Page 65 of Shadow
“The safehouse is all arranged, Mr. Ripley,” the driver said as the line of cars pulled away from the airfield.
“Very good. I assume we’ll have a security briefing when we arrive.”
The driver nodded, and Ripley went back to his phone.
A few minutes later, Olivia broke the silence. “Can we go to Exposure tonight?”
He frowned and squeezed her knee. “You’re still wearing bruises from the other night in the hotel.”
She shrugged. “So? We don’t need to be that rough. We don’t even have to play. I want to see friends. Gage has been pestering me to get more involved.”
Ripley was quiet as he pondered her question. Then he picked up her hand and kissed it. “OK. I’ll see if I can arrange it. We don’t want to put our friends in danger, but the security there is strong. I’m not making any promises, though, OK?”
“Thank you.” She leaned up and kissed his cheek.
The rest of the trip was a sequence of changing vehicles in parking garages, and they stayed largely quiet. Olivia spent the time contemplating the turns her life had taken in the past year to get her where she was now. Ripley played with her hair and scrolled his phone.
When she asked why he wasn’t driving, he’d scowled and said, “Security protocols.”
Olivia was happy to have him in the backseat with her, though. It was more time for them to be close to each other.
When they reached the house they would stay in for the foreseeable future, Olivia hopped out of the car to check it out.
“Stop right there, young lady,” Ripl shouted before she could get halfway up the drive.
She whirled to glare at him, annoyed that he would take that tone with her in front of the security team. But the look on his face said he wasn’t in the mood for attitude, so she stood and waited for him to make his way to her.
“Never go in before security gives the all-clear. Understood?”
She nodded solemnly, and he narrowed his eyes. “Try again.”
“Yes, Sir. Understood.”
He cupped her face. “Better.”
“There are people here, Ripley.”
He shrugged. “They’re aware of what we are, without any of the dirty details of course.”
She sighed. It was for the best that security knew about their dynamic. Deep down, she understood that. But it still felt like an invasion of privacy.
He picked up her hand. “Come on. Let’s go check it out.”
Inside the small two-bedroom house, Olivia looked around in dismay. The furniture—what little was there—was old and had seen better days. There were no decorations to speak of. The bed didn’t even have sheets on it. It was the most uninviting place she’d been in a long time. Only Mario’s D.C. penthouse had been less welcoming, but at least it had furniture and decorations.
“I know you’re worried about my place, but I still think we could stay there. You’ll have an army of security surrounding it.”
“It’s better this way. Just trust me. We want to find whoever is after me. Not the other way around. It’s easier for the investigators to do their job if they know we’re safe.”
“Is that why we changed cars a million times before we got here?”
Ripley laughed. “Exaggeration much? It was three. And yes, that’s why.”
“What about work? I need to get Olivia’s up and running again, and Liv’s Place is fully functional and could use my attention.”
Ripley grimaced. “About that.”
Her mouth fell open, and she threw up her hands. “You’re telling me you don’t want me to go to work?”
