“I saw you on the news,” I say. “And online.”

“Yeah,” he says quietly. “Seems like everyone is looking for me.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“I think it’s better if I don’t,” he says.

We don’t speak for a few moments.

After a few more, the silence is unbearable.

I want to see him. I want to have this conversation in real life. I want to touch him. I want to make sure that he’s still alive.

“Olive, I called you because I wanted to apologize again for everything that I did. All the lies. All the half truths. You deserve a much better man than I am.”

Tears start to well up in my eyes. It sounds an awful lot like a final goodbye.

“It’s okay. I mean, it’s not okay but it can be,” I whisper through my sobs.

“I just wanted to tell you that in case…things don’t end well for me.”

“Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that.”

“It’s a very real possibility.”

“No, it’s not. You have to keep fighting. You have to keep going.”

“It’s hard. If I want a chance at making a clean getaway, I need to cut all ties,” he says with a long sigh.

“Then do that.”

“I did, but my thoughts kept coming back to you. That’s why I reached out to Josephine. I thought that maybe you met with her and she would have your number. But it was a stupid thing to do, Olive. That’s the kind of thing that’s going to get me arrested or killed.”

I want to tell him to never call me again.

I want to tell him that to protect himself but I can’t make myself do it.

“I keep thinking about you, too,” I say after a moment.

“What do we do now?” he asks.

“Where are you?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Yes, of course. I knew that.”

“It’s nothing personal. It’s just for my own safety.”

“Is that why this phone number won’t work after noon?”

“Yes,” he says. “I’m using a burner that I’m going to throw away when we hang up. I wanted to talk to you but I didn’t want Josephine or anyone else to have a way to reach me or find me.”

This all makes sense but it also makes my heart ache. The more we talk about logistics the more I realize that I will probably never see him again.

“Can I trust you, Olive?” Nicholas asks after another long pause.

“Yes, of course.”

“Does anyone know where you are?”

I shake my head.

“Olive? I can’t hear you.”

“Of course, no, sorry. I’m not home right now. I’m on the road actually, I needed to clear my head.”