” I smile brightly at him, grateful for his understanding. I’m hoping that we can close this case before it leads to anything more.

Maybe I would have considered doing everything in my power to have Luca Mancini in my clutches – even going as far as using my body to entrap him. But now that my heart is somewhere else, stolen by the dragon shifter, I can’t bring myself to even steal a kiss from the Italian.

Sighing, I only take Luca’s hand as he leads me back to the bedroom, where I can pretend to be sick and not have to deal with my conflicting emotions. Soon enough, I’ll have Luca in cuffs, and I’ll be able to redeem my career and carry on with my life in the mortal world.

The mortal world isn’t as gorgeous as Aurora Island, and no man will ever be able to affect me the way Stryder Vulkan did. No man will ever break my heart again, even if it breaks my heart to be back here.