Page 11 of Smokescreen

Reid seemed like the type who’d want a beautiful woman at his side, one who’d go along with the rest of the trophies in his life. Trophies including this ginormous house, this sprawling estate, and the best of everything the world had to offer.

If ranching was a kingdom, then Reid Harrison was the king.

Olive had several preconceived ideas about the man, and she was anxious to know if any of them were correct.

He studied her another moment, and Olive let him. She didn’t flinch or look away. Instead, she waited for his conclusions.

“Is this going to be awkward?” Reid pointed his finger back and forth between the two of them.

“You and me pretending to date?” She thought about it before shrugging. “Maybe. But you’re not a public display of affection type of guy, so that will make it easier.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Did you discover that in your research?”

“It was easy to see as I rifled through online photos of you.”

Five years ago, Thunder Ridge Ranch had been featured on a reality series where celebrities learned about living and working on a real-life ranch. The show had lasted three seasons and put Reid in the spotlight during a time when cowboys were all the rage.

Online magazines had featured stories on Reid, and reporters loved talking about his potential love life.

Reid had even dated a couple of actresses, but none of those relationships had stuck.

“Anyway, the fact you’re not into PDA will work in our favor,” Olive continued. “We’ll just need to get our cover story straight as far as how and when we met. All those details are important if we’re going to sell the idea our relationship is real.”

“Then how about we take a walk around the ranch now?” He nodded toward the door. “I’ll show you around, and we can discuss those things.”

Olive smiled. “That sounds like a plan.”

As they took a step toward the door, her phone buzzed.

“Excuse me a minute.” She stole a look at the screen.

The blood drained from her face when she saw the words.

I know who murdered your family, and you don’t. This has got to be killing you.

CHAPTER 5

“Everything okay?” Reid’s voice snapped Olive from her thoughts.

She quickly shoved the phone back into her pocket. “It’s fine. It’s . . . something pertaining to another case, a case I won’t be focusing on while I’m here.”

“Good to hear.” Reid’s gaze lingered on Olive as if he knew there was more to her story.

Thankfully, he didn’t ask. But it wouldn’t be fair to Reid if she didn’t give this investigation 100 percent.

Olive placed her hand in the crook of his arm, and he led her outside.

But contrary to her words, her mind stayed on that text. Was that a threat?

She often wondered if she’d been on the dossier the night her family had been killed. She’d wondered if the murderer would ever come back for her. In eight years, he hadn’t . . . though at times Olive felt as if someone might be watching her.

Then three months ago, she’d gotten a mysterious text that read:

I know who killed your family.

She’d asked Tevin to trace the number, though she knew his efforts would probably be futile.

She was correct. The message had come from a burner phone. However, Tevin had been able to figure out that the message had been sent from somewhere in Chicago—the very area where Olive had been working at the time.