Page 10 of Lone Star Hostage

There was an outside chance that the kidnappers had been in touch with Jesep, but if so, the man certainly hadn’t shared that development with SAPD or Maverick Ops.

Judging from the map on the dash, they’d be at Jesep’s office in less than fifteen minutes. Hardly enough time for Billie to try to determine if Presley was up to this visit or if being in his childhood home, AKA the murder house, had shaken his very foundation. It had certainly shaken her to see him like this since Presley had always been rock solid.

It was time to try to pull him out of it.

“Why don’t we have a good air clearing?” Billie threw out there.

Presley glanced at her, scowled. But even with that surly expression, she couldn’t help but notice he was still one of the hottest guys she’d ever seen. Once, he’d told her that his parents had named him after Elvis because of his black hair, sleepy eyes, and olive skin. And he did indeed have that rock star vibe about him.

“The air doesn’t need clearing,” he grumbled. “I’m fine. You’re fine. We’re all fine except for Victoria.” He muttered some profanity. “These dicks are playing games with us. With her.”

So, that’s what was bothering him and not the trip down hell lane. Billie understood his anger and frustration. The kidnappers were indeed playing games, and they’d hurt a woman that they seemingly had no reason to hurt.

Well, unless they knew some insider info.

“The kidnappers could know the diamonds are fakes,” she suggested. This wasn’t the air clearing she’d anticipated, but it would do. Get him focused back on the assignment.

“Yeah, I considered that. Which points to someone in the family,” he said, stating what she thought as well. “Before I started the drive here, I texted Ruby and requested she find out the terms of Jesep’s and Victoria’s wills. Whoever has the most to gain might be pulling the strings.”

So true.

She hadn’t known about his text to Ruby. After discovering the jar, there’d been a flurry of communications. Some through their earbuds, others via text. Jesep’s and Victoria’s wills were a good angle for them to explore, and while most wills weren’t made public, maybe Ruby could find something.

“You want an air clearing about us?” he came out and asked.

Billie did a mental doubletake. No, she didn’t especially want to get into the personal stuff, but if it helped with the focus, she’d bite.

“Sure,” she said, and was about to add something about where to start.

Presley took care of the starting though. “You certainly dumped me fast after you left my bed.”

Okay. They were goingthere. “I did that because I was your boss, and sleeping with you was wrong.”

“So you said,” he grumbled, and she heard the serious disapproval about that in his voice.

The hurt maybe, too. Well, she’d been hurt, too, because it hadn’t been easy to walk away from Presley or her badge.

“I said it was wrong because it was true,” she argued. “You could have reported me.”

“For what? An orgasm?” he fired back.

She wasn’t sure all of this intensity was for their past. It was likely just being rolled into the stew pot with all the other crap going on.

“I’d never done anything like that before. And it was a mistake,” Billie repeated.

“Yeah, got that. You resigned shortly thereafter,” he grumbled.

“I should have been fired,” she muttered.

“Oh, please.” He stretched out that last word some. “I wasn’t some helpless dick that you coaxed into bed.”

Billie stared at him. And then did something totally inappropriate. She laughed. Really, really laughed.

“Well, your dick was involved,” she said, figuring a light-hearted touch wasn’t the way to go. Still, she hadn’t been able to stop herself.

She waited for his reaction. And waited. And waited.

Finally, he groaned. “Sorry. I was picking a fight with you because I keep seeing my mother’s blood on that floor. And now, I have the new memories of a severed finger. Give me a greedy assed, focused on the ransom kidnapper any day over sonofabitches like these.”

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