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Page 4 of Enigma (Pros and Cons Mysteries #6)

O live sat in her rental car in the hospital parking lot, staring at her phone for the third time in ten minutes. The air conditioning blasted her face and arms.

If only it could help with the knot of dread in her stomach.

She scrolled to Tevin McIntyre’s contact information and hesitated again, her thumb hovering over the call button.

Four days ago, her world had been turned upside down by his confession, and she still didn’t know how to process what he’d said to her.

“Don’t choose him. Pick me, Olive. I’ve loved you since the day we met.

I’ve been too afraid of ruining our friendship to tell you.

If I didn’t tell you this now, then I knew I would always regret it.

But Olive, the two of us are perfect together.

You and I both know it. I’d make you happier than he would. So pick me.”

She’d stood there in Grayfall, completely blindsided by his words, by the raw emotion in his voice, by the way her heart had lurched in a direction she’d never allowed herself to consider.

Tevin had been like a brother to her since she’d started working at the agency. He was brilliant, funny, protective, and one of the few people in the world she trusted completely.

Which was exactly why his confession had terrified her.

“I need time.” She’d shaken her head and taken a step back. “I’m sorry, Tev. I just . . . I need time.”

They hadn’t spoken since. She’d avoided the office, taken her personal leave, and tried not to think about the pain in his eyes when she’d walked away. But now Lloyd had been attacked, Jason was six hours away and furious with her, and she needed help from someone with Tevin’s particular skillset.

She felt like the worst kind of person for calling him now, when she needed something, when she had no answer to give him about where they stood. But she didn’t have a choice.

Taking a deep breath, she dialed his number.

The phone rang twice before Tevin answered, his familiar voice immediately recognizable despite the careful neutrality he tried to maintain.

“Olive?” There was hope there, buried under layers of wariness and hurt. “I . . . I wasn’t sure you’d call.”

“Hi, Tev.” Her voice came out smaller than she’d intended, and she cleared her throat. “How are you?”

“I’ve been better.” A pause. “How’s your time off going? Getting the perspective you needed?”

The question wasn’t accusatory, but she heard the subtext: Have you made a decision about us?

“Actually, that’s . . . that’s not why I’m calling.” Olive closed her eyes, hating herself for what she was about to do. “I need help, Tevin. Professional help.”

Silence stretched until the only thing she could hear was her heart beating in her ears.

“Olive . . .” His voice was soft, resigned in a way that made her chest tight.

“I know we have conversations that we need to have,” she said quickly, before he could say whatever he was thinking. “But I can’t. Not right now. I’m sorry.”

He sighed, the sound of someone who’d been hoping for something different but wasn’t entirely surprised by disappointment.

“What do you need?” His voice had shifted into professional mode—the same tone he used when they were working a case together.

The familiar change back to their normal dynamic should have been comforting, but instead it made her feel even worse.

This was what they’d always been good at—working together, trusting each other, functioning as a team. And she was about to ask him to do that for her while giving him nothing in return.

“I’m in Florida,” she began.

Then she launched into the story of finding Lloyd unconscious.

Tevin listened without interrupting, and Olive could almost picture him taking notes in that precise handwriting of his, organizing the information the way he always did when they worked cases together.

There’s nothing a spreadsheet or a drone won’t fix. That was one of his favorite sayings.

She found his quirks endearing, including his affection for all things dill pickle flavored. As she’d driven from the airport to Lloyd’s place, she’d seen a restaurant advertising dill slushies, and her mind had instantly gone to him before filling with remorse.

“Let me get this straight: You went to see Jason’s dad—to basically investigate him—without telling Jason,” he said when she finished.

It wasn’t a question, and there was something in his voice that might have been understanding mixed with exasperation.

“I made a mistake. A big one.”

“Yeah, you did.” But his tone was gentle rather than judgmental. “What do you need from me, Olive?”

“I need you to do a deep dive into Lloyd’s financials. Bank accounts, investment records, property holdings, anything that might give us a clue about what he’s been up to lately.” She paused. “I know it’s a lot to ask, especially given . . . everything.”

“Everything meaning the conversation we’re not having right now?”

“Tev . . .”

“It’s fine, Olive. Really.” But she could hear in his tone that it wasn’t fine, not completely. “Lloyd Stewart. Clearwater, Florida, area. Retired doctor. I’ve got enough to get started.”

“Whoever is behind this is escalating, Tevin.”

“Maybe you’re getting too close to the truth. And that means you could be in serious danger.”

“I know. That’s why I need your help.”

Another pause, and Olive could hear the internal debate Tevin was having with himself.

Finally, he said, “I’ll start on Lloyd’s financials tonight. Should have something for you by morning.”

“Thank you.” The relief in her voice was genuine. “I owe you.”

“No, you don’t.” His voice was quiet. “That’s not how this works between us. It never has.”

The simple statement hit her harder than she’d expected. He was right—they’d never kept score with each other, never treated their friendship as a transaction.

Which made what she was doing right now feel even worse.

“Tevin, I?—”

“Don’t,” he said gently. “Don’t say anything you’re not ready to say. And don’t apologize for needing help. That’s what partners do.”

Partners. The word carried so much weight between them now—professional partners, sure, but also the partnership he’d offered her four days ago, the one she’d walked away from without an answer.

“I should let you get started on those financials,” she said.

“Olive?” His voice stopped her before she could end the call.

“Yeah?”

“Be careful. And keep Jason close. Forget about whatever’s happening between you two right now. You’re going to need someone watching your back.”

“I will.”

“And when this is over, when you’ve talked to Lloyd and figured out what your father’s network was really about . . . we are going to have that conversation.”

The line went dead, and Olive sat in her rental car staring at her phone, feeling like the worst kind of friend. Tevin had agreed to help her despite everything, had offered his professional expertise and personal concern without asking for anything in return.

And she still didn’t know what she was going to tell him when this was all over.

But first she had to survive whatever was coming. And that meant walking into Clearwater General Hospital to wait for Jason, knowing that he had every right to be angry with her for the choice she’d made to come to Florida alone.

She opened her car door and headed toward the hospital, Tevin’s words echoing in her mind: Keep Jason close. You’re going to need someone watching your back.

The problem was, she wasn’t sure Jason would want to watch her back anymore. Not after the way she’d betrayed his trust by investigating his father without including him.

But she was about to find out.

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