Page 52 of Pieces Into Place

I let out an exasperated sigh. “So, when Shaemus became ill, his priority shifted back to finding her.”

“That seems to be the case,” Henry says with a heavy heart. “They don’t want her running the family business. She is the only legitimate family member that we know of who is left. She’s a loose end and ending her will truly end Shaemus’s reign.”

“You understand the irony of this, Henry?” I can feel my anger rising in my throat. “The fucking irony here is that Olivia wants none of this. She doesn’t want anything to do with that despicable family. All she wants is to teach children and live quietly.”

“I understand.” A calming hand lands on my shoulder. “But now we know the entire story and we know what we’re dealing with,” he says.

“What about the person who hired us?” I inquire.

“I’m getting close to figuring that out. I have a hacker helping me trace it back through the bank deposit details. It might take some time, though,” he says before adding, “I know this is a lot for you to process, Kane. Are you alright?”

I shake my head. “I’m okay. But I’m worried about Olivia.”

“You guys must have grown close,” he murmurs cautiously.

“We have,” I confirm firmly, making sure to look him in the eye.

“Kane, listen, I need to ask you something,” Henry states apprehensively.

I nod, gesturing for him to continue.

“Do you think there’s any chance Olivia knows anything about this?” And there we have it, the question he didn’t ask earlier.

“No fucking way! Don’t even go there. If she had any idea how our lives were intertwined, she would’ve told me by now. She probably never looked into her uncles’ victims. I sure as hell wouldn’t have if I were her.”

“Alright, alright.” He holds his hands up defensively. “I understand – I just had to ask.”

I blow out a heavy breath. “So what now?”

“Now we wait some more,” he says. “We need to find the person who hired us and figure out a long-term solution to keep her safe.”

I rake my fingers through my hair and sigh. Every moment I’ve spent with Olivia has been better than the last, but being cooped up here is starting to take a toll on both of us.

Henry retrieves his coat from the sofa and says, “I’ll be in touch soon.” He then turns to me and asks, “Are you going to tell her about what we discussed?”

“Eventually,” I answer. “I know her well enough to know that she will take this news hard. She doesn’t need to carry this burden right now.”

He nods in agreement, and then turns to walk out the door.

I stare out the front window, watching Henry’s truck back down the driveway, my thoughts racing from everything I just learned. It’s hard to keep this information to myself when Olivia deserves to know who I am to her, but I can’t bear the thought of our relationship falling apart right now because of it. Even picturing my life without her brings an ache to my chest. My worry is that she will blame herself and pull away from me. No. I decide; I can’t tell her now.

I walk over to the side window, hoping to see Olivia out there, but my eyes catch something in the snow. Fresh tracks leading into the woods past the perimeter that weren’t there before when I first started talking with Henry. Fear crashes over me as I rip open the front door, spotting a small stack of pinecones scattered across the porch steps, as if someone had dropped them quickly and ran off. Fuck! Olivia must have heard me talking to Henry.

Without thinking, I take off after the tracks in a full sprint. Protecting her body is one thing, but protecting her heart is even more important now.

Chapter twenty-five

Olivia

I skip through some of the nearby trees, feeling so light and happy, twirling around like Snow White as I pick up pinecones, pretending they’re jewels, half expecting birds to land on my shoulder and squirrels to come out of their homes to offer me their winter harvest of acorns.

Is this what it feels like to be in love? I don’t remember ever feeling like this before. I wasn’t even capable of these complicated emotions when I was only thirteen.

As I make my way through the trees just behind the cabin, my skin prickles. Everywhere Kane’s coarse beard touched me last night left a burning trace of pleasure that is reignited when the cold air kisses it.

The past week has been nothing short of magical. The world seems to spin around us as we move together. Our connection has always been so strong that it felt like an invisible force pulling us together even as it pushed us apart. There’s an undeniable passion between us, but this is more than just physical attraction. It’s an emotional connection unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.

Though our unique circumstances have forced us together in this particular situation, I know that even if fate hadn’t brought us here, we would have somehow found one another.