Shotgun Justice

by Angi Morgan

  The attempt to block the men’s arguing voices from her mind battled with the images of Snake Eyes laughing at their entire sting operation. If he was watching the house, he’d just seen her brother enter. And if he wasn’t watching...well, then it had completely failed.

  “Oh, would you both just hug it out or something? I need to think.” She’d raised her voice. They were both looking at her strangely. “I can tell that you aren’t used to me being in charge. Well, guys, I hate to break it to you, but if we’re voting...mine’s the only one that counts.”

  “Who asked for a vote?”

  “What are we voting on?”

  They both spoke at the same time and each poked the other in the chest as if they were teens. “Enough. Seriously. We are all adults and we have a rather difficult problem to solve.”

  “There’s no discussion. You’re heading to the house where they’re guarding Kenderly.” Garrison sat closest to her on the couch. “I’m here to take care of this problem.”

  “You aren’t in charge, pal.” Jesse propped the shotgun along the wall and took a seat. He reached for her hand.

  What was that supposed to be? A statement of comfort between them or a statement that Garrison didn’t have any say over her but Jesse did? Unreal.

  “Both of you need to shut up and listen.”

  Surprisingly, they both relaxed against the cushions, waiting. It took a couple of seconds for her to decide where to start. It was with her twin and his tendency to sweep in and come to her rescue.

  “I outgrew you bossing me around about ten years ago. You missed it. I let you because I enjoyed hanging around the two of you. I followed after you like a bad habit I refused to kick.”

  “You don’t have to do this tonight, Avery.” Jesse had a cautious look that she understood, but ignored.

  “Garrison, you haven’t explained why you stuck your nose in here during the middle of the night. You probably blew our sting.” She popped out of the armchair, adrenaline pumping hard through her veins. “I’m sure you convinced yourself that leaving your protective detail was necessary in order to protect me, but you’re wrong.”

  Exploding like this felt a little freeing. She was ready to bang some heads together, but kept her cool.

  “You’re overreacting, Avery.”

  Her brother didn’t get it. Until that very minute she hadn’t completely understood what living apart from the important people in her life had taught her. Somewhere between the boring, mundane speeding tickets and flat tires she had become an adult. She was capable of making decisions and living on her own.

  “I don’t need your help, Garrison. Do. Not. Need. Your. Help. Brand it across your forehead or simply repeat after me... ‘Avery does not need my help.’ Can you hear me this time? You’ve made a very big mistake coming here.”

  “You might be right about that,” her brother mumbled.

  “Oh, I know I am. Why would you put this operation at risk? Not to mention that one of your ranger friends could have mistakenly killed you.”

  “I thought you could use some help, but I needed to eliminate any threat against Kenderly, too.” Garrison folded his hands together in his lap, tilting his eyes to the floor.

  “Aw...the fiancée we’ve heard nothing about. If Snake Eyes is watching, he saw you. The whole thing’s a bust. Your entire hero routine is for nothing.”

  Garrison popped his head up to stare at her. She shoved his shoulders back to the couch when he tried to stand. He could stay put; she was the one who needed to move around.

  “You know there’s more to why I’m here.” Garrison’s knuckles turned white gripping a throw pillow. “I got you into this mess. It’s my responsibility. I’m not going to let you face it alone.”

  “I’m not. Jesse’s here. An entire team of Texas Rangers is across the street. Someday you’re going to have to have faith that I’m capable of doing my job.”

  “Faith has nothing to do with it. I know you’re capable, but this wasn’t—or shouldn’t be—your fight. I didn’t jeopardize the operation. Nobody saw me come in here. Nobody. Which in itself is a problem.”

  “It’s part of the trap. Oh, I give up.” She turned away, staring out the window.

  “Man, you haven’t faced this son of a bitch. He’s a ghost with connections. We didn’t make it a secret we were here waiting on him.” Jesse acted relaxed, but his jaw muscles flexed continuously. “That was the plan.”

  “I guess I sort of messed things up,” Garrison admitted.

  “I bet that hurt to admit.” Jesse snickered behind her. “You knew I was here taking care of things. You could have at least trusted me.”

  Had he forgotten his role in this debacle? Or that he’d lied to her all those months? She’d barely been angry with him, but suddenly the whole situation seemed to irritate her again.

  “You aren’t innocent in all this, Jesse Thomas Ryder. Your decisions changed my life last year. Just because we’ve slept together, that doesn’t give you the right to make decisions for me. Or try to talk me out of doing my duty as a cop. This is who I am as much as you. Especially after the week we spent together.” She blurted the words, then cringed, realizing that Garrison was still in the room. Well, it didn’t matter. She turned to address both of the men in her life. “I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions. You two need to...to just...grow up.”

  Before her brother or Jesse could react, she bolted from the room. She couldn’t referee their arguments or face what they might say about her love life. And she couldn’t hang around any longer just waiting for something to happen.

