by Angi Morgan
Yeah, he’d cleared his conscience, but he’d lost his best friend. Professional was the word of the day. Polite. Shared the coffee. Fix your own dinner—or get Deputy Bo to bring it to you. Then sit and laugh over a burger.
I am not going to be jealous of that kid.
Aw, hell, he was very jealous of the man who had just left after a painstakingly boring conversation. It had taken nearly an hour to update Avery on everyone in their county. Long enough to set Jesse’s teeth to grinding.
“Dammit.” It wasn’t the conversation. It was her laughter. She wasn’t smiling or laughing around him any longer. He caused her to cry.
Avery joined him in the hall. “I guess lunch is over. Where were we?”
“The DNA familial tie led us back to this guy.” He tapped the latest picture on her bedroom door. “Father, grandfather or brother—we were trying to decide before Mr. Smiley Face showed up.”
His dig didn’t receive even an arched eyebrow from her. She took the rushed DNA report from his hand and was reading it for the third or fourth time. He’d been staring at the thing for the past hour and hadn’t made any headway.
Most likely because he’d been listening to how Julie chased Miss Wags through the yard with bubbles all over the little dog. Avery had laughed. Bo had laughed. Jesse had read the same paragraph six times.
“Ted Hopkins, aka T-Bone Hop, was covert ops in the ’80s. So, yes, he could be any of those connections. But we’ll never know. He’s off the grid and has been for over a decade.” Avery closed the file and stared at the photo. “Since Snake Eyes wore the hood hiding his face, there’s no way to even compare bone structure for a possible match.”
“Do you think it’s a dead end? Maybe we get someone from headquarters to keep searching?”
She tapped her finger against the wall, thinking. “I believe our resources and energy are better used to analyze what he’ll do. Even if we know who he is...our personal experience with him tells us more.”
“Still no reports of anyone with abdominal rake wounds at hospitals in two hundred miles. They widened the search—”
“I don’t think he’d use a hospital. He was obviously trained by someone. Maybe T-Bone Hop?” Excitement—real excitement—had returned to her eyes. “He was military and disappeared. What if he taught Snake Eyes his survival secrets?”
“So we’re looking for a ghost.”
“A ghost who got sloppy and left us alive.” She turned her attention to thumbing through the file they’d printed.
“What if it wasn’t sloppy work?” Jesse wondered. “This man has been excellent working alone. No trace. Hell, no one really put together how many murders he’s committed. He could have taken us anywhere, Avery. Why leave me untied? I can’t stop going back to the very public place he left us. Why there? What good did it do him?”
“You mean why out in the open with a house a quarter of a mile away? Why involve a kid who could and seemingly did mess up his plan?”
“It’s almost been a week and he hasn’t resurfaced. Not even an attempt to finish us off.”
“This man is a hunter. Remember, he called us his prey. He’s patient. He lies in wait until the perfect opportunity.” Avery dropped the file to the floor and put her palms over her eyes, concentrating.
“I don’t think so. Yes, that he’s a hunter, but he didn’t wait for us to be alone before drugging us. He created a perfectly planned and executed trap.”
She looked at him, excited. “So Thompson Grove was just a cog in the wheel he’s turning to get to his real prey...my brother. But what did he expect to happen?”
“I need to talk with Major Parker.” He pushed past her, taking a couple of the pictures down with him. “We recommended they move the witnesses.”
Pure and simple panic ramped up his adrenaline. He grabbed his phone. Dialed. “Come on. Come on.”
“If something had happened, we would have been notified. Right?”
Even during this moment of fear for Garrison and the men protecting him, he wanted to comfort Avery. His hand reached out to pat her shoulder. “Snake Eyes wouldn’t do anything rash. He’d have a plan. He’d take his time to plan it. But he’s had six days.”
She pulled away from his touch. “You think he’s going to act soon.”
“Yeah. They should— Dammit, there’s no answer. They should take extra precautions.”
He wanted to smooth away the worry line on her brow. He wanted to swoosh back those crazy long bangs so he could see her eyes more clearly. But he’d lost the right to touch her. She wasn’t his and wouldn’t be.
“Jesse, he said he had a plan B. If he can’t get the information from us, he thinks he can obtain it from somewhere else. But where? From who?”
“I know how to catch this bastard.”
“What do you want to do?” She watched him dial the phone.
If the powers above him went for this crazy, half-baked plan, Snake Eyes wouldn’t be a threat to anyone else. “We’re leaving. Whether they know it or not, they’re going to need us to finish this thing.”
Chapter Eighteen
Snake Eyes to his enemies. Buster Hopkins to his family, but that was a long time ago. Of course, none of his family were left, so no one really knew him by that name any longer. Back when his dad was alive, they’d got several IDs from different states.
Although Snake Eyes fit him better than Buster, Carl, Sanchez or Nigel, he couldn’t walk around in a thirty-year-old diving suit while in town. So for the moment Nigel Washington was checked into a five-star hotel in Austin. He couldn’t imagine anyone visiting him in the camper owned by Carl.
