Page 108 of Misdirection

Still no call from Jason.

She stared at her phone, contemplating her next decision.

Maybe she shouldn’t do this. But she was going to do it anyway. She had to know Jason was okay.

She dialed his number.

Then she waited for him to answer.

Jason didn’t answer. In fact, the call went straight to voicemail.

Something was wrong. Olive was sure of it.

She should have gone with him. Why hadn’t she insisted? She could have lingered in the lobby or down the hallway. At least she would have been close if he ran into trouble.

Instead, she’d sent him into the lion’s den alone. How could she have been so stupid?

That settled it.

Olive stood and grabbed her keys.

She couldn’t wait any longer. She would go to the hospital herself. It was the only way.

Just as she stepped from her office, her phone rang.

Her breath caught. Was it Jason?

She frowned when she didn’t recognize the number.

She answered anyway.

“Is this Ms. Whiten?” a deep, slightly familiar voice asked.

“It is. Who’s this?”

“It’s Sonny.”

Sonny, the security guard from downstairs? ”What’s going on, Sonny?”

“I think something’s happened to Jason.”

Olive’s heart lodged in her throat. “What?”

“He told me to call you if anything went wrong, said you’d know what to do.”

“Why do you think something is wrong?” She gripped the phone so tightly her fingers and knuckles ached.

“I had an emergency at work and tried to reach him. He’s not answering. That’s not like him.”

No, it wasn’t like Jason. “I’m glad you called. What’s the emergency? Maybe I can help.”

“The silent alarm is going off in the SCI corridor, and we can’t find the guard we stationed there. He’s missing. Gone.”

Suddenly, all Olive could hear was the pounding in her ears.

This was it, wasn’t it? The culprit was making their move.

She had to stop him.

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