Page 100 of Before the Night Falls
He reached across the table and squeezed her arm. “My business will be fine. I’m not worried about it.”
She stared at him a moment, doubt in her gaze. Then she opened her mouth as if she might argue.
But she didn’t.
Instead, she nodded. The motion almost made her appear resigned, like the fight in her was dying.
Olivia was pulling away, Tyson realized. He knew all the reasons she was doing so.
But despite the reasoning, those facts still worried him.
CHAPTERFIFTY-ONE
While Tyson worked,Olivia decided to call Deb.
She sat cross-legged on the bed, her phone—a new burner Tyson had provided—pressed to her ear. Through the window, the afternoon sun cast long shadows across the beach.
Something about the scene intrigued her. Maybe she’d eventually get out there and see the beach up close. Feel the sand under her feet. Touch the salty ocean water.
“Wes and Chandler are back,” Deb told her after a moment of chitchat. “They’re being hounded for details.”
Olivia’s throat tightened. “Have they said anything?”
“No, you have their loyalty.”
“When does the network expect me back?” Olivia asked the question, even though she was fully ready to walk away from her job if it meant keeping her mental well-being.
But she really wanted to finish this story first. After that, her career was up in the air.
“We can talk about that later,” Deb said. “I know you need some time.”
As soon as she got off the phone with Deb, Olivia decided to call Lyle.
She needed to talk to him, but she also wanted to ask him some questions.
She gave Lyle the update.
“I’m okay, Lyle. Really.” She tried to inject conviction into her voice. But her suspicions about Lyle fluttered back through her mind.
He wasn’t The Admirer . . . right?
She swallowed hard.
Her therapist’s sigh carried across the line. “Olivia, you were abducted and drugged. That’s a significant trauma, especially given your history. You need proper care.”
“I’m getting it.” She didn’t elaborate on where she was or who she was with. “I’m reading my Bible. Praying. Doing the grounding exercises. Writing in my journal.”
“And the nightmares?”
She hesitated. “They’re becoming less frequent.”
A lie. But what good would it do to admit that every night she awoke gasping, convinced she was back in that cellar? That sometimes, in that space between dreaming and waking, she could smell roses?
And that had beenbeforeher second abduction. It would only be worse now.
“You need to come back, Olivia,” Lyle pressed. “I really think we should have an in-person session. I’m worried about you.”
“Soon,” she promised vaguely.
