Page 7 of Lone Star Wanted
Her heart slammed against her ribs. She had a dozen questions but went with the first two that popped into her head. “Is Travis all right? Was anyone with him?”
“No idea. The report was just that he was on foot, headed toward the creek bed. Command’s calling it a high-risk apprehension.”
Her stomach twisted. “Donotlet them engage until I get there. You hear me, Wes?”
He hesitated. “It’s not my call. We’ve already got units rolling. I’ll do what I can.”
“Then do more,” she snapped, and ended the call.
With her pulse spiking, she turned toward Kincade. “There’s been a sighting. Outside town, at the quarry.”
Kincade straightened, the exhaustion gone in an instant. “Travis?”
“That’s what they think. Deputies are already on the move.”
Cassidy didn’t hesitate. “We need to go,” she said to Kincade.
Despite the nurse’s protests, Cassidy and he were already headed for the door. “If they find Travis first, this could end with a body bag,” she muttered.
And she’d be damned if she let that happen to her brother.
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Chapter Three
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The moment that Cassidy said,“the quarry,”something sharp lit in Kincade’s chest.
Hope. Real, gritty hope.
Travis might still be alive.
Kincade hurried after Cassidy, and the remaining haze in his head cleared in a rush of adrenaline. Every muscle in his body protested, but he didn’t care. They had a possible location and a sliver of time.
While she was still on the move, Cassidy took out her keys, and she glanced back at him. “You want to stay? Let a doctor take a look?”
“No way,” he insisted, voice flat with certainty.
She gave him a look but didn’t argue.
They pushed through the lobby, boots echoing on the tile. A nurse called out from behind the desk, asking them to wait, reminding them about forms or discharge or something that didn’t matter.
Kincade didn’t slow down, and neither did Cassidy.
Outside, the heat slammed into him, thick and dry, the air buzzing with late-summer insects. They climbed into her patrol truck, and within seconds they were heading out, tires throwing up a trail of dust behind them.
The road out of Blanco Pass stretched long and empty, winding through cracked earth, rusted fencing, and stands of cedar and mesquite. The land rolled low and wide around them, sun-bleached and silent.
The quarry sat about ten miles east of town. Remote, surrounded by scrub and narrow access trails. A good place to hide. Or to walk into a trap.
Cassidy said nothing, her grip tight on the wheel, jaw set. Kincade watched the road ahead, his mind running through every scenario. If Travis was there, they needed to reach him first.
Because if someone else did, there might not be anything left to save.
She hit a button on her steering wheel. “Text Ruby Maverick,” she said. A short pause, then the tone sounded, waiting. “Travis sighting near the quarry east of Blanco Pass. Responding now with Kincade.”
The truck’s system read it back, then sent the message.
