Oliver (Project Arma Book 7)

Oliver took a hard left onto his street, his hands clenched so tightly it was possible the wheel would crack beneath his fingers.

A man cried out over the line. There was the sound of body impacting body, followed by retreating footsteps.

“Dammit!” Oliver slammed his foot harder on the accelerator. Where the hell was Kye? How had this guy made it into the house and gained access to Tori?

If he hurt her…

Rage coiled through his body. The asshole would die.

While keeping the call on speaker, Oliver sent a message to his brothers. Marble Protection was close. If they were at work, they wouldn’t take long.

Oliver slammed his foot on the brake outside his home. Jumping out of the car, he raced inside. The first thing he saw was Kye’s still form beside the door. There was a heartbeat, and his chest was rising.

At the sound of movement on the stairs, he swung his gaze up to find Tori throwing her head back into a man’s nose. When her leg flew backward, getting the guy between the legs, he bent over, pushing her forward, down the stairs.

Oliver reached her moments before her body hit the staircase, catching her in his arms.

“What the hell…?”

Oliver ignored the muttered words from the guy above. Racing down the stairs, he placed Tori gently on the floor. A growl tore through his chest when he saw the plastic cuff digging into her wrists. Cutting off the circulation.

He broke it with one tug.

At the sight of blood on her wrists, any speck of compassion for the attacker died. The asshole would pay. “You okay, honey?”

She swallowed, looking far from okay. Still, she nodded.

Eden ran through the door, his eyes alert, looking for the threat.

Oliver pressed a gentle kiss to Tori’s forehead before turning to Eden. “Stay with her.”

He didn’t bother racing up the stairs. The guy wouldn’t be getting away. He walked up slowly. Letting the anger boil in his gut and mirror on his face.

The guy was backing away. Through the hood, Oliver could only see his eyes. They looked scared.

He’d touched his woman. Hurt her. He would die for that.

The guy eyed the window.

Oliver shook his head. “Not gonna happen.” Not a chance in hell.

“How the fuck did you move so quickly?”

He raised a brow, making it up the final step. “They didn’t tell you? I’m barely human. I’m a predator. A killer. I could snap your neck in seconds. Or I could draw out the pain. Make you wish for death.”

The asshole’s heart pounded triple the rate it should. Good. He wanted the guy scared. Fear was a great motivator. The guy was tall and muscular, but he was human. No match for Oliver.

“You broke into my home. Touched my woman. Two mistakes that you’ll pay for.” Oliver took a step closer, reaching out faster than the guy could blink and yanking the hood off his head. “Who are you?”

He looked to be in his mid-thirties. His brown hair and eyes made him completely unremarkable.

He raised his hands. “I’m hired muscle, nothing else. Known for getting jobs done that others can’t. I don’t even know the name of the guy who hired me. But he offered me good money.”

The man spoke the truth. It wouldn’t save him though. “What was the job?”

Footsteps sounded behind him. He felt the presence of his brothers.

“To shoot the guy with the wrist tranq and take the girl. When a delivery guy arrived, I saw my opportunity. I wasn’t told about you.”

Of course not. Because then he wouldn’t have taken the job.

Asher stepped to one side of Oliver. Luca to the other.

“What were you supposed to do with her?” Asher asked.

The guy swallowed, studying all three of them with trepidation. “Once I had her, I was to call the guy who hired me. He was going to tell me where to deliver her.”

Smart. If the guy failed the mission, which he had, he had nothing but a number. Hylar had taken a risk employing an unaltered human. His lack of soldiers, and fear of losing any more, was evident. His weakness was bleeding out of him.

“Call him. Tell him it’s done,” Oliver said in a low, deadly tone.

A frown creased his brow. His eyes darted from Oliver to Asher to Luca. He didn’t move.

“Now.” Luca’s voice was harder. Louder.

“The guy will kill me!” Frustration mixed with fear on his face. He knew he was screwed either way.

Oliver almost smiled. “What do you think we’ll do?”

When the guy continued to stand there, unmoving, Oliver turned, grabbing the knife from the stairs before stepping into the guy’s space, pushing the sharp tip to his stomach. The man was almost the same height as Oliver. Nowhere near as strong though.

“Remember what I said about wishing for death?” He spoke the words quietly enough that they wouldn’t reach Tori’s ears. “Hylar forgot to mention that you were stepping into the home of his enemy. A man who would do anything to track him down and end him.”

