Page 7 of Enigma (Pros and Cons Mysteries #6)

O live sat in the waiting room, her mind cycling through everything she knew as she waited for Jason to arrive.

Finally, the automatic doors of the emergency department slid open, and there he was—tall, broad-shouldered, his dark hair slightly mussed from what had probably been a tense six-hour drive. He wore jeans and a black T-shirt.

His eyes swept the waiting room, and his gaze found her.

He steeled himself, his jaw tightening and his shoulders squared.

He was upset with her, and rightfully so.

But there was more going on than that.

Jason looked tired, worried, and hurt—a combination that made Olive’s chest ache with guilt.

She stood as he approached, fidgeting with the strap of her purse as dread filled her. “Jason.”

“Olive.” His voice sounded carefully neutral, giving nothing away. He stopped a few feet from her, maintaining a distance that felt deliberate. “How is he?”

“Stable. The nurse said his vital signs are improving, and they’re still waiting on toxicology results.” She gestured toward the chairs. “Do you want to sit?”

Jason remained standing. “Tell me what happened at my dad’s house. All of it.”

So she did.

Olive walked him through finding Lloyd unconscious, the evidence of the search, the puncture wound behind his ear.

Jason listened without interrupting, his expression growing grimmer with each detail.

When she finished, he ran a hand through his hair—a gesture Olive recognized as his way of processing stress.

“This was a professional job,” he finally said.

She nodded slowly, trying to keep her reactions steady. “That’s what I thought too.”

Something in his gaze shifted. Then he glanced around before taking her arm and leading her outside.

Olive knew exactly where this conversation was going, and dread filled her.

But she might as well get this talk over with.

Heat rose from the asphalt in visible waves, making the air shimmer around the parked cars. Sweat immediately began to form at Olive’s temples as the humid afternoon air clung to her skin like a damp blanket.

She took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

The scent of blooming jasmine from the hospital’s landscaping couldn’t quite mask the underlying smells of car exhaust and the medicinal odor that seemed to permeate the air.

Somewhere nearby, a car alarm chirped twice as someone locked their vehicle.

“You went to see my dad behind my back.” Jason’s words weren’t a question but a statement, delivered with quiet intensity that was somehow worse than shouting.

Olive swallowed hard. “Yes, I did.”

He froze and turned toward her. “Why? Why did you want to see him? And don’t tell me it was because you wanted to catch up. I know you better than that.”

The words caught in her throat. She’d been trying to think of a way to tell him, but she hadn’t found the courage.

It was no longer an option.

“My old house in Oasis . . . the one that’s been unoccupied since my family moved out,” she started. “Turns out it’s owned by a mystery organization.”

“Okay . . .” He crossed his arms and stared at her with narrowed eyes, waiting for her to continue.

“Your father is one of the people listed as an owner.”

She left the statement out there and watched as Jason comprehended her words.

First surprise. Then disbelief. Then denial.

“That can’t be right.” He swung his head back and forth.

“I came here to ask him about it. I didn’t want to upset you, especially if it turned out to be nothing.”

“After everything we talked about last time we were together. After I told you I wanted a future with you. After we agreed we needed to be honest with each other.” Each sentence came out measured and controlled, like he was working exceedingly hard to keep his voice level.

“You decided to investigate my father without telling me.”

Emotion burned in her throat. “Jason, it wasn’t?—”

“It wasn’t what, Olive? It wasn’t about trust? Because from where I’m sitting, it looks like you decided my father was guilty of something, and you were going to prove it with or without my consent.”

The accusation stung because it held more truth than she wanted to admit. “I needed answers. And I thought . . . I thought it would be easier if you weren’t there to complicate things.”

“Complicate things.” He repeated the phrase slowly, as if tasting something bitter. “Right. Because caring about my father’s reputation, or his health, or maybe wanting to be there when someone accused him of being involved in your family’s murder—that would just complicate things for you.”

Olive closed her eyes, the weight of her mistake pressing on her. “I know how this looks?—”

“Do you? Do you really?” For the first time, Jason’s voice rose slightly, a crack in his controlled facade.

“Because it looks like you don’t trust me.

It looks like after everything we’ve been through, after all the times I’ve had your back, you still treat me like the enemy, and I have no idea why. ”

“You’re not the enemy.” Olive’s words came out barely above a whisper.

Jason stared at her, not backing down. “Then why didn’t you tell me you were going to see him? Why didn’t you give me the chance to be part of this conversation?”

Olive glanced at the parking lot in the distance as she tried to find words that would explain the tangle of emotions and fears that had driven her to make this decision.

How could she tell Jason that she’d been afraid of seeing him choose his father over her? That she’d been terrified of what she might discover and how it would change the way he looked at her?

“I thought . . . I thought if I could just talk to him alone and get the truth without putting you in the middle?—”

“But I am in the middle, Olive. You can’t protect me from this, and you definitely can’t make decisions about my family without including me.”

He was right, and they both knew it.

Tears pricked Olive’s eyes . . . though whether they were from guilt or frustration or fear, she couldn’t say.

But sometimes she was certain that something inside her was permanently broken and she was meant to do life all alone.