64. Olivia

Chapter sixty-four

Olivia

M y mouth pops open at all the supplies on Grant’s truck. I look at it then Victor. “What is all this?” I ask him.

He walks over, cups my face, and kisses me. I stare up at him, a little surprised, but enjoying the attention. He stands behind me and wraps his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into his chest as we watch Grant begin to unload everything.

“Well, I thought it would be nice if Grant built you a greenhouse,” Victor says. “What do you think?” My heart begins to beat wildly in my chest. He’s having a greenhouse built for me. What does that mean?

“I love it.”

I’m not sure if he hears me because my words come out as a whisper. Though I want to ask what this means, the lump in my throat stops me. This past week has been rough. Donovan sends me flowers almost every week. When I received them this past week, I denied them, and told the delivery guy I didn’t want him to bring them anymore. I’m unsure what that will trigger Donovan to do, but I don’t care; I’m tired of being scared. Even more tired of him thinking he can just do whatever the hell he wants and get away with it.

Victor turns me in his arms and stares down at me. “I’m proud of you, treasure.”

“Why?” I ask as I stare into his green eyes.

“You stood up to him. I know that was hard and probably scary, but you did it.”

I rub my hands along Victor’s chest. I never want this to end. Does him building me a greenhouse mean it won’t? “You’ve helped me get to this point. Things have changed. I’ve changed. And the biggest reason for that is because of you.” I want to say more. I want to tell him how much I love him, but for now, this has to be enough.

He cups the back of my head and massages my scalp. “I’ll always be here. Olivia—” Whatever he’s about to say is cut off by his phone ringing. He scowls but pulls his phone out of his pocket. His eyes narrow before he answers.

“Valentine,” he answers. His spine straightens and worry flits across his face at whatever is being said to him. “I’m on the way.” He steps back from me, giving me a look that makes my stomach sink. “Does this have anything to do with Donovan?”

My eyes widen, and heat rushes up from my neck to my face. Who is he talking to? What’s going on? Victor hangs up, and he steps away from me.

“I have to go,” he says. He begins to walk away, but I grab his hand to stop him.

“What’s going on?” I ask. I have to know.

“That was Connor. He said Bec is in trouble. That’s all I know.” He walks toward the garage and I follow him.

“You asked if it has something to do with Donovan. Why would you ask that? Does it?” I call after him.

At first I don’t think he’s going to answer, but he turns and stares at me, his hand rubbing over his beard. “I don’t know if it has anything to do with Donovan. It’s just a feeling.” He steps forward, cups my face, and kisses me hard. “I’ll call you as soon as I know something. I want you to stay here with Leo.” He doesn’t give me a chance to answer before he opens the door to his car and climbs in. A ball of anxiety drops into my stomach as I watch him back up and drive toward the gate.

Leo comes and stands next to me, and I glance at him out of the corner of my eye. He ruffles my hair, laughing when I shove him away. He’s like the brother I never had. “Been to any BDSM parties lately?” He wiggles his eyebrows at me and I roll my eyes at him, but can’t stop myself from smiling. He’s trying to lighten the mood, but I can’t stop the worry from rolling through me. I glance back toward where Victor’s car disappeared, wondering where he’s going and if Bec is okay.

“Shouldn’t you be with him?” I ask Leo. Up until recently Leo stayed with Victor, at least that’s what I’m assuming. Because Lane and Arden would be with me.

“Arden is following him and I’m sure Malachi or one of his guys is following him too,” Leo replies. He doesn’t mention Lane.

“Leo?” I turn towards him. He arches an eyebrow at me, waiting to see what I want to ask. “Where has Lane been?” I watch him closely, but he has a good poker face because he doesn’t react.

“Lane has been reassigned.”

I wait for him to explain further, but he doesn’t. “Reassigned? Why?”

Leo glances away and sighs. “Because he dropped the ball the first day you received flowers from Donovan. The bastard’s lucky he didn’t get fired.”

I open and close my mouth, not sure what to say. One day he was there, then he wasn’t. Victor never even told me and I hate it took me this long to ask. Normally I’m more aware. My throat closes up at the thought of being one of those people that’s so overcome with my own problems I stop noticing others. I don’t want to be like that.

“Hey.” Leo touches my shoulder. “It’s not your fault.” His voice is soft and reassuring, but it doesn’t make me feel better.

Swallowing, I wipe my hands down my jeans. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice. I usually notice.” My throat closes up. Why didn’t Victor tell me?

“Liv, if it was something you needed to know, Victor would have told you.” Leo’s voice is stern, and it’s probably the first time he’s ever not used humor to diffuse a situation. It’s also the first time I’ve ever heard him use Victor’s name. I glance up at him and he gives me a small smile. “Sometimes men just want to take care of their women.”

I return his smile and nod, trying not to internalize what he means by that last statement. “I just feel bad that I didn’t notice right away. Lane was always nice to me—” He told me he was going to help me with my application, was he lying? Before I can analyze that, Leo’s phone rings.

“Hiya boss,” Leo answers. I watch him closely while also trying to listen intently. Leo stiffens, but I can’t hear what Victor is saying to know why. Balling my hands into fists, I dig my fingernails into the palms of my hands. I feel a little out of control today and for the first time in a long time, I have this urge to feel pain. “Yes, sir.”

Leo hangs up, and I look at him expectantly. “He’s coming to pick you up, then I’m following you over to Connor’s house.” That’s all he says and I don’t like it.

“What happened?”

Leo is shaking his head before I even finish getting the words out of my mouth. “Boss will tell you.” I want to stomp my foot, but it won’t do any good. Instead I go inside, run a brush through my hair, put on some more deodorant, and a bit of lip gloss.

When I return outside, Grant is done unloading everything and I try my best to push the disappointment down that I can’t start gardening right away. It seems after what’s about to happen I’m going to need it though, so at least I’ll have something to look forward to.