Page 67 of Lone Star Wanted
Kincade finally eased off the gas once they reached the road. He glanced into the rearview mirror, checking on everyone.
Marlene was slumped in the backseat, pale and bleeding but still breathing. Jericho was already on the phone, calling for an ambulance. Travis leaned against the window, his wounded arm wrapped in a towel, his eyes half-lidded but alert.
It was possible that Marlene might not survive. But Cassidy was sure Travis would. And so would Jericho. And Kincade. And her.
Kincade reached for her just as she reached for him. Their hands met, then arms. And she pulled herself into his embrace, holding on tight.
It was finally over.
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Chapter Nineteen
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Kincade sat in the hard plastic chair, his arm wrapped around Cassidy as her head rested against his shoulder. The hospital waiting room was quiet, filled only with the low hum of fluorescent lights and the occasional buzz from the vending machine in the corner. A wall clock ticked steadily, its rhythm indifferent to everything that had just happened.
Cassidy hadn’t said much in the hour or so they’d been waiting for Travis to be examined and treated. Her breathing was soft and even, and Kincade didn’t know if she was asleep or just lost in the haze that came after too much adrenaline. Either way, he didn’t move. She needed the stillness.
They both did.
He was tired. Bone deep. But beneath that exhaustion, something else kept him upright. The sense that they had made it. That the worst of it was finally behind them. Becker was dead. The man who had haunted this case for years would never hurt anyone again.
It wasn’t the kind of justice Kincade would have chosen. He had wanted to see Becker face a judge, to answer for everything he’d done and then be shut in a cage for the rest of his life. But justice had a way of showing up in the ugliest places, and tonight it had come with gunfire and explosions.
Cassidy shifted and slid her fingers through his. He looked down at their joined hands.
They had survived. Together.
And for the first time in a long time, Kincade believed they might actually be able to move forward.
Kincade leaned in and brushed a soft kiss against Cassidy’s mouth. Her lips parted slightly, just enough to make his blood stir and his pulse climb. He was seconds away from deepening it, from pulling her closer to him and letting the relief spill out as heat and gratitude.
But the sound of footsteps snapped them out of the moment.
They both eased back as Jericho stepped into the waiting room. His boots were quiet on the tile floor, his face unreadable.
“I got an update from one of the nurses,” Jericho said, rubbing a hand across his jaw.
Cassidy’s head lifted from Kincade’s shoulder. “Travis?”
“He’s fine,” Jericho was quick to let her know. “A couple of stitches, some pain meds, but they’re releasing him soon.”
Kincade let out a breath and nodded. Relief uncoiled in his chest, and he was sure Cassidy was having a similar reaction. With the shitstorm Becker had thrown at them, Travis’s injuries could have been a hell of a lot worse.
Jericho’s expression shifted, his mouth tightening. “But Marlene didn’t make it,” he added.
Cassidy went still beside him. Kincade felt the weight of the words settle in the air between them. Marlene had made her choices. Played both sides. Tried to kill them.
And still, it was another life lost in a case full of them.
Kincade got to his feet when he heard the fast approach of boots in the hallway. Vance Harlan burst into the waiting room, his suit jacket wrinkled and his face lined with tension. Sheriff Moran trailed along right behind him.
Vance looked straight at Cassidy, then at Kincade. “I just heard. Tell me it’s not true,” he said, his voice ragged. “Becker? Was it really Becker who killed Daniel? And is he really dead?”
Cassidy nodded. Kincade gave it to him straight. “Yes. Becker hired Greer and Knox. He framed Travis. And yes, he’s dead.”
Vance let out a groan and dropped into the nearest chair. His hands hung between his knees as he stared at the floor.
