Page 41 of Lone Star Target

Kit could see and hear all of that playing out. This would have happened shortly after the shooting so, yes, he could have still been in shock. That wouldn’t explain, however, why Brandon had just bolted away from the van when the man had come at him. Then again, maybe Rattler was very good at using a stun gun.

“Brandon said the kidnapper then sped off,” Angel went on, “but about ten minutes later, he stopped. Brandon thinks it was a parking lot since he could see overhead lights. The kidnapper leaned over and gave Brandon a shot. We’re still waiting on a tox screen—the county is a little slow getting that sort of thing—but the initial signs were that it was some kind of sedative.”

“So, that could explain why Brandon wasn’t restrained,” she muttered. But that didn’t ring true.

If Rattler had come prepared with a stun gun and a syringe to inject a sedative, then why hadn’t he brought along plastic handcuffs or even some duct tape or rope? He could have put them on Brandon when he was unconscious.

“I also have some concerns about the location of the drop-off,” Angel continued, and when he paused, Jace took up where Angel had left off.

“Why do the drop off here?” Jace asked. “Why personally involve Kit at all? The kidnapper had to suspect she was being guarded and that I work for Maverick Ops. It would have been smarter and safer for the kidnapper to do all of this through a video call and drop Brandon off in some place far from here. That would give the kidnapper time to get away.”

Kit had to nod. “And why would the kidnapper alert Ramsey and Trevor as to the drop-off location? He could have handled that with a video call as well.”

Though she’d just spelled that out, it took a couple of moments for that to all sink in. And it didn’t sink in well. Kit hated to even voice the possibility, but she knew it was what they were all thinking.

“You believe Brandon could have been working with Rattler?” she murmured. “That he could have faked his own kidnapping.”

She refrained from asking why and instead when back to Angel’s earlier question. Are you sure Brandon’s rift with his father is…solid? Five minutes ago, her answer would have been a resounding yes.

But now there was doubt.

Damn it. There was doubt.

Kit was fighting back the worst-case scenarios. Or trying and failing to fight them. Brandon’s injury from the shooting could have been self-inflicted. Or perhaps even accidental. And as for the snakes? Maybe he had figured he would take his chances with them.

“Did the cops ask Brandon why he wasn’t restrained?” Kit pressed.

“They did,” Angel verified. “And he said the kidnapper threatened to kill his mother if he didn’t cooperate.”

Well, that might have caused Brandon to throttle back on any attempts to overpower Rattler. The rift was with his father, not his mother, and he would likely want to try to protect her.

“Did Rattler have antivenom in his van?” Jace asked. “Because someone who handles snakes would probably have that on hand.”

“True,” Angel muttered. “But I didn’t see anything about that in the report.”

Jace took out his phone. “I’ll text the CSIs to have them check for that. If Brandon knew there was antivenom nearby, he might have been willing to take the risk of being bitten by a rattlesnake.”

That was true as well, and Kit was still mulling that around while Jace sent the text. Only seconds after he hit send, his phone rang.

“It’s Ruby,” he said, and he took the call on the monitor.

Ruby’s image came on the screen, and one look at the woman’s face, and Kit knew something was wrong.

“What happened?” Jace asked, obviously picking up on Ruby’s expression.

Ruby pinned her attention to Kit. “I have some difficult news,” she said. “Your father’s assistant arrived at his office this morning, and she saw blood seeping out from under the door. Lots of blood.”

Kit felt the shock of that slam through her. “Blood,” she repeated.

“Yes,” Ruby verified. “She said she went into the room and saw his body slumped over his desk.” She paused, gathered her breath. “The cops are there now, but, Kit, it looks as if your father was beaten to death.”

----- ? ----

Chapter Fourteen

----- ? ----

Jace had to tamp down his shock so he could focus on Kit. She had to be feeling the shock, too. And more.

---