Page 51 of Lone Star Wanted
Kincade straightened. “Both of them?”
“And Vance Harlan just walked in. All three of them in one place.” Jericho’s voice was tight. “Hell of a lineup. Looks like an unholy alliance to me.”
“We’re on our way,” Kincade said, grabbing his jeans and ending the call. He met Cassidy’s gaze, his voice low. “Sorry for the quick shift after that amazing kiss, but three of our four suspects are all under the same roof.”
“Then, the quick shift is necessary,” she agreed, though like him, her breath was still unsteady.
He tugged on his shirt, the tension knotting in his chest as he nudged away the rest of the heat from that kiss. “Normally a sheriff’s office doesn’t feel like a danger zone,” he added, “but this time it damn well does.”
Cassidy agreed with a nod and some muttered profanity of her own. “Feels more like walking into a trap than a sheriff’s office.”
He finished dressing, grabbed their gear, and headed out. By the time they got outside, the sun was rising fast. And it was already hotter than hell.
Kincade kept his hand near his weapon as he scanned the street. No movement. No suspicious cars. Still, he didn’t trust that there wasn’t someone lurking, watching. He didn’t trust anything this morning.
They climbed into the SUV and pulled out with Kincade behind the wheel. Both of them kept their eyes moving, checking the mirrors, scanning intersections.
They were still halfway there when Cassidy’s phone buzzed. She tapped the screen, put it on speaker, and Marlene’s voice came through sharp, tight with frustration.
“My mom just told me about you two trying to push her into a safe house,” Marlene blurted.
“Yeah, she turned it down,” Cassidy replied.
“I know,” Marlene snapped. “But now she’s asking me if I had anything to do with her being taken. Like I arranged it. Like I would ever—”
“You’re saying she asked you that?” Cassidy interrupted.
“Yes. Out of nowhere. I don’t appreciate you putting that thought in her head.”
“We didn’t,” Kincade said. “She made that leap on her own.”
Marlene let out a bitter breath. “Well, thanks to thatleap, she’s looking at me like I’m the threat.”
Cassidy glanced at Kincade, her jaw tight. “Maybe we should talk more when we see you.”
Marlene didn’t reply right away. Then a clipped, “Fine,” before the call ended.
With the tension simmering inside him, Kincade stared out at the road and gave that brief conversation some thought. If Ginny was starting to question her daughter, maybe her gut was finally catching up to the truth.
Whatever that truth was.
He made a mental note to speak with Ginny again. Really press her. Something had shifted since Jericho’s last update. Ginny had refused a safe house, insisted on going home with Marlene, and now she was asking if her own daughter had orchestrated her abduction.
What had changed?
He didn’t know, yet, but that was something they had to find out.
Kincade exhaled slowly. “We need to get Ginny alone again. Ask her what made her doubt Marlene.”
Cassidy nodded. “We will. After we deal with the three-ring circus waiting for us at the sheriff’s office.”
Kincade parked the SUV, and they made their way to the double doors of the sheriff’s office, the smell of old coffee andsugary pastries hitting him like a wall. The place looked quiet and routine. But the energy shifted the second they stepped inside.
There was no sign of Jericho, but Becker, Moran, and Vance Harlan were gathered near the doorway of Becker’s office. All three men were mid-conversation, voices low and serious, until they turned and saw who had just walked in.
The conversation died instantly.
Vance straightened, smoothing the front of his blazer as if he was preparing for a photo op. Moran’s expression didn’t change much, but his fingers twitched at his belt. Becker just stared, his mouth flat, unreadable.
