Page 39

CHAPTER 39

“ O llie . . .” Someone knelt on the floor beside her.

Olive pulled her eyes open and blinked.

She must be seeing things.

Because the man beside her looked like . . .

She blinked again.

“Jason?”

No, it couldn’t be. Why would he be in Texas? It made no sense.

But even with her blurry gaze, she was nearly certain she wasn’t seeing things.

“We’ve got to get you help,” he murmured.

Olive opened her mouth, wanting to argue. But no words left her lips.

The next instant, Jason gathered her in his arms. Her head fell against his chest, and her body felt nearly limp.

Then she remembered her attacker.

Panic raced through her.

Where was he?

“There’s . . . there’s a man . . .” Her words were nearly indiscernible to her own ears. But she had to warn Jason.

“I fought him, and he ran away,” Jason said. “I started to go after him, but I thought you might be inside and knew in my gut I needed to check on you first. I’m glad I did.”

Olive touched her throat again, wondering exactly what she looked like. A bloody mess, probably.

She didn’t think the man had cut an artery. She wouldn’t be conscious now if he had. But she was battered, for sure. Achy and weak.

Jason carried her down the steps. Then he threw open the front door and strode outside to a Range Rover.

A Range Rover? That was the vehicle he drove back home. Had he driven here from Chicago?

No, of course not. That would have been too long a drive.

Those details didn’t matter right now. Only getting away from here mattered.

Jason opened the door, gently placed her in the front seat, and clicked her seatbelt in place. Then he climbed in also.

But before he could start the vehicle, Olive squeezed his arm. “I don’t want to go to the hospital.”

His eyes widened. “But you’re bleeding.”

“I don’t think . . . I don’t think the cut is deep.”

He frowned. “We should find out for sure.”

She pressed her eyes closed, and visions of going to the ER filled her mind. Rebecca was at the hospital. Mitzi was still working.

She thought about having to explain what had happened, why she was there.

It was a complication she didn’t want in this investigation. Not if she could help it, at least.

“I need you . . . to check me out first.” Olive’s voice sounded dry and raspy as she said the words.

She pulled her eyes open again, and her vision cleared.

Jason stared at her, concern in his brown eyes.

“Ollie . . .” Hesitation marred his voice.

She sent him a pleading glance. “I’m pretty sure the cut looks worse than it actually is.”

Jason stared at her another moment before releasing a slow puff of air. Then he leaned closer, resignation in his gaze.

He gently tugged the collar of her shirt and squinted as he examined her injury.

He frowned again before saying, “You’re right. Maybe the cut isn’t as bad as it initially looked.”

That was a relief.

He opened the glove compartment, pulled out a first aid kit, and grabbed some gauze. After squeezing some antibiotic ointment on it, he began to treat her wound.

As he did, Olive’s breathing slowly evened out and her thoughts became clearer.

Her most pressing question at the moment was, “What are you doing here, Jason?”

“I . . . I just wanted to be here with you,” Jason admitted. “I asked you to take this case, and the thought of you being down here in Texas . . . the place we fell in love . . . I just wanted to be here too.”

His words warmed her heart, though she didn’t want them to. Still, he’d been her first love. Even if they didn’t have a future together, she could still cherish those memories.

As he pressed some gauze to her wound, the pain snapped her from her thoughts.

“I guess it’s a good thing you did come here, or I’d be?—”

She sliced a finger over her throat. Then she tried to laugh it off, but the movement made her body hurt too much. Instead, she squirmed with pain.

Jason’s expression tightened, and he didn’t respond. He clearly didn’t find it funny.

Instead, he stared at her neck. “Maybe you don’t need to go to the hospital. But you’re pretty beaten up.”

“Take me back to my hotel. I’ll get cleaned up there. A warm shower and some pain pills will help. I should be okay. Sore but okay.”

He gave her another look as if he still wanted to argue. Instead, he nodded and started the Range Rover.

They had a lot to talk about. She had so much to say, so many questions to ask. But she wasn’t sure she was in the right frame of mind to start any of those discussions now.

First, she needed to clean herself up and get her racing thoughts under control.

On the drive, Olive noticed Jason stealing glances at her, worry in his gaze.

She wanted to reassure him. But talking hurt too much right now.

Her body ached. Her lip was swollen. She’d probably have a bruise under her eye and on her cheek where that man had punched her.

Then there was the cut on her throat. A burst of pain shot through the area every time she moved. If he’d gone just a little deeper . . .

Emotions clogged her throat. She couldn’t think about that. She needed to focus on the facts.

Who had that man been? What had he been doing in her old house? Had he followed her there? What did he want?

More determination hardened inside her.

She needed answers now more than ever.

She and Jason reached the hotel fifteen minutes later.

After putting the Range Rover in Park, Jason reached into the back seat to grab something. He handed it to her. “Put this on. Otherwise, you’re going to raise too many questions when people see the blood on your shirt.”

She glanced at the gray University of Chicago sweatshirt before carefully slipping it over her shoulders. The shirt nearly drowned her, but the scent of Jason’s familiar woodsy cologne brought her comfort. What she wouldn’t do just to get lost in this scent for a moment. But that wasn’t a luxury she had.

Instead, she opened her door. Before her feet hit the pavement, Jason met her and took her arm. She stared at him a moment, still in disbelief he was here.

He looked just as handsome as ever with his short, dark hair and broad build. His jeans fit him nicely, and his black T-shirt showed a sneak peak of a tattoo beneath the sleeve. The former Army soldier still carried himself like a military man.

He walked Olive inside.

With every step, Olive glanced around, looking for signs of anyone watching her.

She saw no one.

That was a relief, at least.

But she still needed to get to her room without raising any eyebrows.

She just needed to stay calm and act normal. Otherwise, someone might think Jason had beaten her and cause a scene.

They made it to her room without anyone stopping them.

Before she could step too far into the space, he was already checking out everything for any signs of trouble.

He returned to her a moment later. “It’s clear.”

Olive nodded, relieved to have a second set of eyes. “I want to take a shower. Then we can talk.”

“You need to take something for the pain,” Jason said. “You have anything?”

“In the bag. On the dresser.”

He found the bottle and poured two pills into his hand.

He handed them to her, and she popped the pills in her mouth, threw her head back, and swallowed.

Then she grabbed some clean clothes from her suitcase and slipped inside the bathroom.

Maybe being away from Jason would stop her heart from racing out of control.

Maybe the warm water of the shower could wash away her worries.

If only.