A Thin Disguise by Catherine Bybee

CHAPTER TWENTY

Olivia spent the first twenty minutes of her nap with her legs folded to her chest, head resting on her knees.

She knew this would be the last minute of peace she’d have.

And it was spent calculating and planning a route in her head. There wasn’t any time to consider the past two months. She’d have a lifetime to remember and pick apart every detail.

That is, if the man who’d tried to stop her from breathing didn’t return to finish the job.

And there was no reason to believe he wouldn’t. Another layer of proof that she couldn’t live a normal life.

Ever.

Couldn’t cultivate friendships like the one she’d had with Amelia. AJ’s sister was the only person Olivia tried to love as a friend, and now the woman was dead.

Just like everyone else in the house would be.

Then there was Leo. Goddamn it all to hell. How much had Neil told him about her?

Not everything. Or maybe she was wrong. Maybe Leo was the double agent guy doing what he could to take her off the streets. Ensure that she couldn’t hurt anyone else.

The thought left almost as quickly as it came.

There was no way he would have tangled with her, in bed or otherwise, if he knew what she was.

The memory of him screaming her name that morning, and losing his shit when he thought she was gone, was real.

Neil had warned him, and Leo realized it was only a matter of time.

Olivia wished there was a way to stop what had to happen, but there wasn’t.

Which meant that Neil was expecting her exit. But he wouldn’t let her go without that fatherly lecture. Not that she had one of those.

A father, that is.

Neil would give her shit, try and talk her out of it.

Sasha would lay logic on Olivia.

AJ would tell her Amelia would want a different life for her.

And Lars and Isaac . . .

Emotion clogged her eyes. A new, annoying-ass byproduct of getting shot.

Olivia Naught did not cry.

It was not allowed.

She did not want to care for these people. Because with that came a need to protect and avenge them.

Then there was Leo. She couldn’t go there. The hole was already growing and threatening to consume her. There was no time for any of that.

Olivia pushed off her bed and did a room sweep.

She knew about the audio feed and cameras in the hall, but hadn’t had the knowledge in her head to look for more in her room.

Until now.

When her sweep came back clean, she was happy to know she wouldn’t have to abuse the people who had made sure she was taken care of all this time.

She opened the dresser drawers and pulled out what she’d need.

It wasn’t until that moment that she realized Sasha had more than just shopped for Amnesiac Olivia . . . she prepared Richter Olivia to make her escape. The dark knit cap and scarf were down in the mudroom drying, but their white sisters waved from the dresser. Camouflage for the snow. Black if the snow hadn’t fallen. White snow gear, dark outerwear, layers with serious weather protection. She set what she needed aside and would get the rest on her way out.

Olivia dressed in warm, loose clothing as she had every day she’d been in Colorado and paused as she looked down at her bed. The memories of her nightmares surfaced. Hell and burning had been with her for years. The nightmares themselves had never changed since the first time she placed a bullet inside of someone’s skull.

They were her prison, a nightly reminder of the evil she was.

The fire was roaring. The snow had stopped falling. And the evening routine was in full swing. Isaac was in his room, resting before his shift, Lars was in the surveillance room, and AJ and Sasha were cozy in a love seat.

Olivia rested her feet in Leo’s lap at his request.

She left them there, because Amnesiac Olivia would allow him to rub the arch of her socked feet the way he was doing while he worked on one of Isaac’s crossword puzzles.

Olivia held Leo’s computer, the screen angled away from the others in the room.

“Anything coming back to you?” AJ asked.

Olivia faked a smile. “Well . . . I have determined that Leo looks up way too much porn on this thing.”

Leo stopped rubbing and leaned over. “I do not.”

She laughed. “Gotcha.”

“Giving a woman your computer is like giving them the key to your front door,” AJ warned him.

“His bedroom doesn’t have a lock. Not that I’d need it anyway,” Olivia said.

“Oh?” Sasha glanced over, obvious suspicion in her gaze. Seeing it now, Olivia realized Sasha had sent that look many times over the past two months. Probably searching for the moment Olivia knew more than she led everyone else to believe.

“Nothing opens a door faster than telling a man you’re naked on the other side.”

Leo purred.

“See?”

Sasha returned her attention to the fire.

Olivia plugged away on Leo’s computer. She placed trackers and hacks . . . things that would give her access to what he was receiving and sending. Much as she didn’t like the deceit, she needed to protect herself. And him, if need be.

“When can we expect Neil back?” Olivia asked.

“His pilot said he could fly tomorrow.”

As she suspected. “Are we any closer to finding out who shot me?” Her questions were rhetorical. Ones that said, See, I still don’t know who I am and need your help.

“We’ll find them,” Leo assured her.

No, they wouldn’t.

But she would.

“I’m sure everyone is going to want to get back to their normal lives by the holidays.”

“You’re remembering more bits and pieces every day,” Leo reminded her.

“I suppose.”

“Any memory of the firearms training? Where you obtained it and why?” AJ asked.

Sasha tilted her head, hands in her lap, eyes glued to the fire.

Olivia could see the woman listening . . . if that was possible.

“No.” Olivia finished what she needed to do on Leo’s computer and closed it up tight. “This is a waste of time,” she told him, handing it back.

“It will come,” he assured her.

