Olivia stood there dumbfounded for a few minutes. She had been sure that it was his dead body that the boss had shown her eleven years ago. The same crescent shaped birthmark was on the left shoulder of the body she'd been shown. She could have recognized it anywhere. Could this Mark be the same person?
Olivia shook her head to push those thoughts out of her mind. This man had to be a really good impostor. Her Mark would never have let her think that he was dead for over eleven years. There was absolutely no way. She'd been in this business long enough to understand that this was likely some trap being set for her. It had to be a scheme to gather information on the guild.
She snapped herself back to her present job. Olivia closed the safe and then placed the large painting back over it, making sure that it was slightly tilted to the left as it had been when she'd come in. She grabbed the journal and made her way to the back door. She checked twice and waited until the coast was clear before she slid out of the back. She replaced the old padlock and made sure the lock clicked shut before heading off down the road.
She walked the two blocks back to where she'd parked her car and locked herself inside. She slammed her hands on the steering wheel angrily. The man had rattled her, which is likely what he intended. She couldn't shake the feeling that the man really had been Mark. There was only so much a person could mimic.
She drove on autopilot back to her apartment. The streets flew by outside of her window without her noticing. The radio croaked out a song that she hardly heard. Her head was swimming with the revelation that her brother could actually be alive and what that meant about her own guild. If Mark was alive, who's body had they shown her? If it wasn't Mark, why did Luka say that it was? Why now had he decided to come back? She pulled into her designated parking space and parked. Olivia stared forward blankly for a few minutes before getting out and slamming her car door shut.
She made her way up to her apartment and slid the lock into place. With the journal tucked to her chest, she slid down the door. Tears streamed down her face and struggling sobs escaped her lips. She let out a frustrated scream as the emotions that she'd tried so hard to push deep down made their way to the surface again. She'd mourned for her brother and the guild had become her family. A very dysfunctional family, but still the only one that she'd thought she'd had left.
After what seemed like an eternity, her tears ran out and she was able to catch her breath. She finally released her hold on the journal and used her sleeves to dry her face. She took a steadying breath and made her way to her living room. She placed the journal on the table and blew her nose. She took another deep breath before taking out her phone and dialing Luka's number. She chewed on her bottom lip as she waited for Luka to answer.
"Hello?" a deep, masculine voice asked, clearly annoyed.
"Hey Sir, it's Liv. I have the package. Where do I need to drop it?" Olivia responded tentatively.
"Chris will be by to pick it up in an hour. Were there any complications?"
Olivia paused before responding. She wasn't sure if she should mention Mark or not before knowing more about him.
"No, Sir. Everything went smoothly."
"Good work. Your payment will be in tomorrow after the goods are received."
"Thank you, Sir."
A warm chuckle came from Luka's side of the phone.
"There's no need to be so formal, Liv. You can call me Luka."
"Uh, I'm...I'm not sure...that would be...appropriate." Olivia stammered out.
The chuckle came again.
"We've been friends a long time, Olivia. So please, call me Luka."
"I'll do my best Si- I mean Luka."
"That's the spirit. Now rest up, you have a few more jobs starting Thursday."
"None tomorrow?"
"You're off tomorrow. Try to relax and i'll see you on Thursday."
"Yes, Si-Luka." Olivia responded.
"Bye now."
"Bye."
Luka hung up leaving Olivia staring at her phone in confusion. She had never once thought of herself and Luka as being friends. They'd known each other a long time but men with a reputation like Luka's didn't make friends. They were the bosses, the alpha males. His temper was legendary and even his two main men were afraid of getting on his bad side. Before she had too much time to think on what Luka's niceness could mean, a text notification popped up on her phone from an unknown number.
"Hey, Livvie." was all it read.