Misdirection (Pros and Cons Mysteries #1)

Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

J ason had insisted on driving, and for some reason, Olive agreed. It seemed simpler than arguing with him about who should be behind the wheel. Besides, it didn’t really matter.

However, she couldn’t deny the awkward silence between them as they headed down the road.

His vehicle, however, was nice. Really nice.

He drove a gunmetal-gray Range Rover, fully loaded with leather seats. This vehicle was not cheap. Did Conglomerate pay him this well?

She doubted it.

Rush hour traffic was fully upon them, and the GPS stated Ryan’s house was still twenty minutes away. The average commute here in Chicago just happened to be thirty-three minutes, so Ryan lived a little closer than the average person.

That felt like entirely too much time to be alone with Jason. Olive might be tempted to give in to small talk, which was the last thing she wanted. She hated small talk—but she could be a master at it when she needed to.

Silence stretched between them, and she waited, interested to see if he would say anything.

Finally, Jason spoke up. “How are your mom and sisters?”

Talk about the worst question ever.

Olive didn’t even know how to answer. She didn’t want to tell him the truth about what really happened. Then he might ask too many questions. He might dig too deep.

But did she really want to lie to him?

Her silent question seemed ridiculous because lying was what Olive did for a living. Sure, she always lied under the guise of an investigation. But no one really knew who she was or the details of her past. So why did she feel bad not telling Jason the truth either?

Emotional distance, she reminded herself. That was what she needed. If she kept going down this route, she was going to blow her cover.

“I haven’t talked to them in a while.” Her throat burned at the words. But her statement was the easiest way to get out of answering his question.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Jason said. “I know you guys used to be close.”

“We were very close,” was all that Olive offered. Then she realized it would be much safer if she asked him questions rather than letting him take the lead. “So, how long have you been at Conglomerate?”

“Three years. As I mentioned earlier, I dropped out of college and joined the military. Stayed in for five years. Even became a Ranger. But I blew out my shoulder in one particularly tough battle, and that ended my military career.”

“How’s your shoulder now?”

“Four surgeries later, it’s better. But then I went into private security, and I was eventually hired here in Chicago.”

Olive was just about to ask him about Adriana—how they met, what she did for a living, where she lived.

But they pulled into Ryan’s neighborhood before she could. It was probably better that way.

She glanced up and down the street. The homes around her were nice—two stories, brick, and probably twenty-five hundred square feet. If she had to guess, they cost around seven hundred thousand.

A moment later, Jason pulled to a stop in front of one of those houses, this one boasting colonial-red brick and an arched alcove over the front door.

Sure enough, Ryan’s car was in the driveway. It was a royal blue BMW 8 series. Olive had done her research.

So Ryan had come home after work.

Now Olive needed to find some answers. But first, she would need to explain to him why she had Jason here with her.

As soon as Olive approached Ryan’s front door, she noticed it wasn’t fully closed.

Alarm rang through her.

She started to reach for her gun—which she didn’t have on her at the moment.

Then she reminded herself to watch her reaction. To act like an exec and not a PI.

Before she could say anything, Jason pushed in front of her. “Stay here.”

He did have his gun on him, and he’d already grabbed it.

Olive wanted to argue, but she knew she couldn’t. In order to keep her cover, she needed to let Jason go first.

Using his foot, he nudged the door the rest of the way open. Then he held his gun out as he scanned the inside of the place.

Olive remained behind him, eagerly soaking up all the details.

The coffee table had been smashed. Couch cushions had been sliced. Bookcases were overturned.

Her throat tightened.

Whatever had happened here had been violent.

However, she didn’t see any blood.

But they’d only gotten to the first room.

“You should wait by the door,” Jason told her, his muscles bristled and rather strapping.

She forced herself to look away, to not admire his strength and protectiveness.

This was no time to find herself attracted to the man. Besides, he had a girlfriend.

Olive knew he was only trying to look out for her. But there was no way she wanted to stay by the door.

“I’d rather be close to you.” She made sure to sound scared rather than determined.

“Just stay close then and remain vigilant.” Jason’s voice was deep and soothing, yet authoritative.

As they stepped deeper into the house, Olive studied her surroundings.

There was no sign of Ryan, nor did she see any blood or gun casings.

The living room had been damaged but nothing else.

She and Jason finished searching the place. Jason shoved his gun back into his waistband, seemingly satisfied that they’d be safe a while.

His gaze was stormy as he turned toward her. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I don’t like it.”

“This doesn’t look good, does it?” She glanced around at the bruised and battered living room again.

“Did he say why he wanted to meet with you?” Jason studied Olive with so much intensity that her chest tightened.

“Not specifically. It was all kind of mysterious. But I figured his request had something to do with the fact I’m acting as the Information Security Analyst right now.”

Jason responded with only a grunt.

Olive knew he was clueless about the fact she knew just as much—if not more—than he did about what was going on at the office.

She needed to keep it that way.

However, the last thing she wanted to do was to explain this situation to the police. Ryan—if she ever found him—would never trust her again if he found that out.

As Jason called 911, Olive realized she’d need to decide what to do quickly.