Chapter 17
CHAPTER 17
R ight before reaching the stream, the other driver threw on his brakes.
The person behind the wheel seemed to contemplate his options.
Olive tried to stare through the windshield, desperate to see who the driver was.
But it was no use. The windows were too darkly tinted.
She would have to wait.
“What is that guy thinking?” Reid stared intensely at the other vehicle.
“I guess we’re about to find out.” She reached into her purse and pulled out her gun.
“You have a gun?” Surprise laced Reid’s voice.
“Of course. You don’t?”
His hand disappeared beneath his seat and emerged with a pistol. “Of course, I do.”
She tilted her head. “Good to know. Let’s hope we don’t have to use these.”
Finally, the gate clanged closed.
Olive let out the breath she’d been holding.
At least one safeguard was in place.
But that gate wouldn’t block a bullet from getting to them.
“You might want to get us out of here,” Olive suggested.
“Hold on. Let’s see what this guy decides to do.”
She almost insisted Reid turn around, to keep going back toward the ranch—or wherever this road led. But she appreciated the fact he didn’t want to keep running. He wanted to know who was inside that vehicle also.
If the driver thought he could smash through the gate, then she and Reid would be able to see exactly who was behind the wheel.
But after staring at the gate for several moments, the driver finally backed up.
“Is he . . . ?” Reid started.
“Turning around?” Olive finished. “That’s what it looks like.”
They watched as the driver did just that.
Once the vehicle faced away from them, the driver tore down the road in the opposite direction.
Olive released the pent-up air from her lungs.
Then she turned to Reid and lifted her palm for a high five. “Good job.”
“Well, thank you.” Reid dropped his voice to a lower tone as his hand caught hers.
Their gazes locked.
“Maybe I’ll become a PI if this ranching thing doesn’t work out for me,” he murmured.
“No, I definitely think you should stick with ranching.”
The two exchanged a laugh.
Olive was all too aware of her hand in Reid’s. It felt . . . nice.
But it shouldn’t feel nice. She had no business feeling this way or flirting with a client.
She hesitated before pulling her hand out of his and resting it in her lap instead.
Feelings only complicated things. She needed to remember that.
Reid’s smile dropped, and he turned back to the road. “I guess we should get back.”
“I guess so. I got that guy’s license plate. I’ll send it to Tevin and see if he can find out who was behind the wheel—or at least who owns the truck. I’m assuming you didn’t recognize it?”
“I did not. But I’m anxious to find out who it belongs to.”
They headed on the back road toward the ranch house.
The person behind these attacks was growing bolder, Olive mused. The previous incidents looked as if they could be accidents. Being chased today didn’t fall into that category.
And that wasn’t a good sign.
Back at the Homestead, Olive escaped to her room.
She’d halfway expected to see another threatening message waiting for her there. But whoever had left that doll last night hadn’t made another move.
Given enough time, they might. Someone clearly wanted to scare her away.
She certainly had her job cut out for her.
After she checked the room to make sure it was safe and had no bugs, she sat on her bed and called Tevin. Speaking in quiet tones—just in case anyone was listening—she gave him the license plate number for the truck and asked him to run it. He said he would.
“What about that security footage I sent you?” Olive asked. “The one from the night that doll appeared in my room?”
“It appears the power to those cameras was switched off for the duration—that means nothing was recorded. So you’re not going to find any answers there.”
But the person responsible had known which breaker the cameras were on. That meant they were familiar with the ranch, most likely.
“I also have an update,” Tevin said. “After your last text, I went into town, and I was able to locate this Edgar guy. He was in the bakery when I found him. Anyway, I put a tracker on his vehicle—which just happens to be a blue sedan and not a black truck with tinted windows.”
“Good to know.” There went that theory.
“I’m going to keep an eye on his movements,” Tevin said. “I’m also going to run that license plate you just gave me. I’ll call you back as soon as I have the information.”
“Good work, Tevin. Thanks.”
She’d just ended her call with him when her phone buzzed.
Had he forgotten something?
But when she looked at the phone again, it wasn’t Tevin.
It was Jason.
Her heart began pounding rapidly.
She read his text message.
I’ve been thinking about you. Can you talk?
Part of her wanted to respond right back and say yes, she could talk. But that would be a bad idea for multiple reasons. She needed to get him out of her head, not continue to nurture this attraction.
She swallowed hard before responding with:
Not right now. On assignment and in the middle of something.
Three dots appeared indicating he was typing back.
Olive held her breath as she waited.
Then the dots disappeared.
Her shoulders drooped with disappointment. What was he about to say?
Then the dots appeared again, followed by the words:
Would love to hear from you when you have the chance.
She smiled. She’d like to talk to Jason also, even though she knew it was a bad idea.
She really needed to think this through.
As she contemplated how to respond, her phone buzzed yet again. This time it was a phone call instead of a text message.
It was Tevin.
“Hey,” she answered. “Did you run the plate on the truck already?”
“I did,” he started. “The vehicle was stolen from the Cheyenne area several days ago. I’m afraid it’s not going to be much help.”
“Good to know.” Olive wasn’t completely surprised.
“You’ll never believe this,” Tevin started. “Edgar is staying at the same motel I am. I’ll try to keep an eye on him.”
The same motel? Maybe Olive shouldn’t be surprised since there weren’t that many motels in town.
“Whatever you do, make sure to keep your distance, and be careful,” she told him.
“I will. Believe me, I don’t want to tangle with that guy unless it’s online.”
Good. Olive hoped he kept it that way. Because the last thing she wanted was for Tevin to get hurt.