Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
J ason grabbed Olive’s arm, stopping her in her tracks.
A jolt of electricity charged through her at his touch, but she tried not to give any indication of her reaction. The feeling surprised her.
She could get out of his grip, but she didn’t want to show her hand.
Instead, she sent him a sharp look.
His gaze relaxed, and he released his grip on her.
“Please.” His voice softened. “Can we just talk a little more?”
“Only if you promise to be civil and stop treating me like a criminal.”
He frowned but nodded. “Deal.”
Olive stared at Jason. The truth was, she wanted to talk to him. Wanted to find out more about his life and what he’d been up to since they’d last spoken and if he was married.
But it was better if she didn’t know those things. Better for her heart. Better for her mindset. Better for her ability to successfully complete this assignment.
However, if she simply dismissed him, he might keep asking questions. He might ask colleagues around the office questions that could put her cover in jeopardy.
The stakes of this investigation were much higher than simply succeeding so she could give herself a pat on the back.
She couldn’t let critical information get into the hands of someone who could use it to hurt innocent people.
This thief was targeting some smart dust Conglomerate had developed.
Smart dust was essential technology that contained networks of microscopic sensors. On its own, the technology had its own hazards. The microscopic sensors could be inhaled or ingested unintentionally, potentially causing respiratory or digestive issues. Large-scale deployment could interfere with natural ecosystems and harm small organisms. Or the devices could malfunction and release toxic materials from their power sources or components.
Environmentally speaking, it created electronic waste. If it malfunctioned, the units could accumulate in soil and water systems. The electromagnetic emissions could even affect sensitive equipment or wildlife.
She lowered herself slowly back into the seat. “I don’t know what else I can tell you.”
“Look, I know we got started on the wrong foot, and that’s my fault. Maybe you’re just as much of a victim here as I am.” He didn’t sound totally convinced of his words.
But at least he was trying, she supposed.
Olive swallowed hard. “So what you’re telling me is that your mom told you I was pregnant. And that’s why my family moved so suddenly . . . so no one would find out I was having a baby.”
“That’s correct.” His gaze was steady, showing no signs of deception. He wasn’t the type to be confused or make up stories.
She believed him that he thought this was the truth.
“This isn’t like the 1970s,” she told him. “Women get pregnant out of wedlock. And it wasn’t like my family was some type of virtuous example in the community. What would it matter if I was pregnant? Why would we have to move?”
Olive might understand it if it had supposedly happened when her father was a pastor. But this was before her father’s religious turn, back when he’d worked at a local bank.
Jason continued to study her, not backing down. “Your father directly told my mom that information.”
Olive blinked. “Why would he do that?”
He let out a sigh. “He came to my mom, showed her the ultrasound picture, and said she needed to pay him twenty thousand dollars.”
Olive’s lips parted with surprise. Certainly, she had heard him incorrectly.
There was no way her father would do that. No way.
Olive struggled to find the words to say, and finally blurted, “What?”
“He said otherwise I’d have to give up my dreams of going to college so I could get a job and help support my new baby. But if my family paid off your family, your parents would take you and start a new life somewhere, and I’d never have to know or worry about the child.”
Olive’s eyes grew wide. “And your mom actually paid him?”
Jason’s family had been well off, but had they had that kind of extra money lying around? She wasn’t sure.
“She did. Without telling my dad, she took everything out of her savings. She thought I had a bright future ahead of me as a doctor, just like my dad, and she didn’t want to ruin that.”
“Wow.” It was all Olive could think of saying right now.
He shrugged. “I did consider going to medical school to follow in my father’s footsteps. But I had no desire to be a doctor. Instead, I studied business. For a while, at least.”
“You didn’t finish your degree?” Olive tried not to sound overly anxious to hear his answer, to learn more about his life in the years since she’d seen him.
She’d always envisioned Jason going into medicine. Maybe not as a doctor, but possibly as a paramedic. She’d pictured him marrying someone quiet and kind—someone unlike her. Olive even figured he probably had a couple of kids by now.
He ran his hand along the side of his paper coffee cup. “No, I dropped out of college after two years and joined the military instead. Then I was offered this job with Conglomerate. It might sound like I’m just a security guard. But this company takes their safety very seriously.”
“Considering all the classified projects they’re working on, that’s no surprise.”
His shoulders appeared to soften slightly. “So, anyway, here I am. My mom didn’t tell me until two years ago about what happened. Right before she passed away from cancer.”
Olive sucked in a breath, her throat burning. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Jason swallowed hard before nodding. “Me too. It was hard to even be mad at her for not telling me for so many years, considering the state of her health when she finally did confess. There’s part of me that still can’t believe she tried to cover up something like a baby.”
“What did you do when she told you?”
“I started looking for you, of course,” Jason said. “But it was strange. I couldn’t find anything about you or where you’d gone after you moved. It was almost like your whole family was a ghost or something.”
“Is that right?” Olive didn’t tell him that was because her family changed names wherever they went. “My family is—was—complicated.”
“They’re no longer complicated?” He narrowed his eyes in confusion.
Jason didn’t know about her family, she realized. The story about what had happened to them had largely—and surprisingly—been kept out of the national news.
Olive was glad. Glad her picture hadn’t been posted everywhere. She probably wouldn’t be doing the job she was doing now if that had happened.
She didn’t want to tell Jason about her family’s massacre now either. Didn’t want to open that can of worms. Didn’t want to feel any more of a connection with him than she already did.
He waited for her answer.
“It’s . . .” Her throat constricted. “The situation is still complicated.”
“I see.”
Olive had to change the subject to a safer topic. “I still can’t believe Beau was murdered.”
Jason’s jaw tightened. “None of us can.”
He felt guilty, didn’t he? Felt as if Beau’s death might be his fault. After all, a weapon had somehow gotten past security—and he was in charge of security. The buck stopped with him, as the saying went.
“I hope you can find the person who did this to Beau. Does anybody know what happened?” she asked.
Jason stared at her again as if he realized exactly what she was doing by changing the subject. But maybe he figured their conversation was safer this way also.
Finally, he said, “Last I heard, no. I’m headed back to the office after this. I’ll see if the police have any updates. It must have been a shock to find him.” His tone was tempered, almost as if he were trying to weigh her reaction.
“Yes, it was. For sure.”
His gaze, one that didn’t miss anything, continued to focus on her. “What were you even doing in the SCI corridor?”
“Trying to research a contract, if you must know.”
“It’s restricted access.”
“I realize that. But, as I’m sure someone told you already, I’m authorized to be there.”
He narrowed his eyes. “It’s still strange to me. I never saw you as being the corporate America type.”
“Maybe in the same way your mom never saw you as being a security guard type.” The words had a bit of a punch to them.
Olive really just wanted him to stop asking questions. The less he knew the better.
She paused and cleared her throat. “Did I hear you’ve been traveling out of the country?”
She almost didn’t want to ask. Didn’t want to know the truth.
Because traveling out of the country, if that were true, would make him a suspect.
His eyes remained grim, as if he were calculating his responses. “I did. My brother and I went to Costa Rica for six days. He just went through a nasty divorce, and I thought he could use a getaway for a few days.”
Olive tucked that information away. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Just to be thorough, she would need to verify his story. She’d ask Tevin to do that for her.
Jason shifted as if he was about to ask something uncomfortable.
Olive braced herself. What would he inquire about now? Would she have to feed him lies?
She didn’t want to do that. She really didn’t. But she was backed into a corner right now.
And Olive wasn’t the only one with secrets. She saw them in Jason’s eyes also.
Suddenly this situation felt a lot more dangerous.