Page 2 of Lone Star Target

So hard that it damn near knocked the breath out of him. What the fall didn’t do was cause the killer to let go of that gun. No. He held on and swung the barrel of it at Jace. It slammed into his jaw.

The pain shot through him.

But that didn’t stop Jace. Not with the stakes sky high and with lives on the line. He went on the offensive. No more waiting around to get his ass kicked. He intended to turn the ass-kicking onto the killer.

He punched the ski-mask-wearing SOB, going for his throat. The guy turned at the last second, and Jace’s blow landed on the guy’s nose. Jace heard the satisfying sound of cartilage snapping, which meant he’d broken the asshole’s nose.

Good.

But he wanted to do a lot more damage than that. First though, he had to get the gun away from him.

Jace landed another blow on that already broken, bleeding nose, and the guy jerked back his head, trying to move out of the way of Jace’s fist. He succeeded for the most part. He jerked back just as Jace caught onto the ski mask and stripped it off.

Then, the killer pulled the trigger.

----- ? ----

Chapter Two

----- ? ----

Two Days Earlier

Jace Malley cursed when he saw the woman seated on the visitors’ sofa.

The cursing wasn’t aimed at his boss, Ruby Maverick, head of Maverick Ops. But rather at someone else that he damn sure hadn’t been expecting to see in his boss’ office while he was reporting to get his first solo assignment.

Katherine “Kit” Barclay.

Yet, there she was, still as beautiful as ever, sitting on that sleek white leather sofa positioned by the floor-to-ceiling windows that allowed plenty of light to spew into the room. Not that he needed much light to see, and recognize, Kit.

Easy to recognize someone who’d been naked in your bed.

Many, many times.

His fellow operative and trainer at Maverick Ops, Jericho McKenna, stepped into the doorway beside him, and as Jace had done, his gaze swept around the massive office located on the top floor of the headquarters building. Unlike Jace though, Jericho only gave Kit a passing glance before his attention settled on Ruby, who stood and walked toward them. She outstretched her hand, and Jace realized the greeting was aimed at him.

“Jace, your first solo,” Ruby said. “Jericho tells me you’re more than ready for it, and that you breezed through all of your training missions.”

There was a touch of pride in her voice that reminded him of a new mother. In this case though, the mother wasn’t new. Ruby had dozens of operatives. Nor was she a traditional mom but rather a former kick-ass special forces, who even in her fifties could no doubt still hold her on in a hard fight.

“Jericho’s a good trainer,” Jace said.

That wasn’t lip service. Jericho was indeed good, and while Jace hadn’t faced anything in his missions that he hadn’t already faced in the military and as a cop, Jericho had introduced him to ways of getting the jobs done while still staying within legal lines.

“Yep, I’m the best.” Jericho flashed his cocky, easy grin and shook Ruby’s hand as well. “And he’s all yours now. Ready for… Her.” His attention shifted to Kit. “I don’t believe we’ve met,” Jericho added, walking toward her.

Jace stayed back, and while he didn’t verbally curse, Ruby must have seen the profanity-laced questions in his eyes. “Is she the job?” he asked.

Jericho turned back toward him, no doubt picking up on Jace’s tone. A tone that, like his expression, must have conveyed he couldn’t believe what was going on.

“She’s the job,” Ruby verified, motioning for her to follow him to the sofa.

Kit stood and shook Jericho’s hand. “Kit Barclay.”

“Jericho McKenna,” he replied, volleying glances between Jace and her. “And I’m guessing from the vibes zinging back and forth between Jace and you that you two know each other.”

“Yeah, we know each other,” Jace verified, his voice taking on a grumbling edge. “Is this some kind of joke?” he came out and asked Kit.

---