Page 40 of Lone Star Hostage

“No,” Victoria blurted, and she practically leapt from the bed. “He wouldn’t. Not Joe.”

“You haven’t seen him in decades,” Presley reminded her. “You have no idea what he’s capable of.”

“He wouldn’t hurt me.” There wasn’t any doubt in her voice, but Presley didn’t seem convinced.

“We’ll soon find out,” Presley said, motioning for Billie to follow him. “We’ll let you know what he has to say.”

They went out and found Angel there. “Where’s Olivia?” Presley asked as Angel said, “What’s wrong.”

Angel responded first. “I caught up with Olivia in the parking lot, but she sped off. I let Ruby know so she can send someone to check on her.”

“Thanks,” Presley said, scrubbing his hand over his face. “I’ll have a lot to catch you up on, but for now, Billie and I are going to see my bio-father. He’s also the stepfather of our dead kidnappers.”

The shock registered in Angel’s eyes. “Fuck.”

“Yeah,” Presley agreed. “Keep me posted about Olivia,” he added, and Billie and he headed out of the hospital and to the parking lot.

Billie plugged Joe’s address into the GPS, and while Presley started the drive, she initiated a background check on the man. Presley used his Bluetooth to send a text to Ruby to let her know what was going on. Soon, Billie would have to give Owen an update, too, but for now she focused on Joe. Or rather that’s what she started to do, and she saw the report that just popped into her inbox.

Oh, the irony.

“Olivia’s DNA results are back,” Billie let Presley know after he had finished his text. “She’s your sister.”

She stayed a moment to give him some time to absorb that. Of course, that wasn’t something to be absorbed in a matter of minutes, but Presley nodded after only a couple of seconds.

“You’re doing a run on Joe?” he asked.

Billie sighed, not because he was clearly diving back into work but because diving was their only option right now. They needed to know if there was still a threat to Victoria’s and their lives.

“I am. Do you want to try to call him first and see if he’s home?” Billie asked.

Presley didn’t hesitate. “No. I don’t want to give him a heads-up. If he’s not there, we’ll track him down. Does he work in Bulverde, too?”

Billie thumbed through the background that had just loaded. “I think he works from home. He’s a sculptor. A rather successful one.”

She held up a photo of one of the man’s pieces. A bronze of a woman on horseback. Then, she showed him one of the man himself. A lanky build with a thin face. Unlike Victoria’s father, there wasn’t a lot of resemblance between Presley and him except for their mouths.

Presley made a sound that could have meant anything. “Does he have a criminal record?”

“Nothing as an adult,” Billie said. “There’s a sealed juvie record though. He’s fifty-two. Widower. He married Craig and Ellis’ mom ten years ago, and she died just four years later.”

“So, he didn’t raise his stepsons,” Presley concluded.

“No. Ellis would have been nineteen and Craig, twenty-one. Damon, a couple of years older than that.”

She kept scouring the background, looking for any red flags. But she didn’t see any. So, she went a step further.

“I’ll put both his and Victoria’s names in the data mining program,” Billie explained, doing that as she spoke. “I’ll see if they’re linked in any kind of way.”

Victoria had said she hadn’t seen him in decades, but she could have been lying. Until a few minutes ago, Billie had trusted the woman to tell them the truth. That had changed though with Victoria withholding the very important tidbit about her kidnapper’s father.

A text popped up on the dash screen. From Ruby.Brief me, thoroughly, after you talk to Joe Malloy.

Billie figured Ruby wasn’t any happier about this latest development than they were, and soon, Presley would have to deal with getting hit with yet another personal bombshell. Twenty-four hours ago, he hadn’t known who his bio parents were, and now they were front and center in this investigation.

On the prompt from the GPS, Presley took the turn toward Bulverde just as his phone rang. Not Ruby but a familiar name.

Olivia.

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