Oliver trailed the knife up and paused at his collarbone, covered by a sweatshirt. He pressed it through the material, knowing he was breaking skin. “I’d say you have a more immediate threat than the man who hired you.”

The guy instinctively reached for the knife.

With lightning reflexes, Oliver grabbed his wrist so tightly he felt the snapping of bones.

The guy cried out. “Fine! I’ll do it.”

Stepping back, Oliver watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone. He hit dial, then speaker. Speaker wasn’t necessary, but the asshole didn’t know that.

“Do you have her?”

The familiar voice of their former commander had Oliver fighting for calm. It was the voice of the man who had started the war and was continuing to keep it alive. If he was here, Oliver wouldn’t hesitate to kill him with his bare hands.

“Yes. Where do you want me to deliver her?” To the guy’s credit, the fear on his face didn’t sound in his voice.

“I want to hear her.”

There was a slight hesitation from the guy; Oliver was pretty sure that’s what did it. “I knocked her out.”

A moment of silence passed. “I don’t believe you. Oliver, my boy, you there?” Oliver bit back a curse. “I know you are, so you can either talk or I can hang up.”

Oliver’s blood boiled. “Where the hell are you?”

“Ah. Nice to hear your voice. I think you’ll find out soon enough, my son.”

Oliver scoffed. “Son? You’re the furthest thing from a father.”

“Isn’t a father, by definition, the man who created you?”

“Exactly why you’re not a father to any of us, asshole,” Luca said.

Hylar sighed. “I was hoping you boys would have come to your senses by now.”

“Looks like you need a plan B,” Asher said.

“Oh, I have one. And soon you’ll find out all about it.”

Oliver shook his head. “You’ve resorted to hiring thugs off the street. You’re just wasting time. You’ll never win.”

When Hylar spoke again, there was a new edge to his voice. “I won’t stop. Ever. That’s what makes me so dangerous.”

“And that’s why you’ll die,” Luca added, not fearing the commander’s words one bit.

There was a beat of silence. “But I won’t. And what you fail to realize is that I don’t need a whole army. Just a few capable men.”

Well, a few capable men hadn’t worked for him so far, had they? “What do you want with the girl?”

He actually chuckled. “All will be revealed in due course.”

“Here’s a tip, Hylar.” Oliver spoke through gritted teeth, sick of the guy’s riddles. “Whatever you want from us, whatever you think you’re going to get, it’s not gonna happen. Ever. Your death is inevitable.”

“It’s that backbone that I love so much. All you boys have it. When people urged me to destroy you, I couldn’t. I need that on my side. And I’ll get it.”

Oliver blew out a frustrated breath at the man’s stupidity.

“Do me a favor—get rid of the guy. He’s a loose end I don’t have time for.”

Sage taped the end of the bandage before sitting back. “It’s waterproof, so showering won’t be a problem.”

That was a relief, since Tori could really use a shower right now. She wanted to wash away the feel of the guy’s rough hands on her. Wash the entire attack away. Was that possible?

“My wrists are really taking a beating this week.” Tori half-smiled, not receiving a return smile from Sage, Maya, or Quinn.

Sage nodded. “They are. Luckily, the cuts from the plastic cuffs are superficial so should heal quickly and without scarring. The sprain should heal within a week, too.”

“Thank you. Not just for bandaging my wrist. Thank you to all three of you for coming over and taking my mind off the almost-kidnapping.”

She shot a quick look at Oliver. He stood in the kitchen talking to Mason, Bodie, Kye, and Wyatt. They looked so serious and angry. Especially Oliver.

When his gaze clashed with hers, there was an intensity there she hadn’t seen before. Tori sucked in a quick breath before looking away. “I’m glad Kye’s okay.”

Seeing him on the floor, so still, had not only made her scared for his life, but also feel beyond guilty. He’d gotten hurt because he’d been looking after her. Because he was there to protect her.

“He is,” Sage said quietly.

Quinn leaned forward in her seat. “I think his pride’s injured more than anything. He’s been tranqed like that before.”

Tori’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Quinn nodded. “Mm-hmm. I felt so bad after it happened. It was by a woman I trusted, while he was watching me. She turned out to be Hylar’s half-sister.”

