Page 37 of Targeted in Silver Creek

“Arnie and you used to be lovers,” Hanna blurted out to stop her mother from asking more questions. “And you said something to him about Jesse and me.”

The first part was true. Well, according to Marlene anyway. But the last part was a bluff, yet Hanna immediately saw that she’d hit the mark. The color blanched from Isabel’s face and that’s when Hanna realized it hadn’t actually been a bluff after all. During that argument flashing through her head, she recalled her mother mentioning Arnie’s name.

“Are you remembering...something?” Isabel asked. Still no color in her face and her voice was trembling.

“What did you say to Arnie about Jesse and me? And don’t deny it,” Hanna warned her. “I’m remembering enough to know if you’re lying or not.”

Isabel’s throat worked when she swallowed. “I just thought Arnie could cause some trouble for Jesse, that’s all.”

That’s all. Well, it didn’t sound so innocent to Hanna, considering Arnie was a drug user and in the militia. And the flashes of memories weren’t innocent either. She and her mother had had a full-fledged argument.

“What kind of trouble?” Hanna demanded, not taking her gaze off her mother.

“Nothing violent,” Isabel rushed to say. She volleyed her attention between Jesse and her. “I swear, I didn’t tell him to do anything violent. I sure as heck didn’t tell him to drag my pregnant daughter out of her car and try to kill her.”

Everything inside Hanna went still. And cold. An icy cold that went all the way to the bone.

“What did you tell him to do?” Hanna restated, enunciating each word through her now-clenched teeth.

Several moments crawled by before the woman spoke again. “I just warned him that if he didn’t do something about Jesse that he was going to find himself in jail.”

“When did you do that?” Jesse demanded. “When?” he snapped when Isabel turned away and started to cry.

“I told him that right before he went to the ranch and shot my daughter,” Isabel muttered.

And with that confession, Isabel broke into a full sob.

Chapter Eleven

The adrenaline from the attack had come and gone, leaving Jesse with a fatigue that felt like he’d been drained dry. He was pretty sure Hanna was experiencing the same thing, but they were still doing what was necessary to take care of Evan while they waited for updates on the investigation.

Fortunately, the fatigue and stress didn’t seem to be affecting Evan one bit. He was babbling and smiling while he ate his dinner in his high chair.

After Grayson had cleared the scene, Melissa and Ava had left, but the ranch hands and a reserve deputy stayed on the grounds to keep watch. Jesse hoped they wouldn’t be necessary, that whoever was behind the attack wouldn’t send someone else to try to finish the job, but he would keep the backup in place until he was sure it was safe.

Whenever the heck that would be.

At least they didn’t have to deal with Isabel. After her tear-filled confession, she’d finally left with Grayson to give a statement on the info she’d withheld after Hanna’s shooting. Info that Isabel kept insisting wasn’t relevant, that it wasn’t the reason Arnie had dragged Hanna out of her car.

But Jesse had heard the doubt in the woman’s voice.

Had seen it on her face.

Despite what she was saying, Isabel did indeed blame herself. Of course, that particular layer of guilt might be just the tip of the iceberg because they still hadn’t been able to rule her out as a suspect. He couldn’t necessarily see her running a militia, but it was possible she was somehow involved with it. The fact that she’d had contact with Arnie at the time of Hanna’s shooting proved that Isabel had stayed in touch with him. She might have been connected to other members as well.

At least nothing the woman had told them would have been eavesdropped on because of a listening device. Grayson had called in a favor and managed to get a CSI over to Hanna’s to do a search for a bug that Agent Shaw might have planted. Nothing had turned up.

In the grand scheme of things, that didn’t seem like a solid victory, but Hanna had been through enough. Jesse hadn’t wanted her to feel even more violated because Shaw or someone else had been listening in on their private conversations.

Evan giggled when Hanna repeated some baby babble back to him, and it yanked Jesse from his worries. He hadn’t had many moments like this with Hanna and Evan, and he wanted to hold on to them. Wanted to hold on to Hanna, too. That kiss had been a good start in that happening, but he knew he was a long way from this time together being the norm. First, he had to make things safe for them, and then he could start dealing with the more personal aspects of his life.

Hanna’s phone dinged, so Jesse took over feeding the baby while she read the message. “It’s from my doctor,” she told him. “He set me up for a hypnosis appointment day after tomorrow in San Antonio.” She shook her head. “I can’t go. Not with things so uncertain here.”

Jesse had been about to suggest the same thing, but Hanna had already started to reply to the text. Yes, it was important for her to get her memory back, but they could be attacked en route to and from the appointment.

“Going to my house on the ranch is still an option,” Jesse ventured.

He didn’t need to spell out why he knew she was hesitant to go there, but she didn’t immediately dismiss it as she’d done the other time he’d brought it up. “Maybe in the morning,” she agreed, though he could see her trying to steady herself for having to face the security gate where Arnie had taken her at gunpoint.

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