Page 22 of Enigma

Jason had also ordered some coffee for himself, and right now he wrapped his hands around his mug, staring into the dark liquid for a long moment before looking up at her. “I’ve been trying to figure out what to say to you, figure out where this conversation could go.”

Nausea roiled in her stomach. She could only imagine what some of those thoughts were now. “Jason?—”

“Let me finish.” His voice was calm but firm. “I’ve been going over it in my head on a continuous loop. The anger, the hurt, the feeling like you don’t trust me after everything we’ve been through.”

Olive’s throat tightened. “I do trust you.”

“Do you?” Jason leaned forward slightly. “Because your actions say otherwise. You made a decision that affected both of us, and you made it without including me. That’s not what people do when they trust each other.”

The words stung because they were true. Olive looked down at her own untouched ginger lemon tea. “I was scared.”

A knot of confusion formed on his brow. “Of what? Of me? Of my reaction?”

“Of losing you.” The admission came out quieter than she’d intended. “I was scared that if I found out something terrible about your father, it would destroy . . . us.”

Jason remained quiet for a long moment, processing her words. “So instead, you decided to potentially destroy us by going behind my back?”

When he put it like that, it sounded even worse. “I wasn’t thinking clearly. I just . . . I just felt like I needed to know the truth before I could move forward with us.”

“Olive.” Jason’s voice turned gentler. “Did it occur to you that maybe I needed to know the truth too? That maybe I’ve been carrying the same fears about what my father might have done?”

She looked up at him, surprise washing through her. “You have?”

“Of course I have. Do you think I haven’t noticed the connections? The timing of when he lived in Texas, the way he gets uncomfortable whenever your family is mentioned?” Jason ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve been worried about it for months. But I thought we were going to face it together.”

The hurt in his voice made Olive’s chest ache. “I’m sorry. I know that’s not enough, but Iamsorry. I made a mistake.”

“Yes, you did.” Jason’s directness was painful but not unkind. “The question is, where do we go from here?”

CHAPTER 13

Neither Jason nor Olive could answer that question. They’d been interrupted with the waitress delivering their food—a welcome distraction.

Jason offered a quick prayer, and then they both began eating silently.

Olive hated the tension between them, but she didn’t know how to fix it either.

Just when she’d taken the last bite of her sandwich, Jason’s phone buzzed on the table between them.

He glanced at it and frowned.

“It’s the hospital.” He snatched the phone and answered. “This is Jason Stewart.”

Olive watched his expression change as he listened to whoever was on the other end. His face grew pale, and his grip tightened on the phone.

“What do you mean he’s missing?” Jason’s voice sounded sharp with alarm. “How does a patient just disappear from the hospital?”

Ice formed in Olive’s stomach.

Something had happened to Lloyd.

“We’ll be right there.” Jason ended the call and looked across the table at Olive.

Fear and anger warred in his gaze.

“My father is gone,” he said. “No one saw him go, and he didn’t sign himself out. But security cameras show him leaving the hospital with someone twenty minutes ago, even though he was supposed to stay overnight for observation.”

“What about Nancy? She said she was going to stay with him while he rested. If she left, I’m surprised she didn’t call first.”