Page 49 of Deception

As pebbles of glass rained on her, she swerved.

The Jeep rumbled off the road.

She pressed on the brakes as they bounced over uneven terrain.

Finally, the Jeep jerked to a stop, inches from hitting a tree.

Olive’s muscles clenched as she wondered what the guy behind them would do next.

While the dust settled around her, Olive drew in a deep breath. Her heart continued to pound in her ears.

“You good?” She glanced at Nova.

Her colleague was hunched down, but she nodded.

Nearby, a motor revved.

Olive reached for her gun and turned, preparing for the worst.

Instead, the motorcycle zoomed by, spitting out loud exhaust.

He was leaving.

The driver had only wanted to scare them—not kill them. This would have been the perfect opportunity.

Olive sighed and raked a hand through her hair. More pebbles of glass tumbled out.

“You can sit up now,” Olive told Nova. “He’s gone.”

Nova slowly rose and glanced around as if to confirm the coast was clear. Then she looked at Olive. “Has that guy lost his mind?”

“Unfortunately, no. I think he knows exactly what he’s doing. He wants to send a message.”

“I’d say he succeeded.” Nova touched a small scratch that stretched across her cheek from the flying glass.

All things considered, that could have been so much worse.

As the noise of the motorcycle disappeared, a new sound filled the air.

Silence.

The hum of some crickets in the nearby shrubs.

The hum of the Jeep engine had disappeared.

Not a good sign.

Nova seemed to realize the truth at the same time as Olive, and she asked, “Is the Jeep toast?”

“Let’s see.” Olive turned the keys and tried to start the Jeep.

Nothing happened.

She tried again. Still nothing.

Resisting a sigh, Olive opened the door and climbed out.

They hadn’t crashed into anything, so the engineshouldbe fine. Hopefully, it would be a simple fix.