Page 102 of Deception

Olive needed to move!

She hurried toward the bedroom door and ducked behind it.

She had her gun with her, though she didn’t want to use it.

No sounds came from the hallway.

She tried to peer in the gap between the door and the wall.

As her vision narrowed, she spotted a man wearing a black ball cap and hoodie. She couldn’t make out his features.

But he stared at the bedroom doors as if contemplating whether to go inside.

Olive’s heart continued to pound in her ears as she waited.

Finally, the man went inside the other bedroom.

Olive released the breath she’d been holding, though she knew she wasn’t out of the woods yet.

Remaining in place, she continued to watch and listen.

She heard his footsteps moving around. A moment later, he emerged, shoving something into his pocket.

His steps were faster this time as he headed away from the hallway.

Then the front door closed.

The man was gone.

But it was too soon to relax.

Instead, Olive took the phone from her pocket and looked at her messages.

Jason confirmed the man was walking back to his vehicle.

She let out a breath. Good.

But she still needed to get out of here.

She glanced at her watch. Rebecca should have been released from the hospital about ten minutes ago. If she’d left any earlier . . .

Olive didn’t even want to think about that.

She left the bedroom but paused as something beckoned her back.

Her eye was drawn to the room she’d seen the man go into.

On a whim, she hurried down the hallway and pushed the door open, fully expecting to see an office.

Her breath caught when she realized it was Willow’s room.

What in the world had the man been doing inside the girl’s room?

Her thoughts twisted in so many different directions, they formed a knot.

None of the possibilities were good.

Her phone buzzed again—probably Jason reminding her to get out of there.

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