  Leave the investigation and manhunt to the competent Texas Rangers. She’d left her own department shorthanded long enough. It was time to go home. She returned to the bedroom, locked the door and dialed Major Parker.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Jesse watched Avery retreat to the bedroom. He wanted to go after her, but she was already upset with him sticking his opinion into her life. He didn’t know he’d stood until Garrison’s blow knocked him to the couch.

  “You slept with my sister!”

  Jesse rubbed his jaw. “I probably deserved that from her brother. And because I did, I’m not getting up to pound your face.”

  “You swore to me,” the man who was like his brother whispered. “When? Last year? Is that what she meant about changing her life? Have you been lying to me for a year?”

  “You have to calm down, Garrison. We have bigger catfish to fry.”

  “Dammit, Jesse. I came as soon as I heard what was going on. They should have told me sooner.” He crashed back to the couch looking very defeated and speaking softly. “How could you do this to her? Now she’ll never come home from the Panhandle.”

  “Don’t let her hear you say that. You haven’t spoken to her about her job or her life since she left. So don’t blame me for what’s going on between you guys.” He’d accept the blame. He just wouldn’t admit that to anyone but Avery. That was between him and her.

  “You slept with her, man.”

  “It’s not what you think.”

  Jesse’s lifelong friend jumped up and paced the inside wall, obviously shaken by Avery’s revelation. “I don’t see how it could be much different unless you tell me it didn’t happen.”

  “I can’t do that. It happened, and if I have my way, it’ll happen again.” Jesse slumped in his chair, matching Garrison’s dismayed attitude look for look. “I know I broke my promise to you. But like I said. It’s not what you think. I’m trying to keep a promise to myself. And if she’ll have me, one to Avery. I told her I loved her.”

  “You mean that? So you two are getting married.” His best friend looked surprised.

  Why? Was it so hard to believe that someone would fall in love with his sister? Or was it that Jesse Ryder had fallen for
her?

  “She accused me of kidding around.” Resulting in the longest three days of his life.

  “But you meant it? You weren’t joking? You’re really in love with Avery?” He glared down from above his chair. “So why didn’t you just set her straight?”

  “You seriously don’t know your sister.” Jesse shook his head, wondering how long he had to put up with the Garrison grilling. And when the roller coaster of up-and-down emotions would end. “She never gave me a chance to say it was for real. We haven’t had much of a chance to talk since then. Well, we’ve been a little busy.”

  “I see.”

  Jesse looked at his friend, who shouldn’t have a clue. The charmer who could talk his way out of every situation had nothing more to say? Maybe he did understand. They hadn’t spoken more than a couple of sentences in the time that he claimed to have fallen in love.

  Jesse looked around the dark room, wondering not only what to say but what would go wrong next. “Dammit, the phone. The team is still listening to this.”

  He leaped to where he’d left the cell a few feet away. The conversation was one way, but he knew they were there. The guys who would use his confession to razz him for the rest of his career. They’d never let him live this down.

  As soon as he disconnected, it vibrated.

  “I stuck my neck out for you,” Parker said. “Can you explain why one Travis is there instead of at a safe house under protective custody? And the other Travis just notified me she’s returning to Dalhart?”

  “The first Travis can answer for himself. I’ll find out what’s up with Avery.” He handed the phone over to Garrison and in two shakes was knocking on the bedroom door.

  “Avery, we need to talk.” He couldn’t hear anything on the other side of the door. Had she already slipped by him to leave through the back? She was too smart to leave on her own and had already requested an escort from Parker. “Avery? Open the door.”

  Training kicked in. He didn’t think, just trusted his instincts that something was wrong. Gun in hand, his boot was on the door handle busting through. He felt Garrison behind him, hand on his shoulder, tapping him forward.

  They’d practiced the entry hundreds of times over the years. This time meant everything. And there was nothing there.

  No Avery. No weapon. No bag on top of the dresser.

  And no cell.

  “Call Parker. Snake Eyes is out there.”

  “You don’t know that, man.” Garrison argued, but holstered his SIG and swiped numbers on the phone.

  “She’s gone and the bastard has her because Parker doesn’t.”

  “The patrol may not have— No, you’re right. He has to have her.”

  Jesse had to think fast. Snake Eyes would. He’d leave the talking and explanations to Garrison. Forensics would be too late and they wouldn’t find anything. So he left through the yard.

  The guards were out cold, drugged but alive. It was doubtful they’d seen anything. And if they had, it would be too late by the time they woke up.

  “Why take her? Why not just kill her here? He doesn’t need her. He should have known that Garrison was in the next room.” Jesse weighed one side then the other. He and Avery had made more progress when they approached from the view of Snake Eyes, but he couldn’t find a logical reason for the man’s actions.

  Their adversary had taken an unpredictable road. That was the rub. They thought Snake Eyes was obsessed with completing this job. So why was Garrison still alive?

  It was no longer about the Tenoreno contract. Now it was about the woman he loved.

  “Avery!” he shouted, his voice carrying into the dark. “Avery!”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Avery had walked straight into his arms, seeking a protective escort. Straight from the men she loved most in life to the animal who scared the life from her.

  “Avery!” Jesse’s voice called in the distance. “Avery!”

  “Keep walking, Deputy Travis.”

