Page 75 of Misdirection

“And so does Alex,” Jason finished.

She let that information sink in. “The company certainly has placed a lot of faith in Alex, haven’t they?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that. But he was an intelligence officer with the FBI before he was with us, so I’d say he’s qualified.”

“And trustworthy?”

Jason glanced at her. “Is anyone truly trustworthy?”

Olive’s throat swelled at his statement. She couldn’t argue with his words. They were the truth.

Everyone she’d ever trusted had let her down, with the exception of her sisters. They’d been too young.

Okay, maybe Jason hadn’t let her down. She’d been the one to leave, though it had been against her will. But he would eventually let her down. It was just a part of life . . . but it was a part of life she didn’t like.

Back when her father had been a pastor, he often said that people would let them down, but God never would.

The thought was nice, but Olive wasn’t sure she believed it.

She’d struggled with her faith for a long time. She wanted to believe, but sometimes she felt like church was the biggest con of all—a gathering where naive people believed what they wanted to believe.

She still wasn’t even sure her dad’s faith had been real. Maybe he’d only pretended to be called to the ministry, but he had ulterior motives. Had he funneled money from the offering plate? Or maybe he’d just enjoyed the control given to him by people so willing to follow? The people who’d put him on a pedestal.

She still didn’t know, and the uncertainties haunted her.

They pulled up to Damon’s townhouse. It was located in an old part of town, one with broken-down cars lining the streets, trash cans permanently sitting on the curb, and items from those trash cans strewn across the dirty sidewalks.

The townhouses were dilapidated with faded shutters and doors, missing screens, and unattractive, unofficial lawn ornaments like car motors and broken patio furniture.

As she glanced at Damon’s townhouse, Olive saw that his door was wide open.

Her breath caught.

That was never a good sign.

She braced herself for whatever trouble they might find.

CHAPTER 31

Olive and Jason climbed from his SUV, leaving a window cracked for Loki, who still sat in the back seat. The canine didn’t seem to mind, and the car was still warm.

“Stay behind me,” Jason murmured as they walked up the sidewalk to Damon’s place.

Olive felt as if they’d been through this song and dance before. But she stayed behind Jason anyway, mostly because she didn’t want to explain herself and her training.

A couple of neighbors stood outside watching them as they approached Damon’s front door.

Once on the stoop, Jason leaned inside and called, “Hello?”

There was no answer.

“Damon?” Jason continued. “Are you home? It’s Jason.”

Nothing.

Then a scratchy voice from behind them asked, “Can I help you?”

Olive glanced back to see a thin, older woman wearing a dark wool coat leaning on a cane. She appeared as if she could barely stand up.

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