Page 43 of Smokescreen

She’d just ended her call with him when her phone buzzed.

Had he forgotten something?

But when she looked at the phone again, it wasn’t Tevin.

It was Jason.

Her heart began pounding rapidly.

She read his text message.

I’ve been thinking about you. Can you talk?

Part of her wanted to respond right back and say yes, she could talk. But that would be a bad idea for multiple reasons. She needed to get him out of her head, not continue to nurture this attraction.

She swallowed hard before responding with:

Not right now. On assignment and in the middle of something.

Three dots appeared indicating he was typing back.

Olive held her breath as she waited.

Then the dots disappeared.

Her shoulders drooped with disappointment. What was he about to say?

Then the dots appeared again, followed by the words:

Would love to hear from you when you have the chance.

She smiled. She’d like to talk to Jason also, even though she knew it was a bad idea.

She really needed to think this through.

As she contemplated how to respond, her phone buzzed yet again. This time it was a phone call instead of a text message.

It was Tevin.

“Hey,” she answered. “Did you run the plate on the truck already?”

“I did,” he started. “The vehicle was stolen from the Cheyenne area several days ago. I’m afraid it’s not going to be much help.”

“Good to know.” Olive wasn’t completely surprised.

“You’ll never believe this,” Tevin started. “Edgar is staying at the same motel I am. I’ll try to keep an eye on him.”

The same motel? Maybe Olive shouldn’t be surprised since there weren’t that many motels in town.

“Whatever you do, make sure to keep your distance, and be careful,” she told him.

“I will. Believe me, I don’t want to tangle with that guy unless it’s online.”

Good. Olive hoped he kept it that way. Because the last thing she wanted was for Tevin to get hurt.

CHAPTER 18

Olive was swinging on the porch swing, listening as rain poured from the sky and watching as lightning occasionally broke the darkness. The rumble of thunder added to the overall ambience.

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