Page 41 of Deception

Olive surged ahead, desperate to catch him and unhappy that he was now out of her sight.

But as she reached the same tree, she paused.

Was he already gone? Why couldn’t she see him anymore?

Unless he was hiding.

She slowed her steps, not wanting to be caught unaware.

Then she listened. Listened for any rustle of clothing. Sticks cracking. Gun cocking.

She heard nothing.

She took a tentative step closer, knowing that her every movement would alert this man as to where she was.

But she didn’t have all the time in the world. She couldn’t simply hide and wait for him to make the first move.

She continued to creep forward. Step by step. Gun still raised.

Just as she crossed in front of another live oak tree, something swung toward her.

A stick.

Before she could duck, it smacked her in the head, and she toppled to the ground.

CHAPTER 23

Thirty minutes later, Olive stepped into Reginaldo’s.

After she’d been hit with the stick, her world had spun for several minutes.

By the time it stopped, the man was long gone. She’d looked for him, but he must have gone to the park on the other side of the woods and escaped.

She was still grumpy with herself that she’d let him get away. But there was nothing she could do about it now. To make matters worse, her head still ached and her side was still sore from being thrown into the wall when Motorcycle Man went after her.

She’d been tempted to cancel her meeting with Sabrina. But she didn’t.

Reginaldo’s appeared to be housed in an old fast-food joint. The scent of garlic, simmering marinara sauce, and bubbly cheese hit her.

Even though Olive had tea with Mitzi earlier, she suddenly couldn’t wait for this meal. Her stomach even rumbled.

The place was busy, with hardly any open tables. Soft instrumental music played overhead, adding to the old-world vibe, and the lights were dim.

Sabrina grinned at her from a table near the window, seeming truly happy to see Olive.

For some reason, Olive had thought everyone in town might hate her. From a logical perspective, her reasoning didn’t make much sense. Most of the people now in Oasis didn’t know anything about her dad. Didn’t know her dad could’ve been a con man. Didn’t know her family had been murdered.

But Olive knew.

She needed to be careful how she acted. People tended to treat others the way others treated them. If Olive treated people with suspicion, they’d treat her the same way.

“You’ve got to tell me all about your life,” Sabrina said as a waitress brought a basket of bread, a saucer with olive oil and herbs, and two glasses of water.

“It’s really not that exciting.” Olive shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Olive, you’re a filmmaker.” Sabrina said the words slowly. “Afilmmaker! That istotallymore exciting than teaching second grade.”

Olive truly did want to catch up with Sabrina. But . . . she also hoped at some point this conversation would turn to Rebecca. She needed to give it time.