After stitching his wounds and resting a day, he was living it up until his plans came to fruition. He knew how to play a role and that looks made all the difference. He’d exceeded his father’s ability to blend in or hunt.
Today was the part of a potential campaign donor who was hard on crime. Yes, Nigel was a do-gooder, but he required a little proof in exchange for his monetary contributions. Dinner tonight would be interesting, eye-opening, in fact.
No, he laughed at his faux pas, this woman would keep her eyes. Information only. No one would realize who he really was or why he wanted to know details about Texas Mafia families. Nigel’s looks were different than the killer Snake Eyes. They still wouldn’t be traced back to him. The real him.
The computer system he’d breached prior to Rosco’s death had been secured since his attack on Avery. Nigel’s approach—money, love and blackmail—that normally found a vulnerable spot with anyone. The good Avery had made certain her mother and aunt were hidden away, so finding his prey required imagination now.
Dinner drinks would be quite amusing. There were so many ways to compel information from actual people. He stopped thinking about the steps needed for his venture this evening when Avery’s pale face replaced the glass elevator zooming to his level. She seemed to push her way more and more into his thoughts.
Returning for the deputy and her ranger had consumed him the first two days after leaving them. He wanted completion. Needed their deaths. Desired another confrontation.
No one had attacked him like that before. It wasn’t revenge, just more of a need. Finishing the job should come first. His reputation...that was all that should matter. When his last job was finalized, it could possibly be five-star hotels around the world.
What he should do and what his plan was...two very different things. Avery Travis fascinated him. She’d survived the collar and still fought back. She had a will to live that would be amazing to watch die. How much would it take to break her? His curious nature couldn’t stop wondering what satisfaction would be gained from discovering that answer.
Yes, it would be a mistake to get sidetracked, but it was also a mistake to continue with the Tenoreno job that he wouldn’t walk awa
y from. He didn’t need the money. He only needed to finish. Avery was only a part of the need to conclude his business.
Mistakes had delayed shutting the file on the Tenoreno family. His father would have been upset to find out how careless—or maybe arrogant—he’d been with his work. Which led to thinking about his father. That was probably because of the DNA they’d be processing.
Someone would discover who T-Bone Hop was and they might find out how he was related to Buster. But not to Snake Eyes. T-Bone had drilled it into Buster’s childhood that he could be tracked through DNA. His father had left the navy a decorated hero, but his DNA was in the system. That was before he met the love of his life and before he killed her. Before he’d raised Buster to be a competent huntsman. Before Buster had surpassed his father’s ability.
There would be no love of a lifetime for Snake Eyes or Buster. Love was for weaklings, for people who had nothing else to do other than conform to an everyday existence. He was above everyday anything.
He took a deep breath, jerked and remembered that he wasn’t above making a bad decision. Scott. That cocky kid had been a mistake who caused Nigel’s chest to hurt and brought Buster’s father into the picture.
Finish the Tenoreno job and Snake Eyes would be gone forever. Perhaps Carl or Sanchez would take on a new lifestyle. He could try big-game hunting. He’d always wanted to hunt a tiger. That might be fun.
Leaving any of his identities behind would be strange. He’d been moving between them so easily for two decades. He liked living as them all. Snake Eyes was special. By being completely cloaked in black, he was able to tap into the hidden depths of his darkest curiosity.
The new prey arrived. They had a drink and conversation. But he changed his mind about dinner. He tossed down the three pictures he’d printed in his room. Three photos of a child playing at school.
“Where did you get pictures of my son?” the young woman asked.
“Anybody can park across the street from a school and click a few pictures. What’s the world coming to?”
“What do you really want, Mr. Washington?”
“I need the location where a witness is being held. That’s all.”
“I might not have access,” she said, her voice already filled with fright and cooperation.
“Sweet woman, I wouldn’t be wasting my time with you if you didn’t.”
She shivered and began to cry.
Whatever he decided about Avery and her Texas Ranger, it wouldn’t involve hiring another person for quite some time. He patted the stitches Jesse Ryder had caused. He needed to make certain that man was alive and suffering for days. He’d be his final kill. The one that he’d remember for his lifetime.
Chapter Nineteen
Avery had her bag packed sitting by the door with her daddy’s shotgun on top. The files were stacked on the table. The cot Jesse had been sleeping on was upended on the wall by the puzzle table. Jesse had walked Dan through their conclusions. Then they’d both answered questions on a conference call with the State’s Attorney’s Office.
But they were still sitting here. Not being allowed to leave. Two Texas Rangers blocked the door and had taken their keys.
“I was right the first time. House arrest.”
“Still protective custody,” Jesse said pensively. “They haven’t agreed that we’re necessary for our plan. Even though we know this bastard.”
“Can’t a citizen refuse protective custody? Is there something I can sign?” She’d been reduced to walking her floor in as large a square as possible to make sure she moved.
“That means going against what they’re all advising. If we leave, we won’t know where Garrison’s being kept. Won’t know if Snake Eyes is following them.”
She circled her arms and stretched them above her head. The button-down shirt wasn’t ideal for optimum movement. She didn’t care. She was dressed to leave as soon as someone came to their senses. “We’ll know if he’s following us.”
