Page 30 of Lone Star Hostage

“No need to apologize.” Yes, it’d been a shock when she had first been pulled into this, but as Billie looked at him now, she was glad she had been here with him for this ordeal. They weren’t besties by any means, but there was a connection between them that made her care about him.

And want him.

But for now, she was focusing on the caring part when she pulled him into her arms for a hug. He immediately slid his arms around her and pulled her to him.

And he kissed her.

It was long and slow. A no pressure kind of kiss. Or at least it would have been had it come from anyone else. But with Presley,the heat was always going to create an urgency even when the kiss shouldn’t even be happening.

They were hardly in a private place. Someone could come walking in at any moment. Added to that, Presley likely wasn’t in the right frame of mind for this since less than two hours earlier, he’d had to rescue his own mother.

Still, they didn’t stop, and the kiss raged on.

Presley snapped her closer to him, until they were body to body. Pressed against each other. Until everything else except this faded into the background. Until Billie had to force herself to step back and regain, well, everything. Her breath, her composure. Her sanity. Because Presley and that scalding kiss had certainly muddled her brain.

They stood there, breaths gusting, hearts racing, and stared at each other. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but she yanked herself out of the kiss trance when she heard the footsteps. A moment later, Olivia appeared in the doorway.

“Oh, sorry for interrupting,” Olivia muttered. Even though Presley and she were no longer touching, Olivia had clearly picked up on the vibe in the room.

Billie picked up on a vibe, too, from Olivia, and it was one of concern.

“Is Victoria all right?” Billie asked.

“Uh, yes. Well, I guess as okay as can be expected. I can’t imagine the hell those two men put her through.”

The words were right, but Billie had the same thought she had with Jesep—she hoped it was the real deal and not some façade.

“They cut off a piece of her finger,” Olivia muttered, and she went to the vending machine. She used her credit card to buy a bottle of water. Once she had it open, she took a long drink. “My father’s not as much of an asshole as he appears to be,” she went on. “He uses anger to mask his fear.”

Neither Presley nor Billie responded to that. Since it seemed as if the woman was in a talking mood, Billie just decided to hear her out and listen to what she had to say. Maybe she would spill something that would help them ID the person who’d hired those kidnappers.

Heck, it could even be Olivia.

“I need to know something,” Olivia went on, still guzzling that water as if she’d just crossed a desert. “Why did those men ask for the two of you to deliver the ransom? How are you connected to my stepmother?”

Oh, that was a question Billie figured Presley wouldn’t answer. And he didn’t. Well, he didn’t give a truthful answer anyway.

“We don’t know why they pulled us into this,” he said. “But it’s something we’re investigating.”

Olivia stayed quiet a moment. “So, it’s possible that choosing you had nothing to do with Victoria, that the kidnappers could have been after you instead?”

Presley shrugged. “We don’t know,” he repeated. “Trust me though, learning that is the top priority. The cops, Maverick Ops, and Strike Force are all investigating. If someone hired those men to take Victoria, we’ll find him or her and bring them to justice.”

It sounded like a warning. Or a threat. And Olivia seemed to grasp that they were looking at her. At her entire family.

“I see,” Olivia muttered. “Well, good.” She recapped the bottle and tossed it in the trash before she added a barely audible goodbye and walked out.

Presley didn’t move. He stood still until they could no longer hear Olivia’s footsteps, and then he went to the trash to retrieve the bottle.

Billie raised an eyebrow. “You have plans for that?”

“I do. Jesep, Ari, and Olivia still haven’t given the cops DNA samples. This is a start. The CSIs are already processing the clothes and belongings of our dead guys, and I’ll give them this. If there’s any Wessington DNA on them, then that’ll give us some ammo so the cops can make an arrest.”

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Chapter Eleven

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