Page 21 of Shadow

“Every day for a week as soon as I found out I was coming home.”

“Weird. She must have forgotten to tell me.”

Ripley stood and cupped her face. “I’m proud of you, Liv.”

She smiled and looked away uncomfortably. “Thanks. I’m gonna go say goodnight to the others. I’ll call you about dinner.”

But she didn’t think she would. Going on a date with him right now wasn’t a great idea. Not when she had so many other things on her plate. Maybe if he asked her again in a few months, she would say yes. Right now, she needed space.

The door flew open before Olivia could get to it, and Peter stepped inside, holding a phone to his ear. “Good. I found you. There’s been an incident at your house.”

“Fuck. What is it?”

“I’m not sure yet. I’ve got a guy going by there now.”

She sank back down on the couch. “I was just about to go home.”

They heard footsteps running in the hall and Carrie burst into the room. “Someone just tried to kill a US ambassador in Burundi. I’ve got to get on a plane.”

“Whoa. Why are you going, little one?” Peter asked, the phone still to his ear.

Carrie frowned. “I worked with him for a year back when he was a low-level diplomatic employee. He was my contact on several assignments. The network thinks I’m the best person to cover it.”

Peter sighed. “When it rains it pours. There’s no way in hell you’re going to Burundi without me. It’s not safe there.”

Turning to Olivia, he said, “You need to let one of my guys watch you.”

Ripley stepped up. “I’ll do it. You said you had work for me, right? Let this be my first job.”

Peter looked at Olivia. “You OK with that? It’s him or a stranger.”

“What about Gage?”

“Gage has to go up to New York for some business. So, it’s Ripley or a stranger. And nothing is not an option here.”

Peter held up a hand and pointed at the phone.

“What’s the situation?” He paused to listen. “Thanks. Is the cat OK?”

Olivia’s heart went into overdrive. What had happened to Jade? Then a loud meow came through Peter’s speaker, and she knew it was OK. She blew out a long breath.

“Someone broke a window and left something gross. Your cat got into it but she’s OK. Why don’t you and Ripley stay at our place while we’re gone? It’s not too far from everything.

“Fine.” She hated the petulance in her voice, but at this point she knew better than to argue.

“Good girl.”

“Oh, don’t use that on me right now, asshole.”

Peter laughed. “Sorry. Now, if you’ll excuse me, we’re apparently going to Burundi. I’ll call you when I can, Boomer. And I’ll let the guys at the office know that my resources are at your disposal. We can talk about the details of your job when I get back.”

“Thanks boss,” Ripley said with a wink.

When they were alone, he put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed. “Do you want to go to their house, or do you want to stay here for a little while?”

“Don’t we need to go deal with the police at my house first?”

Ripley nodded. “You’re right, that would be best. No sense in leaving Peter’s guy to deal with it. Let’s get out of here then. I took a ride share again. Did you bring your truck?”

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