Page 82 of Shadow

Ripley chuckled and stepped in front of her, cupping her face in his hands. “You were mind blowing as always, Liv. But there’s something we need to talk about. And before I dive in, please trust me when I say I wasn’t trying to keep anything from you. I was waiting until my hunch was confirmed.”

She raised an eyebrow. “That sounds ominous.”

He picked up her hand and tugged her toward the sofa. “Let’s sit.”

“What’s going on, Ripley?”

“How well do you know Fiona?”

Olivia frowned. “Her again? She’s been the manager of Liv’s Place for the past two years. I told you she’s harmless.”

“What did she do before she came to work for you?”

She frowned. “She worked for a variety of bars and clubs around the city, including a couple of management positions.”

Ripley nodded. “That’s right. When I saw her at your bar the other day, something seemed familiar about her, but I couldn’t place what it was. And since then, it’s sat in the back of my head that I knew her from somewhere. So, I had Carrie give me some files she had about an operation I conducted here in DC a little over four years ago.”

“What does Fiona have to do with one of your missions?”

“It turns out she was working at a place called The Doll House Cabaret at the same time I was undercover there.”

Olivia sucked in a breath. “OK. I’m still not following. But I am curious about this undercover mission.”

Ripley shook his head. “Some details are still classified because it involved the former director of the CIA, Corbit Upwood.”

Olivia whistled. “That’s the same place Lola Neiland worked. It turned out she’d been trafficked or something. I only remember the name because that’s when Peter and Carrie got together.”

As she finished speaking, her mouth dropped open, and Ripley figured she was doing the math. He tried not to visibly wince as she made the connection. “You mean you were undercover here in D.C., and you still couldn’t see me?”

He picked up her hand. “It’s complicated, Liv. There were strict protocols. Nobody knew I was in town. Everyone involved had to be kept under tight wraps. Not even Peter and Carrie who I was technically in contact with realized I was in town until they absolutely had to. You saw me right at the end of that mission, at Gage’s house. Why did we always end up fucking at his house, anyway?”

She pulled her free hand through her hair and wrapped a curl around her finger, ignoring his teasing question. “This is so fucked up. But I still don’t get what Fiona has to do with this.”

He sighed. “I’m not sure it has anything to do with it. But you need to know that someone is going to be doing a deep dive into Fiona’s life. It’ll stay quiet, and if she’s not involved, she’ll never find out. But if she has anything to do with the threat against me or you, her life is about to get extremely uncomfortable.”

“But if she’s innocent, you won’t bother her? I’ve never been super close with her, not the way I am with Niki, but she’s been nothing but reliable. If she’s innocent and we fuck up her life, I’ll never forgive myself.”

“I have no interest in fucking up an innocent person’s life. But until we know the full scope of the situation, I need you to stay away from her as much as possible.”

She laid down on the couch and pressed a hand to her forehead. “Well, we’re basically stuck in this house, so you don’t have to worry about that for now. Who is doing the deep dive?”

Ripley nodded toward the door. “I already gave her name to security so they can pass it on to the investigators. But Carrie and Peter are also going to use their resources to do some digging. How upset are you right now?”

She sat up and grabbed his hand. “I don’t know that I’m upset. Just shocked and a tiny bit uncomfortable is all.”

“I can handle that. It’s an awkward situation.”

“Anything else you need to tell me?”

Ripley shook his head, then stopped. “Well, there is one more thing.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “Let’s hear it.”

“You look fuckin’ hot with my cock in your mouth.”

She laughed and threw a pillow at his head. “You’re an idiot. I’m trying to be serious. I want to go home, Ripley.”

He tugged her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her. “I know, baby girl. I’m ready for that, too.”

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