Page 6 of Deception

Straightening, she tried to catch her breath. Her arm ached from where she’d hit the wall, and a pulsating pain captured her hip where the motorcycle had clipped her.

She was grateful to walk away from this with only bruises.

Just as she composed herself and started back toward the sidewalk, she glanced at the ground and squinted. A device lay there, a device she hadn’t seen earlier.

A silver USB drive.

Had this fallen from the man’s pocket when he’d blasted past her? It was a definite possibility.

Olive picked up the device and studied it. The metal exterior wasn’t weathered or damaged, which seemed to indicate it hadn’t been out in the elements long.

This could be just the clue she was looking for.

She shoved it in her pocket. She’d check the flash drive later.

Right now, she had a meeting to get to.

Olive hurried toward the Rusty Lantern Café.

Just as she rounded the corner, she spotted Nova Levington walking down the sidewalk toward her.

Nova, whose family hailed from the Philippines, was petite and curvy with a small waist and dark hair cut into a wedge. Purple streaks touched the edges, and bright blue glasses perched on her nose. Her clothing was normally colorful—or if not colorful then all black. She had no in-between.

She worked as one of their tech geniuses at Aegis Security. Although Olive usually partnered on assignments with Tevin McIntyre, Nova was a better fit this time. Nova was more artistic than Tevin, a skill that would be essential because of the film editing they’d need to do.

She was always crankier than Tevin, though it was usually in a funny way.

On occasion, Nova had moments the team labeled “Supernovas,” where she had a brilliant idea that helped solve the case.

Olive had been surprised Rex sent anyone with her, considering the nature of the assignment. But she was glad he did. Nova would pretend to be Olive’s camera woman. Mitzi McGraw was also in town, working a temp job as a receptionist at a local hospital.

They’d all arrived on the same flight, but they’d each picked up their own rental car for the assignment. It was easier to split up and cover more ground that way.

Nova paused in front of Olive, a khaki-colored canvas bag on her shoulder. “You good? You look winded or something.”

Olive scowled and rubbed the bruises forming on her arm. “I’ll tell you more later. Right now, we need to get inside.”

“Is Rebecca here already?”

“She wasn’t a few minutes ago. I took a little detour, and she could have arrived since then.”

Nova threw her another questioning glance. “Detour? Now I’m really curious.”

Olive glanced at her watch. “I’ll explain later. I don’t want to get into it now.”

But that USB drive was burning a hole in her pocket. She couldn’t wait to see what was on it.

As she and Nova headed across the street, Nova’s eyes swept over Olive. “Nice look. A little crunchy, a little nerdy, and a whole lot of serious.”

That was the vibe Olive had been going for. She’d picked out neutral colors and clothing with natural fibers. Her dark, curly hair was pulled into a low ponytail, and she wore dark-framed glasses and Birkenstocks with white socks.

“This assignment isn’t like most I’ve done before.” Nova opened the front door to the restaurant, and they slipped inside.

“It is unusual, but I think it’ll be interesting since—” Olive abruptly stopped talking as she spotted the subject of their investigation sitting at a table near the front.

Olive generally preferred to sit on the periphery of the room so she could keep an eye on everyone coming and going. It was a safety protocol.

But someone like Rebecca Hansen liked to be center of attention—if their theory was correct, at least.