“Norman never touched me or made any move to hurt me, Jake. The agents were close enough to intervene, if needed, and waited with me until the police came. Once the officers left to take Norman to the hospital, both agents cleared my apartment, and then went to their car. They watched my place from the street like they had the previous nights.”
“What about after?” Jake looked toward the window next to them that showed her front yard. “Who’s watching you now?”
He won’t like this part.“No one.”
As predicted, Jake’s teeth clamped together as he asked, “Why not?”
“Because, I called Jason a few weeks ago and told him I wanted the agents gone.”
“Why the hell would you do that?” He asked the question as if she were stupid.
“I can’t have those two following me around twenty-four-seven for the rest of my life, Jake.”
“The fuck you can’t. If they left a few weeks ago, then this feeling you’ve been having...like you’re followed? It wasn’t because of them.”
Now, she understood the funny looks he’d given her earlier. Jake had thought her fears of being followed had come from her not knowing he’d told Ryker to have her watched and felt guilty. Too bad that wasn’t it.
“I know,” Olivia begrudgingly admitted.
She didn’t want to share the rest, but decided it was best to just put it all out there now and get it over with. Like ripping off a bandage. “That’s not all.”
“Okay.” He ran an aggravated hand over his jaw. “What else?”
“One morning, about two weeks ago, I was leaving for work. When I opened the door, I found a snake on the porch. It was lying on the mat right in front of the door.”
He considered this for a moment. “Okay. Well, I know how you feel about snakes, but you do live in the country now. It could happen, right?”
“It could,” she agreed. “Except it wasn’t the kind of snake you’d find out here. Not even close.”
His brows turned in and he leaned his elbows on the edge of the table. “What kind of snake was it?”
“A ghost snake.”
Jake’s forehead scrunched. “Never heard of it.”
“That’s because the species was only discovered a few years ago. Researchers found it in the Ankarana National Park.” She let that little tidbit sink in.
A few seconds later, as expected, Jake’s brows shot up. “Madagascar?”
Olivia nodded then took a sip of her cooling coffee. “Before going, I researched the types of wildlife found there, just to be safe. I didn’t want to be caught in the wrong company with my pants down, you know?”
The joke fell flat. She could easily see why Jake wouldn’t find it amusing. She’d taken the time to research the country’s wildlife but hadn’t bothered to look at the crime statistics?Brilliant.
“Anyway, this particular article stuck with me because I remember thinking how cool it was that in this day and age we’re still finding new species of animals. Finding one on my front porch, however—” she didn’t need to finish.
Jake looked unhappy, to say the least. “Where’s the snake now?”
She lifted her chin toward the large kitchen window on her left. “Most likely it’s been eaten by a hawk or a buzzard. It was already dead when I found it. It’s neck twisted.” She shuddered at the memory. “I took a picture of it with my phone then used my grabber tool to pick it up and carry it out into the weeds. I showed the pictures to the police and told them what I’d found out about where it came from. They think it’s someone’s idea of a sick joke, but...” her voice trailed off.
“But you don’t.”
She raised one shoulder. “I don’t know. Maybe. I mean, the snake was dead, and even if it weren’t, they’re not really a danger to humans, so maybe they’re right.”
“So, is that all?”
I wish.“There’s one more thing.”
He looked at her expectantly. Saying the words quickly, Olivia dropped the last bomb.