  It was one of the oldest tricks in the book. “You took out one of the guards and dressed in his shirt. I practically tripped over you coming out of the house.”

  As the ranger posted on the west side of the house, he’d grunted, had a hand on her weapon and turned to stare at her with those reptile contacts. Then he’d dropped her phone. Never appearing in a hurry or as if he was worried about a thing. Especially a bunch of Texas Rangers following his trail.

  Hooded, he pointed for her to lead the way between houses with no fences. Old neighborhoods that didn’t fear the people who lived next door. Three streets behind her, she’d left the new edition of unfinished rooms where they’d set their trap.

  But it was the middle of the night and everyone was asleep. She’d been warned first thing that if she cried out for help, whoever answered that plea would be shot with her gun.

  “You’re fascinating, Avery. And smart. Probably smart enough to know that you don’t have long to live.” Snake Eyes found an entrance gate from the utility-access path between the homes. “Your problem isn’t that you aren’t good enough to bring me down. It’s that all the people surrounding you aren’t as good. The best defense is usually the best offense. Don’t you agree?”

  “If we’d known where to take the fight, you’re right—we would have taken it to you.”

  “I’m very glad to learn you’ve suffered no ill effects from the shocking experience in Thompson Grove.”

  “I turn on lightbulbs when I hold them now, but everybody thinks it’s a good party trick.”

  “Aw, a sense of humor about your misadventure. As charming as your brother.”

  Avery felt sick to her stomach. The question of why he hadn’t just burst into the house and killed them all as they were arguing still loomed as bright as that bulb she nervously joked about. Then he used the words fascinating and glad and charming. Yeah, she was getting sick at the thought he liked her.

  For a man who’d never left behind a trace of himself, it bothered her that he was pushing through gates and lifting latches as if no one would be following them.

  It bothered her a lot. Even after hearing Jesse shout her name into the night, Snake Eyes hadn’t run or even walked faster. He doesn’t think anyone can catch him.

  The road they were on had no street lamps. The houses were farther apart. He shoved her into the side of a luxury car. I can’t get inside that car.

  The thought that it was all over if she did was all she could focus on. The thought repeated over and over in her mind. He had a gun and the knife he’d placed to her throat before. But she turned from the car, hands in a single fist, and hit him in the side where Jesse had stabbed the rake. He hissed in pain.

  She prepared for his backhanded slap, rolling with the sting but losing a lot of the force behind it. She spun away from Snake Eyes, dropping to the ground, searching for a stick or rock. Hoping for a piece of glass. Nothing but dirt.

  The reptile contacts glowed brighter with him surrounded by the dark.

  Dirt. She dug her nails into the earth, coming up with a fistful when he lifted her to her feet.

  “I would expect nothing less from you, Avery. If you didn’t give me your best, I wouldn’t be compelled to try my worst. But I’ve brought you an incentive to behave.”

  “There’s nothing that’s going to make me get in that car easily. I’m surprised you haven’t used your knockout drug.”

  He opened the door to where a young woman sat. Her eyes were wide with fright, makeup smeared from crying a long time. She was gagged and both her hands and feet were bound.

  “You see, Avery? Incentive.”

  “This doesn’t involve her.”

  The woman tried to scream as he shut the door and clicked a lock. She was hysterical, thinking that Snake Eyes intended to kill her. Avery knew
, too. It was a one-way ticket if she got in that car.

  “Well, she has kept her part of the bargain. She did give me the address where you were staying. I could let her go if you promised to cooperate.” Snake Eyes gestured for her to get into the car.

  Avery shook her head. “Not...not until you let her out. Leave her on the street just like she is...but she’s left here. Then I’ll go with you.”

  “Deal, Deputy.” He pointed her weapon at her again. “Now give me your word.”

  “Why do you need me to promise?”

  “I trust you, Avery.” He cocked his head to the side, waiting for her answer.

  Avery shoved her hand with the dirt into her pocket. If she gave him a face full of dirt now, the car was locked and she wouldn’t get the keys before he reacted. She could wait until the door was open, but the woman was so hysterical she might think they were taking her into the trees to kill her.

  Unfortunately, the best scenario was to get the woman out and wait for a chance to get away.

  “I promise, on my father’s grave...” ...that I will take you down tonight or die trying.

  “Good. Good.” He opened the door again, grabbed the woman’s ropes and yanked her from the car. He pulled her across the grass, gun pointed first at the woman, then at Avery.

  To her credit, the woman didn’t make it easy. She tried to be difficult, bucking with muffled screaming. Avery got halfway into the car, waiting to see if the gun fell away from her direction so she could run.

  Snake Eyes didn’t drop her from his aim. He moved the girl behind some bushes and left her there, then came back to Avery. He took plastic cuffs from his pocket and tightened them around her wrists. She sat and he placed another pair around her ankles after removing her boots.

  Then he laughed, throwing back his head. As he did, she finagled a boot to slip to the ground. The door shut and she prayed that her father was keeping an eye on her tonight.

  Jesse would find it. He’d find her. They’d get out of this mess. There had to be a way out.

  * * *