The open admiration in his tone made a fresh wave of embarrassment rise inside her and she kept her gaze lowered to avoid seeing his expression.
“Which is why it amazes me you managed to get yourself into this situation,” Levon continued.
“Hey!” Her eyes flew to his at that, and Olive raised an eyebrow. “I know you had a little trouble with the sciences back in the day, but surely you know how babies are made? It takes two, you know.”
“I… what?” Levon scowled and rocked forward, spilling his tea down the front of his shirt in the process. “I was talking about the gang, Liv! Christ.”
Darn it. She’d really mucked that up—and he might have gotten burned as a result. “Oh! I’m sorry! Do you want me to go grab you a towel, or…?”
“No, it’s all right.” Levon stopped her with his hand on her arm when she attempted to rise. “Sit. Let’s get this out there now.”
Cheeks hot with mortification, she slumped back into her seat again. “I’m sorry, Levon, I just… this whole thing tonight has me unsettled, you know? And I did try to contact you after I found out, but the naval office told me there was no way to get in touch with you when you were deployed. Then, after a while, I got used to the idea of being on my own through this and things got busy at the school and I just stopped trying to find you.”
He seemed to take that in a moment, then gripped her knee. The unexpected contact made her tingle. “How soon after I left did you find out?”
“About a month.” She shrugged, then took a deep breath, remembering those early days when she’d survived on saltine crackers and broth because of the morning sickness. “At first I thought I had the flu. Went to the doctor and everything. She suggested a pregnancy test, and well…” She held up her hands in front of her now bulging belly. “My periods have never been exactly regular, even with the pill, so when I missed one, I didn’t think too much about it.”
“Guess we were that one percent, huh?” he said, his thumb circling gently, absently against her knee, his voice low. She gave him a confused look and he said, “They always say on those commercials that the pill is ninety-nine percent effective.”
“Actually, it’s ninety-nine point seven percent effective, so there was only a point zero three percent chance…” She lowered her head and tucked her hair behind her ear. “But yeah. Guess so.”
The moment stretched out between them until she finally said, “I’m glad about it though. The baby, I mean. I always wanted kids.”
“Me too.” He caught her gaze and held it. “I’ll do my part, whatever you need.”
She nodded, still coming to terms with Levon being back in her life again and what that meant for the future. It was a lot to deal with at the moment and she needed time to wrap her head around it all, especially with this other thing popping up tonight with the gang. So, instead of blurting out something she might regret later, she changed subjects to hopefully something safer. “So, this new job of yours. Tell me more about it. I remember you saying it was a security firm?”
“Yep.” He inhaled deeply, letting her go as he leaned back into the cushions again. She missed the heat of his touch immediately. “We’re called the Southern Soldiers of Fortune.”
“The Southern Soldiers of Fortune.” Olive repeated, unpacking the full name. “And you guys are all former SEALs?”
“Yeah. They recruit from all over,” he explained. “But the threshold to join is high. Insane, even.” He laughed quietly at whatever memories this claim stirred in him. “Only the best are offered positions.”
From anyone else, she might have considered that a boast. From Levon, it was only the cold hard facts. Given his well-honed physique and knowing his determination and heart, she had no doubt that Levon Asher would be the best at whatever he decided to pursue. “Well, I’m glad you’re here, then.” Olive wasn’t sure why she’d whispered that, or why she wished he’d touch her again. “And not just because of… you know.” She gestured down at the baby. “But I still don’t understand how we ended up with gangs in Harper’s Forge. I mean, I’ve noticed some odd things lately around town, but hardly anything that bad.”
He exhaled slowly, then took the cup from her hand and stood, grabbing his own from the table in front of them. “Best get us refills before we start that conversation. It’s going to be a long one.”
“So,” Levon said as he settled in
beside her a short while later, handing her back a steaming mug of tea before sipping his own, his expression grim. “The Reapers. They started in DC and are now trying to branch out and establish their drug smuggling routes in the area. That’s where Harper’s Forge comes in. Small town, tiny police force, direct access to major highways and within a few hours of the coast. Perfect location for the newest link in their supply chain.” At her startled look, he shifted in his seat, frowning down at his tea. “As an added bonus, no one thinks things like that can happen in places like this, so no one suspects what’s really going on.”
“How did your company find out about it?” she asked, her tone full of interest.
If Levon had thought it through better, he probably wouldn’t have told her about all this in the first place. He remembered how, back when they were in school, Olive was always reading some mystery book or watching some true crime show on TV. She loved this stuff. Too much. His job here was to keep her safe, not get her involved in this mess any more than she already was. His gaze fell on her belly again and his heart tripped.
My baby. My kid.
It still hadn’t fully sunk in yet. He hadn’t lied before. He had always wanted kids of his own. Someday. But what was that old saying? Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans? Man, wasn’t that the truth?
Olive was still watching him with those big, pretty eyes of hers and he swallowed another gulp of tea before answering. In for a penny, in for a pound, he supposed. Besides, there was no harm in telling her a bit more about the situation, and how it was being handled by him and the other guys at Southern Soldiers of Fortune.
“Well, it started off with a tip one of the guys at SSoF received from the Arlington PD about a big shipment of fentanyl-laced cocaine coming in from Colombia. There’d been several Reaper-related shootings in the city over the past few months, so their involvement in it was almost a given, since they rule the Arlington territory with a tight fist. The cops up there wanted us to help them investigate some of the local dealers to figure out where those deadly drugs might be heading.”
“Couldn’t the police have investigated it themselves?” Olive asked.
“Sure—and they definitely are. I’m working in close collaboration with the local police force here. But for some parts of the investigation, especially when it branches out into small towns, it’s better to have someone involved who’s not known to be affiliated with the local force. The Reapers recruit a lot of local teens into their operations, and in a place this size, the locals will know the names and faces of all the cops. When two of my teammates, Noah and Clint, discovered the link to Harper’s Forge, I stepped in and requested to be the one sent down here to see what was up. Figured I had insider knowledge of the town that might help speed things along.”
“Wow.” Olive’s hands shook slightly as she set her cup aside, and Levon’s pulse stuttered. Shit. He’d not meant to upset her. “That’s scary to think those kinds of things might start happening here in our little town. I mean, God. Half the people in Harper’s Forge don’t even lock their doors at night. We have four police officers and two squad cars. If gangs come into this place, how are we even going to cope with that?” Her face had turned pale and Levon didn’t like where this was going at all. “What about my students? What about the high school?” Dots of bright crimson blossomed on her cheeks. “Just thinking about those jerks luring or bullying my kids into doing their dirty work for them…” She pushed to her feet, then swayed unsteadily, her leg bumping the table and sending her mug toppling to the floor. Tea splattered across his hardwood, but the only thing Levon cared about was Olive and the fact she was about to pass out right in front of him.