Page 40 of Lone Star Wanted
Cassidy’s stomach churned. The weight of what he was carrying settled on her chest like stone.
“I was on the way to meet you,” Travis said, looking at Kincade. “Headed to the safe house, thinking it was still secure. Then a county patrol car pulled me over.”
Cassidy’s throat went dry. “Marlene.”
Travis nodded. “Yeah. She stepped out. Alone. No backup, no radio chatter. And then she pulled a gun. She didn’t say much,” he added. “She just got in my SUV and and said if I didn’t cooperate, someone would die. That’s all I needed to hear. I thought you were in danger, Cass. That Marlene was talking about you.”
Cassidy stared at him, her mind spinning. Whoever was behind this had twisted his love for his sister and used it as a weapon against him.
Travis leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I played along with her,” he said. “I wanted to see how far she was willing to go, what she knew, what she was going to do. I could’ve taken her down if I’d wanted to.”
Cassidy believed that. Travis wasn’t just a good operative at Maverick Ops. He was trained, methodical. And right then, he looked like a man who’d had to bury every instinct to act until it counted.
“I drove to the safe house,” Travis went on. “When we pulled up, Kincade came out onto the porch.”
Cassidy looked over at Kincade, whose expression tightened.
“Marlene told me to get out, so I did,” Travis said. “Didn’t get two steps before the shots started.”
“That tracks,” Cassidy murmured. “That’s what Marlene said, too.”
Travis nodded. “I dove behind a tree, kept my head down. Didn’t know where the shots were coming from exactly. Just knew someone wanted me dead.”
He paused, took another sip of water.
“I didn’t stick around to figure out who was shooting,” Travis said. “I bolted into the woods, circled wide, trying to get a better angle. I was making my way back toward the safe house to check on Kincade when the place went up in flames.”
Cassidy’s breath hitched. She could see all of that playing out and knew how close she’d come to losing both her brother and Kincade in what was essentially an ambush.
“Then the shooter spotted me,” Travis continued. “Clipped my arm. I didn’t stop. I kept moving, deeper into the trees until I hit the bluffs. Lost my footing and went down hard. Dropped about fifteen feet.” He winced, his hand pressing lightly to his ribs. “It took me a while to get back up to the top of the bluff.”
Kincade hadn’t moved, but Cassidy could see it in his eyes. Something clicking into place.
“I remember now,” Kincade let them know. “I went back into the house. The shots were still coming. I ducked behind the wall… then someone was behind me. I didn’t even hear them until it was too late.”
He touched the side of his head where the cut had bled. His jaw clenched.
“There were two of them,” Kincade added. “One to draw our fire and attention by firing those shots. The other to take me out.”
Cassidy’s stomach turned. “Planned. Coordinated.”
Travis nodded, his expression tight with anger and frustration. “Like someone wanted it to look like I vanished and you got caught in the crossfire.”
Kincade slid glances at both of them. “Except maybe they didn’t count on me surviving. Or if it did, then maybe the deal was for me not to be able to help you.”
Cassidy leaned back against the couch, the full weight of it settling in her chest. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to erase them.
But they’d missed.
That wouldn’t mean they wouldn’t try again.
“The location of the safe house was obviously compromised,” she said.
Travis made a sound of agreement. “Yeah. I figured that much. Maybe Marlene did it. Maybe she set the whole thing up. But why?”
“She told us her mother was kidnapped,” Cassidy explained. “Said someone texted her from a burner phone and ordered her to take you to the safe house or her mom would die.”
Travis blinked. “What?”
