Chapter 34
CHAPTER 34
O live and Jason climbed back into his SUV with Loki.
They sat in silence a moment as they clicked their seatbelts in place.
“We should probably get some sleep and talk about this again in the morning,” Olive finally offered.
Even as she said the words, she had no plans of sleeping.
But she couldn’t let Jason know that.
“Probably a good idea.” Jason nodded slowly. “You’ve got to be hungry. Do you want to grab a bite to eat?”
More than anything, she wanted to say yes. She was hungry.
But even more than that, she wanted to go by Adriana’s place to see if she could find anything there.
That meant eating would need to wait.
“I grabbed a bite to eat at the office before I left so I think I’m okay,” she told him.
Was that disappointment in his gaze?
Olive reminded herself not to read too much into things or see things she wanted to see.
Besides, Jason was hung up on Adriana, and Olive wanted to be single for the rest of her life. So any of these flights of fancy feelings hitting her meant nothing. She needed to ignore them.
She and Jason were both quiet for much of the ride home, other than talking about what Alex had told them.
Olive kept one eye behind them on the road, just in case that person following them appeared again. She didn’t see them in the barrage of headlights on the road.
One thing was becoming abundantly clear. She’d always known the stakes in this investigation were high. A lot of money was involved as well as national security.
But the people behind this sale . . . they’d go to whatever lengths necessary in order to get this information, even if it meant blackmailing others . . . or hurting them.
The person pursuing this deal would also view Jason and Olive as disposable.
Finally, they pulled up to Jason’s place, and he put his vehicle in Park.
Anxiety thrummed inside her. She was ready to be away from Jason.
It wasn’t because she didn’t like being around him, but because she needed some distance right now. Plus, she wanted to focus on investigating without having to explain herself.
“I’m going to follow you back to your apartment,” Jason stated.
Surprise rushed through her. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. Especially after what happened earlier. I would hate for something to happen to you on the road, especially if I could be nearby to help you and wasn’t.”
She started to argue again but knew it would be no use. Jason had already made up his mind, and he was just trying to be a gentleman.
“If you insist,” she finally said. “It’s your time and gas.”
“My time and gas are worth it for the peace of mind I’ll have when I know you get safely back to your apartment.”
Warmth ran through her blood.
She didn’t want to have that reaction. But being around Jason made her feel more human than she’d felt in a long time.
“Okay then,” she finally said.
She gave Loki another quick head rub before climbing out of the Range Rover and walking to her own vehicle. Then she climbed inside and started the car. The engine hummed to life.
She put the vehicle into Drive and started back to her apartment—sticking with the story she’d told Jason. But once Jason saw that she was safe, Olive would go out again to Adriana’s and see what she could find out there.
In the meantime, she needed to call Tevin back.
“Where are you?” Tevin demanded, worry lingering in his voice.
Olive gripped her steering wheel. “I’m driving back from Jason’s place. It’s a long story.”
“I have time.”
She pressed her lips together, suppressing a spreadsheet joke on the tip of her tongue.
Then she updated him on Jason, Damon, and Alex.
“Wow,” Tevin said. “That’s a lot. What are you doing now?”
She glanced in her rearview mirror at Jason’s vehicle behind her. “Jason is following behind me to make sure I get back home okay.”
“What a gentleman.”
“As soon as he leaves, I’m going to do some surveillance on Adriana.”
“I’m going with you.”
Her lips curled. “I was going to ask you to come.”
“I’ll wait outside your apartment building. Let me know when you’re ready.”
“Perfect. As soon as the coast is clear, I’ll find you.” She switched lanes. “In the meantime, can you look into Adriana’s background and see what you can find out? She’s definitely up to something.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Work your magic like you always do.”
“Ah, you flatter, you flatter.”
Olive smiled again. Tevin always made her smile with his easygoing manner. It was impossible for people not to like him. She’d tried.
She ended the call and continued toward her apartment.
The answers were close. She could feel them.
Now she needed to find them before time ran out.