Page 98 of Misdirection

All the air left her lungs as a familiar face came into view. “Jason?”

He nodded.

The next instant, she flew into his arms.

He pulled her tight as he stroked her back. “It’s okay.”

“I thought . . .” Olive had been certain he was dead.

“I’m okay.”

A crowd had gathered on the sidewalk to watch the vehicle burn. Based on the phones they held, people were either recording this or calling the police.

Amazingly, no one appeared to be hurt.

“What happened?” Olive drew back from him so she could look him in the eye.

“I hit my remote start to warm the vehicle up. The next instant, the car exploded.”

She shook her head. “I can’t believe this. You could have been inside.”

“I know.” His jaw hardened as he frowned.

Then she remembered why she’d been following him. He’d gotten that text and abruptly left. He had to have a good reason for that.

She’d ask him later.

But first, they’d need to talk to the police.

After Olive and Jason had given their statements to the police, Jason turned to her on the bustling sidewalk. Most of the onlookers had cleared, but the tantalizing scent of garlic and onions remained.

Olive saw the questions in Jason’s eyes, but he kept them quiet.

“I need to figure out a way to get home,” he said instead.

“I’ll drive you.”

“I can call an Uber.”

She shook her head. “Don’t be silly. I insist.”

He stared at her another moment as if contemplating saying no again. Then he surprised her with, “Okay then.”

They quietly walked down the sidewalk. Too much was going on for them to talk. Too many people were around.

They needed privacy.

They reached her car in the garage, climbed in, and she plugged in his address.

He was the first to speak. “You were following me.”

“You got a text and started to act weird. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“You wanted to make sure I wasn’t up to something, you mean.” He tilted his head, softening his stare.

She shrugged as she merged into traffic. “That too. So you want to tell me who you got the text from and why you had to leave so suddenly?”

“If you must know, it was Sonny,” he told her.

---