Protecting Olivia

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

ETHAN

After a hard morning of training, we had all headed to Seb's house, he had something to show us, no doubt about my parents. Seb had taken it upon himself to investigate them further, considering they are constantly watching me, I was grateful to him. I know they are watching me, the people they have under their thumbs aren't very good at keeping a low profile. I manage to lose them almost every day, which makes my life easier. But I'm keen to find out what Seb has learned, and if anything would be useful to put them away for good. Or at least my father away, my mother would be too drug fucked to know the difference.

The other reason I was anxious to get to Seb's was Livy. I knew she would be there; I knew they were having a girl's day, and my guess is that's why Seb didn't just bring whatever he had to show us to the base with him. I'd given up avoiding her completely, it was too hard and if anything, would just draw more attention to her. She is friends with my friends after all, we are bound to cross paths. So, instead I took the opportunity to see her whenever I could. We didn't speak, I still had to keep my distance, but seeing her was enough to sate the constant urge I had to be near her. Knowing that she is okay, that she is happy, is enough for me.

I don't think any of us was expecting to walk into what we did. Being in the army, you see a lot of things, and often enter to something completely unexpected, but seeing Kaley with the banana had us all stopping in our tracks. I'd always wondered what women did when they got together, the scene we were confronted with was nothing that had ever gone through my mind.

It took Kaley a little while to notice us standing in the lounge room, but when she did her eyes were the widest, I had ever seen. Jane was hidden behind a pillow, no doubt covering that blush she has no control over, Lucy and Nicole were both in hysterical fits of laughter, but it was the melodic laugh of Livy that had my attention. I couldn't help but watch her, the way her red hair fell over her face, how she could barely hold herself up and was using Lucy as support, the tiny glimpse I got of her fine features through her mop of hair showed the tears rolling down her face, tears of laughter that had my heart racing.

The tiny snort that left her had me fighting to hold back a smile as it sent the girls into another fit of laughter. I hadn't seen her like this for eleven years, and I remember a time when I would be the one to make her laugh, I used to live to see her smile as it would always light up my dark world. And that hasn't changed, right now she is the most beautiful I have ever seen her and I only wish I could freeze this small moment and live in it forever.

The girls finally quieten down, though going by the slight tremors coming from Livy, I know she is still trying to compose herself. Seb stands beside me, flanked on his other side by Lance, his arms crossed, no doubt smirking at Kaley.

"Nice banana?" he asks her as Kaley nods her head with a shit eating grin on her face.

"Delicious," she states, licking her lips. I can't help the chuckle that escapes, one thing I've learnt about Kaley since her and Lance moved here is that she has absolutely no shame. My eyes flicker back to Livy who's now looking in our direction, she meets my momentary gaze, her eyes hardening before looking away quickly. I swallow the lump in my throat and shake it off, it's for the best if she despises me, it will keep her and our son safe, even if she doesn't know the danger that she's in.

"Well, we will get out of your way..." Seb trails off as he turns away from the couches where the girls sit. "Enjoy your fruit."

I chuckle again as I follow Seb out of the room, knowing that I will probably be finding amusement in this for a long time to come. I follow Seb into Lucy's office and walk towards the window, peeking out onto the street, surveying the area. It's a habit that is so ingrained into my psyche that I doubt I will ever break it. Seeing nothing but an old Holden Commodore that wasn't there when we pulled up, I turn my back on the window and lean against its frame, knowing full well that there will be two men sitting in the old car, reporting back my movements for whatever my father is paying them, most likely in drugs.

"Well, that's not something you see every day," Jordan chuckles as he picks up a small stress ball from Lucy's desk and tosses it in his hand.

"Kaley will be getting shit for this for years," Lance mumbles, a small smirk forming on his face. We all know that it will be Lance that dishes out the teasing, but Kaley will give back twice as hard. I don't even want to think about what else will go in their relationship with Kaley's banana skills.

"So, what have you found?" I ask Seb, getting us back to the reason we had come here in the first place. Seb nods his head and walks behind Lucy's desk, turning on his own laptop and retrieving a thumb drive from the desk drawer.

"I've been looking into your parents." Seb looks at me and I nod my head in acknowledgement. "I've found that your father is linked to quite a few powerful people, from high-ranking police officers to those in the criminal world."

The information isn't a surprise to me, I knew he had connections, I just didn't know exactly who and why they would be associating with a scumbag like him. As far as I knew, he had nothing to offer them.

"I believe he has something on every one of them," Seb continues, "That's the only thing that makes sense as to why they would do his bidding."

"He's blackmailing them." I state and Seb nods his head.

"It seems like it, it would be the reason as to why he has gotten away with so much already, he has been implicated in a lot of crimes, but hasn't so much as been arrested or questioned."

I turn my head, watching out the window as the Commodore sits motionless out on the street. There's slight movement from the passenger seat, confirming my theory that two people would be in the vehicle.

"So, he has information on everyone he is associated with, if we get the information, we take the power away from him." I state, looking back to the team who simply nod their heads.

"Any ideas on where he would have it?" Lance asks, looking over Seb's shoulder at the list of names Seb has found.

"My guess is he has kept it old school, hard copy files, hidden at his house, with copies at other locations."

"Safety deposit box?" Jordan surmises but I shake my head.

"No, he wouldn't trust banks, it would be back at our old house in Brisbane, there was a hatch buried in the back garden, it would all be in there." I state, remembering the times I would watch my father go into the overgrown back yard with a shovel, he would be hidden from my view in the weed ridden garden, but would come back a few hours later covered in dirt. I'd found the hatch itself when I was 14 years old, too curious for my own good, though I never looked inside of it as I had run out of time and still had to rebury it. I never got the chance to look again.

"Let's go check it out then, next weekend, I'll arrange a training mission over there so no one would be the wiser." Seb states and we all nod our head in agreement.

Maybe with this information, I can put an end to this, tell Livy the truth once she is safe and finally have the family I had always wanted.