Page 40 of Lone Star Target

But it was a hopeless cause. She’d always had very little resistance for Jace, and now that Ramsey couldn’t touch Angel, Presley, and him, there was no way to tamp down her feelings.

However, she did have to tamp down the lust, temporarily anyway, because on the monitor, she saw Angel approaching the front door.

“Roy, pause security and let Angel in,” Jace instructed.

The locks on the door clicked, and Roy invited him in. Angel stepped inside, glanced at both of them. Grunted. And headed for the coffeepot.

“Have you two ever been able to keep your hands off each other?” Angel grumbled and then used a mug to wave that off. “Don’t bother with the answer because it’s clearly a no.”

Kit glanced at Jace to see if there were any telltale signs of them recently having had sex. There were no hickeys, and their clothes were on straight. Still, they must have been giving off some vibe that Angel had picked up on.

Angel poured some coffee, drank long and deep, and then leaned back against the counter to face them. “I went by the sheriff’s office this morning and learned a few things.”

She latched right onto that. “Please tell me the cops found out who hired Rattler?”

Angel shook his head. “No such luck. Everybody’s still digging into that, but so far nothing. But while I was there, I did find out that Brandon is apparently planning on coming to Marvin’s trial.”

“What?” Kit muttered, and she quickly checked her phone to see if she’d missed a text or call from Brandon, letting her know this information. She hadn’t.

“Brandon contacted Sheriff Manning late last night and asked what kind of security there’d be at the courthouse,” Angel went on. “I’m guessing Brandon was asking for both your sake and his,” he added to Kit.

“Well, Brandon should be concerned about his safety because he could still be a target.” A thought that spiked her worry even more than it already was. “Just because Rattler is dead that didn’t mean Marvin, Trevor or my father didn’t hire someone else.”

Angel made a sound of agreement. “Apparently, Brandon plans on bringing a friend who’s in the police academy as sort of unofficial backup. And FYI, his mom and dad are pissed about his plan because both of them called the sheriff to see if he could somehow prohibit Brandon from attending. Sheriff Manning declined their request.”

He didn’t actually smirk about that last part, but it was a close enough reaction. Deanna and Trevor probably hadn’t played nice when they’d spoken to Sheriff Manning.

Kit wished the sheriff had prohibited her nephew from coming. That might keep Brandon tucked away safely at home. But she understood his need to be there. If Marvin did indeed go through with a last-minute plea deal, then Trevor and Ramsey could be arrested.

“How does Sheriff Manning feel about the security setup at the courthouse?” Jace asked.

Angel lifted his shoulder. “It’s his town, and while he’s not doing the rah-rah safest place ever spiel, he could be glossing over some concerns. For instance, no metal detector, and the courthouse has eleven entrances and exits. Yeah,” he tacked onto that when Kit’s eyes widened. “All but the front and one of the back doors stay double locked twenty-four/seven, but that doesn’t mean someone can’t get in.”

“That’s why I’ll be in the courthouse with you,” Jace insisted, looking at her. “And Angel will be outside to make sure there’s no signs of trouble.”

She nodded and shifted her attention back to Angel. Judging from his expression, he had something else to tell her. Kit just waited him out.

“Are you sure Brandon’s rift with his father is…solid?” Angel finally asked.

Of all the things she’d been expecting him to say, that wasn’t one of them. A chill went through her, and she shook her head. “Why are you asking?”

Angel opened his mouth, closed it and seemed to rethink what he had been about to say. “Never mind.”

Kit moved closer, looking him straight in the eyes. “Tell me why you asked that,” she insisted.

He glanced at Jace, but he only motioned for Angel to go ahead with it.

“All right,” Angel finally said. “There are some things about the kidnapping that are bothering me. For one, Brandon wasn’t restrained or cuffed in the van. Rattler’s a strong guy for his age, but Brandon could have tried to overpower him.”

She considered that and admitted that was true. “Maybe Brandon was too scared to try to escape.”

Angel gave a quick nod. “Yeah, that was probably it.” And there was enough doubt in his tone to make her curse under her breath.

Kit cursed again that she had only skimmed through the statement Brandon had given the police. It had twisted her up to think of Brandon in that van with a kidnapper and a sack of rattlesnakes so she’d breezed right through the account. She needed to take a closer look at it. And at him.

For now, she made a request. “Give me a rundown of what Brandon told the police in his statement.”

Angel drank more coffee before he launched right in. “Brandon said he left the hospital and walked to the far side of the parking to wait for his Uber. Before it arrived though, a van pulled up, the side door opened, and a man wearing a ski mask got out and hit him with a stun gun. Before he hit the ground, the guy threw him into the back of the van and drove off.”

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