Page 40 of Smokescreen

“If that’s our only option, then let’s try it.”

“Here we go.” He pressed the accelerator harder.

Sure enough, the truck behind them sped up also.

Olive’s stomach tightened.

“Tell me about this turnoff we’re going to,” Olive said as she tried to calculate their next move.

“It’s a side road on my property. But you can only go so far before you reach a steel gate. If we have time to get past it, we can get away from this guy. He won’t be able to break through.”

“Let’s give it a shot then.”

Just then, Reid jerked the wheel and made a hard right.

Olive reached for the ceiling to steady herself.

A moment later, they were rumbling down a gravel road into the forest.

She blew out a breath. “Fancy moves back there.”

“You learn a few things living on a ranch.” He gripped the wheel with both hands, intent on the road in front of him.

Olive glanced behind her in time to see the truck turn.

Tension throbbed between her shoulders. “How much farther?”

“It’s probably a mile down this road. But I need to put some more distance between us and him so I have time to open the gate, get through, and then close it.”

“Go for it.”

Reid pressed the accelerator harder, and they zoomed down the road. Thankfully, there were no large drop-offs or anything else that made the road inherently dangerous.

But therewasa stream ahead.

“Reid?” She gripped the armrest.

“The water is high today, so it looks intimidating. But I’ve got this.”

Olive was going to have to trust him on that.

They reached the stream, and Reid didn’t slow down. He drove right through the rushing water. Rapids splashed their windows, and the tires lost traction a couple of times.

But their vehicle kept going.

Just ahead, Olive spotted a gate.

Reid reached up to his sun visor and pressed a button on a small remote.

The large metal contraption began to swing open.

Please, let it open fast enough for us to get through by the time we reach it.

The King Ranch climbed the rocky bank on the other side of the stream and started toward the gate.

“What if he tries to drive through it?” Olive still attempted to think through different scenarios.

“Then his vehicle will get smashed,” Reid told her. “It’s made to withstand a handful of angry, two-thousand-pound bulls.”