Page 75 of Deception

More determination hardened inside her.

She needed answers now more than ever.

She and Jason reached the hotel fifteen minutes later.

After putting the Range Rover in Park, Jason reached into the back seat to grab something. He handed it to her. “Put this on. Otherwise, you’re going to raise too many questions when people see the blood on your shirt.”

She glanced at the gray University of Chicago sweatshirt before carefully slipping it over her shoulders. The shirt nearly drowned her, but the scent of Jason’s familiar woodsy cologne brought her comfort. What she wouldn’t do just to get lost in this scent for a moment. But that wasn’t a luxury she had.

Instead, she opened her door. Before her feet hit the pavement, Jason met her and took her arm. She stared at him a moment, still in disbelief he was here.

He looked just as handsome as ever with his short, dark hair and broad build. His jeans fit him nicely, and his black T-shirt showed a sneak peak of a tattoo beneath the sleeve. The former Army soldier still carried himself like a military man.

He walked Olive inside.

With every step, Olive glanced around, looking for signs of anyone watching her.

She saw no one.

That was a relief, at least.

But she still needed to get to her room without raising any eyebrows.

She just needed to stay calm and act normal. Otherwise, someone might think Jason had beaten her and cause a scene.

They made it to her room without anyone stopping them.

Before she could step too far into the space, he was already checking out everything for any signs of trouble.

He returned to her a moment later. “It’s clear.”

Olive nodded, relieved to have a second set of eyes. “I want to take a shower. Then we can talk.”

“You need to take something for the pain,” Jason said. “You have anything?”

“In the bag. On the dresser.”

He found the bottle and poured two pills into his hand.

He handed them to her, and she popped the pills in her mouth, threw her head back, and swallowed.

Then she grabbed some clean clothes from her suitcase and slipped inside the bathroom.

Maybe being away from Jason would stop her heart from racing out of control.

Maybe the warm water of the shower could wash away her worries.

If only.

CHAPTER 40

Olive let the warm water wash over her. Her body hurt, but hopefully the pain meds would kick in soon.

As the water pounded her, her mind continued to race. However, she still couldn’t make sense of anything—not Rebecca, not the attack in her old house, not Jason.

Maybe she just needed to give her thoughts a rest. Maybe get some sleep.

But now Jason was here, and his presence only added to the emotion buzzing around inside her.

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