Page 37 of Lone Star Target

She nodded. “He’s aware of that. Aware, too, that Ramsey might have tried to kill me today, and Brandon has said he’ll be careful.” Kit scrubbed her hand over her face. “He mainly wants to stay with them so he can search for any evidence of his father’s involvement.”

Jace groaned, then cursed.

“Yeah, I had the same reaction,” she assured him. “It’s dangerous, but Brandon insists he wants to catch the person responsible for what’s happening to him. To us,” she tacked onto that.

Hell, a lot of people wanted to catch the person, but Jace didn’t think being under the roof of a primary suspect was the way to go. Especially since Ramsey would have easy access to the house. And therefore to Brandon. Still, he couldn’t stop an adult from staying with their own parents.

“While you were on the phone, I got a message from Ruby,” Jace told her. “Marvin has resurfaced, alive and well. He’s staying with his lawyer at an undisclosed location.”

If Marvin was innocent, Jace could understand why he wouldn’t want the cops or anyone else to know where he was. But if he was guilty, Marvin could be hiding away so he could plan another way of getting to Kit.

“Please tell me they rounded up all those snakes,” Kit said, tipping her head to the drone feed of the scene going on outside his gate.

It was the usual circus that went along with a fatality. Cops, CSIs, and the medical examiner’s van. But there was an added elements to this.

Animal control.

“They got three,” Jace told her. “Not sure how many were in the bag that Rattler threw out.”

Since it was obvious the thought of those snakes was only adding to her stress levels, he went to her and pulled her into his arms. “Rattlesnakes aren’t normally aggressive unless they’re cornered or startled. I suspect if any slithered away, then they’re trying to get as far from all those responders as they can.”

He wouldn’t mention that this was the Texas Hill Country where snakes were plentiful.

“I need some good news,” she muttered, dropping her head on his shoulder. “Has either Ruby or the cops linked Rattler to any of our persons of interest other than Marvin?”

“No,” he had to admit. “Of course, the cops have already questioned Marvin now that he’s been in contact with them, but he’s claiming he had nothing to do with the kidnapping and that he’d tried to warn us about Rattler.”

And Marvin had indeed issued such a warning. Too bad it hadn’t come in time for the cops to find Rattler and stop Brandon from being kidnapped.

“Ruby did manage to stop the second half of the ransom transfer,” Jace let her know.

Still, Kit had lost a half of a million on this. She’d likely consider that no loss at all though since Brandon was alive and well. But Jace wasn’t giving up. Once the danger had passed and he was sure she was safe, he intended to keep digging to try to recoup her money.

“Now, the cops and Ruby will monitor the financials of our suspects to see if any of them have a windfall of a million,” Jace added. “Half from you and half from your father, who paid the ransom for Trevor.”

Kit lifted her head, looked at him. “If it’s Trevor behind the kidnapping, he’ll be very careful about that. He’ll try to hide it.”

“Oh, yeah. And if it’s Marvin or your father, they’ll do the same. Ramsey could have ponied up the ramson, knowing he’d get it back in that offshore account.” He paused. “Still, trying to hide that kind of funds and succeeding are two different things. Ruby’s techs are very good at charging down a money trail.”

And so was Jace. It was something he’d worked on during his first two years as a cop.

“My father,” she muttered. “Yes, he could have orchestrated this. A win-win for him. He gets a chunk of my money along with hoping I’ll be too scared or intimidated that I won’t testify tomorrow. I’m not,” she assured her.

He’d known she would say that. Kit didn’t back down from a fight.

Except she had when she’d gotten the annulment.

And maybe that’s why her father had tried this approach to stopping her testimony. Ramsey could have believed if she thought Brandon was in danger, that could cause her to back off.

After all, that’s what she’d sort of done when the threat had been to Angel, Presley, and him. But back then, Ramsey had been bullying a nineteen-year-old. Now, he was dealing with a grown woman. A tough one who’d stand her ground.

Jace admired her for that, and at the same time was worried to the bone about her safety.

He’d gone a very long time without Kit being back in his life. Well, with the exception of those hookups. But now that she was here and in his arms, he didn’t want to lose her. Especially not to someone trying to silence her. However, Jace realized that “not losing her” applied on a personal level, too.

“Hell,” he muttered.

That brought her gaze back to his, and he expected her to question him about the frustration that even he could hear in his own voice.

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