Page 31 of Lone Star Target

That was something Jace very much wanted to find out.

“Here’s what we know so far,” Ruby went on a moment later. “A traffic camera about three blocks from the safe house spotted Marvin in a black truck heading northeast toward the interstate. He wasn’t alone. The driver of the vehicle was wearing a ski mask, and from the angle of the camera feed, we can’t tell if Marvin was restrained in some way.”

“Northeast,” Kit muttered, and Jace knew where she was going with this.

His house was in the northeast direction. Of course, so were a lot of other places, but Jace couldn’t discount that Marvin and this masked guy were coming here. They wouldn’t be able to just waltz in. However, they could get close enough to fire shots into the house.

“Roy, close all curtains and blinds,” Jace instructed, and the whirring sounds of that happening began to flood through the house.

“Yes, best to take precautions. At this point—” Ruby stopped when Kit’s phone rang.

Kit took her phone from her pocket, and her eyes widened the moment she saw the screen. “Unknown Caller. It could be the kidnapper.”

Maybe. But since the kidnapper hadn’t called her with the first contact, then why had he done it now?

“Put the call on speaker,” Ruby instructed. “I’ll be recording it and trying to trace the location of the caller.”

Kit nodded and answered it. “Katherine Barclay.”

“Aunt Kit,” the caller blurted. Not a kidnapper.

Brandon.

The relief seemed to wash over Kit. “Where are you? Are you all right?”

“I’m not hurt other than a few scrapes and bruises.” His words were rushed together, mixed with breathing that was too hard, too fast. “As for where,” Brandon went on, “I’m not sure.”

He stopped, and Jace heard some murmurings sounds in the background. Possibly a TV, but he didn’t think so.

“I’m, uh, supposed to tell you how to pay the ransom.” He paused again. More murmurings. And Brandon softly cursed. “The guy holding me said he talked to my mom and that you were going to pay the money. Aunt Kit, I don’t want you to have to do that.”

“It’s all right,” she assured him. “Could I please talk to the kidnapper so I can get the details of how to make the payment?”

“He said I’m to tell you,” Brandon muttered. “He wants a wire transfer so you’ll need to write down these numbers.”

Jace hurried to give her a pen and paper from his desk, and thankfully as Kit jotted them down, she repeated them aloud. Along with trying to trace the call, Ruby would no doubt try to find out who owned that account and where it was located.

“You’re to wire the money in the next hour, and as soon as he’s verified the funds are in the account, then he’ll release me,” Brandon added.

Jace starting shaking his head. “The transfer will happen at the same time Brandon’s free,” he mouthed.

She nodded, cleared her throat. “After I clear it with my bank, I can do the transfer from my phone,” Kit explained. “And I’ll do that as you’re being released.”

Silence, for what seemed an eternity. Jace couldn’t even hear any background noise which meant the kidnapper had likely muted the call. Finally, Brandon came back on the line.

“He wants you to transfer half now, and then to be at the collection point to transfer the rest after you’ve seen that I’m all right,” Brandon amended.

“Okay,” Kit said despite Jace shaking his head again.

Hell in a big-assed handbasket. Jace didn’t want her going anywhere near this asshole kidnapper. Especially since all of this could be designed to get Kit killed.

“Go ahead and transfer the half now,” Brandon went on, “and I’ll call you right back with the drop-off info.”

Before Jace or Kit could say anything else, the call ended.

And Jace started cursing. “What part of that headshake didn’t you understand?” he blurted.

“I understood it,” Kit verified. There was no fight in her voice or expression. “But I have to try to save my nephew. Yes, this could all be about getting to me,” she tacked onto that. “And I’m sorry that this will put you in danger, too, but I didn’t have a choice.”

---