Crushed (Partners in Crime Book 3)

Chapter 17

"Jack!" Jack's parents followed him hurriedly, leaving Olivia behind.

And she was perfectly fine with that.

She looked down at herself. Distressed jean shorts, light sweatshirt, black high-top Converse, messy bun. She sure was a sight. She tugged her bun out and let her long, loose, brown curls furl around her face and down her back.

A familiar voice came into the lobby, laughing. "Yes, of course, I'd be delighted."

Nicole.

Her sister walked around the lobby and spotted her. With a look of surprise, she came and sat down in the empty seat where Jack had been. "Liv, whatcha doing here?"

"You sure seem bubbly."

"You don't." Nicole quipped.

Olivia winced, "Sorry."

Nicole set down her coffee on a side table, "It's fine. Let me guess, Jack?"

"Yeah."

"Ah. It's his sister isn't it? I heard she woke up."

"She did. But she's been repeating one word over and over." Olivia wished she had her computer to research David. Although a first name was hard to start a search with, at least she would feel like she was helping in some way.

"I know that look." Nicole picked up her coffee and sipped it, then set it back down.

Olivia gave her a confused expression, "What look?"

"That look you get when you want to be helping but don't have anything you can do."

"Oddly specific."

Nicole laughed, "Yes. But I know it's true. I also know there is something you can do."

"Pray."

"Yes."

Olivia took her sister's hands and bowed her head. "Father, where two or three are gathered together, you listen. Please be with the Murray family right now in this time of hardship and help them to get through this. Help us to find out who this David is that Sophia keeps calling for. Give us guidance to close this Mafia case and save many innocent lives."

Nicole squeezed her hands, "Please help Olivia to see that Jack is the man she needs to give her the happiest life ever. We love you, wonderful Father. Amen."

What Nicole said, Father. Help me to sort out my feelings for Jack so that one of us does not get hurt. I need to solve this problem and figure out where my emotions lie. Please help me to do this. Amen.

Olivia opened her eyes to see her sister staring at her with her head tilted. "What?"

"You obviously have some thinking to do about your love life." Nicole pointed out. "Cole filled me in on this morning's happenings."

"Oh did he now?"

Nicole smirked, "It's a twin thing."

Olivia smiled. The common excuse that had been used for years. "Well there wasn't much to fill you in on."

"Yes there has. He obviously loves you - how can he not? And you love him."

"I do not love him."

Nicole choked on her coffee, "You've known him for eight years. Eight years." Dominic had been Jack's partner for eight years and so for eight years Jack had been a member of the family.

"Eight years for me to realize I can't love a man like him. I just can't."

Nicole's shoulders slumped, "Why not? Olivia you deserve the best. And Jack's just the person for you. He's ruggedly handsome, a gentleman, tough, strong, caring, a good listener, I could go on and on."

"I know. But he deserves the best. And I'm not it."

Nicole took her hand, "Is that the only reason?"

"There are others." She said quietly.

"Liv."

Olivia didn't meet Nicole's eyes. She couldn't. She couldn't love Jack and that was final. The strange thing was that she never said she didn't love him, but it was always couldn't, can't or won't. Almost as if she was disciplining herself for ever thinking she loved him.

"Olivia!" Jack stood in the doorway and she looked up. He paused when he saw her with Nicole. "Oh, hi Nicole."

"Hi Jack." Nicole stood and pulled Olivia with her.

Jack rushed to her aid to help Olivia walk. "Let me."

Olivia glared at Nicole and her sister kept her mouth shut.

Jack looked at her, "We need you back by Sophia. Maybe you could help us figure out who David is."

She nodded. "Sure."

Once in the hospital room, she saw that Sophia stared directly at the wall, silent. Olivia stood right in front of Jack, his hand on her shoulder.

Instantly, Sophia looked at Olivia and when she saw she was not David, she started screaming his name.

Olivia tensed. "Did you do a search of the hospital, see if there are any David's?" She absently noted the restraints on Sophia so she couldn't get up and run. Or break something.

Carol managed to calm her daughter down and then shifted her attention to Olivia, "No. That's a good idea.

"I'll go do that." Jack slipped out of the room.

Olivia sunk into the chair that Arthur offered her. "She didn't have a boyfriend, or someone she was seeing?"

Arthur shook his head, "Not that we know of. And I bet Jack would know but he hasn't said anything."

Sophia's frame shook, and Carol rubbed her arm. In all honesty, Olivia thought Sophia looked terrible. The bomb had really taken its toll on her. Her face had burns all over it, her arms were scarred and filled with stitches, her left leg was in a cast, and her right wrist in a splint. Suddenly, a sprained ankle didn't seem so bad.

Jack came back in, holding a large stack of papers. "These are all the David's in the hospital."

Olivia took half the stack from him. "I guess we start looking."

"I suppose we could see if there are any David's who were in the bombing or transferred from the VA hospital." Jack mused.

"Okay." Olivia leaned back in her chair and started flipping through pages.

Fifteen minutes later, Jack whispered, "Gotcha."