Page 35 of Lone Star Target

“Brandon, get down,” Trevor shouted.

Her nephew dropped to the ground but immediately started scrambling away from the rattler. He hurried to the far right of the road, and she was about to call out to him.

But then all hell broke loose.

Trevor started firing into the van, and her father followed suit. Both of them sent double rounds into the vehicle.

Ramsey’s third shot, however, came at Kit, slamming onto the roof of the SUV. What the heck? Had he done that on purpose? Maybe. But if he had, his next shot didn’t come her way but rather into the van.

“Hold your fire,” Jace called out.

Kit wanted to yell the same thing. Their shots could ricochet or just plain miss and hit Brandon, Angel or them. But Trevor and Ramsey didn’t listen. They kept shooting.

The kidnapper slammed his door, threw the van into reverse and hit the accelerator, ramming into the Jag. Since the van was heavier, it shoved the Jag directly at Trevor and Ramsey so that they had to jump out of the way.

But they still kept firing.

Ramsey’s shot went past the van and into the roof of the SUV again.

“Are you trying to kill me?” Kit shouted.

“Wouldn’t be much of a loss if you were dead,” her father yelled back.

So, maybe those two shots had been intentional, and the level of his venom toward her didn’t surprise Kit. She figured Ramsey just might continue to try to kill her, but he obviously had a more pressing problem on his hands.

Because the kidnapper was trying to kill Trevor and him.

“Stop this,” Deanna shouted, and Kit realized the woman had opened the door and had stuck her head out of the car. Not a good idea since she could easily be shot.

The kidnapper drove forward and then reversed into them again. Kit preferred him doing that than trying to run over Brandon. Something he just might do if he got desperate or pissed off enough.

“County deputies are on the way to block the road in case the kidnapper gets away,” Ruby let them know.

Good. But at the moment Kit’s main priority was Brandon. He was right there in the gunfire, and the snake was still coiled in front of him. Her nephew had nowhere to go.

“Stop,” Deanna yelled again.

No one listened to her.

Another shot rang out, and for a moment Kit thought the kidnapper had fired, but then she realized it’d come from Jace. He hadn’t shot at the van. But rather at the snake. He’d killed it to clear the way for Brandon.

“Get in the SUV,” Jace told her. “I’ll drive closer so we can get Brandon. He’ll have to get in on the passenger’s side.”

She couldn’t move fast enough, and even though the SUV was at risk of being hit from more gunfire, that was better than just staying put and having Brandon killed by those shots.

They got in, and Jace didn’t waste a second. He drove the SUV to the left of where Brandon was lying. Kit kept watch, looking for both Angel and possibly an accomplice. She saw Angel. He had leaned out from one of the trees, but she didn’t see anyone else.

The moment Jace had the SUV level with Brandon, she turned in the seat so she could throw open the back door for him. Brandon moved.

But so did a rattler.

It was behind Brandon, and it’d been coiled next to a large rock. The sound of the SUV and Brandon’s movement must have alarmed it because it struck out.

A shot stopped it.

Not gunfire from Jace this time but rather from Angel.

Kit turned in the seat again, holding the back door open for Brandon. He stayed low and crawled his way to them. He didn’t lever himself up until he reached the SUV.

---