Page 57 of Lone Star Wanted
Greer had the gun that killed Harlan. Ballistics match. That might be enough to clear Travis. Still digging into who hired Greer and Knox.
Kincade let out a slow breath, heart thudding but feeling a whole lot of relief.
“What is it?” Cassidy asked.
He looked up at her. “Ruby confirmed that Greer had the murder weapon. The one that killed Daniel Harlan. That could be what we need to get the APB pulled off Travis.”
Kincade watched as Cassidy’s shoulders dropped, the tension leaving her body like a cord that had finally snapped. He could see the shift in her, the way exhaustion edged in once the pressure lifted. She probably hadn’t even realized how tightly she’d been holding it all together until now.
“That’s something, at least,” she said quietly. “God, if it clears his name… maybe he can finally stop running.”
She blinked hard and pushed her hair behind her ear. “I just want him to be safe, Kincade. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“Yeah.” Kincade was right there with her. He needed his partner, his friend, to be cleared and safe.
But there were several big-ass questions in that info Ruby had just given them. Questions that Kincade voiced. “Who hired those guys? Who unleashed Greer and Knox on Daniel Harlan and us? And what exactly were they hired to do?”
Cassidy added a question of her own. “Why kill Harlan now, after all these years, and pin it on Travis?”
Kincade shook his head in disgust. That was the part that didn’t sit right. Greer and Knox didn’t strike him as men who acted on their own. Someone wanted Daniel Harlan silenced. Someone with enough reach to hire dirty muscle and set Travis up as the fall guy.
They ate in silence for a few minutes, the clink of forks and the occasional creak of a chair the only sounds in the room. Kincade kept stealing glances at Cassidy, watching the way her fingers tightened around the handle of her fork every time her thoughts wandered.
Her phone buzzed on the table. She snatched it up, read the message, and her body went still.
“It’s from Travis.” Her voice was low. “He wants us to meet him at Alisha’s grave. He says he finally has what he needs to prove who killed her.”
Kincade set his fork down and wiped his hands on a napkin. “That sounds like a trap.”
“Agreed.” She was already dialing, but after a few rings, she cursed softly and pulled the phone from her ear. “He’s not answering.”
Another buzz from an incoming text.
Her eyes narrowed as she read it aloud, “There’s a problem. Someone’s shooting at me. Hurry.” She looked at him, and her fear was plain now. “That doesn’t sound like Travis. Not really.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Kincade said. He stood, already running through scenarios in his head. “But if there’s even a chance he’s in trouble…”
“We’re going,” she insisted, getting to her feet.
“Yeah. We’re going. But we vest up and bring backup. Because if this is a trap, someone’s about to regret setting it.”
Kincade pulled out his phone and typed a quick message to Jericho.Meet us at Alisha’s grave. Possible trap. Watch your six.
Jericho responded almost immediately.On my way.
Cassidy had already disappeared into the bedroom, and when she returned, she was in her vest, pulling her ponytail tight. She handed him a vest, and he slipped it on without a word. They didn’t need to speak. Not now. Not when their focus had snapped into the same deadly direction.
They moved quickly, locking up the house and resetting the security before heading for the SUV. The sun had dipped lower, casting a dusky orange haze over the street as Kincade started the engine and turned onto the road.
He tapped into the police scanner app on his phone and checked for any reports of gunfire in the area near the cemetery. “Nothing,” he said, eyes on the screen.
“That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen,” Cassidy replied. “That cemetery’s surrounded by nothing but fields and trees.”
Kincade nodded. He already knew that. The place was isolated. No one would hear a gunshot out there unless they were close. And if someone wanted to lure them in with no interference, it was the perfect spot.
The silence in the SUV grew heavier the closer they got. He could feel Cassidy’s tension, see it in the way she stared out the windshield, fingers twitching slightly in her lap.
He reached over and gave her knee a brief squeeze. “We’ll play it smart.”
