Page 6 of Lone Star Hostage

He stopped to gather his breath, and Billie took up the recap.

“We got a tip where Helana might be holding Sandy, and since it was close to where we were, Presley and I went in pursuit.” Again, Billie had to fight back those memories that were merging with the sound of Victoria’s scream. “When we arrived at the location, we saw the women were outside a motel room, and there was a struggle in process. Sandy was trying to escape. Helana was armed. We didn’t have a clean shot so we attempted a negotiation.”

“It failed,” Presley finished. “And Helana killed Sandy while she was screaming for us to save her.”

“Helana is dead or in jail?” Ruby questioned.

“The latter,” Presley supplied. “Once she’d killed Sandy, she tried to turn the gun on herself, but we stopped her. She was convicted and received two consecutive life sentences.”

Ruby stayed quiet for a moment. “I’ll look into anyone connected to that case. Anyone who might have a grudge against the two of you.”

“You think Presley and I could be the reason Victoria was taken?” Billie came out and asked.

“It could be playing into it,” Ruby replied. “But millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds could be, too.”

True. Money was a huge motive. But revenge could be as well, and Presley and she had been dragged into this by the kidnappers requesting them. So, Billie made a mental note to do her own digging into Sandy’s murder.

“Keep me posted,” Ruby added a moment later, and this time, she did end the call.

Presley took the exit, and the logjam of traffic ahead of them caused him both to curse and slow down. Even though he no longer lived in San Antonio, he obviously remembered his way around the back streets of the city because he took one.

“If there’s a connection between Sandy and this, we’ll find it,” he muttered. Obviously, they were on the same wavelength, and it sickened her to think there was a possibility that Victoria had been snatched in some vendetta. “But the connection might be that the kidnappers could believe we’re screw-ups, that we won’t pose a threat to them getting the diamonds.”

Billie hadn’t considered it from that angle, but Presley was right. They, and therefore SAPD, had received a lot of bad press about it, partly because someone had recorded Sandy being murdered on their phone and uploaded it to social media. It’d gotten thousands of hits before the cops had managed to get it taken down.

“All that’s for later,” he muttered. “Right now, we deal with getting back the hostage.”

Billie fixed that in her mind. They couldn’t save Sandy, but they stood a chance of rescuing Victoria.

Presley threaded his way through the streets, and when they reached the diner, she immediately saw Angel in the parking lot. He’d worked mainly deep cover when he’d been on the job, but she had seen him often enough with Presley to know who he was. And now, like Presley and their other former cop friend, Jace Malley, they were all security specialists at Maverick Ops.

Angel moved to the SUV the moment Presley stopped and lowered the window. He nodded a greeting to both of them before he handed Presley a small black cloth bag.

“Let’s hope the fakes are good,” Angel muttered. “Be safe,” he added, stepping away so that they could drive off.

Presley handed her the bag, and she shoved it into the front pocket of her jeans. It was mind-blowing to think that something so small could be worth so much. Well, they would be if these were the real deal.

While Presley drove the few blocks to the park, Billie checked her primary weapon and the small snub-nosed backup piece that she carried in a slide holster at the back of her jeans. Both were ready. So was she. Now, she had to pray that all went well.

Presley pulled to a stop in the parking lot, and even though they’d expected it to be jammed, both of them muttered some profanity as they looked out at the sea of people. She scanned the crowd, looking for anyone and anything that didn’t fit. She knew Presley was doing the same thing.

“Nothing stands out,” he muttered.

She had to make a sound of agreement. Then again, she seriously doubted the kidnappers would have a bloody, battered woman in this mix. So, where the heck were they? The questionhad barely had time to register in her mind when she heard Ruby’s voice through the earbud.

“Incoming drone feed,” Ruby let them know.

The footage immediately popped onto the dash monitor. It was grainy but detailed enough for her to see their SUV. And Angel’s van as it drove past them toward the other end of the parking lot. Once he was in place, he might have a better view than they did.

“Feed is being analyzed. So far, no sign of Victoria,” Ruby added.

The seconds crawled by, and the waiting fueled both her worry and the adrenaline. Angel’s text didn’t help with that, either.

“Nothing,” he messaged.

Since there wasn’t anything else for her to do, Billie scanned the crowd again, slower this time, and she spotted what she thought might be one of the plain-clothes cops. She was so focused on her search that when the ringing sound of her phone shot through the SUV, it caused her to gasp.

Billie frowned when she looked at the screen. “Unknown Caller.”

---