Lib Novel Page 25
Her face gets a little white as we watch her go down on camera, and before I can stop myself, I’m putting a hand on her shoulder.
It feels like sticking my finger in an electrical socket, and when she looks up at me, her mouth open, eyes wide, I can tell she feels the same.
“Sorry,” I say, pulling my hand back and clearing my throat. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have—”
“No,” she says, shaking her head and pushing away from the desk, before reaching up and taking off the headset. “I just—I thought I could see his face. It’s like, I can’t stop thinking about getting the motherfucker who thought it was okay to curse me.”
“I get that,” I say, thinking about how I’d hunted the vampires who killed my parents for years before I finally found them and savored watching them die. “Here,” I say, gesturing for her to sit back down. “Let’s see what we can do.”
I fetch one of my kitchen chairs, and for the next hour, we spend time enhancing the video, and when that still doesn’t work, we hack into different servers to see if any of them have the footage stored from that night.
But the security cameras only keep it for twenty-four hours. We comb through social media, trying to see if anyone might have been taking a picture or video at the moment Olivia was cursed, but the ones that come close to the same time are all from the other side of the ballroom.
“Shit,” I say, shaking my head and reaching for my energy drink, before realizing it’s empty. “I’m sorry, Liv.”
“It’s okay,” she says, breathy, putting her chin in her palm. And then, after a moment, she says, “I never—well, I guess I should thank you.”
“Thank me?”
“I mean, was it weird that you were watching me? Yeah, a little. But also, without that weirdness, who knows where I would be right now. If I’d even be alive. The fact that you were watching got the team to me in time. So. Thank you.”
“Uh,” I say, scratching the back of my neck, trying not to look right at her. It’s like looking into the sun. “Yeah,” I cough, “of course.”
“But don’t ever fucking do that again,” she says, and this surprises me so much that I snap my gaze up to hers. Her eyes are intense, her gaze searching. “If you’re watching, fine, but you tell me. Beforehand. No more looking at my medical files or clocking me through camera hacking. If I’m on assignment, we communicate about the surveillance. If not, you have no reason to look.”
“I—”
“Byron, I need you to say you won’t watch me anymore without my consent.”
Fuck. When she puts it that way, it sounds bad. I rub my hand over my jaw, take a deep breath, and nod.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. From now on, I’ll communicate about this stuff. When it’s for the team. For missions.”
“Okay,” she says, letting out a breath. “Okay, good. Great.”
When I look back at her, I realize that, somehow, we’ve drifted closer together. The pull between us is almost gravitational, and I bit my lip, trying to ground myself.
Her eyes track the movement.
I want to kiss her. I want to buy my face in her hair, run my tongue and lips over her neck, get my hands on her hips. Her eyes are hooded, her body language soft, leaning.
I could kiss her right now.
The more I allow myself to think about it, the closer we drift, until, without warning, Olivia jolts back, breathing hard, her hand to her chest. Like the thought of touching me again might give her a heart attack.
It might give me a heart attack, I think, also bringing my hand up, rubbing my fist into my chest where it hurts. She stands from my chair so fast it spins backward, drifting toward the wall.
“Sorry,” she says, shaking her head, before turning on her heel and running for the front door of my apartment. I watch her go, stunned, still reeling, when the door closes behind her.
As soon as she’s out, I spin around to pull up the Rosecreek security cameras but stop short with my hand over the button. I need to make sure she gets home okay, but I just promised her I wouldn’t watch her through the cameras anymore.
I take a deep breath, shut down my PC and head to bed.
Chapter 10 – Olivia
Byron doesn’t want me.
He made that crystal clear, and has been, since that night in the pavilion. So, why do I feel like this? Why was I in his apartment with him, leaning closer and closer, thinking about what it would be like to feel his lips against mine again?