Page 29 of Shielding Maya

Maya let out a breath. "Right." She shook her head. "I wasn't thinking."

Addy nudged her. "Speaking of, the guys said you were flirting with Jasiah Weston last night."

"I wasn't flirting." It came out a bit louder than she intended. "I was talking to him. I don't even know what they think flirting is. And, that makes me sad for their wives, because talking to someone isn't flirting. By that standard, I'm flirting with you right now. And, I don't flirt."

Addy giggled. "I've seen you flirt."

"The hell you have."

Addy held her hands up. "I have. Remember that asshole you were in boot camp with? David something. You flirted with him."

She shook her head. "I don't think I did."

Addy pushed her arm. "I'll take a picture the next time I see you flirt. But, until then, tell me about Jasiah."

Maya took a deep breath. "He's honest. Smart. Handsome. Caring. Do you know what he did last night? He told his people they could vote on whether he'd be their president or not. He could have just accepted the position handed to him by birth, but instead, he is giving his people the opportunity to vote. It's simply the most selfless thing I've ever seen happen. Especially with the shit show we're dealing with now with president-elect King. I mean the comparison is so polar opposite it should be in the dictionary. Plus..."

Addy chuckled. "I'll bet you were flirting with him."

Maya opened her mouth to say something, but the white Malibu they'd been looking for pulled out of Flynn's gas station. "There's the car," tripped from her lips instead.

Addy grabbed her phone and dialed. Maya stepped on the gas to get closer to the car. She was one block behind the car when Addy started talking.

"Tate, Maya and I have eyes on the car. The car just turned off of Main Street, left on County Road. We're following."

Maya navigated the turn onto the county road, and kept her distance, without losing site of the vehicle. "I wonder why he's still in town?"

"Rafe thinks because we haven't notified anyone of the senator's death."

"That's sort of what I think. But, I also worry he knows Jasiah and I, or someone, saw him kill the senator. He turned in our direction like he heard us that day. But then took off. And, he’s also looking for some recording."

The car left the city limits out on County Road and Maya followed at a distance. The Malibu then turned right, and moved slowly up one of the mountain roads that led to Hickory Hills.

Her heart hammered in her chest as they passed the road. "Addy, we can't follow him up there. It'll be too obvious. Call Tate and tell him we need operatives out here."

Addy called Tate and Maya turned her Jeep around in the road. As they passed the mountain road again, she slowed, but there was no sign of the car up the road. She mumbled, "He's gone far enough up that we can't see his car from down here."

Addy relayed the information and Maya pulled over to park in the parking lot of Lara's Delights. It was out of the way enough that it didn't look suspicious for them to be there, but she could see up the mountain road from where they sat. She parked so the front of her Jeep could easily pull out if the car came down the mountain.

She and Addy watched and waited. Addy then softly said, "You know Elena used to meander around those woods all the time without notice. I wonder if any of her paths are still available."

"I doubt it. It's been a couple of years. The foliage in the woods is dense."

"How do you know?"

Maya glanced at her cousin briefly then back to the mountain road. "I was in there the past two days. And, Marni showed me her playhouse and where she first found the senator sleeping."

Maya sat back, her shoulders rigid. "I wonder if Marni saw this man too. I didn't ask her, Addy. What the hell is wrong with me? I should have asked her that question. That's a given right? Did you see anyone else?" She groaned. "I'm so stupid."

"Don't beat yourself up. It's not that big of a mistake. Sure, you could have asked, but you didn't. The next time you go up there, you can ask her."

"I wonder if he's staying up there? Hiding in the woods like the senator did."

"It's a possibility. Though why wouldn't he stay in a hotel?"

"There's only one here in town. Brookswood has a couple but I'll bet he wants to be here close to the action in case he needs to finish what he started. As in, he knows someone saw him, and he hasn’t found the recording."

Addy groaned. "That could be. So, what's he doing, hanging around up there hoping to overhear someone talking about him? I mean if he'd have seen you, he'd know who to go after."

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