“True. But if we’re right and he’s already in place, then we won’t be allowed to help. Won’t be a part of the solution. They could jail us to keep us out of their way.”
“They they they they they.” She pointed a different direction with each word to emphasize her frustration. “If you only knew how sick I was of hearing that pronoun. They this. They that.”
Jesse ducked his head. She could tell he knew he was part of her frustration.
“Sixteen hundred square feet. Feels more like six hundred. Every day we’re stuck in here feels like we lose footage.” She stretched her arms over her head, wondering if there was anything else she could do. “I need to go for a run. Oh, wait, give me a punching bag. I need a serious workout.”
She threw some air punches, feeling the tension in her shoulders. Not feeling any of the tingly leftover insecurity of being shocked. She was back. She turned to tell Jesse, then remembered that she was keeping it professional.
The only time she allowed herself to think about his confession was late at night...alone in her bedroom. It saddened her to be second best to her twin brother. Always. That was natural. Or at least she hoped it was natural and that she wasn’t just being an insecure child.
The reason she cried? She missed her friend. Sure, she wanted more. But truth be told, if nothing else had developed between them, she’d never imagined her life without Jesse in it. Even during the past eight months while she’d been upset with him...he was there.
Idiot. He’s still there. Sitting right there. What would you have done? Lied?
“During the conference call, didn’t someone ask why you were still here in Dalhart?”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
“You’re in a mood. I just wanted to say that you don’t have to stay here and babysit me. I already have two rangers outside the door.” She raised her voice and Wyatt didn’t move from leaning on the porch post. “You could take all that work to Company F. Let them validate, analyze or whatever you guys do. The state’s attorney might believe us then and do something about the threat.”
“And you’d stay here doing what?”
“I have a popcorn puzzle. I’m good for three days.” Okay, she’d offered an olive branch and he had to recognize it wasn’t poison oak. He had a look.
Oh my goodness.
He had a look, all right. It simmered and made her bubble to a boil. She was standing in front of the air conditioner. She knew it was working but could swear she was heating up like a kettle. No hot jasmine-blossom tea for her. “Want some iced tea? I think I need a glass to cool down. Something chilly.”
“Sure.”
She escaped to the kitchen. Standing at the sink, she stared mindlessly out the window until the tea steeped. The pitcher was ready with a tray of ice and a cup of sugar. Two glasses poured. Her hands were around them and she couldn’t move.
“I’ve been thinking.”
She jumped so hard the tea seemed to hop from the top of the glasses.
“I didn’t mean to scare you.” His deep rich voice comforted.
She grabbed a dish towel, dabbed at the counter, then lifted the glasses. “I was just thinking. My fault.”
“So was I. And you’re right. I should go back to Waco. My job’s been done here. I’ve been off my mandatory week. I should get back to work.” He took his glass, steadying her fingers, keeping them wrapped gently within his.
The man’s eyes were just incredible. He had a quiet strength. A mixture of confidence and concern that set her up for instant attraction. And when he smiled, he changed his chiseled features into a movie-star grin.
“There’s not a reason to stay if you’re mad or if I’m just going to continue to upset you.” He wasn’t smiling and still had a magnetism she didn’t understand. No other man made her feel this way.
“I...um... I
... Dammit, Jesse. I stopped being angry ten minutes ago. I don’t want to lose your friendship.”
Jesse pulled her to him, his fingers across her lips stopping her words. The tea she held spilled between their bodies. “I’m not just your friend, Avery. And I most definitely do not think of you as my sister.”
The smoldering look he gave from her eyes to her lips devoured her before really kissing her. His fingertips were smooth across her lips while his thumb tipped her chin. He lowered his mouth and that was all she could see as she watched his lips take possession of her.
Soft, long luxuriating kisses. Then his thumb trailed down her throat. Shocks ran through her body, pleasant palpitations that had her pulse racing harder than any workout she remembered. His mouth followed the nails he scraped along her collarbone. He nipped, skimmed, then licked. She could only watch and...feel.
One arm encircled her back, bending her slightly so he could have more access. His free hand unbuttoned her shirt, one excruciatingly slow button at a time. Her knees weakened when his lips skimmed the top of her breast.
Sometime along the way, Jesse’s skilled hands had untucked her shirt. Unbuttoned, he pushed it back to her elbows. His thumbs slipped higher under the edge of her bra, brushing skin, slowly advancing until the fastener released, giving him carte blanche.
Had time stood still or was Jesse memorizing every freckle she had? Her world went from slow motion to fast-forward. Jesse pushed her shirt off and tugged her arms free from the bra. When his lips and tongue circled her nipple, she stumbled backward with the sparks of delight.
Glass cracked under their boots, taking them both by surprise. “The tea glasses. I should clean— Oh...maybe...not...”
Jesse took advantage of the small space between them and sucked, alternating between her breasts until both were puckered and more alive than ever before. He worked his way back up her neck, then kissed her mouth, consuming any doubts she had.
“Might get dangerous if we stay in here.” He lifted her in his arms, walking across wet glass and her favorite lacy bra. Her arms went around his neck and tugged his face back to hers.