Page 21 of Deception

“Olive . . .” Nova crossed her arms over her chest as they stared at the mirror. “If that guy left this message, then he was just here.”

Olive sucked in a breath. “And he could still be close.”

This was their chance to catch him.

Wasting no more time, Olive and Nova flew from the room, down the stairs, and outside.

Hotel guests remained gathered in the parking lot, waiting to go back inside. Four fire trucks still surrounded the building, lights flashing. The irritating wail of the fire alarm still sounded in the distance.

Where was Motorcycle Man?

Olive paused on the sidewalk, Nova beside her, and scanned her surroundings.

What if Motorcycle Man had joined the crowd and was simply watching them right now? Maybe he even felt a measure of delight at all the trouble they’d gone through.

Or what if he wanted to corner them and force them to hand over this USB drive?

Those were all possibilities.

Nova leaned closer. “Anything?”

Olive shook her head. “Not yet.”

“He couldn’t have gotten very far away,” Nova said.

“I agree. But since we don’t even know what his face looks like, it’s going to be hard to pick him out.”

Just as she said those words, an engine revved in the distance.

Olive recognized the sound from earlier—from when she’d almost been run over.

She craned her neck to the sound, bracing herself for trouble.

A motorcycle pulled from the hotel parking lot. The driver stopped just long enough to send them a look.

A look meant to intimidate.

Olive’s breath caught.

“It’s him,” she hissed to Nova. “Motorcycle Man.”

“What’s he doing?” Nova asked. “I can’t see his license plate!”

Olive strained to get a glimpse, but she couldn’t see it either.

“He’s sending a message,” Olive told Nova. “He’s letting us know he’s not done with us yet.”

Olive stared back, needing to let him know she wasn’t done with him yet either.

An hour later, the fire trucks left, and all the hotel guests were allowed back inside.

As Olive walked past the front desk, she grabbed the bag of Chinese food waiting there. Her name was on it, and the top was still stapled shut.

Olive and Nova went back to Olive’s room. The first thing they did was to check it out more thoroughly—just in case any more surprises or bugs had been left.

They found nothing.

Knowing that, the two of them settled on the couch, cardboard boxes of food in front of them.

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