“Hylar’s half-sister?”

Quinn nodded again. “Yep. And Hylar ending up ordering one of his guys to kill her.”

What the hell? “He can’t be that sadistic?”

“Unfortunately, he is.”

Tori was almost too shocked. Who ordered a kill on their own flesh and blood? “The guy must be a psychopath.”

“He doesn’t have a heart,” Sage said quietly.

Tori saw ghosts in the woman’s eyes. “Have you met him?”

She nodded. “He took my brother, Jason. Had him held against his will for years. Even altered his DNA. Then Hylar kidnapped me, drugged Jason, and I almost died at his hands.”

Tori’s mouth dropped open. She didn’t know what to say to any of this. “I’m so sorry.” The words felt achingly inadequate.

Sage lifted a shoulder. “Jason’s safe now.”

“Good.” Tori’s eyes slid across to Maya, almost too scared to ask. “You haven’t been touched by this, have you?”

The look that crossed Maya’s face told Tori she had. Her heart sank.

“Hylar had a partner, Sinclair. After his men raided my workplace and killed my colleagues, he came after me. The guy injected me with something that could have killed me. I was lucky though. Instead of killing me, the drug fixed a defect in my heart. Doctors are now trialing the drug to see if they can use it to help more people.”

Quinn blew out a long breath. “The one good thing to come out of the shit show.”

Sage sighed. “What are we doing? We shouldn’t be talking about this after what happened to you, Tori. We should be trying to take your mind off it all.”

She shook her head. “I don’t mind. Oliver doesn’t tell me a lot.” Because he hadn’t trusted her. Did he trust her now? “It’s gives me a better understanding of who I’m up against.”

“I think it just takes Oliver time to open up to people,” Maya said with understanding. “The guys feel a lot of pressure to protect each other. After how you met, he’s probably just being overly cautious.”

“Give him time,” Quinn added. “The guy looks at you like you’re the world.”

He did?

At that moment, Oliver walked into the living room, the rest of the guys behind him. Everyone looked tired.

Sage stood, immediately going to Mason’s side. Oliver took the spot she’d vacated on the couch. His body was visibly tense as he lifted her wrists and studied them.

“We’ll get out of here,” Bodie said, taking Maya’s hand and leading her toward the door. “Call us if you need anything.”

In less than a minute, the living room went from full of people to just Tori and Oliver. He still held her wrists, the frown on his face so deep it seemed the marks might be etched into his skin permanently.

“Does it hurt?”

She hated the uncertainty in his voice. “Sage gave me some wonderful pain relief. It took away the sting.”

That didn’t seem to ease his torment. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? You didn’t zip-tie my wrists together and attempt to kidnap me.”

A soft growl vibrated through his chest. “You should be safe in this house. Instead, someone got in, got past Kye, and hurt you. Almost took you to god knows where.”

She placed her good hand on his cheek, tilting his head up to look at her. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about. Nothing that happened today is your or Kye’s fault. Kye didn’t know the guy had some sort of tranquilizer strapped to him. And you saved me from falling down the stairs. From the guy taking me.”

So much angst reflected back at her. “We’re going to have to wear vests under our shirts or something from now on. Both times, Kye was shot in the chest. It shouldn’t happen again.”

That was smart. “What happened to the guy who broke in?”

“Don’t worry about him. He’s taken care of and won’t bother you anymore.”

She almost wanted to push for more information. But at the same time, she didn’t. Not knowing was easier. And she trusted Oliver. She grazed her fingers over the frown lines between his eyes. “I hate that you’re so angry.”

He dropped his head into his hands, scrubbing his face. “I’m sorry. Hearing Hylar’s voice… You being hurt and almost taken. I want to kill every enemy we have, but I can’t damn well find them!”

Her heart bled for the man. He was so tormented.

“What can we do to take your mind off it all?” Her mind immediately went to a place it shouldn’t. Not just to sex. She wanted to hold him. Comfort him. Remind him that there was good in the world.

Oliver breathed out a heavy sigh. “Let’s watch a movie.”

She squashed her instant disappointment. “Sure. What should we watch?”

“You choose.”

She knew he wasn’t really into the idea. She doubted he would take in anything on the screen. But Tori would choose a movie. She would sit beside him and offer whatever comfort he’d accept.

Because Oliver had started to mean a lot to her. So much more than he should.