Page 17

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Olivia carefully opened the package and peered inside.

Everything around her began to spin.

It was just as she’d feared.

Flowers were nestled inside the cardboard.

Olivia pushed herself away from the table, away from the roses, and stood. “Throw them away.”

“Don’t you want to even see who they’re from?” A puzzled expression captured Tyson’s face.

Olivia shook her head, averting her gaze from the box. “Just get rid of them.”

Tyson bristled as he lifted the box from the table and handed it back to Chandler. “Take these out of here.”

Chandler glanced inside and sucked in a breath.

Just then, Wes walked into the room. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed the tension in the air.

Then his gaze traveled to the box. “What’s going on?”

Chandler headed for the trashcan without responding.

Wes grabbed his arm and peered inside.

Then he glanced at Olivia. “No . . .”

She said nothing, unable to contain the tremble that captured her muscles.

“We should call the police,” Wes said. “This could be evidence. Is there a card?”

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter.” Olivia adamantly shook her head. “Even if there is evidence, it won’t do any good. The best thing to do is put them in the trash and try to forget we ever saw them. Someone is just trying to shake me up.”

Silence filled the room. No one seemed to know how to respond.

“If you’ll excuse me, I think I need to lie down.” Then Olivia fled the room.

* * *

Tyson watched Olivia leave.

He wanted to go after her, but he didn’t.

Maybe she needed space.

He glanced at Wes and Chandler, seeking answers. “You think someone is messing with her?”

Wes shrugged. “Brian Elliot is dead. Maybe someone is just playing some kind of sick joke.”

“Or it’s a copycat,” Chandler added, no delight in his voice.

“A copycat?” Tyson repeated.

Chandler shrugged. “They happen. In my opinion, this is either a joke or a copycat. I hope it’s just a sick joke.”

“Someone would have to be pretty twisted to do something like this,” Tyson muttered.

He wasn’t a stranger to the human mind. He knew sick people were out there—sick people with twisted minds and evil intentions.

But he hated seeing someone with such a sick personality hurting people he cared about.

Yes, cared about.

He cared about Olivia—as much as he could after knowing her only a week.

But he also had another possibility to consider.

What if the person threatening him was trying to get to Olivia also?

What if this had nothing to do with The Admirer?

What if this had to do with that casino Damon Kudlow wanted to build? What if Damon had seen that article claiming Tyson and Olivia were dating? What if he’d seen Olivia as an easy target and a good way to distract Tyson from building that school?

The possibility made him feel nauseous.

“What should we do?” Tyson asked. “You two know her the best.”

“Give her time,” Wes said. “She . . . well, she hasn’t been the same since everything happened. That man stole something from her . . . and I don’t think we’ll ever get that carefree Olivia back again. She pretends to be carefree, like she’s healed. But . . . she’s not. Maybe she never will be.”

Tyson’s heart panged with grief at the finality of his words. More than anything, he wanted to make sure Wes’ assessment wasn’t true. Olivia could heal.

But she needed to believe that first.