She looked at the time, counted down the minutes.

The lights in the room flickered off, but the space stayed lit because of the fire. A collective sigh went over the room.

“That was predictable,” AJ said.

Leo slid her feet off his lap and stood. “Time to switch it all over,” he said.

AJ took the hint and got up with him.

Olivia watched Leo’s back as he left the room. He was a good man and deserved someone better.

“Are you okay over there?” Sasha asked.

Olivia kept her gaze soft. “Leo is falling hard,” she told her. Amnesiac Olivia would be open and honest . . . naive about such a statement.

“What about you?”

Amnesiac Olivia and Richter Olivia started arguing in her head. “I can’t let that happen until I know who I am. It’s not fair to him.”

“When that happens, he’ll be here for you.”

“In the meantime, we’re going to need to do a condom run. Mr. FBI is packing a three fifty-seven and not a twenty-two.”

Sasha hummed. “That is good news indeed.”

“Yes . . . yes, it is.”

“I’m kicking you out before you fall asleep.” Olivia’s statement was a warning.

One of her legs was stretched over one of his, their breath returning to normal.

“Why is that?” He traced the skin of her arm, enjoyed how her fingers curled into his chest as they talked.

“I felt hammered today.”

He chuckled. “I would hope so.”

“Tired,” she corrected herself. “And if you stay in here, I’m likely to roll over and jump back on . . . and we’re out of your size, Mr. Big Guy.”

He didn’t exactly stock up before taking that initial plane ride. “I’ve proven there are other ways to please you.”

She purred with a sigh. “Yes. But . . .” She lifted her ear from his chest, looked at him. “I’m not afraid to tell you I’m exhausted. I need to build up to these all-day sessions.”

If her words weren’t enough, she covered a yawn and cuddled back into his arms.

“I get the hint.” Even though he hated the idea.

She sighed. “I have Sasha doing a drug-store run tomorrow.”

Leo kissed the top of her sleepy head. “You have to love a woman who makes sure her needs are met.”

He felt her eyelashes flutter on his chest.

Within twenty minutes her breathing evened out and her eyes had closed.

He didn’t want to leave. After ten minutes of internal debate, he slowly slid out from under her and smiled in silent satisfaction as the hand that had been on his chest fisted into the space he’d just vacated.

“Good night,” he whispered before letting himself out of her room.

Olivia physically put her fist in her mouth to stop the sound that wanted to erupt with his departure.

This was the emotion she’d avoided her entire adult life. And it threatened to engulf her. Just like the hellish landscape of her dreams.

She lay there, wide awake, and waited.

Hours passed, the time of the surveillance room shift had come and gone, giving Lars a chance to fall asleep and Isaac a chance to become complacent.

She prepared herself with layers of clothing under her bathrobe and put into motion everything she had to do.

One last lingering look at the bed and the memories she’d made in it, and she walked out of her private world and in front of the cameras where others could see her.

She tiptoed into the kitchen, as she had many nights, and went to the fridge. She poured a glass of milk, meandered to the living room, and picked up the remote for the TV no one ever turned on.

She shook her head for anyone who might be watching her movements and set the remote back. Five . . . four . . . three . . .

By the time the generator kicked off, she stood at the edge of the stairway looking down.

Before Isaac could stop cussing about the generator, she was standing over him, her bathrobe dangling from her fingertips.

“Hello, Isaac.”

She knew what he saw.

Richter Olivia was there, wearing what any cat burglar would. She dropped the robe, reached behind, and raveled her hair up onto her head.

A red security backup light illuminated the space, but otherwise, the room was dark . . . the monitors useless.

“You don’t have to do this.”

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” She motioned for him to stand.

“Olivia . . . we—”

“Stop talking.”

He knew better than to tangle with her and stood.

“Turn around.”

“C’mon. Aren’t we past this? I’ll just let you go, you don’t have to tie me up.”

Less than two minutes and he was on the sofa, a gag in his mouth, his hands and feet bound together. She felt bad this time but knew someone in the house would realize the generator wasn’t running and come and check.

“I am sorry about this,” she told him.

He rolled his eyes.

She opened the supply room door and went straight for the weapons she needed. Only two, and just for the short journey to where she had her stuff.

She pushed aside a field bag and saw her duffel. The one she’d stashed in the hotel ventilation system in Vegas. A quick look inside and she found her fake IDs and two wigs. In addition, there were two stacks of currency. Hundred American dollar bills and euros.

And a note with her name scribbled on the envelope.

Neil.

But now wasn’t the time to read what he had to say.

She shouldered the bag, checked her watch.

“Tell him not to look for me,” she instructed Isaac. And because she really did feel bad about tying him up, she placed a kiss to his forehead before walking away.

She exited through the mudroom, slipped into the still damp ski pants and jacket, and then went into the garage. There was a motorcycle, which would be suicide in this much snow, a Jeep, and a truck.

She yanked enough cables off the truck and the bike to slow the chase, opened the garage door, and fired up the Jeep.

There was a flicker in one of the upstairs windows of the completely dark house, telling her someone had watched her escape.

Sasha.

The others would have sounded an alarm.

She ignored the useless tears she didn’t think she was capable of shedding as the silhouette of the log cabin disappeared in the moonlit background.